STEREOLAB

[Guest Chaney]

The only Stereolab disk I've heard is Dots and Loops, which, I believe, is supposed to be atypical of there work up to that time(?).

Any essential recordings that you boys and girls would recommend? Any lemons?

Recommended that I move forward or backward - with Dots and Loops as a starting point?

Any thoughts as to this band?

PS: I Dots and Loops.

[Guy Berger]

The only Stereolab disk I've heard is Dots and Loops, which, I believe, is supposed to be atypical of there work up to that time(?).

Any essential recordings that you boys and girls would recommend? Any lemons?

Recommended that I move forward or backward - with Dots and Loops as a starting point?

Any thoughts as to this band?

PS: I Dots and Loops.

I like the one with "Jenny Ondioline", but I can't remember what the CD is called and am too lazy to dig it out. All three of the SLab CDs I own (that one, Emperor Tomato Ketchup and whatever-in-the-Milky Night) are enjoyable.

Guy

[Brandon Burke]

I like the one with "Jenny Ondioline", but I can't remember what the CD is called and am too lazy to dig it out.

Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements. From 1993. One of my favorites. My fave by a mile, though, is...

...Mars Audiac Quintet. They lost me once they started going bananas with the post-production. I blame John McEntire (Tortoise) for that. He makes everything sound sterile and mechanical; a style my buddies and I call "Steely Can". B)

Regardless, I much prefer Stereolab as a live band in the studio. And, despite what AMG says, Mars Audiac Quintet stands among my favorite rock records of all time. The tunes are all very simple but, as they progress, they add layer upon layer of texture. A very sedimentary style of music-making.

One last note: Of the two records mentioned here, the former is much noiser than the latter. This is to say that Transient Random-Noise employs more Sonic Youth/Yo La Tengo-esque dissonance. My guess is that's not what you're looking for since you dig Dots and Loops. And if that's the case allow me to recommend Our Point of Departure by HiM...

[ajf67]

a style my buddies and I call "Steely Can".  B)

[John B]

Chaney -

Go with these to start:

For full length albums I am partial to their early to mid 90's sound and would recommend

1. Mars Audiac Quintet

2. Emperor Tomato Ketchup

3. Transient Random Noise Bursts With Announcements

Before those I might recommend grabbing a few discs of their singles collections. Switched On Stereolab, Refried Ectoplasm (Switched on v.2) and Aluminum Tunes (Switched On v.3) all have some fantastic tracks.

I have also heard, and enjoyed, Peng!, Cobra and Phases Group, and Sound Dust, but don't feel they are as strong as the other discs I mentioned.

[.:.impossible]

The first disc I would recommend, knowing you Dots & Loops, would be Cobra & Phases.

Then I would recommend you check out the other side of Stereolab that these guys are recommending, because it is almost like looking at the same object from a different vantage point. I agree with them completely, in that the early disc are fantastic, but I really like Dots & Loops and Cobra & Phases. Sean O'Hagan and John McIntyre are a welcome addition to these albums with the string, horn, and percussion arrangements that the previous discs lack.

[ralphie_boy]

I agree with Brandon - Transient Random Noise Bursts and Mars Audiac are my faves. I also dig Dots and Loops and Cobra & Phases. I never warmed up to Sound Dust however and haven't heard their latest effort yet.

[Joe]

ALUMINUM TUNES is as fine a Stereolab "sampler" as there is.

IMHO, TRANSIENT is one of the finest guitar rock -- whatever that is -- albums of the 90's.

[Guest Chaney]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations!

Edited July 9, 2004 by Chaney

[J Larsen]

Stereolab's music is full of references to/rip-offs of a lot of experimental 70s music, especially krautrock groups like Neu and Faust. I can't remember the exact Stereolab song in question or which exact songs were being referenced, but I do recall that one of Stereolab's earlier songs even featured Faust lyrics over a Neu riff. So you might want to check out some of their influences, too. (It's better, IMO, but admitedly lacks much of the kitch factor that may be attracting you to Stereolab. Not that there's no kitch there, it's just done in a different way.)

Good starting points would be Neu 1 and Faust IV. A lot of those German art-school bands were lacking in the album-title creativity department.

Edited July 10, 2004 by J Larsen

[John B]

I would definitely recommend checking out Neu!, Neu!2 and Neu! '75, but only after you have heard some earlier Stereolab. The krautrock influence really seems to have dropped off quite a bit by the time you get to the later Stereolab albums.

[Brandon Burke]

Interesting. Prehaps this is why I enjoy everything up until the mid-90's. I very much like NEU!, Can, Amon Duul, etc. Stereolab, however, get a something of a raw deal in the equation, I think. Their lounge/kitsch tendencies only really emerged later, which is largely why I fell out. It seemed too self-conscious by that point.

Despite what you read about them, everything up through Mars Audiac Quintet, I would argue, is not as PoMo as they're described to be. The records I'm thinking of are straight homages to the Kraut bands mentioned above mixed with a combination of Astrud Gilberto and Brigitte Fontaine on vocals. And there's nothing ironic about Brigitte Fontaine. If anything, that's high modernism. And that's exactly why this period of Stereolab was so intriguing. They very tactfully walked the line between "high art" and "pop" without becoming either too serious for their own good or simply a fashion-inspired pastiche. This argument holds less water the further you follow their chronology, I think.

In any case, a great band and one that I hope continues for many years.

[Brandon Burke]

I would definitely recommend checking out Neu!, Neu!2 and Neu! '75, but only after you have heard some earlier Stereolab. The krautrock influence really seems to have dropped off quite a bit by the time you get to the later Stereolab albums.

Sorry to disagree, but the only NEU! one really needs is NEU! 1. NEU! 2 is, save for a couple of exceptions, very literally the exact same song played back at varying speeds because they didn't record enough material for another full-length.

I mean it's cool and all but...

Regardless, you're quite right. The mid-90's Stereolab sound is heavily indebted to NEU!. Almost ridiculously so. I can't count the amount of times I put them on while I was a bartender (years ago) only to hear patrons say "Is this Stereolab?".

Edited July 10, 2004 by Brandon Burke

[J Larsen]

Brandon, we're in complete agreement on almost all counts. I think everything after Neu I is a waste of time (and money), personally.

John, thanks for pointing out the movement away from kraut influences. To be honest, the last Stereolab record I heard straight through was Emperor Tomato Katsup. I heard a couple songs off Dots and Loops, and they weren't very krauty.

[John B]

Taking this thread completely off topic now, if you get around to exploring Neu!, and are interested in hearing some more essential krautrock, I would highly recommend exploring Can. Their albums Monster Movie, Tago Mago, Ege Bamyasi and Future Days are all fantastic!

It looks like I think more highly of Neu!2 and Neu!75 than most here, but I do agree with Brandon and J Larsen that the first Neu! album is all you "need." The other two are enjoyable, imo, but not essential.

[J Larsen]

John, just to let you know, I do have all the Neu albums, so I guess that makes me a hypocrite.

Damo-era Can is one of my favorite rock groups of all time. I'm in complete agreement with you on the albums you selected (although I'd personally put Monster Movie on the back burner until I had all the Damo albums). From the point of view of someone coming to kraut via 90s "po-mod" (I guess) music like Stereolab, Future Days is the obvious first choice, followed by Ege Bamyasi. Tago Mago is my personal favorite, but its a bit of a leap from Stereolab to that album! Furthermore, a lot of people are put off by the production on Tago Mago - it pretty much has the sound quality of a low-budget punk record. But if you can get past that, it's a monster of a record.

For bands more in the vein of Neu, there's Cluster, Kluster, and Harmonia (but pass on that Eno collaboration - it really sucks). Early Kraftwerk (Kraftwerk 1, 2, Ralf and Florian) is also interesting music, but it's kind of a different trip. In a way I guess they fit in more with Can in that they had a really loose "jam" thing going on. It's all pretty good, and, unfortunately, all pricey and a bit of a pain to find. Maybe you can download some samples on Amazon or something.

[Brandon Burke]

Yeah, I had all of those NEU! albums at one point as well but only kept NEU 1. The others are definately cool as well. But, like you said John, the first is the only one anyone "needs".

As for Can, I second the vote for beginning with the Damo years. I would begin with Ege Bamyasi, though. It's got more funky material and seems easieer to get into right away. Like many people, "Vitamin C" was my introduction to Can and I think that's a good starting point.

Future Days is a very close second, though. I probably listen to that one more but I remember thinking "Uuhh....what?" the first time I heard it. You really gotta have your psychedelic cap on to get past the almost ridiculously druggy opening few minutes. As a first purchase, the best thing Future Days has going for it is "Moonshake", the only song Can ever issued as a 45.

Tago Mago is probably most famous for featuring the 18+ minute avant-funk bomb that is "Halleluhwah". An imensely catchy rhythm propelled by Holger and Jaki. As a whole, it's not exactly a consistent record. There are some *noise* pieces in between the jams. Even if it were a 26-minute record with just "Mushroom" and "Halleluhwah" it would still be worth the import price in my opinion.

Lastly, Monster Movie features the song "Yoo Doo Right" which, I'm sure you'll agree, sounds.....er.....*strikingly similar* to Sterolab's "Metronomic Underground" off of Emperor Tomato Ketchup. B)

[Joe]

Tim Gane of Stereolab has also nicked great stuff from Brian Wilson, The Silver Apples (compare "Mellotron" from PENG! to the SA's "Ruby"), Suicide, The Fall, and Sun Ra ("Cadriopo" is almost a complete rip-off of "Love In Outer Space).

The thing about S'lab is that they steal from the best.

[J Larsen]

Lastly, Monster Movie features the song "Yoo Doo Right" which, I'm sure you'll agree, sounds.....er.....*strikingly similar* to Sterolab's "Metronomic Underground" off of Emperor Tomato Ketchup.  B)

I completely forgot about that Lab song!

Okay, to be perfectly honest, all of Lab's riff/lyric "borrowing" really started to get on my nerves right around the time ETK came out and I got rid of all my discs. I was trying to be nice about it because I can see the appeal of their albums to a non-kraut fan.

Edited July 12, 2004 by J Larsen

[Chrome]

In somewhat of the same vein, any Morcheeba fans out there?