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The other night I’d just finished reading a bittersweet interview with half of Neu!, Michael Rother, when I learned that his partner in Neu!, Klaus Dinger, had passed away of heart failure just shy of his 62nd birthday.

It seemed vividly clear from Rother’s comments in his recent Invisible Jukebox that, although his relationship with Dinger had become incredibly strained over the years, a great deal of fondness remained between the two longtime collaborators. As Rother wrote on his website:“I will remember Klaus for his creativity as an artist and I will think about him with gratitude for his wonderful contributions to our project Neu!.”

Dinger is particularly credited with originating the propulsive “motorik” beat of classic Krautrock, a joyous and trance-inducing —yet slightly sinister— expansive groove-mantra beloved of taste-makers everywhere, from Bowie and Eno to Stereolab, John Frusciante to the Wooden Shjips.

If you’re curious to know what Neu! sound like, Damon Albarn’s description lends the group a curiously (and slightly unearned) Tropicalismo flair: “When I listen to Neu! I think of a Germany where the autobahn is a thousand miles of golden white sands and the sound systems hang in the banana trees, instead of speedtraps and bratwurst.” Brian Eno, Mr. Oblique Strategies himself, inched a bit closer with his description of Dinger’s alienated funk rhythms: “There were three great beats in the 70s: Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat, James Brown’s funk, and Klaus Dinger’s Neu! beat.”

Better yet, you could just have a listen. Nine minutes may sound like a long time, but Neu! time passes in the blink of an eye, a delirious swirl of color and mind-bending tricks of the light. Talk about the in-sound from way-out.

Klaus Dinger [Wiki] | Neu! [Amazon] | Michael Rother | Groenland [home to Neu! reissues]

Ciccone Youth, “Two Cool Rock Chicks Listening to Neu!” (from The Whitey Album)

Neu!, “Negativeland” (from Neu!, 1972)

Stereolab, “We’re Not Adult Orientated (Neu Wave)” (from Space Age Bachelor Pad Music)

NEU!: MICHAEL ROTHER (LEFT) AND KLAUS DINGER (RIGHT) | PHOTO BY THOMAS DINGER

In honor of Kim Deal’s all-around awesomeness (and the brand-new Breeders album, Mountain Battles), it’s Kim Deal Appreciation Day here at Warped Reality.

Hindsight is 20/20, and it seems pretty damn clear in retrospect that the dissolution of the Pixies had a great deal to do with Kim Deal’s effortless ascension into her own spotlight.

Deal slowly but surely came to ground the group’s wilder flights of fancy: her driving, concise basslines and honeyed vocals stood out as the unerring calm to Black Francis’ jagged, pitch-black squalls. It was this finely calibrated balance, ironically enough, that pulled the Pixies back from the brink more than once, reining in their frontman’s hyper-kinetic abrasiveness and pushing their peculiar, often surreal sound into the stratosphere. But it also pulled the group apart, sowing the seeds of jealousy and miscommunication.

When Deal (predictably) went off on her own to found the indie supergroup the Breeders, it seemed inevitable that she’d finally become a star in her own right. And, in what was a thrilling triumph of substance over style, she did just that, scoring a genuine hit with “Cannonball” off of 1993’s Last Splash. The year punk broke. Smash your head on the punk rock. Ka-ching!

That New Year’s Eve, the Breeders triumphantly rang in the New Year on MTV, Kim Deal’s gleeful insouciance that much cooler because it seemed so wonderfully genuine. No stylists made her over. You’d never catch her yo-yo dieting. She scribbled out stray gray hairs with Sharpies. She smoked and drank and made snarky (unprintable) comments. And through it all, she played music as head-bangingly glorious as it was fizzy and sweet —propulsively giddy, jagged little pop rocks.

It’s been a whirlwind since then, but after numerous ups and downs —including lineup changes, rehab stints, and (Pixies) reunions— the Breeders are back.

And it’s about time.

The last time I saw them was in San Francisco, circa Title TK. While the beer onstage had been replaced by Starbucks, and Kim was no longer able to stick her cigarette between the frets in her guitar to smolder away between songs (damn smoking ordinances), that did little to dim the group’s high-wattage enthusiasm. They were more than ready right out of the starting gate, equal parts sloppy and genius. After all, it’s one of Kim’s many virtues that she’s never exactly on point —she (and, consequently, the group) are always a little off. But that’s perfect too—it suits her to a tee.

Here’s to you, Kim.

4AD/Mountain Battles | The Breeders on Myspace

The Breeders, “We’re Gonna Rise” (from Mountain Battles, 2007)

the Breeders, “Overcome” (with Carrie Bradley, from the Pod demos)

the Breeders, “Head To Toe” (co-written by Diana Senechal)

As usual, I’m a day late and a p-fork short announcing this little tidbit of news: No Wave hellions Teenage Jesus & the Jerks will be reuniting for two shows (8pm, 11pm) at NYC’s Knitting Factory on (Friday) June 13th. The reunion shows constitute a release party of sorts for Thurston Moore & Byron Coley’s lavish No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976-1980 [Abrams].

Strident chanteuse Lydia Lunch will be joined by current Bad Seed/former Jerk & Eight Eyed Spy Jim Sclavunos. Rumor has it that a “lost member” of TJ&TJ will be filling on bass duties, but no word yet as to whom that could be. (Thurston Moore?)

The rest of the evening’s entertainment remains a mystery. Quoth the Knitting Factory press release: “Also on the bill will be a supporting act from the ashes of the original NYC No Wave nightmare.” Hmm. DNA, anyone? Bueller? Paging Tim Wright, jungles of Belize?

For more on No New York and No Wave:“High Voltage Humans”

Interview with Robin Crutchfield, touching on the radical heyday of TJ&TJ

Look for the collected works of TJ&TJ will also be out in June from Atavistic.

Buy tix here. [Jesus 1, Jesus 2]

Teenage Jesus & the Jerks, “Burning Rubber” (from No New York)

Teenage Jesus & the Jerks, “I Woke Up Dreaming” (from No New York)

LYDIA & LIZZIE MERCIER DESCLOUX, 1980 | PHOTO CREDIT: UNKNOWN