The first time I ever heard Stereolab, the immediate connection I made was Sesame Street. The first song I heard was Brakhage and it immediately reminded me of a vintage Sesame Street vignette. It might have been this, specifically. But I've never heard them list Sesame Street as an influence.
I've read a handful of 90s Stereolab articles that cite Esquivel as an influence, but I don't know that Stereolab themselves cite Esquivel, and I don't actually here the connection there at all.
― 3×5, Friday, 23 September 2016 17:55 (seven years ago) link
^There was an Esquivel comp called Space Age Bachelor Pad Music out at the time, is why?
― Jeff W, Friday, 23 September 2016 21:16 (seven years ago) link
I think it's because there was a lounge revival in the mid-90s, right when Stereolab changed their sound, and for some reason Esquivel also made a comeback, and so they got lumped together. When I listen to him, or Martin Denny, it just doesn't have that association for me. The letter h, however...
― 3×5, Sunday, 25 September 2016 05:29 (seven years ago) link
Esquivel is pretty awesome, one of the more experimental artists from the whole "lounge" era who used theremins and synths in his stuff. Martin Denny is pretty much straight jungle lounge music whereas Esquivel can be far freakier.
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 25 September 2016 16:23 (seven years ago) link
Stereolab (ft. Herbie Mann!) covered Esquivel in the latter part of this medley of "One Note Samba/Surfboard":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEyZSbmVoxM
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 25 September 2016 17:37 (seven years ago) link
Here's the original:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NglD0H-cps
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 25 September 2016 17:39 (seven years ago) link
Also the people who are looking for Smile-era Beach Boys connections, you'd probably have a field day with Stereolab member/muse/svengali Sean O'Hagan's project The High Llamas' records Gideon Gaye & Hawaii.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 25 September 2016 17:45 (seven years ago) link
Another prog interlude: Camel - Migration
― 3×5, Monday, 2 January 2017 19:47 (seven years ago) link
Another Todd Rundgren: The Night The Carousel Burned Down
― 3×5, Monday, 25 September 2017 17:34 (six years ago) link
I think that "One Note Samba/Surfboard" medley was done as reparation for nicking bits of both too blatantly previously.
― Mark G, Tuesday, 26 September 2017 06:48 (six years ago) link
The bass line of Metronomic Underground is awfully close to The Revolution Will Not Be Televised... hadn't really caught that before
― cosmic brain dildo (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, 26 September 2017 15:08 (six years ago) link
iirc it's stolen directly from a Yoko Ono track on Appproximately Infinite Universe
― sleeve, Tuesday, 26 September 2017 15:09 (six years ago) link
got a flexidisc of "famous instrumentals" recently that had "One Note Samba" on it
― flappy bird, Tuesday, 26 September 2017 18:10 (six years ago) link
Metronomic Underground/Revolution Will Not Be Televised similarity is already noted upthread.
The Yoko Ono song in question is Mind Train, from "Fly"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK-k0kCSJcM
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 26 September 2017 18:23 (six years ago) link
thank you!
― sleeve, Tuesday, 26 September 2017 18:25 (six years ago) link
that track is so siqq
― kurt schwitterz, Tuesday, 26 September 2017 18:54 (six years ago) link
That Yoko track sounds like Can with yoko instead of damo.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Tuesday, 26 September 2017 19:03 (six years ago) link
I've often wondered how Ono & Lennon connected to krautrock - like, who actually gave them those records and what were they listening to - cuz its impact is really obvious on those first few Yoko records
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 26 September 2017 19:07 (six years ago) link
Probably Klaus, right?
― flappy bird, Tuesday, 26 September 2017 19:08 (six years ago) link
that's my guess, but I've never seen it specifically discussed anywhere
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 26 September 2017 19:09 (six years ago) link
CAN seems like the most obvious thing they must have heard, maybe Faust (they initially made something of a splash in the UK press), maybe Schnitzler and Roedelius too idk
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 26 September 2017 19:13 (six years ago) link
they were jacked into the German experimental art scene from the beginning
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Wednesday, 27 September 2017 14:44 (six years ago) link
So that Hilma af Klimt exhibit... anyone else reminded of the cover of a certain Stereolab album?
https://goo.gl/images/9jynXK
― Milton Parker, Monday, 29 October 2018 19:03 (five years ago) link
(Less direct of a reference than usual, but this is so precisely up their alley)
― Milton Parker, Monday, 29 October 2018 19:04 (five years ago) link
Perhaps a reach but I want to believe
Thought I typed Klint on first post, apologies for error
― Milton Parker, Monday, 29 October 2018 19:40 (five years ago) link
https://www.discogs.com/Bart%C3%B3k-Heinrich-Hollreiser-Bamberg-Symphony-Orchestra-Concerto-For-Orchestra/release/10080747
― Milton Parker, Monday, 10 December 2018 21:09 (five years ago) link
haha wow
― Οὖτις, Monday, 10 December 2018 21:10 (five years ago) link
"I feel the air of another planet" / "Ich fühle luft von anderem planeten", first line of the Stefan George poem 'Entrückung', set by Schoenberg to music in the last movement of his second string quartet, now regarded as the first fully atonal piece of classical music
Interesting because it reminds me of this too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GSFJXSbE90
Or, if you prefer, the original:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-h0hh90YcY
― Monica Kindle (Tom D.), Monday, 10 December 2018 21:28 (five years ago) link
Makes me think it's a direct reference to an indirect reference... or something.
― Monica Kindle (Tom D.), Monday, 10 December 2018 21:30 (five years ago) link
... a song covered, somewhat bizarrely, by Pete Townshend!
― Monica Kindle (Tom D.), Monday, 10 December 2018 21:32 (five years ago) link
I heard a radio interview with Tim Gane years ago where he played through a lot of his favourite records, I remember there being something by The Doopees in there (which is a project of Yann Tomita, ex Ippu-Do). I can hear it I guess, although this post-dates the earlier Stereolab releases so who knows who's influencing who.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT5BlCZsiCQ
― GG Allin: The Musical (Matt #2), Monday, 10 December 2018 22:47 (five years ago) link
I'm getting a French Disko vibe from this 70s Aussie prog plodder:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEmsy0UgqoA
― an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Monday, 4 March 2019 09:14 (five years ago) link
Don't think this has been posted yet.
Koloman Moser - Woman's Head with Roses (1899). The artwork features on the picture sleeve of Rose, My Rocket-Brain! by Stereolab (2004). pic.twitter.com/PkE9l1qI0S— Graeme McNay (@GraemeRMcNay) September 7, 2019
― Jeff W, Saturday, 7 September 2019 19:54 (four years ago) link
!!!! good catch, I own that as a 3" CD sold on tour
― sleeve, Saturday, 7 September 2019 19:55 (four years ago) link
not a direct reference but this Eurythmics album In The Garden has some moments that sound a lot like early Stereolab to me. same kinda droney vocals and farfisa thing going on... check out “your time will come” and “all the young people (of today)”. idk has this been noted before? I’m just hearing this album.“your time will come”: https://youtu.be/VcZjwxnscp8“all the young people”: https://youtu.be/2xh0R5WRIwU
― brimstead, Tuesday, 28 July 2020 21:56 (three years ago) link
well, the farfisa is in “all the young people” anyway
― brimstead, Tuesday, 28 July 2020 21:57 (three years ago) link
Is Sing-Sing the one that sounds like one of the Mouse On Mars collaborations?
I've long maintained that Caveman Head sounds like Th' Faith Healers.
― Stanley Halfbrick (Noel Emits), Tuesday, 28 July 2020 22:03 (three years ago) link
Agree about the first Eurythmics album. 'She's Invisible Now' sounded the most like Stereolab to me.
― Publicradio (3×5), Wednesday, 29 July 2020 02:26 (three years ago) link
I’m just hearing this album.
u lucky guy, it's great, total Can action
― sleeve, Wednesday, 29 July 2020 02:33 (three years ago) link
"The Long Hair of Death":https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3HkESAaMDE(Just noticed this today since it's now on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B07JX589FB/ref=atv_dp_b07_det_c_UTPsmN_1_18)
― ernestp, Friday, 1 January 2021 23:06 (three years ago) link
I bet that "Allures" borrows its name from the Jordan Belson short film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HVo23jC7cs
― ernestp, Sunday, 8 August 2021 05:46 (two years ago) link
Updated link for *Allures*
― ernestp, Saturday, 11 March 2023 20:48 (one year ago) link