Stereolab: Classic or Dud

This is why I thought Adam would like it.

As testimony, a well-considered selection of tracks across most of their releases to fill up at least 3 discs;

Super Falling Star
Contact
Super-Electric
Laisser-Faire
Our Trinitone Blast
Crest
Analogue Rock
Heavy Denim
Mountain
Sadistic
French Disko
John Cage Bubblegum
L’Enfer Des Formes
Wow And Flutter
Transona 5
The Noise Of Carpet
Motoroller Scalatron
Metronomic Underground

Les Yper-Sound
Percolator
Fluorescences
Parsec
Brakhage
Contronatura
Check And Double Check
Get Carter
Fuses
Infinity Girl
The Free Design
Puncture In The Radar Permutation
Come And Play In The Milky Night
Pain Et Spectacles
Escape Pod
The Black Arts
Hallucinex
Captain Easychord

Nothing To Do With Me
Suggestion Diabolique
Double Rocker
Need To Be
Moodles
Canned Candies
With Friends Like These
Long Life Love
Jaunty Monty And The Bubbles Of Babble
Sudden Stars
Mass Riff
University Microfilms International
Banana Monster Ne Répond
Margerine Rock
Margerine Melodie

Don't get upset about it!

You *must* understand my universe, Kyle:

* Tor-twah = the suck aside from maybe a minute of "Djed"
* The vast majority of D&L tracks = produced by one John M. of Tor-twah
* live/radio sessions of the McEntire-produced tracks >>>> the D&L versions
* Ergo, foo on D&L

Other universes are different.

This doesn't make any sense! How can you only like a minute when so much of the joy in the piece is in its progress and transitions?

This is the key point ... even after I stopped enjoying Stereolab records, I continued to enjoy hearing them live because they always brought the krautfunkboogie, whereas on record McEntire et al were obsessed with all the cooing and burbling.

Exactly, as per my comment upthread from yesterday about how they were getting too "cute" on ETK. The rawness that remained on ETK was almost completely smoothed out by D&L.

'joy'

Also, Ned, does this mean you prefer the Andi Toma tracks on Dots and Loops?

Oh heck yes. Keep in mind I am a bit of a Mouse on Mars fiend.

I stopped loving them with Transient... (btw: anyone want to make me an offer for the mint gold vinyl (I think) LP, signed?). The soul dropped out of their music. They were so perfect for the first three or four years. Why did they have to fuck with the amazing simplicity of their sound? Sob.

oh and Dots And Loops I've definitely come around too, you never know when your mind might change.

they DID choose it!

(personally, I really enjoy that record -- despite the myriad of truths in that review)

Anyway--Stereolab: Classic.

These records are all classics:
Peng!
TRNBWA
ETK
D&L
Sound-Dust

Plus all their singles comps are great, and they are a terrific live band.

Cobra and Phases could almost be a classic as well, but it needs to be about 4 or 5 songs shorter, and the production needs to be improved in some places.

The more recent stuff, Margerine and Fab Four Suture, are a bit weaker for me. I miss the presence of Mary and I think the production is way too busy. However, the tracks on these two came across really well in a live setting.

stereolab's music takes me to a future place that we shall never know, a clean beautiful one.

Plastic Mile is the best song of all time.

They're pretty classic. Cobra and Phases was the first album I picked up by them, almost 10 years ago back in high school, and I really loved it. Picked up Dots and Loops shortly after, but it didn't really stick, and after that I don't think I listened to anything by Stereolab for about 8 years.

Then just recently, I found used copies of Transient and Emperor Tomato, and these are great, especially ETK. Hearing these motivated me to finally throw on Dots and Loops the other day, after giving up on it for so long, and it sounded pretty awesome.

Dots and Loops is a grower, and a masterful piece of work.

Pick up Margerine Eclipse, everyone seems to like that. A nice combination of pretty much every style the groop has explored.