Stereolab: Classic or Dud

2 days 2 late 2 get 1.

maybe someones put it up on Oin.... oh.

It's time for another Switched On. Oscillons doesn't count.

Umm Zeus that is basically what I just said, isn't it?

Also: no one has much reason to rag on MAQ, but there were plenty of early Lab fans who just liked them to drone -- whose line, as the band got popular, tended to go along the lines of "I haven't really paid much attention to them since Transient..."

Perhaps it is because of the NME review (which was a 0/10), but I always felt that Cobra is not a popular album among the Lab fans.

I also got that impression from the Pitchfork review (3.4 from Brent D.). I think it's underrated, too.

Cobra came out when (a) the drone junkies dropped away (as nabisco said) and (b) there was a perception that Stereolab wasn't changing its sound significantly enough. I think (b) is now addressed by the fact that most people accept Stereolab will always sound like that. Nobody ever criticised the Ramones for using guitars all the time.

kind of gay question, but i heard this marginally different mix of 'wow and flutter' that isn't on the lp. it's better: just these extra drones and shit overlaid. does the mix on the single answer to this description?

that question had zero homosexual content. very disappointing.

does the mix on the single answer to this description?

ans: yes

I've got the Stereolab discog 92-98 on shuffle tonight. Goddam these guys had a stellar run, no? The consistent motorik pace is especially suitable for working-while-listening.

stellar run lasted til 2001 imo

I'll pretty much rep for everything except Cobra & Phases, actually, tho tonight I am excluding the latter-day stuff in the interest of consistency.

99-00s non-LP releases are a bit patchy tbh.

Does anyone have any opinions on the Electric Imitation Piano records? I like the few tracks that I've heard & have been meaning to seek out more for the longest time, but haven't gotten around to it.

er.. imitation electric piano

Most ridiculous C or D I've seen yet.

i only have the IEP cd on duophonic, nice enough but not amazing..

I've also been meaning to check out some of the old McCarthy stuff. The only SL side-project I've indulged was Snowpony. I don't know how much Katherine Gifford contributed creatively in her time w/ SL, but I recall the first two SP EPs being quite good. I probably haven't listened to them in ten years or more, tho.

i always thought snowpony started really really well (love 'easy way down' and the other two 45s from shortly after) but got less interesting fairly quickly..

ya, album w/ seafaring oil painting on the cover was pretty dud, as I recall. I stopped paying attention after that.

lol ES yr display name headed for the hall o fame (if it isn't there already).

haha cheers

Inspired by the 90s poll, I listened to part of Peng! to see if maybe I've heard the wrong Stereolab (still possible I suppose). The vocals are annoying and thin, and don't seem to change much from song to song. The same boring guitar strumming sound gets rolled out over and over as well. Not hearing too much in the way of songform to get excited about to compensate for those weakness either. Very cool, uh huh.

ok then the haters is just about some bullshit lol. wow though re: otherworldly i get the exact opposite reaction of what you just said, being totally honest here. cobra and d&l are all cooing, liquid, 8 dimensional futurebeings and sound dust is dem beings touching down/falling from grace, everything before or after is er, unusually inventive indie rock.

― tremendoid

so otm

so otm

to be fair, dots + loops hasn't aged so well overall, and cobra got bad press but does hold up.

sound dust is mostly boring, but the subsequent albums surprisingly have aged very well.

sound dust is gorgeous, every second of it

Sound dust is a great album, one of my favourites but I think Margarine Eclipse is even better.

I prefer Sound-Dust over everything they've done since then. For me, it was their last really good album.

Who was Richard Harrison? Listed as a groop member on Dots and Loops -- bassist, according to Wiki, though members' core instruments aren't spelled out on the album's liner notes. Short tenure in the band, nothing much before or after '97. Was the name a pseudonym? It seems strange for any group of recent vintage to have such a short-timing mystery man. Was he some nobody pulled in from subway busking duty and sent on his way after the record was finished? I've always wondered about him.

Considering the Lab's association with John McEntire and the Chicago scene in general around that time, I would not say it's much of a stretch to assume it's Eric Claridge.

Though the need to perform under an alias for him is completely superfluous.

Post-punker from Manchester, probably best know for being the drummer of Dislocation Dance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dislocation_Dance

Richard Harrison is also part of the avant-strange band Spaceheads - well worth checking out. He also has a solo album out:
http://www.discogs.com/Richard-Harrison-Drone-Hill-225/release/218586

I was just wondering today what in the hell Tim Gane is doing these days

Dunno, but Vinyl on Demand put out a massive 4LP box set of his first project Un-Kommuniti a while back.

I was just wondering today what in the hell Tim Gane is doing these days

Wonder no more. Stream the entirety of his new album here:
http://www.grautagrec.com/releases/006/gt006.html

Thanks!

Really enjoyed this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx0pthgzDWU

As much as I love Tim Gane and Sean O'Hagan, I feel like their music loses something when it doesn't include voocals. Their instrumentals sound like they were written with the intention of adding vocals and they just never got around to it.

Thanks for the head's up, I'm investigating this

Also

http://splicetoday.com/pop-culture/space-age-bachelor-mentalist-muzak

That Teseolab track got mentioned on another 'lab thread, but I'm just listening now. "Hocus Pocus" sample!

this cavern of antimatter thing is sounding very nice, thanks for the heads up, jeff w

Yeah, I really enjoyed my first run-through of that this morning.

Thx for the Richard Harrison info, Austin/Al/Elvis. Does he play bass and drums, I wonder, or did Wiki get that info wrong? Hmm.

Richard Harrison definitely plays bass, he was with Stereolab on their ETK and D&L tours and recorded on D&L. They've just gone through a lot of band members over the years.

Haven't thought about that _Drone Hill_ record in years. Not as good as Alan Lamb, but an acceptable substitute as Mr Lamb isn't exactly churning out the records.

Richard Harrison is the guy playing bass on these clips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdG4WpqIgvM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkaJ5z9QBZQ

yep, that was my favorite line-up for Stereolab

also, is that Sean O'Hagan sitting in with them on keys?

That is Pete Kember/Sonic Boom of the Spacemen 3!