Wolfgang said.

What's so dammned gripping on that? Kraftwerk members with naked upper bodies under a garden shower, wouw!

As you know Ralf & Florian did a legal ban on my book here because they didn't want to be shown under Florians garden shower with me.

Thomas said:

Wolf...what the hell is your POINT? Are you trying to turn us against Kraftwerk and come to hate Ralf and Florian

Main event said:

Thats what society/media/image can do to some people.. take a soap >opera or a drama show.. Its that well written that there are some >people out there believe that the settings and characters are actually >real people, not actors. So what Im trying to say here is that >Kraftwerk's image manipulation was so good that many believed that >they are silent, moody people who talk about machines all the time!!

Its silly that Ralf Hutter and Florian Schnieder want people to >believe that they are slient robots without feeling.

People watch soaps because it reflects real life. So yes it is pathetic when people start to confuse actors with real life. The Kraftwerk image however is an artistic expression. The appeal in the KW image is that it is not real life. I find the image of KW intriguing, just as I may find a performance of a Wagner opera intriguing. I know KW are not robots. I know the opera singers do not constantly sing their conversations in real life, nor do they wear outlandish clothing when they go to the supermarkets. The thing is, I'm not particularly interested in the real life of KW members. Nor do I want to see the dressing room of the opera singers. So KW members have fun when they are not working!, have taken candid pictures in the shower!. What next? "exposing" opera singers because they talk instead of sing when they go home at night. I would suspect that R & F are not so much worried about suggestions of homosexuality, but rather they are more concerned about the KW image being spoiled by associating it with the tabloid celebrity fodder that accompanies other less accomplished musicians. After all Ralph, Florian, Wolfgang and Karl have successfully portrayed this dramatic corporate anti-celebrity image for many years. That is quite an achievement. I don't want to get involved in a Wolfgang v R&F wrangle, and I am sure there are two sides to every story. However R&F are not going to talk publicly about this because they want to preserve the KW image. I would like to appreciate KW for what they are (even if that is long term silence). My only reservation with Wolfgang's book is that it was aimed at KW fans. Wolfgang chose to be a member of KW for the time he was there and accept the conditions that go with it. The Yamo project is certainly worthwhile and enjoyable. I just wish he called the book "Yamo, I am a musician", and did not bother to print candid pictures of KW (especially as he now criticises some of the list members for showing an interest in them). I believe Wolfgang does however have some genuine grievances and I sincerely hope these will be addressed to his personal satisfaction. Long may he continue to produce enjoyable music. sincerely, ian t _________________________________________________________________ Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com