u/X-Mighty

The human brain has no musical apparatus. When we listen to music, we feel emotions because it inteprets music as speech. In other words, music only moves us because we can understand what other people feel. The act of composing a song is, to the brain, insepparable from the act of carrying an idea.

With The Man Machine, the repeating riff feels like someone looking in awe at a seemingly impossible event, as in "Wow. Look at what machines are capable of doing!", and the repetition of it creates a humorous relationship with the vocals, which, in their indifference, seem to be saying back "Yes. I know."

At the same time, the riff sounds like the ringtone of an alarm clock, telling the person who set that it is time to get up and work, and the vocals' indifference give this impression of "Here we go again". When the drumline hits, it feels they have gotten up from the bed, and are doing their morning routines whilst getting ready for another day of work.

The way this song comes right after Neon Lights seems to hammer home the idea that the mundane is the only constant. Regardless of how special the weekend may have been, there will always be that monday right after. Some could call it cynical, but a more accurate way to describe it would be realistic. This is the way things are, and Kraftwerk is simply representing it.

Kraftwerk had always been putting a few hints of their thoughts on romanticism since the start, even going on to create a facade of it in TEE, but with The Man Machine, they cemented themselves as realists, portraying what the romantics wanted to avoid, technology, not as it "should be", but as it is.

The fadeout at the end seems to suggest the romantics' nightmare is now real: This era is not ending any time soon. Technology is here to stay.

In order to replicate travel visually, people have invented parallaxes. A parallax is a representation of how an observer sees the world around them move as they transport from one place to another. Nothing lasts forever in a parallax, except for the movement itself, and the further an object is from the observer, the longer it takes to no longer be seen.

Due to the influence of travel, Kraftwerk decided to, whether intentionally or not, take the idea of the parallax and make it their style. But first, they had to find a way to convert it into something auditory. In other words, do what Karl calls acoustic photography.

There was, however, an obstacle standing in the way of this conversion: Image lasts longer than sound. One person can look at a painting for hours, and another person can look at that same painting for seconds, but this is not the case for music, since sound always exists within a frame of time.

Thus came another realization, one that made Kraftwerk who they are: The key to acoustic photography is repetition.

Repetition is what was going to allow the depiction of a constant image with sounds... To turn sight into sound, then back into sight in the listener's heads, making it, in a way, the closest humanity can get to telepathy.

What came after was the most logical conclusion: Four people lined up playing loops, each one with a different time set for each before its repetition, and, when the moment comes, getting replaced by others, just like the objects do in a parallax. Each one playing their role as parts of a mind-reading machine capable of carrying its ideas into the mind of anyone who hears its sounds.

Just as we can focus on a specific thing we see when we are travel, we can focus on a specific musician, and listen as their loop goes on in their own pace, repeating and repeating, sometimes changing, sometimes not.

And, of course, the instrumental loops are not the only costumes the musik arbeiters wear... There are many of them: Neutral descriptors, electrical generators, antennas, transmitters, admirers, showroom dummies, calculator musicians, computer lovers, telephone lovers, lovers in search for respect, Tour de France racers, and, of course... Robots.

All of their albums since Autobahn had fitting introductions. Autobahn started with the self turning the car on; Radio-Activity started with a geiger counter; Trans-Europe Express started in a way that resembles a train moving faster and faster before leaving the station, and The Man Machine started with the robots turning on.

It would be expected that Kraftwerk would do the same thing again and start the album with Home Computer, as none of the other songs in the album can happen if the computer isn't first turned on, yet this is not what happens. Home Computer, along with its second part, are placed at the end of the album. The album ends with an introduction.

This suite serves as one of many transportation pieces in Kraftwerk's catalogue, but unlike its predecessors, it is not referring to a spacial transportation. Rather, it refers to a temporal transportation, and unlike with space, the temporal transportation never stops. Ending the album with an introduction conveys this idea that the era of computers will never end. They are here to stay, and the only choice we have is compute (both in the sense of listening, and in the sense of buying a computer) so that we are not left behind.

I like the Boing Boom Tschak / Techno Pop / Musique non Stop suite, but I feel that it really wasn't as refined as it would end up being in the 3D Catalogue, and Techno Pop is, in my opinion, the weakest track in the album. I think it overstayed its welcome and didn't have that dichotomy between variable and constant that makes Kraftwerk long tracks so good. It really didn't feel like, say, TEE, where the constant nature of the train and the track contrasts with the variable nature of the places that it is connecting.

It kind of gives me this feeling that they (Especially Ralf) were trying way too hard to lean into what the public would expect of an album that took 5 years to make, and ended up sacrificing the "wild" part of what makes Kraftwerk so good. Side B, on the other hand, really feels like they are really doing what they like without a care in the world.

The Telephone Call is such and underrated track, and, to me, the original second half deserves to be up there with Metal on Metal and Computer World 2 as one of the best "ambient-esque" tracks. Just like with The Model and Hall of Mirrors, they managed to go a little bit more human without losing their identity.

Sex Object is easily the best track in the entire album. They did that Radioactivity / TEE thing of trying to emulate acoustic instruments with synths, and nailed it. The "string" section feels like something from a traffic cone album, but somehow still feels like post-Autobahn Kraftwerk in a way that is really hard to explain.

The lyrics are peak Kraftwerk deadpan humor, and, just like songs like Pocket Calculator and Showroom Dummies, I can visualize them with smiles on their faces, having the time of their lives while they play it. It's perfect.

"No sex!"

"Why?"

"Maybe... Perhaps..."

"Yes..."

And the title track is one I wish would last forever. It really gives this "We're here" feeling that TEE, The Man Machine and Computer World's title tracks had, which is hard to put into words. Such an incredible conclusion to the album.

I really wish they would play The Telephone Call and Sex Object more. They are almost as neglected live as Side A of TEE and Side B of Autobahn are.

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Então... Esses dias eu fiquei pensando no que aconteceu com o Milo em OSNI, em como exatamente ele passou a existir, e fiquei pensando se foi uma espécie de "Divisão da mente", como uma espécie de amalgação reversa. Enquanto o Anthony e o Álvaro viraram um só, o Miguel virou dois. Quando os dois se encontram no ep 7, ele explica pro Milo o que aconteceu, e que foi oferecido um acordo por algo... Talvez pelo próprio sino da tinta, assim como os seis vencedores foram oferecidos um acordo pelo sino da intenção em Hexatombe... E que resolveu dar ao Milo uma chance de existir.

O interessante é que o Milo parexe ter memórias falsas, memórias de ter vivido coisas que não exatamente viveu, porque ele se lembra de ter tido uma vida normal, em que os outros podiam interagir com ele... Ver ele... Conversar com ele... Como se algumas memórias do Miguel estivessem nele. Tanto que ele ficou surpreso quando a Bárbara disse que 'Milo' não era nada além de um amigo imaginário.

Uma coisa que é bem frequente no paranormal é a importância do nome, como o Cellbit chama em Hexatombe, a 'máscara que um indivíduo usa perante o outro lado', e, talvez, por causa do sino, a nomeação que o Miguel fez na infância de um irmão tenha feito com que o que antes era só um amigo imaginário tenha passado a existir.

Eu sempre achei isso um mistério interessante que não foi completamente resolvido... Sabemos o que aconteceu, mas não exatamente porquê.

It was the first time someone has ever told me that. She's also terrible at drawing, so it's not like that's a big achievement, but I never thought I'd hear someone say that, so it meant a lot to me.

My brain is like a radio that never switches off, playing in a lot of frequencies at the same time. It doesn't take long for it to make feel like the world around me has invisible, inaudible and intangible. It's like a curse.

Sometimes, I'm in a situation I want to enjoy, but then my brain switches my attention to my thoughts, and, when I notice, it's already over.

That's where Kraftwerk comes in. It talks about all of the things that my brain doesn't let me experience, and, by listening to the songs, I am able to remember that they exist. It especially helps when I'm in a situation while listening to a Kraftwerk song that fits it. Be it walking down the big city with Metropolis; Travelling with Autobahn, running with Tour de France, getting myself ready to work with The Man Machine or, on the stranger side, cleaning with Tanzmusik.

In that sense, Kraftwerk is to me what glasses are to someone with myopia. It allows me to experience some of the moments that I wouldn't be able to without, and, when the trains of thought in my head get too loud, I put on Franz Schubert, and things, for a moment, come back to being calm.

Despite its annoyance, though, this endless radio in my head is also a source of a lot of my ideas, which I call 'hypermentalistic associations', many of which involve Kraftwerk in one way or another, as the cryptic nature of the songs make them perpetual sources of ideas.

So... Does anyone else go through this, or am I even crazier than I thought I was?

At the end of last year, Kraftwerk released a bunch of recordings from the 1981 tour. It was pretty cool to see that, but this 'live album' always felt really odd to me, mainly because many songs were abruptly cut, such as Minicalculateur and Ohm Sweet Ohm.

It was also a bit strange that some of the songs were named in German even though they were played in English, and some of the names weren't even written correctly.

And that's without mentioning that the suites weren't divided like they usually are. The TEE suite is simply referred as 'Trans Europa Express', and the Radio Star suite is simply referred as 'Ohm Sweet Ohm'. It really felt like something Ralf would never approve.

Today, I decided to go to the Kraftwerk channel to take a listen, and the playlist was gone. I tried to look up 'Kraftwerk in Paris 1981', and I couldn't find a single song from it. It's like it never existed.

So, what happened exactly? Did someone else make these without Ralf's approval, or maybe a test that was never meant to last very long?

I don't know, but I really hope they make a more refined version of it one day.

Eu acho chato quando alguém fala que todos os robôs são não binários só porque não têm órgãos genitais. O robô pode não ter SEXO, mas tem GÊNERO sim!

Se os personagens na história chamam ele por um pronome, então esse é o gênero dele, porra!

After getting 3 games right in a row, which is very rare for Sonic standards, Sega decided it was time to make a sequel to Sonic 2. That's when they started making this game you saw on the image. And that was when everything went wrong. I really can't understand the people that think that THIS is the peak of the Sonic franchise, when it's exactly what made it fall.

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First of all: 1994? Really? Did it really take 2 entire years to make this game? I know it's unfair to compare it to a game that came out 12 years later, but Sonic 06 only needed 1 year to become the masterpiece that it did. This fact alone should already tell you how much passion and ambition were put into this game, especially since they (mainly perfectionist Yuji Naka) already had the game basically done by 1993 as can be seen by that prototype that leaked, but still refused to publish it because some unnecessary stuff like 'polish', 'playability' and some levels no one cares about.

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Speaking of unnecessary stuff, why the FUCK did they think it was a good idea to change Sonic's sprites? His shoes aren't supposed to look that way at all, and the muzzle curve was done horribly. Why does he look like he's smiling? Naoto Ohshima's Sonic is a serious, stoic and determined chad who would only grin if he had a hateful look in his eyes. He looks nothing like he's supposed to.

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R.I.P the real sonic 1991-1993.

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Another thing they decided to do was put automation. Lots and lots of it. People love throwing shade at 06's Mach Speed sections, but at least they were playable. This stuff is just about waiting for minutes until you can finally play the game. I know it's an unfair comparison, but 06 had none of that. I don't remember seeing a single loading screen when I played P-06, which is the true version of the game.

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Also, why the hell did they try to focus on the story? Nobody cares about the story in a Sonic game. It's just a blue hedgehog running fast, destroying robots and beating an egg-shaped man. There doesn't need to be a story for that. This is terrible.

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The only narrative there should be is the one that YOU, the player, make. The story of Sonic trying to get the emeralds before Eggman, which Sonic 1 and 2 did pretty well, but this game does horribly because in this game, you don't just stumble into a ring or a checkpoint. You have to explore in order to find the giant rings. Seriously? Exploration? In a Sonic game? This is horrible. If you don't like the Medals in Unleashed, but like these dogshit rings, you're a hypocritical classic tard. Get some help, fake fan.

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Another problem with this emerald system in this game is that this exploration stuff makes it so that it doesn't feel like a race against Eggman to get the emeralds anymore. I don't remember a single time when I didn't have them all by Marble Garden zone. The soft narrative is ruined.

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Speaking of emeralds, the special stages are TERRIBLE in this game. 3D sections? In a 2D Sonic game? Seriously?

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As if all of this wasn't bad enough, this game decided to try to pander to the fans of the previous ones with downgraded versions of the stuff in them, like the Marble Garden miniboss, which is just the Mystic Cave boss, but worse, or the Flying Battery automated section, which is literally just a cutscene version of the Wing Fortress boss, or the Mecha Sonic bosses, which are just Control C + Control V versions of the Green Hill and Metropolis bosses. Speaking of this unoriginality, the Death Egg? Seriously? We already saw it in Sonic 2. We don't need to see it again. I know. 1992 was awesome. I don't need you to remind me of that.

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If there was one thing that should've been kept from the other games, it was the music. They replaced the beautiful, iconic, passionate and ambitious Sonic theme by Masato Nakamura with two corporate, souless and forgettable jingles.

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People love saying the Dark Ages started with Shadow The Hedgehog, but no. This was the game that started all of the problems that Colors would go on to fix.

Since 1991, we've seen Sonic and Eggman face against each other, and this 35 year long "Will Eggman ever change?" thing has gotten not just antagonistic, but also Stale. OLD.

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I know Ohshima's original vision for Eggman is a childish man obsessed with power, but it's been almost 30 years since he left SEGA, so I don't really think that matters. Only a JP purist would.

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Eggman needs, nay, deserves character development. He needs to become a mature character. He needs to let go of his ego and his desire to have the most power and GROW. UP!

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He needs to stop screaming that he hates that hedgehog. He needs to stop putting his face in every machine he makes. He needs to stop laughing like a child. You know what? He needs to stop being called Eggman! A mature man doesn't use nicknames. I know that because I stopped using them when I turned 13 yesterday. He needs to become a real MAN! HE'S DOCTOR. IVO. ROBONIK!! not some Eggy boy!

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You can say that's going to take away from what makes him great, but it's not character erasure, it's character development!

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We need a MATURE year of Eggman RIGHT. DAMN. NOW!!!!

I did read a Freud book tho. The sex stuff made me understand the science behind jerking better.

No final do século passado, surgiram os carros. A princípio, achei esta uma ideia interessante, revolucionária e quase mágica. Mas, agora que a nova geração cresceu com a existência deles, encontro-me indignado.

Antigamente, andar a cavalo era uma habilidade imprescindível. Somente era homem aquele que sabia realizá-la. Mas agora, esta nova geração não sabe mais como. Eles só conseguem pensar nos carros. Isto é uma calamidade! Como pode a humanidade estar perdendo esta habilidade que marcou sua história? O que seria de nós se ocorresse outra guerra no nível das guerras napoleônicas? Como é que as pessoas transportar-se-iam com um veículo que não consegue nem mesmo dirigir para trás?

E, se isto não fosse o bastante, esta segunda revolução industrial pode acarretar na perda de mais habilidades primordiais para a sobrevivência do ser humano. Amanhã, é a habilidade de defumar comida; depois, a habilidade de lavar as roupas, e depois a escrita!

Ó céus! Por qual doentio motivo meu senhor deixou que o mundo se tornasse o que se tornou?