The future of Stereolab

This seems to be a popular view of Stereolab and not one I subscribe to at all. Their scamper away from the indie disco dancefloor down ever-narrowing corridors of fussy detail and texture mirrors my own shift in tastes, and as a result I've loved most of their records (especially Sound-Dust and the last quarter of everyone's favourite one to knock, ...Milky Night).

That said, an end to Stereolab now, after Mary's tragic death, would seem appropriate, but there are unpleasantly humdrum things like brand identity and paying the mortgage to think about.

On the contrary, they aren't fun enough

Agreed, this is why I sold Dots & Loops which gradually revealed itself to be not much fun at all.

This could be cool. I remember an Autechre remix (of a song I can't recall) that was completely out of the ordinary for them, and very good. Maybe they should hook up with Matmos or something.

Yeah that could have gone further...although like I said I don't think the D&L melodies are quite up to snuff.

Madness! There are some flaccid moments sure, but "Super Falling Star", "Mellotron", "Orgiastic", etc... I ask you?

Am I still the only person who actually thinks Emperor Tomato Ketchup has been the least durable record so far?

Laetitia may be impatient with fans -- after a hiatus they produce Sound Dust which is such a good record -- so consistent (i love roughly every second song) -- having heard loops and milky i say it is their best album after tomato, perhaps the culmination of that direction in their sound

that tv program Cold Feet had a millenium special episode that reprised cul de sac perfectly, since the drift/ island/ end metaphor worked perfectly for the 'end of time' hoop-la surrounding 0/0/2000 and the possibilities of ths show drifting, out to sea or beached, which it sure ended up doing, even if they didn't think they were drifting then

i liked those promo photos of stereolab, with the power poles vertically alligned with the pictures perspective -- like harry lime as the giant (film) wheel comes to a stop over occupied vienna, a snapshot, on the road to the castle or back ? waiting for the flood ? (i don't stereolab are misanthropic, the fans tiny dots or dust, as if viewed from harry's perspective)

i like this album art, the indication of a peak, however insular, an acknowledgement by the band that they may well be too disconnected from their audience yet wishing to take the chicago computer collaborations to a decent conclusion .. i bet they knew sound dust was make or break time, if not for the group then at least for that sound, which surely they got right on this album tens times more so than on the two albums seemingly leading in that direction, validating for me those experiments along the way -- good on them for acknowledging the alienating potential, yet admitting that this was the peak of that stereolab at least

yes, i think they will go looking for other peaks, somewhere else (Lionel Stander did get to work in hollywood again, after all)

maybe the boo-boos will have to go and a new angle for the lyrics taken with both Marie's terrible departure and the band learning the hard lessons of producing something so good by their own standards even if these didn't meet the demands of their audience -- the artistic journey has been completed -- that concept in light of Marie's death is almost horribly prophetic in a spooky new way, beyond their worst dreams i imagine (is Polanski a real king midas of horror and despair ? dark forces ?) (i do not wish to trivialise _anything_ in saying this)

of course the album + art stands on it's own feet as beautiful music with a variety of sentiment -- most of the band can return to the main land and pursue some other groove -- after a presumably respectful period of meditation and change of trade-name

"hiatus"

http://www.stereolab.co.uk/news/

Perhaps a necessary thing, really.

diminishing returns for a while now

Question: is the future of Stereolab any different than the past of Stereolab?

:( At least Chemical Chords 2 will still come out (and I'm glad I saw them this last tour)

yeah, me too! their show last fall was wonderful. still, if anyone deserves a break, it's probably them. they've never gone more than a year or two without an album over the past 20 years, have they?

they've never gone more than a year or two without an album over the past 20 years, have they?

There were a couple multi-year gaps in between Sound-Dust, Margerine Eclipse, and Chemical Chords though I think the box set comes in there somewhere.

yeah, maybe i'm just thinking that there are always various collections coming out in between records -- never seemed like they disappeared for any significant amount of time.

They were great when I saw them live last year. Like, really great, as much fun as the first time I saw them. If this is one of those permananent breaks then they are going out with a bang, at least as far as live music is concerned. I don't think I have any of their albums from the last ten years, but live performance is at least as important to me.

My thoughts on seeing them in September -- if that's the last time I'll ever see them, then the last song I ever saw them do was a great version of "Jenny Ondioline."

That banner image is divine.

So are the versions of the Switched Ons on the new CD box set remastered, or is it just the vinyl editions? Would Switched On Vol. 1 on CD sound better than the original CD issue on Too Pure/Slumberland?

Well, the lyrics are pretty much textbook Marxism, are they not? Nowt wrong with that but I wouldn't call Marxism hard-left by any stretch.

xxp

fair, and it also seems they pushed back on that (which I was unaware of):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolab#Lyrics_and_titles

Band members have resisted attempts to link the group and its music to Marxism.

I'd thought the bass from Metronomic Underground was based on Gil Scott Heron's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", and the bass on the song Emperor Tomato Ketchup was basically Yoko's "Why"

Band members have resisted attempts to link the group and its music to Marxism.

This kinda reads like a band like dc Talk asking people not to link their music to god, I admit.

from the horse's mouth:

The first track, 'Metronomic Underground', originally consisted of about about seven riffs that I wanted to lock together like a big band. I was also obsessed with the riffs and rhythms of Sun Ra, Don Cherry and the Plastic Ono Band circa 'Fly'".

The groove and rhythm are clearly from "Mind Train". The bassline's phrasing is similar to the Gil Scot-Heron riff, except "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" riff never modulates, it stays rooted on a single note.

I agree, but calling Marxism hard-left is still a category error.

xp

xp Thank ya, that is helpful! I may ask for an edit/update!

panned for being hard-left vs. panned hard-left

Two bald engineers fighting over vinyl warmth.

On the topic of influences, also posted this on the other Stereolab thread.

I did a big update on my Stereolab Origins playlist. Lots of stuff has been added to spotify since I last updated, so I was able to add about 2 dozen more tracks.

https://open.spotify.com/user/olken2000/playlist/06G3CvbMmQ90bj0KOPWM0b?si=YR5aaK4zR_m3NRdmqs6bSw

just realized I posted this to the wrong thread when it was in response to these discussions.

Stereolab: Classic or Dud

just realized I posted this to the wrong thread when it was in response to these discussions.

Stereolab: Classic or Dud

does the bassline in Metronomic Underground ever modulate? it's just that same F octave riff throughout isn't it?

Social media feed is a constant barrage of merch flogging rn. Not sure what the hard left will think of that.

I dunno, there’s some keen and egalitarian pricing! Sealed originals of ‘Margarine Eclipse’ at a tenner is significantly cheaper than on Discogs, and £15 for t-shirts is alright at that level - Built to Spill were wanting £25 when I saw them recently.

New radio session airing tomorrow on Marc Riley's show :)

oh fuck yeah

Brakhage, then a mini gig: French Disko/ Need To Be/ Infinity Girl/ Crest/ Lo Boob. Mainly excellent. I missed some of the chat cos my sis rang me. Will have to listen back on the app

Listening to this now, I dig this upbeat version of Brakhage.

mmm... might want to check the Stereolab shop, you guys. For some reason..

won't let me add to cart :(

that's a lot of demos!

wow, so exciting. The demo versions have been a highlight for me so far.

Vinyl, 3×LP, Coloured Vinyl Out of stock
Add to Basket
Handmade obi strip

Wow, that was Quick!

I came straight over, honest. As soon as I'd got one for me...

The ETK & D&L 'obi strip' editions disappeared very quickly, as you'd expect. Grabbed me some CDs instead.

Might (and I say, Might) get a clear one, here.. https://www.shopsuperdeluxe.com/collections/stereolab

I had ordered Transient via Piccadilly records, and Mars Aud via SDE, but SDE didn't get the clear stock after all, so, y'know..

I just grabbed clear vinyls (sans obi) of ETK and D&L from Bandcamp and an obi stripped Cobra on CD from the ochre store.

Thanks for the heads up about Piccadilly, I got two of the clear versions from them and a third from Norman Records. No obis this time, but at least I know I won't be getting them as opposed to last time when I thought I had ordered an obi Transient, ended up with black vinyl, and had a protracted exchange with Bleep about how this came about because the order receipt and website didn't show which versions were placed on order. This soured me on the whole enterprise! And so I sourly scrambled to see where I might obtain more scratch cards this morning.

I was able to get all 3 with Obi this morning but it took 30mins of trying. Bleep was slow to get their stock up, so after duophonic sold out of ETK and D&L, I manically refreshed Bleep until they showed up. Cost me $15 more in shipping to buy from Duohonic than from Bleep. Got Cobra from duophonic.

so the next three albums' deluxe editions are up for sale? (I only want them on CD so I assume I don't have to rush)

"We're a dance band.." oh i liked that very much (on the Riley show).

There are fewer copies of the deluxe CD's than there are of the vinyl. 250 vs 500.

That's the 'obi' editions, yes. Stereolab fans seem to gag for the old vinyls though innit.

wow there's a With Friends Like These Pt. 2!!

Still some clear Dots and Loops at Jumbo as far as I can tell: https://www.jumborecords.co.uk/music-single.asp?product_id=DUHFD17RC

huh, the last batch of deluxe CDs were readily available on Amazon... these are more limited?

I think people are talking about the obi strip versions?

ah, nevermind me then... just need whatever 2CD edition is easy to get, looks like they aren't limited

Complaints ahead — — — — — — — — — —

I actually wish they'd tried to make the CD versions a little more desirable. They have all the same content as the vinyl versions, so it's not like they're trying to shortchange you, but the digipacks feel a little insubstantial. Something like a square slipcase with sturdy mini-sleeves would have been nice.

And while I've enjoyed reading Tim Gane's liner notes, they convey the sense that Stereolab was "his" band. One of the interesting things about being a fan was that I hardly knew who was in the band when I was getting into them — like I'd see a photo and I wouldn't know who was Laetitia Sadier and who was Mary Hansen. It was like they were a "lab," a team of scientists making sounds, where papers have group authorship. Of course the songs were credited Gane/Sadier, and if I'd read interviews I'd probably have known more about the internal workings of the group. But the liner notes convey the impression of an ossification around Gane's leadership, even as they also explain how some recording elements were the result of accidents and improvisations. So comments from other members, and maybe some vintage photographs or other documents, would have been welcome.

I'm also just disappointed that there isn't any new material thus far. Complaints about this revival as a touring museum retrospective may be, uh, rockist, but this band was always sort of premised on the tension between its forward- and backward-looking elements — now the tension seems resolved in favor of the latter. Of course there may still be new material, and I look forward to finally being able to see them. But I was listening to the latest Cavern of Anti-Matter on my bike the other day, and it scratched an itch for making the old seem new that reissues don't. I know a lot of people get off the Stereolab bus in the late '90s or early '00s, but I like practically everything. I even think I would prefer embarrassing, legacy-damaging new material to none at all. "Unless we try we won't know, we won't know, we won't know...."

Did you listen to the Red Bull? chat with Lateitia? It was Tim's band. She complained of feeling like a factory worker. It was illuminating. Didn't seem like the best atmosphere to be someone other than Tim in. I can detect there's still some simmering resentment in their comments on the BBC session they just did. I'll be surprised if this tour actually finishes.

Comments from Laetitia would at least be nice, although this Red Bull Music Academy video gives you a bit of her perspective

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1L0Uw1BU9s

Clearly they were the two calling the shots all the way through, but I think her contributions to the song writing process gets underplayed. The melodicism of her solo work vs the lack thereof with Cavern of Anti-Matter makes me think she had a much stronger hand in creating those classic Lab melodies than is sometimes portrayed.

I also wish there was some new material, but I kind of doubt that's going to happen.

LOL, brotherlovesdub thinking along the same lines as me

I did watch the Red Bull interview a while back and recall the factory worker sentiment. It did give me pause. Still, at one point — I'm not sure if it was in the same interview — she also said that if Tim brought the songs again, she would love to sing them. Gane's "do I have Stereolab ideas" vs. Sadier's "what are the hours" questions (as mentioned in the NYT piece a few weeks back) could be taken together to indicate that if they go in on new material, Gane's working methods require going "all in" in a way that Sadier might (understandably) not have the patience for.

I'd reluctantly have to disagree with Sadier being strong as a composer of melodies. I could see it in the sense that maybe Gane brings the chords, Sadier the melody, if it worked that way. Sadier's idiosyncratic English pronunciations, to which she held firm as indicated in the liner notes, suggest something of this. On the other hand, Sadier's solo and Monade records sound pleasant, but I don't find the songs especially memorable. The CoAM records, while not as consistently vital as most Stereolab, "click" more for me than Sadier's do, retaining some kind of aspirational drive. This is probably as much because of the groove as the melody, but you get the sense of a thing unfolding that eventually pays off. Stereolab only occasionally operated in that mould, of course; there's a divergence in the shape of the music the two have made separately which may contribute to the difficulty with new material.

Not going to argue much with anything in the last few posts except to say I think Laetitia’s contribution to the songwriting, at least up to and including the Instant 0 / Margerine Eclipse sessions, is underrated even by her. After that, it was I think more obviously a production line job, fitting lyrics to melodies she felt little connection to.

Oh and by the way, according to the blurb on the Duophonic site, Sadier does contribute to the liner notes of this latest set of reissues.

Or what Moodles said LOL

fuck! I missed out on the obi Cobra. that was the only one I wanted.

It's notable, I think, that most of the songs retained the music's working title.

Exceptions include "International Colouring Competition", I'm not saying all, obviously.

"Noise of Carpet (Broken Face)" is the only 'pair-off'?

I'm assuming most of those demos are culled from that tour only CD from 2007. like the acoustic demo of "Refractions in the Plastic Pulse"