Tribute albums are becoming more and more common, but how is it that the obscure '70s German art-rock band Can will be the subject of two of them in the coming months? On May 20, Mute Records will release "Sacrilege: The Can Remix Album," which will include drum 'n' bass-heavy remixes of the group's material from such artists as Brian Eno, Sonic Youth and the Orb. Later this year, the Dust Brothers' label, Nickel Bag Records, will put out a more indie rock-oriented tribute with contributions from Beck, Kendra Smith, the Geraldine Fibbers and Farflung. Coincidence, or electronica frenzy gone too far?

\par \par Coincidence, according to Mark Fotiadis, vice president/general manager of Mute. "It would be nice to say we saw this coming," says Fotiadis, who adds that the project took three years to organize. "But the label has never operated that way." Still, Mute didn't put together the tribute just because it seemed like a cool idea at the time. Sales of Can's old albums have always been strong, and in May the label will reissue some of the ones that aren't available in the U.S.

\par \par The krautrock band has also had more influence than its record sales might indicate. "They were years ahead of their time," says Tommy Grenaf of Farflung. "When I first heard them it was about 1982. Jon Peel played me 'Spoon' [and] I thought it was a new band. Then someone told me it was an old band. I was, like, fuck."

\par \par But who aside from musicians, DJs and serious krautrock aficionados is really in the market for a tribute? "It's a combination of old people who missed it the first time around and young people becoming music fans," says Fotiadis. Dal Basi, record sales manager at the Tower Records in Sacramento, Calif., thinks the tribute records will sell in the 10,000 to 15,000 range, mostly to "the white boy, smart alecky college rock kid," he says. "The guy who buys Pavement."

\par \par Could be. And it makes sense that Can would enjoy an upsurge in popularity at a time when the electronic music acts it influenced are finally starting to get some mass media attention. Still, one of the few other acts to enjoy two tribute albums was Curtis Mayfield, who is much more well known and is regarded as far more influential. "This tribute-record thing's gotten out of hand," Basi adds. "There was a Sonny Bono tribut