1. The discussion about the name of the band. I really wish people would let it go and shut up about the meaning of "Tangerine Dream" ... for one thing if it is a surrealistic thing, then it is a "fleeting image" ... and you are not giving it the license to come and go as it pleases ... the image has a life of its own ... that has nothing to do with you or I, ... or these words!
2. ... "The revolt among the students at universities was slowly beginning to take form – especially in Berlin – and the music reflected the rebellion against conventions. Music should have a much more free form, be unpredictable and contain a lot of improvisation. Traditional songs were seen as bourgeois. ' ...."
This is sad and ... sadder ... and ... weak. And it was happening in SF, LA, London, Paris and other places as well! On top of it, students are so unintelligent as to think that only music should have much more free form and be unpredictable? The whole thing was not JUST about music, it was also about the other arts. What do you think Godard was about? And so many others in literature? Didn't you ever read Naked Lunch? Or Steppenwolf -- the "book" for that age? (Back to Germany) There is a similar scene in theater at the time with the likes of Peter Handke and such, film is having the same thing and the likes of Werner, Wim and Fassbinder couldn't give a dam about what was there before and tried hard to do something else ...and SUCCEEDED. And one can hardly say that literature did not have such an explosive and exploratory life as well ... it is just really strange to see someone say this and not see ... how close to the truth can one be, and yet not get the true vision of it. Of which music is also a part!
It's the main criticism I have of a lot of these write ups ... it's like music had nothing to do with the rest of the day and night and people. And that simply isn't true at all.
3. ... The psychedelic wave quickly gained a lot of supporters, more and more bands began using lights and other visual effects on stage. Out of this melting pot, a lot of pioneering German bands emerged. Bands like Amon Düül, Can, Ashra Temple, Agitation Free and Organisation (which later turned into Kraftwerk) ...
While there may be some truth to all this, it should be mentioned that creating music under the influence is also a valid process and only the German scene has accepted and not trashed it. It is actually nice to see Mani Neumeier and Helmut Hattler be very honest about those days and moments, the critical juncture of which makes a musician of the sould right out of it ... it teaches you what a "raga" is supposed to teach ... to liberate you from the "craft" so you can just play. This became very important to that visionary process ... and since we're talking about that ... we might as well mention that Tim Leary also said ... "get into the vibe of the music" ... which is what ALL of these people did!
However, I don't think that drugs were as important as something else ... and Amon Duul 2's first album is the perfect editorial about the communes that helped create this lifestyle ... and the long piece starts stoned out and eventually works itself into an orgiastic party ... and then ... there is the name of that piece ... and if you don't realize that it this was a comment about the whole scene ... so we do all this ... and all it is about was get crazy and then have music? is all about? ... I think not ... and many of these musicians revolted on that ... and went on to create something else. I doubt, seriously doubt that Edgar and friends were getting ripped to do Zeit. I doubt Klaus was getting ripped to do Cyborg or Timewind. I doubt that Can was getting ripped for Tago Mago ... they didn't need to ... and in fact ... there is an example of cut and paste and cut and past ... and here is a piece of music for you ... that's experimental ... and avant-garde ... but to say that it was ripped or stoned ... it doesn't have to be so!
It makes me wonder why Edgar won't talk to anyone ... they say that anytime you want the truth is right in front of you and instead we go for ideas and thoughts and things we want to see ... and Edgar and many other people, just don't want to bother with that discussion ... chronicling a time where most people "weren't there" ... is ... worse than surrealism! It's death! And ugly!