Computer World

159 Pages·2022·52.355 MB·English

by  Steve Tupai Francis

COMPUTER WORLD
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these. We are huge nerds — V ice
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We . . . aren’t naive enough to think that we’re your only source for reading about
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i
Forthcoming in the series:
Blackout by Natasha Lasky
Faith by Matthew Horton
Moon Pix by Donna Kozloskie
To Pimp a Butterfl y by Sequoia L. Maner
I Want You by Derrais Carter
Th at’s the Way of the World by Dwight E. Brooks
Fontanelle by Selena Chambers
Come to My Garden by Brittnay L. Proctor
Nightbirds by Craig Seymour
Come Away with ESG by Cheri Percy
Time’s Up by Kimberly Mack
BBC Radiophonic Workshop – A Retrospective by William Weir
Madvillainy by Will Hagle
Beauty and the Beat by Lisa Whittington-Hill
a nd many more . . .
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Computer World
Steve Tupai Francis
iii
BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC

Bloomsbury Publishing Inc
1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA
50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK
29 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, Ireland

BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC and the Diana logo are
trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

First published in the United States of America 2022

Copyright © Steve Tupai Francis, 2022

For legal purposes the Acknowledgements on p. ix constitute an
extension of this copyright page.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval
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addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press.
The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses
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responsibility for any such changes.

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

I SBN: PB: 978-1-5013-7898-0
ePDF: 978-1-5013-7900-0
eBook: 978-1-5013-7899-7

Series: 33 1/3

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iv
Contents
Track Listing vi
Computer World Tour 1981–1982 Set List vii
Kraft werk’s Albums and EPs viii
Acknowledgements ix
1 Advancement Th rough Technology 1
2 Painting with Sound 9
3 Fluxus to Future 23
4 Kling Klang Produkt 37
5 Folk Music of the Factories 49
6 Speak & Spell 65
7 By pressing down a special key . . . 75
8 Planet Rock 87
9 Another Lonely Night . . . 101
10 Here’s to the Crazy Ones 109
11 Neon Lights 123
References 135
v
Track Listing
Side one
1. ‘Computer World’ (5:08)
2. ‘Pocket Calculator’ (4:58)
3. ‘Numbers’ (3:21)
4. ‘Computer World, Pt.2’ (3:19)
Side two
1. ‘Computer Love’ (7:18)
2. ‘Home Computer’ (6:19)
3. ‘It’s More Fun to Compute’ (4:12)
vi
Computer World Tour 1981–1982
Set List
1. ‘Numbers’
2. ‘Computer World’
3. ‘Metropolis’
4. ‘Th e Model’
5. ‘Radioactivity’
6. ‘Computer Love’
7. ‘Autobahn’
8. ‘Neon Lights’
9. ‘Th e Hall of Mirrors’
10. ‘Showroom Dummies’
11. ‘Trans-Europe Express/Metal on Metal’
12. ‘Pocket Calculator’
ENCORE
13. ‘Th e Robots’
14. ‘Home Computer’
15. ‘It’s More Fun to Compute’.1
1A s Wolfgang Flü r noted, ‘We adopted the same running order for all of our
concerts’ (Fl ü r 2000:169).
vii
Kraftwerk’s Albums and EPs
Kraft werk I (1970)
Kraft werk II (1972)
Ralf & Florian (1973)
Autobahn (1974)
Radio-Activity (1975)
Trans-Europe Express (1977)
Th e Man-Machine (1978)
Computer World (1981)
Tour de France 12” (1983)
Electric Caf é (1986)
Th e Mix (1991)
Expo 2000 EP (1999)
Tour de France Soundtracks (2003)
Minimum-Maximum (2005)
viii
Acknowledgements
As any author knows, writing a book invariably involves
many more people than the lone writer churning out prose in
isolation. I would like to thank a number of wonderful
contributors to the book you hold in your hands today.
Th ank you to Bloomsbury and the team at 33 1/3 for
choosing to publish the book, particularly Leah Babb-
Rosenfeld and Rachel Moore.
Th ank you to Emily Mackay for her editorial work on the
manuscript. Her suggestions and advice were so helpful and
have enhanced the book you now read immeasurably.
Th ank you to Bruce Butler for his contributions, his
encyclopaedic musical knowledge and for the fact that he
seems to have attended every signifi cant gig by every
signifi cant band in the last 40 years. You need to write that
book, my friend.
Th ank you to Steve Mahoney for our daily musical chats.
You have the broadest musical taste of anyone I know, and I
appreciate your help in reading early draft s of the manuscript
and for your ongoing support.
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