1) Can was an experimental rock group founded in Cologne, Germany in 1968. Describing themselves as an ''anarchist community'', they constructed their music largely through improvisation and editing, in a way similar to several avant-garde composers of the time. Members Irmin Schmidt and Holger Czukay had studied electronic music together, along with Jon Hassell, under Karlheinz Stockhausen circa 1966. Some of the more radical compositional techniques involved tape manipulation similar to composers such as Pierre Schaeffer and Iannis Xenakis.

Their initial singer was an American artist, Malcolm Mooney, who joined them living in an old castle where Holger Czukay documented much of the bands history at the controls of their own music studio, Inner Space. Mooney added a sort of "Outsider artist" approach to his improvised vocals and eventually fled back to the USA on advice of his psychiatrist. The band replaced him with an even stranger Japanese street busker, Damo Suzuki. Eventually two ex-members of traffic joined up and Rosko Gee eventually edged Holger offstage to the controls and mixing and the band started to lose steam. Years later Malcom Mooney re-joined the band for a reunion CD, Rite Time.

A lot of their initial popularity came from positive press in the UK when many other Krautrock bands were shunned by UK media such as NME. Can toured the UK extensively a few times and had a hit in 1977 with 'I Want More'. They also gained exposure by doing soundtrack work for German filmmakers.

They had only occasional commercial success, but exerted a huge influence on subsequent rock and electronic music. They are generally held to be the finest of the original krautrock bands, and are among the most important experimental artists in recent music history.

2) Can is the name of a Korean pop group.

3) Can is the name of a (creative commons licensed) German rapper.