Check out Google's mini-moog emulator in honor of what would have been Robert Moog's 78th birthday! Adjustable filters, modulation control, four-track recording. How awesome!

End of line...

Leon Theramin, electronic music pioneer and russian spy. Awesome. 

Great article in the BBC yesterday. 

End of line...

REQUIRED NERDLING EDUCATION!!! This is a fantastic documentary on the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, which was responsible for such tunes as the Doctor Who theme song. This electronic music primer traces the development of recorded sound from magnetic tape onward. Reel-to-reel beat matching included! Ultimately enlightening and presented in, I think, its entirety (over six roughly 10-minute parts).

SCHEMATIC: The remaining five parts...

Are you kidding me???!!! This song is ridiculous. It is shocking to me how many people who LOVE Kraftwerk have never even heard this song. Just in case there was ANY doubt in your mind as to the genius of these boys from Düsseldorf, this lead song off their 1970 eponymous debut album should clear it up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbK1GulvSDQ

I spent two hours combing youtube for every worthwhile version of this song including two additional live performances. One is from Germany in 1975 and the other is a pre-Kraftwerk (Organisation) performance complete with...congas!!! Each offers a unique glimpse into the inner nerd.

SCHEMATIC: V-I-D-E-O-S...

Pre-Kraftwerk (Organisation) Live, 1970

Live in Germany, 1975

An 11-minute face-melting video edit of Kraftwerk's 23-minute opus. The real cybernetic acid trip is the five-minute breakdown that beings around 3:06. Animation by Roger Mainwood and John Halas in 1979. The video was posted in two parts, so load the rest of the post to view the second half...

SCHEMATIC: Video part two, Mainwood interview and high res vinyl rip...

The title track off Kraftwerk's 1974 LP Autobahn was a genesis moment in nerd music, marking the completion of Kraftwerk's robotic transformation. Without this band or track, electronic music would probably not be what it is today. It represents the seemless merging of musical genius with avant-garde technology. The entire album is available on iTunes for only $3.49!! 

Mainwood discussing the history of the film: 

No, I never made contact with Kraftwerk, and they had no input into the film images themselves. John Halas got the commission from Kraftwerk’s record company, and it was deliberately experimental in nature and designed to be released on one of the first ever laser discs. Unfortunately the laser disc technology never took off. The film was entered into various film festivals around the world and won a few prizes, but it never got a commercial release in cinemas but was shown on the TV a bit in the UK and I presume in Germany too. I have no idea what Kraftwerk think about it or whether they have even ever seen it.

[audio:http://www.innernerd.de/audio/Kraftwerk/Kraftwerk_Autobahn.mp3|titles=Autobahn (LP Version)|artists=Space]