Kraftwerk - Live
There’s been a fair bit going on of late so it’s best put together in a weekly roundup I reckon. First off, and maybe some might think it’s out of place, but Gary Barlow seems to be wanting to take on the might of Simon Cowell! According to various news sources, Barlow approached ITV with the highly original concept of finding the next big boyband via a hyped up reality show. They rejected for fear of offending Cowell and his cash-cow, The X Factor. But apparently the Beeb are in talks with Barlow about the show. I reckon Barlow actually might be in with a winner here, there’s been so much anti-Cowell press of late that it might be time for the worm to turn…
But we move on to sadder news. Ron Asheton, the guitarist for highly influential US rock act The Stooges, passed away on Tuesday. He was only 60. It left me thinking – why do the good always die young? It seems to happen to everyone – my dad, Rick Wright (the ‘Floyd), any number of other peeps, etc etc. But this didn’t last for long, because the next bit of news, that emerged on the same day, was even worse! Florian Schneider from Kraftwerk (group pictured) has officially decided to leave the band, bringing to an end the seminal 40-year partnership between him and Ralf Huetter. This news was like a dagger through my heart – I’ve never yet seen Kraftwerk live and the German electronic outfit are true musical pioneers, in every sense. God only knows what Ralf will do without him… 
Thankfully there was a bit of idiocy later in the week that kept me amused. The much-touted Led Zeppelin reunion (of sorts) tour was back in the press again. Their manager Peter Mensch was quoted by BBC 6 Music confirming that the band would continue to record and tour without original frontman Robert Plant, as soon as they’d found a replacement singer. But, just a day later, he stormed:
Led Zeppelin are over! If you didn’t see them in 2007 [when they played a one-off reunion at London's O2 arena], you missed them. It’s done. I can’t be any clearer than that. They tried out a few singers, but no one worked out. That was it. The whole thing is completely over now. There are absolutely no plans for them to continue. Zero. Frankly, I wish everybody would stop talking about it.
Hmm, is sheer insanity a prerequisite for being Led Zeppelin’s tour manager? Discuss…
Lastly, Mike Skinner, aka The Streets, has been forced to scrap the band’s planned US tour this year because of erm, lack of interest. He’s looking forward to making films apparently. Geezah!
What am I looking forward to: the Kerrang! awards tour – roll on some sodding live music! 
What impressed me this week: Slumdog Millionaire and it’s awesome soundtrack – there may be some tracks uploaded here next week from it. For now though, you’ll have to make do with one of the greatest albums ever made, Computer World by Kraftwerk.
- Computer World (Kraftwerk Computer World, 1981)
- Pocket Calculator (Kraftwerk Computer World, 1981)
- Numbers (Kraftwerk Computer World, 1981)
- Computer World…2 (Kraftwerk Computer World, 1981)
- Computer Love (Kraftwerk Computer World, 1981)
- Home Computer (Kraftwerk Computer World, 1981)
- It’s More Fun To Compute (Kraftwerk Computer World, 1981)
