Movies

Really interesting and avant garde album. Had no idea where it was going next. I, for one, really enjoy that when it is coupled with a high level of musicianship. After listening it's no surprise this guy was a founding member of the band Can. Never heard of it prior but it was definitely a trip. Not sure I'll listen to it a bunch but it made my drive to work really interesting.

very funky, really liked this one

This is pretty good! There are other drifty arty rock albums like this from around this time I prefer but I've also only heard this once. Thank you Holger! Everyone listen to his album Plight + Premonition with David Sylvian for beautiful ambient music .

Very unique songs, he takes a lot of sampling and layers it throughout the tracks to create a disjointed feeling but each track does have consistent percussion, bass and guitar as a through line which makes a big difference to other expiramental albums I've heard so far. Its fairly enjoyable to listen to, its not quite a 3 star album technically but I'd rate it as a high 2 which bumps it up.

mi favorita: persian love

A little too experimental for me. Guy has a horrible German accent

Not bad but not something I'd ever just throw on. Really enjoyed future days from can which this inspired me to listen to

Pretty mid ngl, it's not BAD but idk about have to listen to before you die. Persian love is nice but maybe a bit long which really says something given that it's the 2nd shortest song on the album 2

This is definitely something I wouldn't otherwise listen to or at least seek out to listen. It was as weird and strange as I was expecting, but what I didn't expect is that I actually listened straight through to the end. This is, to me, probably more in the category of background music and the atmosphere and abstractness of the music, made me feel I was stuck in an experimental, avant-garde film. A different type of listening experience, but still, not for all tastes!

Muy parecido a Frank Zappa, demasiaso groove y funk. Le doy un 9, gran descubrimiento de Alemania 🙌🏼✨

No thank you

Saved? ✅ Would listen again? 🤔 Would recommend to anyone? ❌ Would buy on Vinyl? 🤔

Weird? First track was nice but I lost it afterwards

I'm definitely more lenient with experimental things because at least they tried something different. I think this kinda flops a bit, because it was quite disjointed and incoherent and I don't know what was going on. But I'm still wondering about it.

Interesting

Cool is the Pool is quite fun but the rest of it is pretty crap. Experimental but not enjoyable, quite boring and repetitive.

Wonderfully weird stuff. Way ahead of its time with its use of sampling. I don't think that many people realize how influential krautrock was to the music that followed. Perhaps this makes sense given that the genre, like its cousin prog, was defined by its experimentation. This album was a fun listen and one I'll be returning to. I like weird music.

I was expecting something based on that album cover. I don't know what exactly, but that something did not happen. How to describe this. Confidently weird. Objectively terrible. Euphemistically great. Strangely inspiring. I'm imagining an underground lair on a volcanic island where Czukay and Bjork meet with their friends, Bond villain style, to discuss their next great attack to destroy the conventions of music. They dine on seaweed salad sprinkled with cassette tapes that have been chopped into croutons. "Did you bring new samples?" Bjork asks Czukay. The salad is both wet and crunchy. Czukay places a mic on the table. "We have samples at home." They chew into the mic. Beware, this is the sort of music-induced hallucination you might experience listening.

Overblown. Songs would be better sampled and not listened to in their entirety.

finally an album on this list i've never heard of. loved it!

I like it when tjis project throws up something i have never heard of and this is just that. My initial thoughts on this album was that i didn’t mind the music, but the ‘vocals’ were just irritating. That said even the music felt a bit repetitive by the end of track 1, although there was a bot of variety in the random noises in its final minute. Not sure if it was Apple music or the actual album, but the change of tracks was quite harsh and badly edited. Track 2 starts very slowly and as my eyes glance toward the track length …and the appearance of some synths i begin to lose all hope. It does however pick up with the introduction of the spoken samples. However, all hope is dashed again with constant fading out and then in toward the end of the track. Track 3 was far more efor large parts until the vocals dropped off and then it was more of the same shit. Least said about track 4 the better, with again the spoken samples (i keep referring to these bits as samples but assume they are fake samples created for the album) are ss close to highlights as you get

I thought this was a parody album at first. I so wish it was.

Track one is like a madman has been let loose in the BBC Sound Effects Archive, got over excited and tried to use at least one effect from every category of noise. It was a sensible song length, if not a sensible song, and I didn't hate it. Track two, being over 13 minutes started slowly, before the weird vocals and dog barking sound effects reappeared. It was, to put it mildly too fucking long to be that fucking weird. Track three, "short" at only 6:20 was also weird. But also with sort of South Asian vocals and African inspired instrumentals. I started to long for the traffic noises to return because at least then something would happen. Finally track four, the real endurance test at over 15 minutes. It was one of those songs where every instrument sounded like it was trying to play a different track. While a wavery voice sang "to whooooooom it may concern" over the top. I got fed up with it around a quarter of the way in. Really, really, really weird, but I didn't hate all of it, so: 2/5

Interesting. Maybe a little too avant gard.

Movies is an unusual and experimental record that blends funk, ambient textures, and collage-like sound. “Cool in the Pool” stands out with its playful, almost funky feel, which made the rest of the album feel even more abstract by contrast. While I can appreciate its creativity, the longer, more atmospheric tracks didn’t really connect with me.

In the mid-1950s, French avant-garde artists developed a new movement called "musique concrète." "Concrete" here involves recording absolutely any sounds (from a creaking door to the sound of rain) and then sampling them (if such a term existed back then). Holger Czukay was inspired by this school when writing his first solo album. The cover likely shows him at work — in addition to natural sounds, he also used excerpts of dialogue from television and radio broadcasts. All of this was layered over some decent bass lines (Czukay played bass in the band Can) and spiced up with his quiet vocals. And overall, it's not all bad; the album could serve as a background. I was about to give it three stars until I listened to the last song, where all this variety of sounds began to merge into a cacophony. Even this could have been forgiven if the song hadn't been fifteen minutes long.

what vulfpeck could have sounded like if they didnt go for the safest sound imaginable. 4.5

nice, listened some Can, but never him. Sounds fun, too bad its not an album really, just an EP

To be honest, the album is good, it may remotely resemble the music of Pink Floyd, but I personally did not like it.

Persian Love is a beautiful song

I don´t know what I accutly heard, but it was intresting

This album seems to come from the school of thought that the more actively unpleasant you make your music the deeper it is. Just when you think the music becomes tolerable Holger inserts some stupid sound effect or squealing noise for some fuck off reason. The only halfway listenable track on here is Persian Love (which not coincidentally is also the only track without his 'singing'), and even that barely rises above the level of cheap orientalism. 'Oh', you may say, 'It paved the way for sampling in music!' So what? Check out Buchanan & Goodman's break-in records from about 2 decades before this was released; they use extensive sampling, and they're a lot more funny and interesting to boot.

An interesting find among this list which is why I signed up for it. Quirky, weird but it draws me in

loopy!

Hilarious. Thoroughly enjoyable, will likely listen again but it was crazy in parts.

Very European. Very nice.

There's a lot packed in. For the majority it is well crafted and works. There are passages where it strays too far and grates.

Mye kul musikk, men altfor goofy

Better than Coldplay

This started great. What a fun experimental album I thought. I haven't really liked the earlier experimental albums on this list so this might be the first. About a minute later it got to experimental for me. At times I really like the vibes of the album and can picture myself having it on in the background while doing stuff around my house but every song has elements that makes me want to click next straight away.

avant-gahg

2.5

2.5

Weird. But strangely likeable and easy to listen to

(88/100)

So fucking cool and just exudes true creativity. I can’t get along with all the choices here but I notice a lot of stuff Geordie Greep might’ve taken inspiration from. His voice is really true to himself and I love all the variety of instrumentation overall. Nothing is precisely my style but I really appreciate all the artistry within each song and second of the album.

he was ambient music pioneer, very cool just not the vibe today. other days this gets a 5.

Skvele muzikantsky zvládnuté, ale pre mňa je takýto štýl hudby stále len exhibicionizmus hudobníkov bez pridanej hodnoty.

My heart sunk when my pick of the day was an "experimental" record filled with 15-minute tracks from an artist I never heard of. Color me surprised at how much I kinda liked this -- mostly because Holger leans less into the 'experimental' and more into creating something that kinda sounds like music. All this to say I didn't hate it.

Ratings: 5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background Not likely to revisit this one, but enjoyed having it on the list.

Not a fan!

I had never heard of this one and it was exactly what you would expect for an album with this cover. Super weird, kind of disjointed, really uneven. But it all kind of works for some reason. I would by no means call this a great album, maybe not even a good one, but I am happy to have heard it today. I feel like it was a very successful attempt at experimental music, especially for 1979. I listened to this twice today and though I may not ever listen to it again, if I ever see it in the wild I'll definitely pick it up just because, well, how could you not? 3.5/5

Nice

This is one of those albums where I vastly preferred it when there were no words. This would probably get a slightly higher rating from me if it was all instrumental. This wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t very good. Definitely waffling between 2 and 3 stars, but I think I have to round down, though this would be a 2.5 if that were an option.

It was ok. Not really my thing.

There's plenty of stuff I just don't care about or that doesn't grab me, but I think I actively hated this album. More than any of the other 70s-ish experimental stuff on this list, this felt like a guy noodling around in a self-important way and making corny sounds.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it's the guy from Can. Okay, sure. This sounds exactly what he would make on his own. Your time would be better spent spending another hour with Ege Bamyasi, to be honest.

74/100. An interesting first solo step outside of Can. You can really hear Czukay stretching out here, playing with ideas that feel looser and more playful than what he was doing in a band setting. Not flawless, but creative and adventurous in a way that makes it a rewarding listen.

Could recognise why people like this but just not my vibe and would choose to put it on again

This album is weird, but intriguing. The highlight for me was the instrumental variety and the blend of sounds they used. This album pulled from some folk, rock, and blues sounds. The interesting part came with the weird sounds that you wouldn't expect to be added with them like weird synth choices and other weird sounds. It kind of worked for me. The downsides were the vocals were very low so it was hard to make out what was being said and at times felt like the vocals were an after thought. One the things I appreciate is how the songs transition and morph over time, but the songs are really long and it was hard to tell when one ended and another began. I didn't even realize the album ended cause the autoplay feature played another song by them.

Unhinged. That's how I'd describe this album. I'm a big fan of Can. I discovered them in my teens, as a Radiohead fan, after hearing their cover of "The Thief". After diving into their back catalogue, it became very clear that no two Can songs sound the same. Or even similar. All of that applies to Holger's post-Can solo album too. There are only four songs on this album, but they're all completely unique. I don't even know if you can call these "songs". Ranging in duration from 5 minutes to 15, they are meandering explorations in sonic weirdness. This is early experimentation in tape looping and sampling, and for a record that was made in 1979, for some sections you could imagine it being a recent release from the likes of Four Tet (especially "Persian Love"). It kicks off with "Cool in the Pool", the moment of peak nuttiness on the album. But, by the time we're halfway through "Oh Lord, Give Us More Money", my bemusement has changed to intrigue. Midway through "Persian Love", I'm sold. Unhinged, chaotic, messy, and intensely weird. But also hypnotic, melodic, extremely enjoyable, and never ever boring.

Avant-garde multi-genre. Reminiscent of movie soundtrack. Quite weird, I don't really get it on 1st listen. Hollywood Symphony has a lot of variation and quite nice sections 2nd listen is more fun once you're in the right mood Best track - Persion Love, Hollywood Symphony 3 stars - I don't love it but it doesn't offend me

Better than expected

I listened to Prog rock before so it wasn't that bad to me. his voice is a bit annoying I must say.

I want to give this a 1 for being a torturous experience, but a 5 for having the balls to be it. I flipped a coin. 1 was Heads. Sorry.

It's experimental, kinda cool. Though I'm not sure if I'm understanding it, or am I just overinterpreting

This is what Geese thinks they are

Weird, but good weird.

Movies is weird. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a “did that really need to be there?” way. You can absolutely hear the creativity and the forward-thinking spirit in it. The tape loops, radio snippets, drifting bass lines, and collage-style production feel genuinely experimental rather than lazy. It’s clear Czukay was pushing at the edges of what pop or rock music could be. That said, experimentation alone doesn’t guarantee cohesion. At times the pieces don’t quite meld, and the constant vocal sampling becomes more distracting than illuminating. There are moments where the atmosphere locks in and the strangeness feels purposeful, even cool. But just as often it feels like it’s reaching a bit too far without fully landing the idea. I respect it more than I enjoy it. I’m glad I heard it. I don’t need to hear it again.

1: Hollywood Symphony 2: Cool in the Pool 3: Oh Lord, Give Us Money

New to me. Interesting, worth paying attention to, music.

I didn't understand this except for how I did. Anyway I think I liked it.

How are two songs making up half of the length of this album? Just how? Also I find it funny that exactly those songs have the least plays. What the actual fuck is going on? Like in all honesty. I hated his band, Can. It seems his solo career isn't any better. I don't even have anything to say about this album. Just keep it as far away from me as possible. God I hope this is the last time I have to listen to this guy or his band or anyone else involved in the making of this trash. Robert why did you make this list? Why? Just to see us suffer? Isn't it enough that God has cast us aside and abandoned us? WHY torment us further? If there is a hell then this list is for sure played on repeat there.

Self indulgent garbage. I’m sure he had fun making it- but he was thinking about himself far more than he was thinking about his poor listener. Not for me.

Clásicos del avant garde

Maybe more like 3.5-7, because parts were more eh. But overall chill, would be willing to try more

2.5 Some really fun groovy beats, but almost completely without lyrics and like 13 min songs. Idk, if I needed lyric-less music for something upbeat at some point this would work well but when do I need that

I will not include the bonus instrumental version of "Cool in the Pool" in this review. It's a good thing I went through both Can records first, because now I recognize bassist Holger Czukay and how integral he was to the group, as his recording and tape-editing skills helped define their sound. However, that didn't stop Czukay from being sidelined by the band for creative differences and his limited ability on the bass guitar. Thus, he left Can in 1977 to pursue a solo career, with Movies serving as his debut. The best way I could describe Movies is as a sound collage, influenced by the musique concrète work of Stockhausen, whom Czukay previously studied under. The core sound is an oddball combination of electronic textures and media samples accumulated over several months of listening on the radio. In a sense, this was one of the first records to make use of sampling, with limited presence from Czukay's bass and talkative vocals, the spare layered synths he added, and the cerebral drumwork of fellow Can alum Jaki Liebezeit. I respect the intent of this record, even if I don't find myself fully gelling with it. "Cool in the Pool" was a tad limp in the synth-heavy funk romp, only made interesting by the occasional whir of radio samples. "Oh Lord, Give Us More Money" saw other Can alums Michael Karoli and Irmin Schmidt join in the extended instrumental jam, only hampered by Czukay's occasional shouting vocals that can be headache-inducing. Probably the most realized track of the four here was "Persian Love", where I was intrigued by the pairing of the sampled Iranian vocalist with the soft guitar and synth accompaniment. Finally, "Hollywood Symphony" opted for a near-cinematic feel in the presentation with spacious synth textures and noodling guitar that does come off as a journey into the unknown, even if it is more wandering than focused. That does lead me to my ultimate conceit with Movies, which is that it is a collection of experiments, largely foregoing compositional structure in Czukay's pursuit of forming these sound collages with gathered audio recordings. He certainly accomplished what he set out to do, and the result was that he pioneered a production technique. But little else is given to the instrumental or lyrical writing other than trying to capture an atmosphere. Sampling had to start somewhere, and I am grateful to Holger Czukay for ushering in a new era of music, even as I feel we've come a long way from this.

Not a fan

What a marvelously eccentric discovery! A perfect Valentine's Day gift from the generator. 💖

Best Song: Cool in the Pool. This feels like a slightly jazzed up elevator music. Worst Song: Hollywood Symphony. There is simply no point to this directionless fifteen minutes. Overall: Lots of just purely annoying sounds here. It also gives the vibe of a guy alone in a room, hiding under a blanket, mixing all these sounds together with one hand while holding a flashlight under his chin with the other. From downstairs, his mother calls. Dinner is ready.

One of those albums that is weird and clearly influential but I didn't really connect to. 3/10

Good

Se me borraron mis notas pero bueno. Me pareció un buen disco conceptual, muy artístico y muy raro la verdad. Me costó acabarlo, esta demasiado denso para mi. Sin emabargo, creo que tiene sus virtudes y estoy seguro que The Talking Heads (o al menos David Byrne) las vieron y se inspiraron de este disco. En fin, un disco con muchas cosas interesantes, poco digerible y conceptual y artístico af. No creo que vuelva a escucharlo si no es para buscar algún tiempo de inspiración o para ayudarle a la tacha a tronar bien duro (si por alguna razón me quiero malviajar para siempre).

A cool discovery...I found it a bit too chaotic at times. And all the sampling and layers made me think if this album inspired the likes of The Avalanches.

Love the weird vibes. Giving primus if they were a 1970s German rock band

Erinomaisen erikoista. Ei mitään mahdollisuutta laittaa tätä mihinkään genreen, tää on niin kaikkea. Tosi kaoottista, koskaan ei tiedä mihin tää tulee menemään seuraavaksi. Silti tosi miellyttävää. Parhaat: Oh Lord Give Us Some Money

Was leaning 4 happily until vocals intruded--grrr. They throw sand into the smooth turning of the gears. Not so bad in Persian, almost good. Guess a mixed approach generally helps. Maybe not so much this time.

I was perfectly on board for the first half, it was easy pleasant listening in the background. And then I found myself willing it to end and feeling frustrated and impatient. Could have been my frame of mind but I was glad when that loooooong final track was over.

This was fun. Quirky. During side two I found myself getting a bit impatient, but side one was fantastic. Also, I pretty influential I can hear a lot of 80s bands (like Big Audio Dynamite) that would take these ideas and run with them. As much as I love Can, I'm a bit surprised I never checked out any of their solo efforts. Although, now that I've looked at the credits, this is basically a Can album in all but name. Cool!

Layers and sampling, German, zappa-like, interesting, Byrne Cool in the pool

Some decent tunes, some weird phrases. Not really my jam. Nonetheless an interesting introduction.

Cool in the Pool Oh Lord Give us More Money

Cool Pool Persian Love

If I never hear "Cool in the Pool" again I will be very happy. The rest of it was fine, but nothing really stood out in a positive way. I appreciate the inspiration this album seems to have had on future electronic music, so I'm bumping it up a bit to a 3.

Wonderfully weird. Favorite track: Persian Love 3.5/5

I for sure poisoned the well on this one. I read a review that compared this to zappa and as a zappa head it kinda ruined it for me. Its not zappa. Not at all. Maybe it kinda tries similar things but zappa is fun and this is too self serious. Its not songs about pissing in the snow or robotic sex dolls. The only song that had any of that fun factor was the reprise of cool in the pool and even then its like a bonus track. The rest if it is just too dower. There are some good guitar and synths or Keys. But its such a small part of the record that its almost inconsequential. Maybe without swaying my own perception id have more fun but I would doubt it. Disappointed

My man said let’s get 🗣️Cool 🗣️in 🗣️the 🗣️Pool

A far more interesting album to read about than it is to listen to. There's something really cool here and I know a lot of music I like now might not be here if not for stuff like this, but I doubt this is going to get replayed any time soon, 3*

I loved how clean and smooth this sounded, even so for an album from 1979. It's not my kind of music, but I can imagine myself putting a 12 hours version of this to play and listening to it all day long without getting tired... 5 stars of course.

Very...conceptual

Didn't hit where I wanted it to after reading the description and influences. Trying too hard.

By god! They did it! They made the German version of Eno during his transition from rock to ambient! And it slaps! “Oh Lord Give Us More Money” is an absolutely wild track that dips in and out of lucidity, with just about every curveball possible thrown at you — maybe even a knuckleball or two as well. This song is totally worth its 13 minute runtime. And it’s kinda cool too! I feel like a lot of these noodly songs can fall victim to being a little geeky, but this one is genuinely cool. As referenced before, I can’t help but hear that chunky Eno bassline in almost every one of these songs, especially the first two. The halfway point of “Hollywood Symphony” gets things to a really interesting point again with all those vocals fading in and out. Then the syncopated, choppy drums + guitars at 9 minutes start going crazy. A little active listening disclaimer should go here. As great as this album is for background music in a record store, I’d argue it’s even better if you can fully immerse your attention in every little detail that whirls by. 4/5, I’m a sucker for this little genre and time in the ‘experimental’ zeitgeist.

A bit weird and all over the place, there was a Persian love song on it it was alright

Very interesting, strange, experimental. Glad I heard it, but don't think I'll be going back for more

Big accents. Funky. Shame it's not available on qobuz 3

Mixture of sounds and tastes. Reminds a little bit of Can with experimental touch, but with the add of world music. I can see where Tom Tom Club got their sound, but here we have more flavours and more adventurous approach.

WAFWWLI

I can see why some people wouldn’t like the album. Very experimental and “throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks”. I found myself enjoying the album a lot! I think there is some amazing creativity and musical skill. Great drums and guitar really support the wide range of other sounds and elements. Pleasantly surprised with this one.

“Cool… cool… cool in the pool”

This was fine! Didn't really understand it but that's okay, not everything has to be for me :)

Very enjoyable. 5/5

On a first listen, I was a bit disappointed - maybe I had set the bar too high for an ex-Can member. But on a second listen I started to enjoy this more... pretty novel for its time with tasteful use of samples, good rhythm, all in all it is very interesting! I'll round it up to a 4. Or no, it IS a 4 (I think).

Heck yeah! Holger and Jaki Liebezeit from Can = kick ass. Can's 1st five albums could be on this list for my money. I'm so far down the kosmische musik rabbit hole it's hard to be objective. This isn't everyday listening type stuff but I really, really dig it. Solid way to start my week.

niet slecht maar toch meer fan van Can

un̈expected gem, this is whati I want/need

Really not the vibe I was hoping for today

Originally gave this a 4, but had to give it a 5 after listening to it again. It's so delightfully strange and you never know what to expect from one moment to the next

3

I weird little album with some stretches of really good psychedelic music. It sounds ahead of its time in many ways.

bissi zu schräg

I do not get this album nor appreciate it. At times it sounds like a high school orchestra in a music pit for a school musical; at other times it sounds like a soundtrack song from a B movie. Pass.

Album Review 057 Movies by Holger Czukay (1979) Rating 3.5/5 This is the reason I’m here on the 1001albumsgenerator adventure; findings an album I’ve never heard and would unlikely to find without it being recommended, but would now recommend myself after hearing. Movies sounds like the product of a hugely talented and creative artist given the key to the recording studio and being told “go have fun”, and is the type of album that folk with a more mainstream taste in music would likely turn off in the first 20seconds. Here we have 4 tracks totalling 39 minutes: The first (Cool In The Pool) is quirky and built over a crisp and funky riff. It sounds like it’s trying to be humorous whilst serious and is the weakest track here. Second (Oh Lord, Give Us Money) is a jam session with Czukay’s Can bandmates with sampled snippets of radio. Third comes the most conventional track on the album, which is still unconventional in itself with Arabic melodies and singing and is the highlight of the album. Finally, there is the 15-minute epic of Hollywood Symphony, where Holger takes dozens of song ideas and mushes them together to create something that would take the full 15-minutes to describe. On paper, this has all the ingredients to be an album that I’d love, but on first listen I find it more interesting than enjoyable. However, there is so much here I’ll no doubt give it (or at least side two) another close listen with expectation that I’ll grow into it.

This album starts a bit wonky but it gets good! Certainly more accessible in a helpful way compared to the Can releases.

What a wonderful discovery. Never heard of him. Music is just so good. Heaps of lovely sax, and so very laid back. Cool in the Pool indeed.

I was excited for something I hadn't heard of but other than something interesting bits it didn't feel like it belonged on this list

It's just someone pissing around with samples when it wasn't easy, but behind it is some groovy shit and on top is a German guy ranting. It's batshit crazy and a lot of fun, and not what I expected. However, the last track goes on forever and is batshit crazy in a less good way.

Holger Czukay is primarily known for his work as the bassist of Can, one of the pillars of the German prog-rock offshoot which would become known as krautrock. Czukay's relationship to the avant-garde music world, especially the burgeoning world of electronic music, came through having been a student of Karlheinz Stockhausen in the sixties; Stockhausen's interest in electronics as a new frontier for sonic expression is very evident in Can's work, and it may be even more evident on Movies, his debut album as a solo artist. many of this album's sounds were collected through pure happenstance, via scanning frequencies on a shortwave radio. it leads to some really interesting moments, particularly on "Persian Love", which is an even earlier example of samples being used for lead vocals than My Life in the Bush of Ghosts! the second tracks on each side of the vinyl here both give way to some lengthy sonic odysseys, held together by fellow ex-Can member Jaki Liebezeit playing his trademark motorik drum grooves. apart from the aforementioned "Persian Love", I'm once again not sure that this is really "Must Hear" material, especially considering there's actual Can albums in this book which I haven't even made it to yet! it's definitely more interesting than a lot of other albums I've been given so far, though, so I gotta give it that. light 7/10.

Weird but pretty cool.

Sounds like Shaft and Les Claypools daddy took acid then had an orgy whilst on a yoga retreat. It’s Good, but you have to be in the mood for it.

Weird as hell. Fun if you're in the mood to listen to it.

what the hell is even going on here, some of it was good tho

fascinating album, has a bit of everything

What the shit is this? LOL.

I usually like "experimental" music, but other than a few minutes of Hollywood Symphony, this didn't really resonate with me.

you know in friends when ross starts playing his music for everyone and it's a collection of random sound effects over a repeated baseline? that is exactly what the second track sounded like. the other three were better - i can see why this is called experimental though

Weird, but not altogether awful

Not my type of music at all

2/5 - interesting idea that has some neat moments but over all a lack luster entry.

not sure why but i liked it

good but didn’t love the last track

That was something I had never heard before but makes me want ti dig deeper into Holger Czukay's output.

meh

At times it's really interesting, just very weird, not something I'd listen to for enjoyment.

COOL

The sort of thing you'd expect a teenager to make if they had some time with a synth.

Interesting 3.5

Im on a differnt planet to Holgar

WTF did I just listen to?! Was this like a spoof band from a Borat movie?

It deserves to be on the list because it was different! But I won't be listening again.

First three tracks I enjoyed. Fourth track was a little out there but still wasn't bad. Some really cool guitar work. Definitely an album I'll need to give multiple listens to really catch everything in it. I like the mix as well.

liked the second half of oh lord, gives us more money (the guitar sounds and all that)

I think this one was kinda cool it was like electronicey and like a little bit of uh distorted or like auto correct ya know? So yeah I liked it. 😀

If someone put a gun to my head a said “name a member of Can,” I would never have formed the syllables hol-ger-czu-kay in a million guesses. I had to admit I don’t know much about Can except they have some awesome tracks out there! So, Holger… I gotta say, I loved this album! Weird and funky jams. My kids complained a bit, but not as much as I thought they could. The movie samples were more distracting than additive though.

Most things Can related put a big dumb smile on my face, and this was no exception. Definitely will listen again

i can see how this might be foundational to a burgeoning genre, but it just wasn't any great shakes 2 me.

interesting idea but i didn't love the execution. the different genres and styles here are cool, but the tracks are super long and don't stick with an idea long enough for it to be memorable. it felt like i was listening to a half dozen movie soundtracks at the same time. favorites: cool in the pool

Quite interesting, I like the instrumentation I guess, synths and stuff, obviously the songs are very expansive and progressive. It's obviously very arty, but I think some bits are maybe a bit too weird, like the vocal bit where he's just yelling the song's title. He was probably influenced by prog rock stuff, but I guess he also probably heavily influenced those bands in CAN so I guess its a bit of a cycle. Favourite songs: the longer ones. Overall around 5/10

Definitely a weird one. Hard to describe it, but I didn't like it that much.

Too experimental for my tastes but I found this more interesting than I expected.

2/10

Might be experimental and a little weird, but it’s forgettable.

Well this is different, and that’s not a bad thing. I’m not going to seek this out again, but there are some interesting ideas here, and whilst it’s experimental it’s not unlistenable (although there are some awkward polyrhythms and atonal stuff that isn’t totally comfortable). A perfectly fine record, but not more than tha.

Interesting but not my jam

I wouldn't say it's really bad but I wouldn't say it's good either.

interesting…

Definitely not my taste but it was extremely interesting!

Certainly not amazing. But I was NOT expecting a quintuplet groove at all. I feel obliged to give it no less than 3 simply for that matter

Hmmm. Well. Yeah. It’s, um, …German. Actually, I expected to hate it but found myself weaving a weird storyline in my head listening to it. I respect that Holger was taking his (and now our) music into a different direction by taking sounds he enjoyed while traveling and mixing them together. That was pretty revolutionary for 1979. I have to give a shout out to Jaki Liebezeit whose jazzz-style drumming was impressive. I won’t be coming back here but it was worth a listen.

Random thoughts: * I'm guessing this one sounded more groundbreaking in 1979. This kind of sounded basic to my 2026 ears. * I did enjoy it and even listened to it twice. However, I really felt the basic-ness on the 2nd listen. * Overall, I respect this kind of music and is kind of my jam but this is early pioneer which has been thoroughly expanded and made way more interesting since this originally came out.

I quite liked experimental music until I heard this album in its entirety

This is much more playful than Can and occasionally strays too far into silliness, especially on the opening track. I enjoyed the rest though, particularly 'O Lord, give us more money' which deserves a favourable response from the Lord

Not really sure how this made it to the list. It was fine, a little weird. Forgot I was listening to it at some point

Interesting

Fun

Favorite Track: Persian Love

7/10 It's different. I enjoyed it lied in the light of the winter sun as I relaxed on New Years Day after a very late night. Ambient and rambling, but with lots of ideas, some of which work better than others

I really like it but I'd like it more if he did about 20% less

Can't say I loved it but it was fun and am glad it's on the list

Did not get this until I saw them live

I was initially put off by the opening track but then found this a quite interesting album. Pioneering music in both ambient electronica and world music influence. The forerunner perhaps of Eno and David Byrne. Could also see the influence on later music such as Peter Gabriel and Tears for Fears. Also a great one to try out stereo separation on headphones. 3 or 4, but settled on 4 for experimentation.

Almost gets annoying at times, then becomes quite interesting

It is just some bloke pissing about. Avantgarde? bloody art snobbery. Studio time, indulgence, throw every shit that is at hand down. And you end up with this - loose musical vomit. If this had been another time and another place then might be I would have been more receptive to this But well, was not and it went down like the Titanic without a trace, sound effects and all, samples from wherever, world music thrown in. Good for you if you like this, I wasted 40 minutes, at least I will never have to bother again, 1.5 Star

cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool! cool in the pool!

This was a lot more fun and far out than a lot of the other experimental albums out there. This one was actually music? In the sense that it was listenable and enjoyable

Tv girl vibes

what a nice surprise, amazing

Very few redeeming qualities.

Czukay’s avant garde is fun, inviting, light-fingered and joyful. From around then, there’s a lovely photo of him wandering around, possibly in Notting Hill, London, lightly brandishing a microphone attached to a chunky, plastic-wrapped recorder hanging from a shoulder strap, fat headphones over his ears as he looks to the left in the middle of street bustle, curious, happy, taking it in, skinny in his thin leather biker jacket, a handlebar-moustached geek and maybe the only white guy in the frame, someone exhaling a balloon of smoke from a first floor window behind him. I’d never heard this before, and it delights me.

Surprisingly great. Much more playful than any Can I've heard, with some amusing parts, great tunes all over the place, early sampling experiments that are more fun than the (later) Eno/Byrne prototype and a lead guitar that sounds like a lunatic Dire Straits. My Xmas miracle!

I can't really tell if the actual samples here are clever or not. I'm leaning not. The actual instrumentation is really good. This album is recorded and produced very well. I would rate it higher, but the "experimental" samples do detract from the overall experience. I get that the samples are kind of the point, but they just didn't land as much as the tight guitar work and restrained but solid percussion.

21.

Anything Can or Can-adjacent is guaranteed to land with me. This Holger Czukay solo effort is no exception, but on first inspection, it's a somewhat different type of weird and wonderful to the exploits of Can. A boundlessly creative in its utilisation of sampling and layering, I can absolutely see how this would have been groundbreaking for the time. I was toying with giving it five stars, but it's perhaps not quite on the same level as "Future Days" or "Tago Mago".

One of these days, I'll fulfill the dream of lazy around in my hot tub that's inside my mansion, sipping a piña colada while watching my wife walk around butt ass naked, and strumming along on my guitar or bass and playing what I think the television showing I'm watching sounds like as music. Much like Holger had did here. And it is going to be glorious. Much like this album Very cool in the pool

Not my style.

Yeah fine. Listened to this on 2 hrs of sleep and the first song nearly sent me into psychosis.

This was certainly interesting and it was fairly solid. Fairly experimental and I think most of it paid off, didn’t overstay its welcome either!

Pretty interesting and fun samples. Makes me want to go back and listen to earlier stuff of his

Ethereal/atmospheric "kraut rock"

not the biggest fan of small album long song

a lot of fun! Kraftwerk meets Zappa.

The opening track with the heavily accented "get cool in the pool with me" was not exactly the type of hook to get me into an album. I was bracing for a tough listen, but pretty quickly the bass grooves and synth tones pulled me in to a trance. By the time more vocals came around it totally made sense to me and I was thoroughly enjoying my time. This feels like the type of music I would make given (a little more skill) and all the recording toys on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I'm not sure where it stands in term of "greatness" but as experimental, groovy German pop it certainly accomplished its goal.

This is such a wild evolution of krautrock with some amazing use of samples and inspiration from 80s pop/disco and world music. I’ve only recently started exploring Can’s music, so it’s interesting to see the direction one of the founding members took. Honestly, the more I listen to this, the more I like it. It's just so weird in such a fun way.

Well--it's different. This is not to say that it is good. Songs are too long and just not something I'd want to listen to again.

Saw this and dreaded it based on the art, the listeners and the number of tracks. Dumb I know. This was a ride that I will take again. Weird sounds but captivating and listened to it twice!

Sure you could call it unique or experimental. You could also call it, boring or pretty shitty.

Album 996 of 1089 Movies - Holger Czukay (1979) Rating : 3 / 5 My first impulse was that I was about to sit through yet another electronica album that does nothing for me - and while that instinct wasn’t entirely wrong, this one did manage to bring something extra to the table. There’s more personality here than I’ve heard in many albums from this corner of the genre. That said, it’s still very much an album built around sampling, often sampling for sampling’s sake, which isn’t always my thing. Knowing Czukay was one of the pioneers of that approach makes it easier to appreciate what he was doing, even if I don’t always enjoy the results. You can definitely hear ideas being tested that others would later refine and make more accessible. There are moments where the sound experimentation genuinely works, and I enjoyed the way he plays with texture and atmosphere. I can’t say this is something I’ll be eager to revisit anytime soon, but it’s also not something I’d completely write off. It feels like an album I might come back to years from now, more out of curiosity than comfort. Not essential for me, but certainly interesting.

There's just enough decent music here to raise this to a 2. The vocals and sound effects are terrible.

I'm open to "experimental" works, but this just wasn't it for me. It failed to engage with it in any meaningful capacity, thus I struggled to maintain focus upon the album. I hope some people will like this more than I.

Neymar getting a lil too excited

As I’ve mentioned, I really like experimental music. This is no exception. Fantastic electronic rock and avant-garde music. Will be listening to more.

The two longer tracks were pretty good, but I don't care for this

I love CAN, and Czukay's Canaxis is one of my favourite albums, ever. So I had high hopes for this. Sadly it just sounded like a mess. Real kitchen sink stuff - too much going on, too much of the time. Felt very much like Holger was trying to be weird for the sake of being weird. Cool In The Pool is okay for a couple of minutes, and is probably the most focused track here, but even that was too long.

English isn't his first language, right? The instrumentals work best. It's a real curiosity of an album. The intention was never to make an outstanding record. Experimentation was heavy on the agenda. As ever with these types of projects, some hit the spot, others fall very wide of the mark. Hit and miss, pick and mix. Enjoyable, but not a must listen.

There's something so charming about these warm, cheesy old synth riffs of this era. Must have felt so futuristic at the time, and now it feels nostalgic in the opposite direction. Lots of direction taken from Zappa (not just musically - I mean, look at the dude on the cover) and there's some interesting and varied sampling here, even if at times it lends the album an uneven quality. Not the kind of album I can picture listening to again, but an interesting experiment regardless and a great feature on this list. fav tracks: Persian Love

Lekent og litt tullete album fra en av pop-musikkens viktigste bidragsytere. Jeg ble litt skeptisk da Cool in the Pool begynner litt vel funky, men etter hvert som Czukay kastet inn nye elementer ble jeg gradvis revet med. Man hører at han har fått med seg CAN-kollega og verdens beste trommis, Jaki Liebezeit, på rytmeseksjonen på Oh Lord Give Us More Money, og selv om det er mer sporadisk og runkete enn det de gjorde som gruppe, lager Kjærlighetstid en rød tråd gjennom det som høres mer ut som kanalhopping enn en film. Dette er en stretch, men vil like vel kaste ut at Persian Love er proto-Burial. Hollywood Symphony får meg til å tenke på Zappas gitardrevne, instrumentale låter: det er gøy spilt. Samplingen i den låta (og egentlig hele skiva) er også helt ace og ymter til at pop-musikken kunne tatt en helt annen trajekotorie enn den gjorde.

Da jeg startet album tenkte jeg at dette var noe i samme gate som Günthers «You Touch My Ta-La-La», og det ble egentlig ikke så mye bedre. Det hender jeg klarer å digge litt, men det er bare ekstremt masete album som tidvis høres ut som Donovan synger over soundtracket til et eller annen b-spill til Super Nintendo.

Jeg er svak for rare tyskere. Jeg satt veldig pris på dette albumet, det er rart og fint på en gang.

Really groovy!

"Let's get hot...on the dancing...spot." Seriously shagadelic krautrock here -- pretty interesting, although a little more out there than I care for. But it's fun!

Went into this with an open mind as I didn't expect a pioneering example of samples to be so smooth. That first track is a great introduction, it's groovy, strong early '70s energy that's gonna last all throughout. It wasn't until the last track, Hollywood Symphony, that I understood the album. It's like an audio representation of that moment of cinema. Hollywood Symphony though, that's a trip. What drugs was this man on? It's so overwhelming, but clearly beautiful. It strongly reminds me of an acid trip in a busy city. And the way he mixed that volume, mad genius. Immersive and annoying but for a reason. 3.7/5

Different but ok .

Not close to the same level as Can, but has some really good moments.

Mi ha lasciato un po' così, carino ma sospeso.

Odd.

orrible

Quite strange, artish, unique and ahead of its time. Some parts were entertaining, some were not so much for me.

Cool album that u had no idea existed. All for this type of stuff

Hell yeah! This is what I’m talking about. A Can side project that’s weird and funky and proggy. More of this!

I like it as background music. Cool in the Pool is the weakest song on the album. I like the rest a lot better. It definitely feels innovative for its time.

a neat sort of active listening jazz type album. i dont know if it invented sampling or whatever but it's got a nice groove to it. does play a little bit like a movie score

Rating: 7/10 I thought this was pretty cool, Holger definitely succeeds at making his own type of rock album with experimental sounds, just enjoying the grooves

Not even the worst thing ever, catch me on a good day and I could listen to this again for fun. Weird but not in an annoying way 6/10

Funky longplays. Not enough to keep me coming back, but enjoyable. 6 Dripping Taps out of 10 Lizard Wizards

It's sort of like Can, but not quite. The percussive core of that band isn't quite replicated here, and the grooves are replaced by sampling and electronica. The overall presentation is also a bit dancier - in particular in the disco send-up "Cool In The Pool." The last track, "Hollywood Symphony", is the closest Holger comes to hitting the bar that he achieves with his Krautrock bandmates. It's an interesting record, but not a great one.

I’m generally not the biggest fan of tracks with a runtime of >10 minutes and I hadn’t ever heard of Czukay, so I went into this with relatively low expectations – but this album was a pleasant surprise.

Movies by Holger Czukay is certainly a unique experience. The album is packed with layers of sound, unexpected samples, and surprisingly strong lyrics for something so experimental. It’s one of those records where you’re never entirely sure what you’re listening to—or why it exists—but somehow it works, and I found myself enjoying the ride. Whether I’d return to it again, I’m honestly not sure. Favourite track: Oh Lord, Give Us More Money is superb. What an absolute trip that song takes you on. Least favourite track: Persian Love sounded like background music in an Indian restaurant. Album artwork: A very cool cover with plenty happening—fits the album perfectly.

weird, interesting, heaps of fun, no way i would've found this myself.... this is what this site is all about!!!

This was weird. Not unlistenable but also what the hell. I reckon cool in the pool and Persian love are the best tracks.

This was hard work. Not for me, I'm afraid.

I didn’t like it; perhaps I’m shallow but I found this album a stupid effort under the guise of creative music.

Why is this here?

the persian love song one sounds like push 2 start by tyla though i guess it’s the other way around

Nope

Interesting avant-garde pop. Only four songs but they’re each 20 minutes long. I liked discovering this guy and related artists like U-she.

A good listen and one I hope to come back to again. Kept my interest throughout (although I am on a 12 hour flight so it's not too difficult).

Glad it exists and appreciate the artistry, but noise/art rock is not for me

Very creative album and was surprised I hadn't heard of Holger before. Reminds me of Herbie Hancock. 13 minute songs, tons of different riffs and melodies, and very out there. I liked it and will keep it in mind as best of it's class.

diss a point thing ngl

a really interesting listening. electronic with random samples, beats, and synths all thrown together, but it comes together pretty well. 3.5/5

My first Can-related solo project. I dug a lot of it. Jazzy, electronic, experimental but without ever losing its groove…danke shein.

The former bassist for Can is mostly a one-man band on this record but proves himself to be a master of none here. "Cool In The Pool" gets this record off to a terrible start - it's a sloppy and poorly-recorded jam with random vocal and instrumental bits layered on top with little rhyme or reason. Second track "Oh Lord, Give Us More Money" is super-loose prog-ish rock that wanders around for a considerable amount of time without really going anywhere. (Recording tape must have been cheap in Germany in the 70s because *man* do the members of Can like to use mountains of it.) The bits of "sampled" dialogue that appear throughout the track also don't add up to much of anything. On "Persian Love" the taped-off-the-radio vocals are ill-fitted to the chirpy (and repetitive) backing track. Closing track "Hollywood Symphony" isn't much different than "Oh Lord" in that it rambles in a haphazard fashion for 15 minutes before finally (and thankfully) conking out. This album is supposedly one of the first rock records to incorporate found sounds but the whole thing is so poorly executed that it hardly matters.

Another surprise album! I genuinely really enjoyed the journey this album put me on.

T - the question is why? E - eager to skip every song R - really bad R - really, really bad I - I couldn’t listen to a single song in its entirety B - bullshit. Self indulgent bullshit L - likely scarred from this experience E

Kind of bizarre. One song sounded like police procedural soundtrack, another made me think 'this is what David Lynch listened to for inspiration'. I've bought random albums from artists I like and been disappointed when I realized it was some experimental stuff and not exactly similar to the material I had been enjoying from them. That feeling is what this album was (without being familiar with any of the artists work)

Weird

a very good experimental album with a good level of interest to it. one of the last things i'd ever return to be it's always good to challenge ur earbuds

You know it was a quite interesting and fascinating album. The shorter songs like the Persian song were quite cool, but others were just too experimental and abstract for my taste. German songs influences are pretty cool. The longer songs really tank the score.

This was neat.

Weird one, but not in a bad way. A good mix of experimental and approachable material blended here. Sometimes fun, sometimes out there, sometimes just making you think. Cool In The Pool is so god damn quirky (and fun), but WILL get stuck in your ear really quickly. Persian Love was the track I liked the least, and even that had its moments that pulled you in and made you pay attention. This definitely merits multiple listens.

Nope nope.

Pretty cool, I liked the listen Will I listen to again: 49%

Experimental and weird but I was in the mood for that today. The long songs never felt like a bore and the album had enough variance despite being 4 songs. Definitely a hidden gem Rating: 4.3

‘Movies’ is essentially a de facto Can album with lots of sampling. There’s some nice bits and I like the overall sense of avant-garde freedom and experimentation present, but as a whole it feels more like a curiosity than a fully satisfying listen.

Interesting listen, reminded me of something like KLF

Inoffensive for the most part but not memorable

Only 4 songs? Interesting! This one is weird! Sometimes in a cool way, sometimes in a jarring way. Felt like I was listening to a youtube mashup at times, where the only thing keeping it all together was the beat in the background. So far I am enjoying it though, it's different and funky and it's keeping me engaged! Surprisingly, ended up loving it. It sounds like what my brain sounds like.

Fun and creative work, last song is 15 minutes of greatness

This is crazy! In the best of ways! I had a couple of laughs listening to this. Holger Czukay was a new name for me. Will definitely check out more of his stuff. 4/5

That was certainly a combination of sounds that someone recorded.

To only be Cool in the pool, always. Loved the little grooves he finds

So weird.

Movies was a much more solid album than i was expecting it to be. When i looked at it's Wikipedia page and saw an Experimental Rock tag in the genres section, I got a bit worried that this album was just gonna be noise. But thankfully, while there were some noisy parts, the album did feel like it was properly composed and had quite a bit of good melodies and fun ideas. Even those distorted guitars which I'm typically not a very big fan of were alright here. Like i said, the album still does get randomly noisy at points but it was never unbearable and it had enough cool ideas for me to give it a pass. Best Song: Cool In The Pool Worst Song: Persian Love

Another weird ass album but I was rocking with it.

This has a very Brian Eno/David Byrne vibe to it. Easy and interesting listen.

not my type of music, but i did enjoy persian love. although couldn't find it on apple music so

2.5

This was fun… wouldn’t revisit though.

Interesting.

This was nuts and i loved it

This was quite a cool album actually, very interesting. I enjoyed listening to this. Oh Lord, Give us Money, Persian Love and Hollywood symphony stood out to me most on my first listen, but the first song actually has a lot to it. I don't know whether I'd want any of these songs in my database, but I did enjoy the experience of this album. I could be pushed on the latter three songs though. 4/5 stars.

p427. 1979. 1 star. 4 tracks of samples, synths and ambient "music", including two 13+ minute monstrosities. Horribly dated and irrelevant. WTF is this doing on the list?

אלבום מדהים 9.5 מתוך 10

Meh. Elevator music.

The link between prog rock and techno. A really fun listen.

Not the worst album I have ever heard. But what was that. I am realizing this is a list of albums you “need to hear” and not a best of all time. Maybe you need to hear an album like this to cleanse the pallet kind of like when you have sushi.

Coula been good if it wasn't for the crap singing. No way this came from the leader of Can... I'm shocked and heartbroken...

*Very Avant-garde and out there, but has some cool musical and unique elements to each song *Interesting to listen to but I probably won't revisit it

Weird experimental stuff. I'm sure there's all kinds of hidden stuff in there that I'm too much of a philistine to get--or maybe not. Anyway, I mostly let it wash over me, and it was fine.

Tyckte den började rätt kul med "Cool in the pool'. Men sen blir det lite väl många galna idéer och tyskt skojfriskt mumbojumbo. Fast det svänger rätt schysst stundtals, det får man ge det. Stark tvåa

Stora lattjolajbanlådan har åkt fram. Inledande Cool in the pool känns som en pajig skämtlåt. Men resten av det här electrojammet har ändå en del intressanta infall. En hyfsad tvåa.

Så Holger är alltså tysk med porrmustasch. Det hade man aldrig kunnat gissa. Absolut inte när man hör inledande Cool in the pool. Rytmiskt med bra sväng emellanåt. I längden blir det dock en aning enahanda.

Lekfullt, men ibland över gränsen till tramsigt. Läser mig till att samplingsteknik och användandet av influenser från hela världen var nydanande och inflytelserikt när skivan kom. Det må så vara. Här finns fragment som jag uppskattar och andra som jag verkligen ogillar. Kul att höra något nytt, men mer än så blir det inte för mig.

At times interesting, at times noisy nonsense. I'm having a hard time figuring out who would listen to this album multiple times for pleasure. 2.1

I don’t know why this is on the list. Not something I would listen to again. 2 stars.

Interesting but unremarkable. 3 *

? ok co-gründer von can, "leet's get cool, together" mit German accent, nice. c

I wish this album had opened with Persian Love instead of the Cool in the Pool nonsense, which just put me in a bad mood. Remove the lyrics and incoherent samples from Hollywood Symphony and you have a good track.

Weird I think it’s grow on me if I listen to it again

holy earrape in the second song. freakin groovy in parts and freaky and weird most of the time