Table Of ContentCOMPUTER WORLD
Praise for the series:
It was only a matter of time before a clever publisher realized that there is an audience
for whom Exile on Main Street or Electric Ladyland are as signifi cant and worthy of
study as Th e Catcher in the Rye or M iddlemarch . . . Th e series . . . is freewheeling and
eclectic, ranging from minute rock-geek analysis to idiosyncratic personal celebration
— Th e New York Times Book Review
Ideal for the rock geek who thinks liner notes just aren’t enough — Rolling Stone
One of the coolest publishing imprints on the planet — B ookslut
Th ese are for the insane collectors out there who appreciate fantastic design,
well-executed thinking, and things that make your house look cool. Each volume in
this series takes a seminal album and breaks it down in startling minutiae. We love
these. We are huge nerds — V ice
A brilliant series . . . each one a work of real love — N ME (UK)
Passionate, obsessive, and smart — N ylon
Religious tracts for the rock ’n’ roll faithful — Boldtype
[A] consistently excellent series — Uncut (UK)
We . . . aren’t naive enough to think that we’re your only source for reading about
music (but if we had our way . . . watch out). For those of you who really like to know
everything there is to know about an album, you’d do well to check out Bloomsbury’s
‘33 1/3’ series of books — Pitchfork
For reviews of individual titles in the series, please visit our blog at 333sound.com
and our website at http://www.bloomsbury.com/musicandsoundstudies
Follow us on Twitter: @333books
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/33.3books
For a complete list of books in this series, see the back of this book.
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 . . .
ii
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
system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
Bloomsbury Publishing Inc does not have any control over, or responsibility
for, any third-party websites referred to or in this book. All internet
addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press.
The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses
have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no
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
Typeset by Refi neCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk
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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.
ix
