From the pantheon of the stellar krautrock gods, news reaches down to the mortal hoard below that we are soon to be granted the insider story of the genres most venerated and respected totem, Can.
A moiety of biography and symposium, the two volume epistles will be delivered sometime in (don’t get too excited just yet!) 2016. The announcement of these tomes, written in the most part or at least guided by Wire writer Rob Young, was instigated by the group’s sonic dashboard keys man, Irmin Schmidt on the Faber Social. It remains unclear how the rest of the surviving members feel or indeed what their co-operation is at this stage, as the book has only the most loose of details, except it will include the usual accolades from admirers and interviews with those who played a part in the Can legacy over the last fifty years.
The Monolith has itself written (and your humble editor in his contributions to a number of other blogs, has reviewed and postulated on the subject) exhaustively on Can and their role in the development of experimental music in the rock’n’roll cannon. But this latest addition to the tributary industry of adulation could be either a godsend or just another over-cooked appraisal of a band that is still relatively seen as ‘underground’, yet as had a lavish series of celebrations; commemorated every five years. Boxsets, re-releases, exhibitions, tribute albums…the list goes on and on. But as the so-called purveyors of the future ‘now’, exploration and avant-garde titans revert to visiting their most dynamic and productive years (lets not beat about the bush, we all know we’re talking about the key years in the late 60s and early 70s), they become part of the establishment of old crones and respectable rockers and lose that rebellious anti-establisment and music industry charm we so loved. Can was never meant to be contained or demarcated in a biography.
But never one to miss the bandwagon as it rolls out of town, here is our ‘choice’, perhaps dare we suggest ultimate, Can playlist soundtrack.
Monolith Cocktail Blog 