R.I.P. Klaus Dinger, the king of motorik

April 2, 2008 11:08 AM

Klaus Dinger, drummer and co-founder of Krautrock titans Neu! (with Michael Rother) and drummer on the first Kraftwerk LP, has passed away at age 61. A sad day for motorik fans. Great post from February about the KraftNeu! collaboration.
posted by porn in the woods (30 comments total)

I think I speak for motorik fans everywhere when I say:

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posted by saulgoodman at 11:16 AM on April 2, 2008

I'm sitting here listening to the great Fujiya and Miyagi record right now and it wouldn't exist without Neu...

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posted by space2k at 11:24 AM on April 2, 2008

That's really too bad. The motorik beat is so deceptively simple and so absolutely wonderful to hear when it's done right. RIP, dear sir.
posted by sleepy pete at 11:27 AM on April 2, 2008

As far as I know, he was the only lyricist who ever rhymed roses with overdoses…

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posted by misteraitch at 11:33 AM on April 2, 2008

They were Ian Paisley's favorite Krautrock band. I can just imagine the sound he made when he heard the news.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:33 AM on April 2, 2008

This is truly a sad moment... words fail.

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posted by Unicorn on the cob at 11:34 AM on April 2, 2008

I had a dubbed cassette a buddy made for me in the early 1990s with the first two Neu! LPs. This was one of my absolute favorite things in the world (even the B-side of Neu! 2 is awesome). I ran this into the ground until the CDs were reissued.

Without Neu! I never would have checked out Cluster, Harmonia, and many many other krautrock masters. Thank you, Mr. Dinger.

Klaus, did you realize that you were a champion in my eyes?
posted by porn in the woods at 11:36 AM on April 2, 2008

Two cool rock chicks posting about Neu...
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:44 AM on April 2, 2008 [3 favorites]

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posted by kimota at 11:48 AM on April 2, 2008

R.I.P Klaus Dinger.
Better as drummer than as singer.
posted by anazgnos at 11:56 AM on April 2, 2008

Hey, I had no idea there was footage of Neu! (such as it is).
posted by anazgnos at 12:02 PM on April 2, 2008

. . . : . . . : . . . : . . . : . . . : . . . : . . . : . . . :
posted by ardgedee at 12:06 PM on April 2, 2008 [8 favorites]

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posted by Sys Rq at 12:57 PM on April 2, 2008

Neu! are vonderbar. A synchronicity -- I was just listening to them last.fm when I read this post about Klaus. A couple songs on the Neu! last.fm page, and some links to videos. RIP Klaus. Dig on Neu!
posted by February28 at 12:59 PM on April 2, 2008

It always makes me sad to hear people diss on prog rock because they don't like Rush* and Yes*. When people express this sentiment, I always point them to Neu!, King Crimson, Can, mid-70s Floyd and pre-soundtrack Tangerine Dream as examples of what prog rock really is and what it should be.

* Although I'm not a fan of Yes or Rush, I do have to admit that their instrumentals rocked the freakin' house
posted by Afroblanco at 2:36 PM on April 2, 2008

.!
posted by Smart Dalek at 2:39 PM on April 2, 2008

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posted by doctor_negative at 2:50 PM on April 2, 2008

a small piece of candy to cheer up MeFi Krautrock fans: Cluster US Tour dates, East and West Coast shows next month!
posted by porn in the woods at 2:58 PM on April 2, 2008

They were Ian Paisley's favorite Krautrock band. I can just imagine the sound he made when he heard the news.

I like Neu! so I'm not being mean, but this made me burst out laughing when I read it. 'Ulster says Neu!' Ha!
posted by macdara at 3:08 PM on April 2, 2008

Hey, I had no idea there was footage of Neu! (such as it is).

Me, neither but now that I think about it, it stands to reason that if there is video footage of someone as obscure as Karen Dalton, there ought to be footage of Neu. I did so like Neu 75 back in the days of vinyl. So, r.i.p. Mr Dinger, indeed.
posted by y2karl at 3:21 PM on April 2, 2008

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posted by elmono at 3:38 PM on April 2, 2008

I learned about Krautrock via Stereolab. Neu! blew my mind.

So: this isn't Krautrock, but expressing my sentiment about Krautrock just the same, is Mark E. Smith:

Right noise.
We're gonna get real speedy
We're gonna wear black all the time
You're gonna make it on your own.
Cos we dig
Cos we dig
We dig
We dig repetition
We dig repetition
We dig repetition in the music
And we're never going to lose it.
All you daughters and sons
who are sick of fancy music
We dig repetition
Repetition in the drums
and we're never going to lose it.
This is the three R's
The three R's:
Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
Oh mental hospitals
Oh mental hospitals
They put electrodes in your brain
And you're never the same
You don't dig repetition
You don't love repetition
Repetition in the music and we're never going to lose it
President Carter loves repetition
Chairman Mao he dug repetition
Repetition in China
Repetition in America
Repetition in West Germany
Simultaneous suicide
We dig it, we dig it,
we dig it, we dig it
Repetition, repetition, repetition
There is no hesitation
This is your situation
Continue a blank generation
Blank generation
Same old blank generation
Grooving blank generation
Swinging blank generation
Repetition, repetition, repetition....
--The Fall, Repetition
posted by not_on_display at 4:15 PM on April 2, 2008 [2 favorites]

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posted by ianaces at 4:18 PM on April 2, 2008

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posted by p3t3 at 4:44 PM on April 2, 2008

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posted by lupus_yonderboy at 6:13 PM on April 2, 2008

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posted by Foosnark at 7:13 PM on April 2, 2008

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posted by medeine at 7:17 PM on April 2, 2008

White overalls
White overalls
White overalls
Overall overall overall
Overall overall overall
Over all
posted by dydecker at 7:30 PM on April 2, 2008

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posted by obvious at 9:12 PM on April 2, 2008

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posted by jackmakrl at 2:19 PM on April 3, 2008