Karl Bartos: "Without a Trace of Emotion"

This one-time member of Kraftwerk released an exceptional album in 2013 called Off The Record. It contains musical ideas which he couldn't realize while he was in the band. Listen to one track here.

Just as Karl can't avoid his past from effecting him, we still have events which shaped us. As Paul wrote of his background in Philippians 3:4-6 (Bible in Basic English), "Even though I myself might have faith in the flesh: if any other man has reason to have faith in the flesh, I have more: Being given circumcision on the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in relation to the law, a Pharisee: In bitter hate I was cruel to the church; I kept all the righteousness of the law to the last detail."

Now some folks might wonder about believers being declared new creatures. Shouldn't we be free of our old nature? Paul answered that in Romans 7:14 and 15 (BBE). "For we are conscious that the law is of the spirit; but I am of the flesh, given into the power of sin. And I have no clear knowledge of what I am doing, for that which I have a mind to do, I do not, but what I have hate for, that I do."

While we await the return of our Master, we trust in his saving work. As Hebrews 5:8 and 9 (BBE) reminds us, "And though he was a Son, through the pain which he underwent, the knowledge came to him of what it was to be under God's orders; And when he had been made complete, he became the giver of eternal salvation to all those who are under his orders;"

When we're resurrected, we'll be given bodies fit for the new world. As 1 Corinthians 15:54 and 55 (BBE) tells us, "But when this has taken place, then that which was said in the Writings will come true, 'Death is overcome by life. O death, where is your power? O death, where are your pains?'"

If this hasn't happened by Thursday, I'll post an anti-drug song by Neil Young.

Kraftwerk: "The Hall of Mirrors"

Believe it or not, this electronic music group from Germany shaped the sound of modern music. Artists as diverse as David Bowie and Africa Bambaataa were influenced by this innovative band. Check out one of their songs here.

Mirrors weren't common when the Bible was being penned. It's why James 1:23 and 24 shows us how people could forget what they looked like. The Bible in Basic English phrases it like this: "Because if any man is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a glass; For after looking at himself he goes away, and in a short time he has no memory of what he was like."

Furthermore, we're required to examine ourselves by the yardstick of God's Word. As 2 Corinthians 13:5 (BBE) reminds us, "Make a test of yourselves, if you are in the faith; make certain of yourselves. Or are you not conscious in yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, if you are truly Christ's?"

Even partaking of the Lord's Table is a serious matter to consider. As 1 Corinthians 11:26-28 warns, "For whenever you take the bread and the cup you give witness to the Lord's death till he comes. If, then, anyone takes the bread or the cup of the Lord in the wrong spirit, he will be responsible for the body and blood of the Lord. But let no man take of the bread and the cup without testing himself."

When we don't put the Lord first in our lives, we're like the  folks in Haggai 1:5 and 6 (BBE) who neglected rebuilding the temple. "For this cause the Lord of armies has said, 'Give thought to your ways. Much has been planted, but little got in; you take food, but have not enough; you take drink, but are not full; you are clothed, but no one is warm; and he who gets payment for his work, gets it to put it into a bag full of holes."

Mirrors, like the scriptures, show us what we look like. That's why Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17 (BBE), "Every holy Writing which comes from God is of profit for teaching, for training, for guiding, for education in righteousness: So that the man of God may be complete, trained and made ready for every good work."

If Christ hasn't come to reward us by Monday, I hope to post about a stranger witnessing to somebody.

Kraftwerk: "Radio Activity"

April 26th is the 35th anniversary of the tragic Chernobyl nuclear disaster. During the midnight shift, barely-trained technicians tested the number four reactor at the Vladimir I. Lenin nuclear power station. To make sure that the safety Diesel generator would turn on if the reaction dropped below half its usual power output, the men deliberately lowered the graphite rods into the core. 

That's when the power dropped rapidly. They raised the rods but the reactor became unstable. Dropping the rods didn't help because Xenon gas had built up at its top. The five-hundred-ton lid blew through the roof, releasing extreme amounts of radio activity.

The German techno band Kraftwerk updated their 1975 version of "Radio Activity," mentioning four atomic radiation events. Listen to it here:

We humans think we're so smart. But God is the one who knows all. Speaking of the wicked, he said in Deuteronomy 32:35 (Bible in Basic English), "Punishment is mine and reward, at the time of the slipping of their feet: for the day of their downfall is near, sudden will be their fate."

The Lord also said of such prideful people in Psalms 82:6 and 7 (BBE), "I said, 'You are gods; all of you are the sons of the Most High:' But you will come to death like men, falling like one of the rulers of the earth."

Likewise, Isaiah 45:7 (BBE) reminds humanity, "I am the giver of light and the maker of the dark; causing blessing, and sending troubles; I am the Lord, who does all these things."

Even with all our technology, we aren't in control of everything. Puny sinners figure they  have mastered nature. Christ's disciples found out first hand who really is in command, as we read in Mark 4:41 (BBE) after Jesus calmed the sea, "And their fear was great, and they said one to another, 'Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea do his orders?'"

If our mighty saviour hasn't returned by Thursday, I hope to post about how illicit pleasures never satisfy.

Saturday Song: Kraftwerk, "Sex Object"

We certainly live in a sex-obsessed world. From advertising to television, we can't escape seeing women and men being objectified.

Kraftwerk is one band which commented on this tendency of people to turn others into objects of their lust. This isn't love but inordinate desire.

Hear the song here.

I love Job's answer to the matter of prurient appetites. In Job 31:1 (KJV), he declared, "I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?"

Some people in Christ's time figured that as long as they never committed adultery with a woman, they were righteous. In Matthew 5:28 (KJV) Jesus explained, "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

Men are called to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Ephesians 5:28 (KJV) leaves no room for wandering affections. "So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself."

And though this verse is awkwardly phrased in the King James version, Song of Solomon 2:7  (KJV warns against sex before the age of maturity. "I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please." Newer versions render "he" as "it."

This is why Christianity is superior to other belief systems. Women and men are equal, though they have different roles.

On Monday, I'll explain how Christianity cures guilt. So many earnest folks figure just doing some sort of ritual will cleanse them of past sins.

THE ROCK STAR I'D LOVE TO MEET

If you have the chance to meet only one famous rock star, who would you choose? For me it would be David Bowie. I often fantasize that we're having tea and discussing music. It might never come about but if I can meet him, I will do those things.

One thing I'd like to talk over with David is experimental and electronic music. Like him, I find the first three Kraftwerk albums highly evocative. I'm sure David and I could have a great time listening to them and discussing each piece.

David's early tunes from the sixties are among my favourites. Songs such as "When I'm Five" and "Kooks"" show his more sensitive side. "The Laughing Gnome" shows his sense of humor. Early seventies classics such as "Space Oddity" and "Saviour Machine" show his love of science fiction.

I also love the three albums he recorded in Berlin. Hero's, Low and The Lodger  are beloved by me because of their aural textures and interesting lyrics. I've heard that David wanted to use German musicians but somebody in his agency told them that he had changed his mind. Being a fan of Krautrock, I wish David had met and put music together with those pioneers of German rock music.

Cat People is another album of David's which I enjoy. It has darker sonic textures than the German trilogy but I still enjoy it. The album also reminds me of the time I bought it in 1982.

David Bowie has worked with many different performers. The most famous was John Lennon. The two men collaborated on the song "Fame" in 1975. Brian Eno, pioneer of ambient music, also worked with David. It would be most interesting to hear David's take on those experiences. I'd also like to hear how he and Giorgio Moroder collaborated. He was the legendary electronic music pioneer who backed up Donna Summers on her hit "I Feel Love" in 1977.

Music has been a passion in my life since childhood. I mention it in my first two memoirs, available on my Bruce Atchison's books page. My most recent book is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Powell's Books.

MY "AUTOBAHN" TO CREATIVITY

Which musical group had the most profound effect on you? For me, it was the German electronic music group Kraftwerk. Their early works inspired me to make my own electronic music.

A local radio announcer named Len Thuesen played the side-long version of "Autobahn<" in the spring of 1975. I immediately fell in love with the band's analogue synthesizer masterpiece. Sadly, the music store I visited had sold all their copies of Autobahn.

Two years later, I happened upon Kraftwerk's albums at the music store. I purchased Radio Activity as well as Ralf and Florian. A couple of months later, I purchased Trans-Europe Express and instantly fell in love with the new musical direction the band presented. I continued buying Kraftwerk albums until I had them all.

Listening to the first two Kraftwerk albums, I felt amazed by the simplicity of their sound. Since there were no drum machines in the early seventies, Ralf and Florian made their own. You can see it in action on a video clip from the BBC's Tomorrow's World TV program. I believed that if they could make their own music without tons of synthesizer keyboards, so could I.

My early experimental sounds were very crude. All I had was an old guitar, a 10-In-One Electronic Project kit, and an old chord organ. I also used radio interference from my TV and a fluorescent flashlight in some pieces.

In December of 1984, I happened upon an electronic program broadcast from CJSR, Edmonton's university radio station. This was the music I'd been yearning for. When Marcel Dion, the host, asked for home recordings of electronic and experimental music, I gathered my tunes on a cassette and hand-delivered it to the station. Marcel was particularly impressed by a tune called "That Feeling You Get When You Stand in a Forest and Feel Time".

Thanks to Marcel's encouragement, I purchased a second-hand synthesizer and a few Casio electronic keyboards. He also loaned me his four-track cassette recorder so I could create more tunes. One piece from that period was "Echoes of Childhood".

I bought my own four-track open reel deck a year later and eventually recorded fifteen albums of music.

Recently, I made videos for many of my pieces. You can hear and see them on my YouTube channel.

As for my mentors, view Kraftwerk's page at Kraftwerk.com.

I mentioned my electronic music compositions in my When a Man Loves a Rabbit debut memoir. It and my Deliverance from Jericho paperback are on the Bruce Atchison's books link.

How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity is distributed through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Virtual Bookworm Publishers.

AUTOBAHN: THE HIGHWAY TO ELECTRONIC MUSIC EXPLORATION.

During twenty-one years of my life, I composed and recorded my own form of electronic music. My passion for this genre began in 1975 when I became an instant fan of the German group Kraftwerk. I first heard their hit Autobahn played on CHED, Edmonton's local rock music radio station.

When I bought their first three albums, I felt inspired to create my own sonic textures. Other electronic artists intimidated me with their racks of expensive synthesizers but Kraftwerk's early music could be produced even by poor musicians such as me.

I began tinkering with various circuits and acoustic sound-making devices in my housekeeping room, during the late seventies, for my own amusement. I couldn't imagine that anybody would be interested in my style of compositions so I never mentioned my hobby to anybody.

In December of 1984, I discovered a program on CJSR radio called Departures. The host, Marcel Dion, played all sorts of fascinating compositions plus he invited "home tapers" to submit their music for broadcast. Believing that my works might have a chance of being played, I copied all of my experiments onto a cassette and hand-delivered it to Marcel in March of 1985 as he was airing his program. Those early recordings were very primitive but as time passed, I bought better gear and improved my technique.

During the summer of 1998, and in honour of my beloved house bunny, Gideon, I recorded an album called Lagomorph. The title refers to the family of animals comprising rabbits, hares, and pikas. When I visited the House Rabbit Society web page containing the word rabbit in different languages, I decided to title each of my new tunes with those names. It took me a few months to finish recording and manufacturing the album at my home, partly due to my freelance writing work, but also because of other interruptions.

Though my music never sold well, I had fun creating it. I now write books and articles but I still have a large number of my electronic music CD-Rs collecting dust in my basement. Please contact me directly if you're interested in this style of music.

I also wrote about how I combined my love of house rabbits and electronic music in my How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity memoir. Please check out the links on the left hand side of this page for details.

ADVENTURES IN ELECTRONIC MUSIC.

I've blogged in the past about my love of electronic music, a genre not well known to most people. In fact, the work of one pioneering band of musicians from Germany inspired me to compose my own pieces. Though I'm far from being an accomplished musician, I did create some fascinating sonic landscapes. Some of my compositions were aired on radio stations in cities such as Moscow, Warsaw, Paris, and Helsinki.

In When a Man Loves a Rabbit (Learning and Living With Bunnies), I briefly mentioned my passion for this synthesizer-oriented music. Here's an excerpt that explains how I combined my twin loves of electronic music and bunnies.

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Over the past fifteen years, I had composed and recorded my own form of experimental music. My passion for that genre began in 1975 when I became an instant fan of Kraftwerk, a German electronic music group. I heard their hit, Autobahn, played on 630 CHED, Edmonton's rock music radio station, and I bought their first three albums.

Listening to them, I felt inspired to create my own sonic textures. Other electronic artists intimidated me with their racks of expensive synthesizers, but Kraftwerk's earlier music could be produced even by poor musicians.

During the late seventies, I had tinkered with various circuits and acoustic sound-making devices in my home. It was for my own amusement and I never mentioned it to my friends
because I never dreamed that anybody would be interested in my sort of compositions.

In December 1984, I discovered a program on CJSR radio called Departures. The host Marcel Dion played all sorts of fascinating compositions and he invited "home tapers" to submit their music for broadcast.

In March, 1985, believing that my work might have a chance of being played, I copied all of my experiments onto a cassette and hand-delivered it to Marcel while he was doing his program.

Those early recordings were very primitive, but as time passed, I bought better gear and improved my technique. During the summer of 1998, and in honour of my beloved Gideon, I recorded an album called Lagomorph.

The title refers to the family of animals comprising of rabbits, hares and pikas. When I visited a web page containing the word rabbit in different languages, I decided to title each of my new tunes with those names. It took me a few months to record and manufacture the album at home, partly due to my freelance writing work and also because of other interruptions.

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When a Man Loves a Rabbit is filled with many more fascinating stories of life with house bunnies. These vignettes range from the tragic to the hilarious. Read more about this memoir here. You're also welcome to contact me directly for more information.

A SIDE OF ME THAT MIGHT SURPRISE YOU.

did you know that I've composed and recorded fifteen albums of electronic music? I haven't released any of late due to being occupied with my freelance writing work, editing my How I Was Razed memoir, and searching for new customers for my two previous books. many of my pieces were played on radio stations in Moscow, Warsaw, Paris, Montreal, and on more than a dozen college stations in America. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation even aired my "Contacting U2MIR" piece across the nation. I also made a few black-and-white music videos for my tunes. Please click here to watch one of them.

From my When a Man Loves a Rabbit (Learning and Living With Bunnies) memoir, here's an excerpt about how I merged my love for rabbits with my passion for electronic music.

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My passion for that genre began in 1975 when I became an instant fan of Kraftwerk, a German electronic music group. I heard their hit, Autobahn, played on 630 CHED, Edmonton's rock music radio station, and I bought their first three albums.

Listening to them, I felt inspired to create my own sonic textures. Other electronic artists intimidated me with their racks of expensive synthesizers, but Kraftwerk's earlier music could be produced even by poor musicians.

During the late seventies, I had tinkered with various circuits and acoustic sound-making devices in my home. It was for my own amusement and I never mentioned it to my friends because I never dreamed that anybody would be interested in my sort of compositions.

In December 1984, I discovered a program on CJSR radio called Departures. The host Marcel Dion played all sorts of fascinating compositions and he invited "home tapers" to submit their music for broadcast. In March, of 1985, believing that my work might have a chance of being played, I copied all of my experiments onto a cassette and hand-delivered it to Marcel while he was doing his program.

Those early recordings were very primitive, but as time passed, I bought better gear and improved my technique. During the summer of 1998, and in honour of my beloved Gideon, I recorded an album called Lagomorph.

The title refers to the family of animals comprising rabbits, hares and pikas. When I visited a web page containing the word rabbit in different languages, I decided to title each of my new tunes with those names. It took me a few months to record and manufacture the album at home, partly due to my freelance writing work and also because of other interruptions.


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When a Man Loves a Rabbit contains many more fascinating stories of life with house bunnies. These range from the tragic to the hilarious. Click here to read more about this book and to order it. You may also e-mail me directly if the comment form doesn't work.