Turn Me On, Dead Man

The term "krautrock" refers to progressive and experimental music from Germany that started in about 1968 and peaked in the 1970s. Krautrock wasn't a genre or even a cohesive scene, but rather the term originated in the UK in response to a broad range of music coming from Germany.   Small Sword Magazine provides a good definition of krautrock and the online magazine Perfect Sound Forever provides a concise history of krautrock.

Krautrock is so broad and varied that its difficult to know where to start. A book that is now sadly out of print is Julian Cope's overview Krautrocksampler, and used copies are going for hefty prices.  Julian Cope's list of 50 essential krautrock albums from Krautrocksampler has been posted on the website Rate Your Music. In fact, several lists of krautrock albums have been posted on Rate Your Music. The most comprehensive list of krautrock albums would appear to be on the website Krautrock Discography. But if you're looking for lengthier reviews, you can check out the Krautrock Kompendium in Kolour, which is a .pdf file of all krautrock reviews from Sound Projector magazine.

Two encyclopedic reference books on krautrock were published in the mid-1990s at about the same time as Krautrocksampler, but these have gone out of print, as well. Fortunately, however, much of the content from The Crack in the Cosmic Egg and Cosmic Dreams at Play has found its way onto the internet.

The Crack in the Cosmic Egg   Cosmic Dreams at Play

Krautrock continues to generate interest and it has influenced a variety of music in subsequent generations. The BBC, who know their way around a documentary, recently aired a history of krautrock.

This is part 1 of 6, the remaining five segments of this documentary are on YouTube.