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The Wizard 
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 18 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 7341
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 Topic: Stereolab
Posted: December 23 2006 at 11:38 |
Is just me or are these guys just plain cool? They have a very unique sound that's like 60's retro meets a modern answer to krautrock. I really dig them!
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Harkmark
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 29 2005
Location: Norway
Status: Offline
Points: 538
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Posted: December 24 2006 at 10:52 |
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Yeah, they're pretty cool. Saw them live in the early 90s (93 or 94), have two singles.
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Joolz
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: March 24 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 1377
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Posted: December 24 2006 at 11:40 |
I've kind of lost touch with their world recently, but I was a fan in the 90s. They had some great album titles - how about Transient Random Noise Bursts With Announcements - but my favourite is 
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superprog
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 07 2006
Status: Offline
Points: 1354
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Posted: December 24 2006 at 12:01 |
yay!!! a Stereolab thread........they (along with Japan's Pizacatto Five) brought 50s-60s lounge music & aesthetics to a wider audience, though i would say Sterolab had a lot more underground appeal. My fav works of theirs:
Dots & Loops (1997) - their most electronica/post rock work
Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996) - top notch space age bachelor pad musick
Transient Random Ambient Noise Bursts (1993) - super kraut-out!!!
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cuncuna
Forum Senior Member
Joined: March 29 2005
Location: Chile
Status: Offline
Points: 4318
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Posted: December 24 2006 at 12:02 |
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Nice band. Favourites of mine are "Soundust" and "Cobra and phases play bla, bla, bla, something...", "Dots and loops" and there's another one, can't remember the name though. Nice band to go with other stuff, like Bark Psychosis, Piano magic, Spacemen 3, etc.
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¡Beware of the Bee!
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Tenken
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 25 2006
Location: Chile
Status: Offline
Points: 162
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Posted: December 25 2006 at 00:21 |
I know them but I don't have any Album, tell me which one is good please 
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 ¡¡El Rocanrol no morirá jamás!!
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superprog
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 07 2006
Status: Offline
Points: 1354
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Posted: December 25 2006 at 06:07 |
think one shld start with Emperor Tomato Ketchup to get the full range of their Kraut n' lounge aesthetic......
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The Wizard
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 18 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 7341
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Posted: December 26 2006 at 10:43 |
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Does anyone know what their newer stuff is like?
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cuncuna
Forum Senior Member
Joined: March 29 2005
Location: Chile
Status: Offline
Points: 4318
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Posted: December 26 2006 at 11:16 |
 Tenken wrote:
I know them but I don't have any Album, tell me which one is good please 
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I think those in my list are the most acomplished ones; "Dots and loops", "Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night" and "Sounddust". Their dyscography is extense, but I have managed to check out a lot of their stuff. I can also recomend an EP entitled "Kibernetica Babyka". Good luck.
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¡Beware of the Bee!
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Jimbo
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Joined: February 28 2005
Location: Helsinki
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Points: 2818
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Posted: December 27 2006 at 06:33 |
Emperor Tomato Ketchup is a fun, and most importantly fine album. Never heard anything quite like it. It's the only album I have of theirs, but that'll change soon hopefully. Stereolab definitely get a from me.
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Goldenavatar
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 25 2006
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 147
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Posted: January 01 2007 at 17:26 |
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I've liked what I've heard. Sound-Dust and Emperor Tomato Ketchup. They reminded me of another band, Hooverphonic.
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master_k
Forum Newbie
Joined: March 26 2006
Location: Norway
Status: Offline
Points: 25
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Posted: January 28 2007 at 18:09 |
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I'm totally hooked on Stereolab these days. The albums I primarily find amuzing are Emperor Tomato Ketchup and Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night.
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Situation that rules your world (despite all you've said)
I would strike against it but the rule displaces...
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hogweed P
Forum Newbie
Joined: December 21 2006
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 16
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Posted: January 28 2007 at 18:29 |
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I love Stereolab! Like it's been mentioned, they have a long and extensive discography. I'd go with any and all cds of theirs from Emperor Tomato Ketchup forward ( Dots and Loops, Cobra, Sound Dust, etc...) because they get more adventurous with instrumentation, composition, etc on their later releases. And their lounge/easy listening/exotica is more prevalent here. But, I do love their earlier more Krautrock era too (fans of Neu, Faust, etc will dig it) One thing I've noticed and would be shocked to find out if it isn't true, is that I would bet money that the 'Lab really likes Hatfield and the North. I can hear a lot of influence on them, with the jazzy keyboard parts, but more importantly with the Northettes singing. Like I said, I would be shocked if they didn't like those couple albums and have them as an influence. Anyways, glad to talk about Stereolab here, I've always considered them progressive in their ideas, process, etc, and love 'em.
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clarke2001
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Joined: June 14 2006
Location: Croatia
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Points: 4160
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Posted: February 19 2007 at 13:27 |
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I checked only TRNBWA, and I can't dig it.
I mean, ideas are lovely, melodies are cool, sounds are awsome...just all the songs should be 95% shorter.
Any recommendations for other, similar albums, but less ehm...Ben-hurian?
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Squonkman
Forum Senior Member
Joined: April 08 2008
Status: Offline
Points: 0
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Posted: April 08 2008 at 19:39 |
hogweed P wrote:
I love Stereolab! Like it's been mentioned, they have a long and extensive discography. I'd go with any and all cds of theirs from Emperor Tomato Ketchup forward ( Dots and Loops, Cobra, Sound Dust, etc...) because they get more adventurous with instrumentation, composition, etc on their later releases. And their lounge/easy listening/exotica is more prevalent here. But, I do love their earlier more Krautrock era too (fans of Neu, Faust, etc will dig it) One thing I've noticed and would be shocked to find out if it isn't true, is that I would bet money that the 'Lab really likes Hatfield and the North. I can hear a lot of influence on them, with the jazzy keyboard parts, but more importantly with the Northettes singing. Like I said, I would be shocked if they didn't like those couple albums and have them as an influence. Anyways, glad to talk about Stereolab here, I've always considered them progressive in their ideas, process, etc, and love 'em. |
I was going to start a Stereolab thread when I searched and found this one. I echo your sentiments about Stereolab exactly. There is a very short list of totally cool hip bands which always were a little underground, and Stereolab has always topped my list in that category.
I also maintain that Stereolab is really a progressive rock group. Yes, they are always put in the post-rock, shoegazer indie categories with groups like Yo La Tengo, Low, Galaxie 500, Luna etc (whom I also dig), but Stereolab's love of analogue synths and noise experimentation was very cutting edge (yet retro). There is simply no other group which sounds like them. You got to love any group that named itself after the laboratory that produced stereo hi fi test and demo records in the 60s.
I have seen them live twice, and they had quite an array of various organs and synths up there. The great thing is they combined their influences so well into this futuristic music that sounded poppy and retro at the same time. Prog snobs probably will dismiss them because of the pop and punk influences (they give Sonic Youth a run for the money on the driving noise sonics sometimes), but to me Stereolab is the essence of how I view progressive music----music that pushes the envelope, that sounds unique, that is aesthetically pleasing, and can be simple or complex. Stereolab never sought to "make hits" or enter the mainstream. And how many bands can write infectious pop songs in French and still be popular?
For some of the above posters who asked where to start, the early stuff is more driving Krautrock influences, more straight ahead in song structure but layers of organs and guitars droning and fuzzing on top of each other. Also the early albums reveal the band's fondness for lounge, and exotica pop from the 60s like Martin Denny and Esquivel. My favorite early track is Jenny Ondioline from Transient Random Noise-Bursts (all 18 minutes), but its not the place to start......
If I were starting out new with Stereolab, I would seek out the EP Switched On Part II, Refried Ectoplasm, which has some of their best songs, many of which are not on their albums proper. Stuff like Mountain, French Disko (La Resistance!!), John Cage Bubblegum, Lo Boob Oscillator etc. French Disko is probably the signature early Stereolab song. If you like that, you will be hooked. Then I would get Mars Audiac Quintet, which to me is their most accessible, pop oriented album with a lot of catchy melodies and easy to like songs----Three Dee Melodie, Wow and Flutter, Ping Pong etc. The whole album is fantastic.
As you get more into Stereolab, only then would I get Emperor Tomato Ketchup and Dots and Loops. Those albums see Stereolab getting more progressive, into the avante jazz territory (influenced by band members from the High Llamas and Tortoise). More sonic experimentation, the intro of more brass and strings, and songs that aren't quite as straightforward as the previous albums, althought Cybele's Reverie probably is their most well known song. They even get a little into trip hop and dance a bit with some of the melodic structures. They delved into more dreamy spacy electronica on subsequent albums like Soundust.
The more recent albums (ie Margerine Eclipse) are somewhat of an attempt to return to the more poppier and less jazzy early efforts, but they lost a female vocalist a few years ago named Mary Hansen who was a key element of those lighthearted singsong "la la la" type vocals which was a signature sound for them. You still have Latetia Sadier's beautiful light airy voice though.
You also can't go wrong with the BBC compilation called ABC Music Radio One Sessions, which serves as a great overview of their 90s output but shows also how good a live band they are. I would stay away from the other compilations however until you've dug into the EPs and albums mentioned above. They have an amazing amount of stuff out there and what was always cool about them is they would constantly release stuff on EPs and singles that were limited edition, on vinyl etc, if you were into that.
Anyway, this is such a cool and unique band that sound fresh and new every time you listen, and with so much output to explore, you can enjoy getting into them for years. For newbies, trust me, try Refried Ectoplasm and Mars Audiac Quintet first, and if you like them, you will be hooked. The newer stuff is good too, they are really one of the few bands around that have never released a bad album. So if you have to have something recent, Margerine Eclipse, but I would start out early and work your way through the discography to really appreciate how their sound evolved, yet stays anchored.
Edited by Squonkman - April 08 2008 at 19:45
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Slartibartfast
Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / In Memoriam
Joined: April 29 2006
Location: Atlantais
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Points: 29630
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Posted: April 09 2008 at 06:48 |
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Long time Stereolab fan pretty much have everything. They've managed to carry on despite the loss of Mary Hansen in 2002 (died in a bike accident). They've put out so much stuff it's really hard to pick favorites. If you're a fan already, check out Laetitia Sadier's side project, Monade. You might also find the High Llamas stuff worthwhile (earlier material more so than later). Interesting trivia, one of the Songs from Dots and Loops was used in a Volkswagen TV commercial.
Also not to be missed, Oscillons from the Anti Sun, it's a four disc set of B-sides and EPs. The fourth disc is a DVD of their videos.
Edited by Slartibartfast - April 09 2008 at 06:55
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Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Squonkman
Forum Senior Member
Joined: April 08 2008
Status: Offline
Points: 0
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Posted: April 09 2008 at 12:12 |
Slartibartfast wrote:
Also not to be missed, Oscillons from the Anti Sun, it's a four disc set of B-sides and EPs. The fourth disc is a DVD of their videos.
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As I said in the previous post, I wouldn't start with that box set if I were new to Stereolab. That would be for completists, although the DVD is the only official visual record thus far. I sure hope they had the foresight to record some of their concerts live for DVD release, it would be a shame not to have some more visual record of them playing live. Those Jools Holland appearances etc are great stuff.
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Philéas
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 14 2006
Status: Offline
Points: 6419
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Posted: April 12 2008 at 10:06 |
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I'm considering getting myself some Stereolab. I might like it.
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Stereolab
