Movies

new to me and I like it!

On Movies, Holger krafts a cinematic mood short of a cinematic event. In the end, that's a good thing, since high concept would turn this record, a treasure of funk/jazz/rock, into ersatz unbelievability. Boasting four tracks, Movies is aptly plural. It's a remarkably eclectic amalgam of sounds and ideas: the very German 'Cool in the Pool,' the John McLaughlin meets Pink Floyd 'Oh Lord, Give Us More Money,' the pukka 'Persian Love,' the synth-energized 'Hollywood Symphony.' It's a soundtrack, but to nothing whole. Its sampling of movie snippets foreshadows hip-hop production à la MF Doom, and tho it's a bit slow at times, and a bit cool in a nonessential way, I not only commend Holger's creativity, I think it's a damn good album.

If nothing else, it's something different than almost anything you'll hear in your life. I just wish it didn't drag on so long. There are only four tracks, and each one is bloated. Favorite Track: "Hollywood Symphony".

Incredibly un-listenable. How did this become a recommendation?

I’ve already sat through more Krautrock on this list than any human should reasonably have to, but Movies somehow managed to be the worst of the bunch. That’s saying something, because at least the other albums in the genre were tolerable. This one felt like a test of patience — repetitive, meandering, and completely lacking any payoff. It’s like someone threw a bunch of synths and half-baked ideas into a blender and hit “loop.” If this is considered a standout in Krautrock, I want off this ride immediately.

It has layers, dude. LAYERS.

If Gene Belcher was a real person, he would be Holger Czukay

1.5/5

So there are synths and samples, which generally I like, but the compositions were a meandering mess. I would not choose to listen to this again.

Brilliantly bonkers! This is certainly a very influential album.

Very interesting. Glad I listened to it, but it is not my jams.

Not very enjoyable to me.

Though this was great, maybe not as good as Tago Mago, but I appreciate the experimentation! I thought that Brian Eno and David Byrne were the first to do this sort of thing, interesting to see how this would have influenced them.

I love the Damo Suzuki Can albums, but I've struggled to get into other Can albums than those and Monster Movie/Soon Over Babluma. I feel like the stars all aligned for them to make incredible, kosmische music for a few years. I wasn't aware of this album, and although I enjoyed it well enough, I don't think I'll be returning to it.

Yeah pretty good. More accessible than Can

Ich war auf Schlimmstes gefasst. Und ich fand das Album witzig, cool, manchmal experimentell, schräg, abwechslungsreich - aber auf jeden Fall originell. Wieder eines der Alben, die mich überraschen und zum "Durchhalten" dieser Liste veranlassen. Sehr schön.

Didn't recognise the name so went in totally uninformed. It was great. Weird in quite a unique and fun way, and unexpectedly comic at the beginning. Look up the artist and realise it's the guy from Can - no wonder I liked it!

Terrible style but great satisfaction. CAN’s opposite?

Filmmuziek. Ik vind het wel iets hebben, maar bij sommige scenes heb ik geen idee wat ik me moet voorstellen. Raar.

Weird. Dissonant jazz. 1/5

WTF did I just listen to? It was… different. Sort of sounded like a child exploring the full creative potential of a soundboard with no adult supervision.

I lay awake in bed, a pool of sweat surrounds me as I toss and turn, unable to get the images out of my mind. The voices out of my mind. The same dream for months. I fall asleep. I hear a man humming. I hear a man walking. He's coming towards me. I'm sweating. I hear a strange riff, but there is no band around. The man is in front of me now. I'm sweating again. It's so hot. He speaks up, "Let's get hot", his voice is abnormal. "On the dancing spot" he continues. I respond, "Hot-" "Oh, is it hot?", he interrupts, sarcastically, "Wow, man." What's his problem? Suddenly, a pool appears, the man sings "Then let's get cool in the pool! Oh, let's get cooool!" I hear the laughs from below. I hear the sounds of evil. I wake up. Was that a nightmare? Who was that man? Was he from another world? Was he a vision? A by-product of schizophrenia? No, that was Holger Czukay.

I really don't know how to feel about this album. It's one of those where you either love it or cannot stand it, and I hate to say it but I am not the biggest fan of it. This album just really isn't for me with it being a bit too experiemental and just straight up weird to the point where I don't really understand the point of the music. There isn't a lot to tie the albums together in terms of both style and theme, which does make it quite boring to listen to. It's not an interesting weird album and I just found it boring at times. That being said, it wasn't fully unlistenable, but it was a hard listen for me. Although I would not consider it to be a good album, I do appreciate what he was trying to do with it. It's a very ambient album, however there is so much going on all the time and it is so distracting. I will never be able to appreciate chaotic ambient music no matter how hard I try, just because I feel like it defeats the entire purpose of exploring that style of music. It for sure does an amazing job at creating a kinda fun atmosphere, but it's an atmosphere that I do not wish to be in. I can sit here and talk about how much I dislike this album all day, but we need some justice for those basslines. I never ever notice their presence in music (and I swear I'm trying to be more aware of its presence in music) but they stood out so much here and I loved it so much. Especially in Hollywood Symphony aka the best track on here, where they were so prominent and even though it was distracting for me, at least it distracted me from all the not so great stuff going on in the background. However, I have seen a lot of people suggest that it is an album that grows on you, but as of right now I am not a fan of this one and most likely will not look at it again in the future (but who knows, I most likely will look at it again)

a lot of sounds

Okay.

As a fan of Can I looked forward to hearing this. Unfortunately I was disappointed. I found it uninspiring and somewhat dull.

The thing about these German Electronica bands is that I dig how they’re into making soundscapes as opposed to incessantly throbbing bullshit. This is a fun weird experience.

you know what, sure

2.22 star. It was okay but I didn't process most of it

I really don't know what to think of this so I'm just going to give it a 3.

There were ok moments, but felt a bit too proggy a lot of the time.

This doesn't sound like anything I've heard before. The songs are pretty long but it doesn't feel that way. There is something weird that happens every few bars or so. Shimmery guitars, synths and strange samples. Even the vocals are good. It's all pretty wild. I'm glad to have been exposed to this.

Very interesting, not sure I’d come back to it, but it was pretty engaging.

Not my thing. But it was short so…

i love can and this has it’s moments but it’s just a bit too weird to get into on the first listen

Seriously WTF

It was kinda interesting actually

Not a bad electronic sound, but not outstanding. It’s alright.

this was super weird but in a great way!! just really all over the place. kinda zappa-y at times, not musically but stylistically. with the spoken word and the long songs with many different sections. definitely worth checking out

Didn’t hate it, didn’t love it, not exactly memorable; but I’m not over motivated to remind myself, or listen again

This is not ambient enough to play in the background, but not interesting enough to listen intensely to. It's a bit experimental, but again, not enough. This is between everything, so it accomplishes nothing, at least for me.

When I read about this album and other reviews, I was worried about this being an experimental type album. I actually found it interesting and not too bad. I don’t think it’s worth anything above a 3 out of 5, but it was cool to check out at least once.

I like his band. The album is very fun and something new. Very interesting to listen to!

Funky

Weird. Not in a good way.

Singular, so far. Only got through about a song and some change, but I wanna keep working through these, so I’m marking this a 3 as a placeholder for now to move onto the next.

This was cool, would like to delve into krautrock a bit more cos im a big prog fan by and large

This was so weird and cool. Really enjoyed it.

Super fun first track

I think it's fair to say that I was more interested by this album when reading its Wikipedia entry than I was enthused. However, I was pleasantly surprised. It's all approachable and, actually quite enjoyable.

Audio trifle.

those who CAN --

En minä osaa tällaisesta sanoa. Taitavaa, mutta muovimaista, mainosmaista, musiikin ideaa. En saa otetta, luiskahtaa ulottumattomiini. Ei epämiellyttävän kuuloista.

Valjastaa soittotaidon lisäksi myös huumorin voiman pimeälle puolelle.

A wild dream: full of free associations, digressions and changes of direction. Incredible drumming anchors montaged flights of fancy, playful synth parts, audio samples and crystal clear guitar leads. It has a prog feel to it, but more patient and willing to settle in a groove and let the drums work their trance magic, opening your mind to the collage piled on top. Extremely cool by the pool.

Experimentell, elektronisch

This one was weird but enjoyable for some reason! Good instrumentals and decent vocal work. 'Persian Love' was my fave.

good.

My tastes must be expanding because I didn't find this as annoying as I thought I would after scrolling through the comment section. The instrumentals were really fun and quirky, though I did find his vocals off-putting, he simply did not sing well at all (maybe this was an artistic choice but if so—I did not like it). Other than that, I will say I enjoyed this album a whole lot and would listen to it again. 4 stars

Oh, this is fun, a change of pace. I like it, I think I'd listen again.

Pretty good! Didn’t love track 3 but everything else is stellar. Maybe I should give another shot to Can.

I know it's not his fault, but his accent reminds me too much of the Germans from The Big Lebowski and it makes it hard to take him seriously. There is some interesting stuff here, but not as interesting as his CAN projects. The 10+ minute songs are my favorite, but they lack a little direction and I feel they could be trimmed a little. High 3.

I fear this might be a bit too high brow for me.

I was skeptical, but this album surprised me. It was ahead of its time, and covers a lot of territory - at times coming off like a Zappa song making fun of pop music of the moment, and other times a very Eno/Byrne sound collage with intrinsic value.

I wish I had heard of this earlier. Weird in a good way.

"The Godfather"; "Pulp Fiction"; "Fight Club"; "The Big Lebowski"; "Nosferatu", "Forrest Gump"; "Everything, Everywhere All At Once".

Honestly, for 1979 I didn’t find this as experimental or groundbreaking as I expected. Not nearly as weird as I had hoped.

sounds great

1 stern

I quite liked this, the textures and variety of sounds were interesting but also made great background noise for working. I particularly liked the one with the dog's "ow-ow-ow" in the exact rhythm of the percussion. It was funny and clever. Persian Love was great too.

Experimental, but not really experimenting with any direction/purpose. There are some nice melodies, but they're almost always ruined by this warbling singing, and Holger added distortion to a lot of the songs despite them already being chaotic.

A mess

not music

An interesting concept.

German art rock? Started off really weird but then became more instrumental, and I really liked the spacey vibes.

It’s interesting but I cannot imagine a world in which I’d ever listen to it again

Enthralling

As baffling as it is fun

Enjoyable wackiness

Bonkers fun weird lovely

This is the sort of mad stuff that I signed up for. I don't much like the album but I'm glad I've listened to it.

Really enjoyable strange sounds. More of this please!

I completely forgot to add my review for this one, (I listened to it on the day our group had it). It is beautifully bonkers!

This one was interesting- not exactly my cup of tea but I appreciate trying to create something new and unique. Overall- fine

Ну где-то половина звуков была прикольная поэтому: 2.5/5

Weird, experimental and silly kraut rock, easily digestible for (most) listeners. The songs feel a bit rambling at times, but Holger is certainly some sort of mad genius. With this album, he took my already good mood, and took it to a good/silly/lighthearted mood, which I can't complain about.

2.3 2x

Little weird

After a run of so so albums it's refreshing to hear something different and experimental.

Not really sure what this was supposed to be but I can’t say I loved it.

Wow where would I have been if I had not heard this before I died?

What? How is this on this list?

I don't know how to feel?? Here's a 3.

Weird in a good way. I enjoyed this

Not a fan of electronic music and this only confirms that. 2 stars or D-.

Odd but inoffensive instrumentalism.

Weird but compelling. Will need to check back In with this on my own time, not the best soundtrack for work, bit too intricately produced. Rating: 3.0

This album feels like gripping a raw chicken breast with freshly washed hands. Never felt more connected to life, it was disgusting.

tf is this shit

just weird

Tolerable but really didn't do much for me.

Another left field selection. Weird enough to be interesting.

Avant garde always tells me I’m in for a shit time. Experimental does not equal good.

There's a lot going on on this one, but the bulk of the album is stellar psychedelic jazz-rock fusion on two long tracks. There's also a Middle Eastern-influenced track. The first song is pretty wacky but everything is great after that. Lots to dig into and lose yourself in.

Interesting album that's pretty fun to listen to. It feels at times just a little.. manic? But it's still pretty controlled so I don't know if that's exactly what I'm getting at. I definitely enjoyed it but I don't know if it's something that I would find particularly memorable or that I would often come back to. I could however see this album being something that some young people will nerd out and fall in love with in years from now. There's something definitely intriguing about it. I like the album title and cover. Like the music, they are just surreal enough for me to be pulled in and want to investigate more.

Now this is my kind of music Take the inventiveness of the krautrock era of music Germany and add a healthy dose of lightheartedness and playfulness to it, it makes what would other wise be experimental psychedelia be about wanting to chill out in the sun or appreciate some Persian music. All these soundscapes just get me in the right places so I just can't but enjoy this one. And ofc, this was made by one of the guys in Can so, awesome

Look, I didn't like TAGO MAGO. In one hand, it was boring-ass white funk; in the other, it was boring-ass wankery I'm supposed to like because it's "experimental." There weren't exactly a lot of positives for me to latch on to. I mean, the most interesting thing to me about that album is the fact that I found it so boring. From what I remember of the other reviews I read, I might've been the only person who thought it **wasn't weird enough**. When you raise yourself on Frank Zappa and a long-held interest in The Residents, I suppose it's hard to be too impressed. So being an album by CAN's frontman — or an EP, according to Spotify — I can't say I was too excited. In fact, when I found out that this album was on the list, my mind raced ahead of my listening to think of all of the ways I could slag it. That's bad practice, of course, but it's not like I'd been given any reason to expect more from this. What could an album from the man from CAN honestly offer me? Entertaining and interesting music, as it turns out. Who woulda known, eh? To begin with, the funk on this thing is way better than on TAGO MAGO. There's not even that much of it, but believe me, anything's better than what I heard on TAGO MAGO, I swear. So already that's a big point in this album's favor. And then there's just these, like... great instrumental bits. There's some really good synth, and guitar that reminds me a lot of Pink Floyd in places, and these engaging rhythms... Jus', wow. Part of me's kind of amazed I liked these as much as I do, given my preconception. I especially didn't think it'd all sound so... For lack of a better word, "commercial?" And you can view that as a bad word in the shadow of what's so often considered a masterwork of Krautrock, but you gotta understand: I can be really basic sometimes. Most times, really. You might say it takes the edge off — for me, at the end of the day, all I want is some good melodies, and this thing provided that. I can't complain. But then there's the thing that interested me the most: the sampling. I believe I might've said this before — or maybe it was just implied by how often I've mentioned ones I like, but I love mashups. I make 'em myself, even, and I've always had an interest in its history. So, to hear some real plunderphonics-style stuff on this album — I mean, dang, my only complaint is that there should've been more. Jus', mm, mm. It's so good. And those are my largely stream of consciousness thoughts while I listened to this album. Somewhat restructured to a "review" format, but otherwise... Yeah. I mean, that should tell you how much I liked this thing; I couldn't even wait to take notes on it. It does suffer the problem where some of these tracks do feel their length — and when there's only four, that's not the best thing — but whatever. This strikes me as music to zonk out to, and in that pantheon... Yeah, I can only give it my thumbs-up. Not a bad second showing, Mr. CAN Man. I guess here's to hoping the second CAN album on this list plays out nearly as well as this does — I mean, I kinda doubt it, but I can always hope.

Nothing special, but it's got some very nice synthwork. Solid 4 Stars.

I’m at a 5. I entered a big long zen state for that one, so my analysis isn’t going to be as fruitful as it might normally be, but that felt like a more accessible, commercially friendly take on the avantgarde sound design & manic instrumentation from “Tago Mago”; the residue of that album is still kind of in my ear, so perhaps I’m a little biased in giving this a 5, but I think it earned it. There’s some really neat soundscapes on this, including a Funkadelic meets David Bowie vibe on “Cool in the Pool”, the vaguely biblical panic of “Oh Lord, Give Us More Money” with the car horns, destroyed buildings, loud guitars, and oddly, a sort of Kraftwerk meets Queen vibe. “Persian Love” is, well, lovely – sort of a calypso vibe mixed with 70s disco & rock, and it works surprisingly well. “Hollywood Symphony” returns to the same kind of Kraftwerk meets Queen vibe, but with more of a prog rock bend reminiscent of Yes, and synth work that feels adjacent to Van Halen’s “Jump”. I enjoyed it a lot – obviously, the shadow of “Tago Mago” & how innovative and beyond its time it felt looms large on this, but the safer approach works really nice here, and this album being like, 30 minutes shorter certainly helps quite a bit. It’s got a good solid variety, a great core base of instruments to work from, & the sampling on this gives a sort of pseudo-plunderphonics vibe that feels unique for 1979 all its own. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, & it does occasionally get a little lost in the weight of its own ambition, but I think it’s a pretty successful solo work. Hence, the 5. At worst, a 3.

Weird little ride, this one. Spun during my morning routine and an hour drive. Feels like late-night radio for aliens. Jazzy, ambient, sometimes even a bit cartoonish - but it’s not annoying about it. I liked the mess. It drifts and loops and throws weird shit at you like it's trying to get a reaction. Not unpalatable at all, but it’s definitely showing off. I just sorta sat there and nodded. I was never really bored; this was fun. Spins: 3 Playlist Additions: - Cool in the Pool - Persian Love

first listen very strange

I don’t know… the songs were too long for my liking and I felt no connection nor incline to continue to listen. Just meh.

As I'm listening I can't stop giggling picturing this as some sort of early-season Simpsons takeoff on the Germans taking over the Springfield nuclear plant or the "I must get back to Dance centrum in Stuttgart in time to see Kraftwerk - HEY FUN BOIZ - GET A ROOM!" lines. Has a bit of an absurdist alt-early-Roxy sound to it. It's ridiculous ... but why do I kind of love this... Wacky/trippy/beyond unusual but actually unlike much of Czukay's previous incarnation in Can I like this a lot more - although I'm docking a point for a lot of "Persian Love" - it's just that middle-eastern sound I don't love (having said that, i love the ARP and some of the guitar work is reminiscent of Zappa / Watermelon in Easter Hay). Weird keeper - too many of the weird albums here are just fkd-up weird but this is oddly listenable and fun. 8/10 4 stars.

Pretty whack album, somewhat groovy though…

4 songs, 39 minutes long. I already hate this. It was probably more listenable than I expected/it should be but it's still bizarre and on this list for god knows what reason

Funsies

Nope.

Can't say no to some experimentation, this album excelled at that. From the minute it started I could hear the impact this record has on the way production is handled today. The clever sampling throughout the album was fantastic, and the electronic instrumentation was fun to listen to. While I'm sure a lot of people struggle to get into this because of the lack of lyrics, I think there is some great stuff on here despite that, and I'm someone who prefers lyrical stuff over instrumental tracks. Rating: Really Great (Strong ☆☆☆☆) Favorite Track: Cool In The Pool.

What genre should that be be - "uninspired try-out" ?!

I appreciate that this album attempts something new and different, and it didn’t sound bad, but man was it a chore to get through. Did Hollywood Symphony really have to be 15 minutes long? Favorite Track: Persian Love

mmggmhmmmm yeessss moreee gimme more experimental, more eccentric, more whimsical, more zappaesque stuff yeesss

Kedvenc/Favourite: Oh Lord, Give Us More Money Nem az a százszor meghallgatós, kicsit nehezen emészthető, de jó. Érdekes a koncepció, meglepődtem, hogy '79-es. Elképesztő érzék kellett hozzá, hogy így össze legyen rakva. Örülök, hogy meghallgattam. It's not one of those albums you listen to a hundred times, a little hard to digest, but good. The concept is interesting, I was surprised it was from '79. It must have taken incredible skill to put it all together in this way. I'm glad I listened to it.

Getting Cool in the Pool is easily a top 5 song about pools for me, and the Persian one caught my interest as well.

This one was a little out there lyrically, but musically it was actually decent.

I'm digging all the crazy this thing is. I think I want to find this on vinyl. It just feels meant for that format. You know, inconvenient, expensive, pretentious, and too cool for school.

It makes no damn sense compels me though

When we're talking in term of avant garde music, this one is deceptively light and balances that fine line between pop and noise. Thouroughly enjoyable!

What a breath of fresh air on this list! I'd heard of him as one of the founding fathers of Krautrock, but never listened to any of his solo stuff. Glad I did!

Weird. Two!

Enjoyed it!

Trippy, kooky, and groovy. This is one of those records where the artist went to do something unorthodox and experimental and it worked. A combination of different electronic sounds, vocal melodies, and off-the-wall sequencing techniques. This is the type of record that really makes me re-think my perspective of what music is, and realizing that we do not need to conform ourselves to a recipe or structure in order to "fit." We can make whatever the hell we want as long as we, the artists, enjoy it.

Its ok started well then went off a bit

Should I even bother listening to this? It reeks of hipster middle class white boy gatekeeping garbage. We’ve had Can. This first track has a nice groove. There’s a nice odd melody in the last track. As for everything else, Zappa did this stuff much better. As did Kraftwerk and even Brian eno. Even if I’m being too harsh this album is inessential. Devastatingly inessential. 2.

Krautrock but with an 80s update. Touches of early 80s sampling in the vein of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. I can dig it. 3.5 stars rounding up

YUUUUP

A bit weird but OK

Not unpleasant

Soundtrack to my inevitable mental decline

One & Done.

3.5. Rounded up for album actually being original and something worthy of being on this list. Give me more of things im unfamiliar with and grab my attention. Albums that fell through the cracks, so to speak

I normally like experimental music but this didn't click with me. Cool in the Pool was fun but I didn't enjoy the rest as much. It's interesting to see someone was experimenting with sampling so early on though.

Love that it's only 4 songs, even though it's odd that two of them are 13 and 15 minutes long... It is very good for background music in a film...which makes me think that could have been the reasoning behind the name. 1st song: I like it, it's vibey. I like how light-hearted it is. 2nd song: very similar to the first one, with a bit more going on at times 3rd song: this one is more interesting from the first seconds, actually really love the music. I have added this song to my playlist which is VERY unexpected, it made me smile a lot. 4th song: again, very similar to songs 1 and 2 with slight occasional differences in words and rhythm; probably my least favourite song on the album. This is definitely not my kind of music (experimental) and I don't think I will be listening to this again, except for that one song possibly occasionally.

very abstract, quite nice

very quirky album, really enjoyed it

Experimental gut.

2.5

Interesting

what a weekend. turns out I don't hate ambient experimental German music

Dieses Album kann ich nur kurz soweit beschreiben: Ein eigenwilliges, aber äußerst kreatives Album, das man entweder liebt oder seltsam findet. Es hat zwischenzeitlich seine Momente, jedoch überwiegt die experimentelle Absicht für mich den Hörfluss. Wenn man Lust hat etwas "besonderes" zu hören, ist es bestimmt Wert hier mal reinzuhören. Persönlich würde ich es vermutlich kein zweites Mal hören. Es war aber durchaus interessant.

There has to a more influential album than that.

Why do I need to hear this. I’m tired of these experimental movie albums

This is another one in the "I don't get it" category. There were some cool parts, but it was mostly too scattered and experimental for my taste. I didn't hate it, at least, so that's a win.

I had never heard of this guy (now I know he was in Can) and this album definitely sounds like a product of its time and place. I'm not really into this particular Euro-electronica, but I do appreciate the musique concrete nature of its composition, and I always like voice samples.

kinda awesome

Intricately layered bonkers mad shit. Jazz funk prog proto-electronica. Sharp and clean but packed with detailed flourishes. Loving it.

Sometimes a 3 is decent, but neither good nor bad. sometimes it is good with flaws. This time, it is a 3 because it is interesting, inventive, and not boring. I am glad I heard it but would never seek it out again.

This is a bit too weird for me, I didn’t get it at all. I’m not saying it’s terrible and honestly I’ve heard worse, but I didn’t enjoy it having had to turn it off, thus I have to give it a 1.

This was so strange... but I had so much fun with it! A total discovery for me! I mean, this project is becoming a big part of my working days, because I'm listening to so many albums I didn't know anything about! And then I get to revisit the ones I've always liked ;-)

This was cool. I love it when I get something completely from left field. Never heard of this in any way, and was fully engaged for the duration. Felt like it was probably breaking a lot of ground on the sampling front, so I can see how it may hold some important significance. Regardless, worthy!

What in gods name is this? Reminds me of fake music from a weird SNL skit or a Christopher Guest movie. The end of "Cool in the Pool" in particular. Learning more about him and his influence on electronic movie makes it more impressive, but still feels like a mockumentary.

I enjoyed the mood of this overall, particularly some of the movie dialogue sampling and the Iranian vocalist. The woozier parts work better for me than the more funky bits, and I think Czukay's own vocals on Cool in the Pool are not the best start to the album. Czukay's previous band Can are stronger in this regard. I think this is the sort of thing where you may end up giving points for its historic impact in helping to introduce electronic music and particular sampling into rock, which is now very familiar (and something I personally first encountered with The Avalanches c. 2001). Probably won't play regularly but glad that I was prompted to try it.

Great album! I loved his work with Can. So, I was really awesome to hear some of his solo work. “Cool In The Pool” had a cool, mad scientist on vacation vibe. “Persian Love” was also interesting. I listened to this album on the way to work. I think next time I listen to this, I need to be sitting in my chair with the volume turned up just to catch everything this album has to offer

Feels like the list got it right today - loads of fun discovering this.

A bit meandering in places but it seems to be a cool blend of disco, funk, jazz and prog. I’m not an expert in “krautrock” except that I like Kraftwerk. This doesn’t sound like Kraftwerk but it is cool that what is under the krautrock umbrella has a bit of diversity.

Nope, not for me.

Weird but nothing sticks with me. Maybe I should listen to Can first.

I’m told by Spotify that this was critically acclaimed when it was released. But… did anyone listen to it since? Wikipedia tells me it’s a cult classic that paved the way for Eno and Byrne’s “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts.” Okay… as a huge Talking Heads fan and pretty fond of Brian Eno, that’s another album I’ve never bothered with. (Has anyone else?) I guess the takeaway here is that you have to have an uncommon appreciation for some very obscure music to appreciate this. That sounds like a rare individual but apparently he ended up as an editor of 1001 Albums to Hear Before You Die.

I won’t argue that the album is interesting or even innovative, but it more like background music than something I would intentionally sit down to listen to. The music almost begs you to do something other than enjoy simply listening to it. Though titled Movies, it feels more like a sound effects track than a score

My kind of weird

As avant-garde goes, this is listenable, but still of no interest. It's just background.

seriously?

The soundtrack to a movie that was shown once, at noon, at some local indie movie theater, in one auditorium rented by the producers for tax and distribution purposes. Weird and delightful...

Grooved with the instrumentals, but would not listen again.

Very interesting and adventurous. This kind of thing definitely looks forward to like, Talk Talk’s evolution and otherwise dreamy, progressive pop composition. Some bits I did not like — for instance, the first song. The rest of it I thought was very listenable, and I’ll be going back to it. If it’s a must listen it’s #79 lol

Kinda groovy? Made me laugh at least. Don't ever need to hear it again but very funny.

Haven't listened to this guy in ages - and it hasn't aged well. His early work was more inventive. This is much less interesting.

Not sure why this deserves a place on this list. I thought the first song was a joke. Nothing about it stands out other than the singer's accent. Not terrible but no need to hear again.

Pretty strange album. It tracks that this guy was in Can. Not for me at all. More of a sound collage than a group of songs.

This is #day188 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... let’s go to the movies. Or rather, let’s imagine movies that are meant to be heard, not seen, movies without pictures, where sound tells the narrative. However, the narrative is rather loose, which is no surprise because Holger Czukay is a member of Can. I'm fine with some Can now and then (in fact, I rated Tago Mago a 5 a couple of months ago), but I’ve never explored their solo works. As a one-off listen, this album is okayish—definitely fun, but not much more. I’d give it a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day189.

I've never seen an album on this list with less than 1000 plays on one of the song tracks until this album. I think there is a reason for this ...

Okay I originally thought “what a weirdo” when I started this one. But then I looked into him and it felt more like “mission accomplished”. I liked this more than makes sense.

Holger Czukay (from Can) attempts to push krautrock in new, bold directions by synthesizing it with other '70s styles at the turn of the decade. Funk rock, progressive electronic, even some influence from contemporary Egyptian pop. The album is also littered with odd sampling choices that give the album more texture, though perhaps at the cost of being rather incoherent. Movies is brimming with ideas that never quite gel. I like to think that this could've been a much more influential, important album for it's artistic choices, but I can see why this didn't catch on.

I'm huge Can fan, but honestly if I had not known that Holger Czukay was responsible for the music in this record, I would have taken some parts of it as somewhat lopsided or meandering just fot the hell of it (which is *not* how I receive a very large part of the music played on Can albums). I can see how the sampling techniques or subtle afro-beat elements in *Movies* might have influenced David Byrne and Brian Eno for *My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts* and *Remain In Light*, but chances are that the latter mostly took inspiration from their own technical abilities or the African sources themselves, and so didn't really need to have heard this album to create their masterpieces. Oh, and their own results after being exposed to those sorts of influence sounded tighter and more direct anyway. Not that *Movies* is a bad album, mind you. It's really interesting stuff. Some of it aged quite a lot, but other moments still sound as fresh as they did in 1979. "Persian Love" is an amazing track for instance (and maybe one where experimentation is admittedly more digestible). Yet I'm afraid the *overall* results of those experiments are not impressive enough to make it a mandatory listen for newbies in the different genres here tackled with (kraut, world, jazz, afro, disco, white funk...) Plus, ain't there one or two essential Can albums missing in Dimery's list (which this slot could be useful for)?. So kudos to Holger for using all those test tubes so as to potentially allow himself and others to break new grounds. Yet not all peer-reviewed papers out there have changed the world. It's in the very nature of experimentation to *not* guarantee any result, is it not? 3/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 8/10 for more general purposes (5 + 3) Number of albums left to review: around thirty or twenty, as I've gone over the 1000 line and this generator is including albums from all editions of the book. Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 464 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 279 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 336 (including this one)

That was kind of strange, but also quite cheerful, so that helps.

Was about to say who is this guy and what is this album and why does it sound like that, and then I learned he was from Can and it all makes sense. Idk, this band's stuff just goes over my head. 2.5/5

Delightfully weird and different. Actually liked it quite a bit.

Definitely different!

Holger Czukay, parte fundamental de Can intodujo la vanguardia en la música rock. Se formó con Stockhausen y fue también pionero del sampleado, así como uno de los primeros en acercarse al ambient y a las músicas y ritmos globales. Todo esto lo tenemos en este influyente disco de debut, tras dejar la banda. Arranca con Cool in the pool, un tema tan bizarro como su vídeo. Michael Karoli, Irmin Schmidt y Jaki Liebezeit tocan con él en Oh Lord Give Us More Money y las voces que en Can aportaban Suzuki y demás son sustituidos por samples vocales encontrados en la radio o televisión. Persian Love se adelanta Eno y Byrne en las músicas extrañas (ni qué decir de Peter Gabriel o Paul Simon), con un tema muy logrado y divertido. Hollywood Symphony es un amasijo de sonidos y cacharrería en la que su bajo hace de línea conductora. Dos temas por cara, un disco breve, pero lleno de sorpresas. I Travel the megahertz por ejemplo le debe mucho, sin duda, a este disco. Es un disco imprescindible? Desde luego por su influencia a otros músicos sí, por su valor musical también, y es muy fácil de escuchar (también ayuda su escasa duración). Lo interesante no es lo que ve Holger en la TV de la portada sino la imagen que esta le devuelve...

Not bad!

Rare funk om mensen even van het ritme te gooien, en ik ben er helemaal bij

I liked this, it seemed cool

I get it, but meh.

Kinda bonkers in a cool way. Bumping it up one pioneer point for early sampling and radio-as-instrument use. Probably still gonna go to Can when I want something bonkers in this particular way, but glad to have listened. music: appreciated. (⌐■_■)

This was a ride. Maybe it’s because it’s been a kind of bad stretch on here these last couple weeks, but I felt very In To This. Cool in the Pool was vaguely city poppish, right? Pretty interesting. I’d go back to this one.

Enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to. Not a big fan of Can, generally.

No thanks.

A lot going on here. I really liked the first 3 tracks, they had a great combination of samples, whimsy, and little interesting call and response riffs, all being kind of chaotic but still cohesive. The 4th track didn't do as much for me and seemed a little too meandering, but overall this was a pretty fun record. 3.5/5

Was really surprised by this one. I like it a lot. I listened to it like 8-9 times already. 4.25/5

Pretty solid. B-

⭐️⭐️ despite how eccentric and experimental this was, i enjoyed it more than i thought i would. it's unlikely i'd listen to this again in the future, but i'm glad i gave it a spin at least once

Part of me feels like this is the exact sort of album that I'm doing this entire exercise for? I mean, it was fine, but Avant-Garde German Ambient Pop is simply not something I'll ever come across in my day-to-day life. I... Liked this just fine? Sounds a little bit like if Trey Anistasio was born in war-torn Poland 30 years earlier, and though I'm not going to be seeking out Holger Czukay in the future, I cherish the small amount of time I spent with him today.

This shit is weird. To be fair, though, everything coming out of Germany in the 60s and 70s was weird as fuck. You can definitely hear some Can in this album, especially in the first song. This album doesn't live up to their standard, but it's still a cool listen. 3/5

Listening to the first track I was laughing at the stupidity of it. I thought this is great, some levity on this list. It soon became apparent that I was wrong and this was actually serious and unintentionally funny. I will give this props for technical work and experimentation seeing as it's from 1979, and there's some great instrumentation buried in there. But the songs don't flow well. A lot of the noises seemed tacked on rather than integrated, and don't fit in with the narrative of the song. It's like the guy just didn't know when to stop.

Dziwny eksperyment muzyczny, bo płytą to trudno nazwać. Trochę jakby w jedną rękę wziąć sampler, w drugą gitarę i przygrywać sobie stopą na keabordzie. Ciekawa dziwnostka do której nigdy nie wrócę. 5/10

Def not for me

det har något. det är ganska coolt emellanåt. lite roliga låtar men så jävla weird.

Wild stuff.

Loved that!

Actually quite enjoyed the funkiness of this one! Haven’t got much to say, but the way the lady said “oooh is it hot?” at the beginning of cool in the pool did make me giggle. Cool in the pool was my favourite song, the others were not as fun! I’d give that song perhaps a 4/5 but the rest let it down so I shall have to give a 3 :)

For something released in 2018, it definitely didn’t sound like it! The songs being like 15 minutes long were kinda grueling, but having there being like what 4-5 songs in the album makes it less so. It’s really not my kinda jam, I imagine it as a background track for an older movie or at least a movie set in like the 80s, 90s. But it wasn’t too bad

Let’s get cool Feel like bro was just having a brilliant time sampling all da samples. I respect it what a guy just having a jolly time. Unfortunately tho it is still a bit of nonsense really and It will not be getting above a two for me as I cannot see myself sitting down and listening to this.

Pretty unique album, I like the mix of samples used - pretty wacky stuff. Nice amount of avant-gardeness for me, lots of crazy plinky plonky sounds had me foot tapping along - nice one Holger. I think if this album was any longer it would get a bit tedious. Gonna give him a harsh 3 overall, would probably give cool in the pool a 4. let us get hot on the dancing spot Fav song: Cool in the Pool 😎

Maybe I just didn't get it....

this ranged from there to WHY could i write poetry to this? n

A sort-of-interesting collection of sonic experiments. Sometimes it holds together and sometimes it doesn't.

Didn’t make it through the second song.

Experimental music is hard to rate. There were portions that I really liked, but more that I didn't. Seems like it would have taken a lot of time and effort to make this in the 1970s, so props to him for that.

Whoa, that was crazy. But was it cool? I don’t know. Not as cool as Can, anyway. But I love getting an experimental and controversial album I didn’t even know existed.

Didn't really enjoy it. Was all over the place.

Not at all what I expected and honestly very forward thinking for 1980. Cool in the Pool is probably my least favorite, but even then it's still a good song. Love the length on this as well. Lost me a little at the end but still a real highlight of the list.

This was super interesting the whole way through. Cool In The Pool sounded like Talking Heads. The sound collages seem like what The Avalanches or MF DOOM would be doing twenty years later. I will definitely be listening to more from this guy. Favorite songs were Cool In The Pool, Oh Lord, Give Us More Money, and Hollywood Symphony.

This was wild.

This would be very good if you didn't have to listen to the most german accent ever singing. Persian Love is great.

This one is kind of weird, but not terrible. It's like a late '70s experimental rock electronic thing. The guy is some German dude that was also in a band called Can I guess. He doesn't really sing here, he kind of weirdly exclaims and moans and whispers things. The synthesizers and whatever else it is that he's playing sound very dated, but in a way that kind of still works. He also has some elements of non-Western music in here (most notably on "Persian Love", but they pop up here and there elsewhere too). It feels slightly forced, but it makes for an interesting mix of things going on. Anyway, it's all a bit strange, but I don't actually hate the beats. He's got some cool basslines throughout, it's not bad. Not amazing, but not bad either. Favorite song: Cool in the Pool Other: Persian Love 1/15/25

In a nutshell: an unexpected journey. The co-founder of Can takes a mic, a radio and a tape recorder and goes on a sonic safari. A strange one. This could be the earliest example of sampledelica on the list. It reminded me a lot of Since I Left You with the sound grabs and thematic tunes. Fun. Not for everyone. Overall: 6/10

There's a warm spot in the pool

Felt like an acid trip

Started strong then got crazy.

Different but not bad

Interesting

Very interesting listen. Probably will not return to it, but cool while it lasted.

My initial thought when listening: WTF, is this a joke? Turns out it was, and it wasn't. Experimental, very diverse, with some good music and other stuff I didn't care for. A bit hit or miss.

Never heard of this album or artist, but after settling in, following a period of ear adjustment, I really enjoyed it. Sounded like Mike Oldfield on Acid.

Wow this one was weird - I kinda liked it

This would have been better if it had been silent movies.

This. Was. Awesome. I've listened to it at least three times already. All the different layers and sampling are just so entertaining. It's such an animated collection of songs, songs that are continuously morphing in surprising ways. I'm loving all the world music incorporated as well. Holger Czukay is a founding member of Can. I haven't generated any Can albums yet, but I just recently listened to a couple of them, so this was timely. I definitely declare Movies to be a headphones album. Ahh, I don't think I could ever get bored of this!

Fantastic stuff. A true musical innovator

This is pretty good. I feel like I prefer the first disc of Tago Mago (which I got yesterday) to this, but there’s a good amount of not great stuff on that album, so this has it beat.

What in the experimental, sample heaven hell is this? I've barely scratched the surface of CAN as a band; I don't know if I'm ready for Czukay's full control over the music. I think if you're willing to accept it, this record has a lot to offer. But it is not entirely accessible. It's very silly firstly. With sound bytes and random left turns consuming the vast majority of tunes, you're not listening to gain a feel for the groove so much as you are just along for the ride, waiting to see what could possibly happen next. And I suppose that's the point. Not in a hurry to revisit this, but it was a total blast; weird, trippy and everything in between.

Auspiciously avant-garde, Czukay offers four fleeting glimpses into wonderfully strange worlds that blur the lines between music, found audio, and sound art.

Valeu pelas informações e conhecer mais sobre o desenvolvimento do Krautrock. Experimentalismo elevado que deixa o Can mais acessível.

4.5 stars. it sounds completely unique . I cant imagine what effort it took doing it all analogue. Half a star off because I dont know if i will ever listen to it again.

Got nothing from this

Definitely not for me. Weird

Surely, it meant something to someone. But not to us.

7.5/10 Extremely interesting, and an incredible turnaround after the first track, which was really, really terrible. After that I thought this was a certain one star. Then the rest of the album was brilliant. Avant art pop, music concrete, samples and textures. Extremely well done, even if the (non sampled) vocals were a weak point. Best: Persian Love

weird. not bad, atmospheric, but I'd be hard pressed to remember a single song I heard even if I listened ot the "sounds like" for a long time.

Synth jazz? Interesting, original for the time

One of those weird experimental albums that really breaks out of any genre definitions. I would name it a blend of jazz, psychedelic rock, and prog rock. I did enjoy it at times but to be honest it was a little too disjointed for me to fall in love with it.

Yes. This is what I was hoping this little experiment would deliver—hidden gems that I might not otherwise have discovered.

First listen. Meh.

Was unfamiliar. Good stuff

Very cool album. Wacky yet groovy songs that explored a lot of different places but never got tiring

-ooo Holger Czukay… I didn’t realize he made any solo albums. Definitely sort of reminiscent of Can, especially their post-Damo Suzuki stuff -couldn’t help but feel it was lacking a certain direction and charm though. I didn’t hate it though, it had some especially interesting instrumentation -Favorites are Oh Lord, Give Us More Money and Persian Love

This is a pretty good album, but like many avant-garde and experimental records, it took me about three listens to fully take it in. The atmosphere is surreal and dreamlike, with layered sounds and unconventional structures blending krautrock, world music samples, electronic, and ambient elements. The album balances a subtle quirkiness—thanks to its playful samples and unexpected transitions—with a more serious and self-aware tone. While it has an ambient feel overall, there are also funk-inspired basslines and spoken word sections that add variety. What really stood out to me was the sense of space and the innovative use of tape looping, sampling, and production techniques throughout the album. It’s a record that grew on me, and it’s one I’ll definitely revisit in the future.

I suppose I can appreciate from a, "where the sample craze started", but for the most part...nah.

✅ Persian Love

I suspect you really had to be there

really oscillating between annoying chaos and incredibly chill vibes. reading that this is one of the main guys from CAN helped me understand this a bit more.....def prefer CAN tho.

It was ok

Eclectic

Funky electronic jazz vibe

Alternative. Couldn't finish listening through.

It’s odd. I like that.

this had some interesting parts to it that felt kind of proggy and cool, but overall it felt too childish without feeling like the childishness was the point

The former member of CAN channels his roots as a student of German avant garde master Karlheinz Stockhausen. Czulkay combines rock and pop with musique concrete and the budding world music genre, pulling sounds from global music scenes. It's an impressive mash up and took some underground ideas of the 70s further. It's not exactly inaccessible but it's not one that you'd play over and over, unless you're a student of modern music theory. In some ways, it's more interesting to think about than to listen to. It's cool for what it is, but I'd take CAN over this any day.

Did he smash his head on the mixing table?

Good songs to vibe out to. Don't have to think too hard. Just go with the flow.

Incredible. A lot of the things I love about Radiohead—pushing it but keeping it melodic and often beautiful. Right now I’m thinking 4.2 but this is the kind of music that has room to grow.

Another one of these goofy albums? In the top 1001? C’monnnnnn. Definitely one of those albums where you could pick up more details with every listen, although in this case, is never likely to happen.

Very fun, very cool in the pool. The drumming is impeccable on this album. I didn’t care for Oh Lord Give Us More Money.

🎶 cool in the pool 🎶

First make a backing beat, then roll some dice every ten seconds to determine what sounds to throw in. There was some good jazz talent in there but it was so sporadic I could never connect to it

Not great.

WTF.

Забавный альбом, интересная музыка в очень длинных треках

weird but i like it :-)

Had never heard of Holger so was a first for me. Not quite smoking what Tom's smoking but did enjoy it although overall found it a mixed bag - enjoyed parts - although other parts had very strong flight of concords vibe...

I thought the first song was interesting, but the album went down hill rapidly after that. Not necessary to listen to.

Only vaguely interesting ("Persian Love" is pretty nifty and "Hollywood Symphony" offering a few moments of intrigue). Ultimately, this seems well deserving of its position as no more than a footnote in the annals of rock history. One's reminded that influence isn't everything and suspects his estate wishes he had patented sampling.

I found this hard to rate as it's not particularly straightforward or accessible but there were loads of really interesting ideas and some fun moments that made me smile. The overall vibe was great. It feel unfair but I'd have almost definitely rated it a little higher if it was divided into more palatable tracks and the ideas fleshed out and tidied up, but I also appreciate that a lot the charm is in the messy looseness of it. I find myself coming down on the slightly lower side of a 3.5 because I don't think I'll choose to go here again but if it comes along I'm happy to have it on. If my finger slipped and gave it a 4, I wouldn't go back and change it.

Movies ‘Hello!’ ‘Hello Darling!’ No idea who or what this is, but before I listened I saw the album cover had a sticker on it saying Holger Czukay from Can, so I thought it might be some atmospheric motorik driven krautrock. But although you can see the through line from Can, it feels experimental in a slightly more fun way, kind of signposting stuff that would come in the 80s, like Tom Tom Club, Malcolm McClaren et al, although with less obvious concessions to accessibility. Although my sense is that he's the type of person who thought he was making something very poppy and accessible, it just came out funny. Cool in the Pool is a part Bowie synthy disco, part Can, part Afrobeat, but with added teutonic avant garde noises and oddness, it’s great. Oh Lord, Give Us More Money is maybe the most Can sounding track, but the samples take it somewhere else, occasionally feeling like the theme from a 70s cop show, occasionally feeling like an ominous dream, but always with the insistent drumming and bass. Great track. Persian Love has a great groove and more pleasing oddness, seemingly built from the middle eastern vocal sample, but ending up as a sort of calypso-folk-funk hybrid, and it sounds a lot better than that combination would suggest. I absolutely loved Hollywood Symphony, excellent noises, synths and vocal samples, kind of unfolding itself over an unhurried 15 minutes, seeming to settle on a groove and atmosphere before squelching off into some bit of spacey weirdness. I’ve seen in a few places people say that the album laid the groundwork for My Life in the Bush of Ghosts and it’s really evident on this one, it sounds quite a lot like America is Waiting. Although each track has its own sensibility they are all underpinned by truly excellent percussion, rhythms and drumming and absolutely superb bass playing, slightly reminiscent of Jah Wobble’s playing with PiL. It's alternately groovy, melodic and propulsive, working perfectly with the drums, while all the mad shit happens around it. This was right up my straße, I loved it. It's great when the list throws up something like this that I’ve never heard of making up for all the woeful metal we get. On first listen this was an immediate 4, and it got better and better, I just kept wanting to go round again and have listened to it pretty much non stop for about 5 hours. 5 hours = 5 stars then. 🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥 Playlist submission: Hollywood Symphony

2* What is this???

Fav song: Hollywood Symphony Probably a bit too experimental for me personally. Oh Lord, Give Us More Money was also pretty interesting, but I find the vocals just a little bit too difficult to listen to.

Not as it redeemable as the Can albums, but still shit

Movies. Nope, absolute horseshit. Goes nowhere, does nothing interesting or appealing. 1.

I liked this a lot more than you two did, it probably isn't something I'll revisit much in future but have listened to it 3-4 times over the last few days. It's weird, quirky, lots of different influences, and does some stuff with sampling that is ahead of its time, I think? More experimental than I'd like, but definitely worth a listen. 3/5. 

wacky experience music, but kinda fun

Odd, not bad, just seems a bit all over the place. 2.2

I can't believe that one of the dudes from Can is responsible for this bullshit

Évoque parfois les débuts de la musique de jeux vidéo ; précurseur de l'électronique

Not for me 1/5

Album was okay. Definitely sounds like a movie score. 3/5 Probably won't listen again.

This was different in a good way and it was interesting enough for me to listen to it all the way through. I liked it and wouldn't object to hearing it again though I probably wouldn't actively seek it out.

Favorite Track: Persian Love

This is like a mid can album, remnants of something truly fantastic

So its palatable and doesn't hurt my ears but I have absolutely no idea what the purpose of the album is. It is really all over the place and goes from one end of the musical spectrum to another, but with very little purpose or plan.

This was pretty cool listening. I was vibing with it.

Nice experimentation

Must be “D” movies.