'Publikation'

I've been reading this book for ages. Or, more accurately, not reading it. Which is surprising because it's about Kraftwerk, who were my first great musical passion. That's not to say there weren't other bands I loved at the time: Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, Ultravox, OMD, The Human League, Gary Numan: these were all bands I played constantly. But Kraftwerk were more private; I didn't know anyone else who liked Kraftwerk.

Sure, people knew 'The Model', it topped the charts, after all, but it was seen as a novelty, I think. I didn't know anyone else who owned any of Kraftwerk's albums and the only people I knew who listened to the full twenty-two minutes and forty-seven seconds of 'Autobahn' were my immediate family, and that was not exactly willingly.

I bought all the well-known albums - 'Autobahn'. 'Radio-activity', 'Trans-Europe Express', 'Man Machine' and 'Computer World' - and then I learnt about their earlier albums. I still remember the day I bought 'Ralf and Florian'. I was babysitting that evening and as soon as I had the house to myself (bar the children sleeping upstairs, of course), I switched on the stereo and played this hitherto unheard Kraftwerk album. It was the most unusual music I'd ever listened to. I can't say that I liked it immediately but it opened the gate to a whole new world of music for me.

But back to the book: given my love of Kraftwerk, why has it taken me so long to read it? It's not the first Kraftwerk book, I've read. In fact, I have four others. I think it's because books about Kraftwerk are just that: about them. They take the known facts and present them chronologically, spiced - as is the case with 'Publikation' - with anecdotes and comments from people who liked them at the time. There are even interviews with ex-members of the band. But the truth of the matter is that they never get to the kernel of Kraftwerk and, to be honest, I'm not sure I want them to.

I did enjoy this book on the occasions I read it because I take pleasure in reading about Kraftwerk. But I didn't love it. In some ways, I felt a bit intrusive. Kraftwerk's body of music is a work of art. Yes, it's interesting to know some of what is behind it but, ultimately, I'd rather take it at face value.