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Comment by paulsmith | Hacker News Reader

I first learned about Sellafield when I tried to decipher what name Kraftwerk was saying in their song "Radio-Activity" (along with Hiroshima, Chernobyl, and Harrisburg (Three Mile Island)) https://youtu.be/X--F5b5IdqU?si=P6DoR6-VXUC1b50I

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Those phrases, and more, were not in the original version of the song. They were added in the version of the song on the 1991 remix album “The Mix”. This changed the theme (but not the music itself) significantly from the original 1975 version, which did not contain any anti-nuclear propaganda, and instead was about literal radio, as in a medium for communication. I remember being slightly annoyed by the change as being very on-the-nose, and in effect disappearing the more interesting subject about the potential for radio as a medium for communication between people.

so they titled a song “Radioaktivität” but they blatantly skipped talking about radioactivity and only spoke about radio activity? I would have thought they’d be more subtle

It is subtle. 'Radio activity' is one word, the same word, in German.

Anti-nuclear sentiment was low, given that TMI and Chernobyl had not happened yet.

I had exactly the same experience and just skimmed the comments for a mention of this before posting..

Pretty cynical from my side.

But re: Kraftwerk: that tune is pretty good IMO! I like the original as well as the 90s remix and discovered both of them as a kid. The soothing ethereal synth melodies and the scary theme of the title go so well together, eerily.

Thanks I’ve just deciphered the cryptic word missing after almost 3 decades. My mind started to sing the tune right upon reading the word.

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