Thursday, April 26, 2012

Autobahn

Our journey back in time with Casey Kasem and AMERICAN TOP 40 this past weekend was to April 19, 1975. I have to say, the middle part of the decade might just be my favorite when it comes to music. There is such a wide range of things that were popular, and even disco had not yet descended into utter monotony. Look at how many songs on that list are really good.

One of the more striking entries on that countdown for me was Kraftwerk's "Autobahn". Now, as I said, the Top 40 was pretty eclectic in that period, and truthfully, oddball songs have always found a place on the charts. Still, has there ever been a more unlikely Top 40 hit? Kraftwerk's music seems wholly different than anything else that was populating the American airwaves. I know there is an urge to include it with disco, but it doesn't even match up with that style very well.

"Autobahn" made it as high as 25 on the U.S. charts, and that seems to have been unexpected by everyone. Here is a video of the single edit. I'm sparing you the album cut, which is over 22 minutes. Not that it's bad by any means, but that might be more Autobahn than most people could take.

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