RIP Florian Schneider

Here's my NPR tribute to Florian Schneider.

It's a deliberately Florian-centric history of Kraftwerk.

I'll do right by Ralf when it's his turn.

when Ralf left for a bit, leaving Florian in charge of the Neu boys

  

Maybe my favorite K-werk



But then again, there's this



And this of course

RIP Dave Greenfield

The most instantly grabbing musical element in The Stranglers, the keyboards (although the bass too was insistent and unignorable in its gnarly in-your-face way). Greenfield led some of us to Manzarek and a lifelong love of The Doors.

A band difficult to defend, but impossible to deny (The Stranglers, I mean - although some would say the same of The Doors, and perhaps disagree about the deniability bit in both cases).

Such great tunes. Such an original sound.





Is there a rock band that's made better use of waltz-time?



For sure, the lyrics are either nasty or silly, most of the time. But they lodge in your brain. And if nothing else, it all adds up to a worldview, a stance. Gruff misanthropy, sour disillusion.



"tasted man, tasted flea / couldn't tell the difference"





It's only recently I realised that Greenfield actually sang on some Stranglers songs.







And on one of the Meninblack tunes that's too awful to post.

Dave's thick black oily raven's wing mustache certainly contributed to the glowering malevolence of the group image.

RIP Tony Allen