Stereolab: Classic or Dud

JMc's engineering contributions to the finished product were: Les Yper-Sound, Tomorrow Is Already Here (he also played vibes & guitar), Monster Sacre & Anonymous Collective.

All this chatter inspired me to do 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

hm I actually meant to post that pic to the other Stereolab thread. I just did a quick search.

I thought "Metronomic Underground" was the Ono tribute - the bass line, drums and tambourine remind me of "Mindtrain" on "Fly".

My vote is "Melancholy Chords" = "Monstre Sacre"
Good call on "Faust Rhythm Pop" = "Motoroller Scalatron" upthread. I hadn't noticed before, but now I think they were adapting the rhythm on Faust's "So Far" - both songs are in 7/4 time.

Oh wait, just saw the exhaustive Ono discussion on the other Stereolab thread, sorry for the duplication. And I agree with "ETK" = Ono's "Why"! Hadn't noticed that before, also.

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/stereolab-played-their-first-show-in-over-10-years-setlist/

Looks pretty nice.

"John Cage Bubblegum" is a deep cut?

Hoping they stuff have the Cliff tees when they come here, definitely something I'd pick up.

Twin Mustang attack!

holy fuck @ that setlist!

come and play in the milky night is such a perfect first song to play after a 10 year hiatus

Pleased to see some of my favorite Sound Dust tracks on there, particularly 'Double Rocker.' I wonder who sings Mary's bits. There's one little Mary vocal on that track that slays me every time...

fluorescences! the extension trip! brigitte!! BLUE MILK->CONTRONATURA!!!1

Aaarrgghh, gonna miss the Brussels gig because of a work trip. My friend's gonna take his brother along instead. He'll get me a shirt. Still. So. Fucking. Jealous. And. Annoyed..

that setlist is killing me, these shows sold out so fast in the US :(

get a ticket on stubhub. i did. it's worth it probably

I like the ring tee, but they'll probably only have small and XXL sizes by the time the 'lab train rolls into Austin

i feel like stereolab is like MBV where their song titles have such a same and particular aesthetic that even as a fan i cant always keep the tunes straight

I can't get over how amazing that setlist is

Planning on stocking up on Tees, if I can. My remaining Stereolab shirts are barely holding together.

get a ticket on stubhub. i did. it's worth it probably

I hate to ask, but how much $$$ approximately?

I spent $95 a ticket after fees

(For Brooklyn)

thx, man I gotta think about that

i paid twice face value for a DC ticket, $70. i think it's necessary to jump on reunions like this because you will 100% kick yourself later, who knows what could happen? you may never get another chance. and yes, that setlist

I'm extremely concerned about their PNW tour schedule. They go from Portland, to Vancouver, to Seattle in 3 days. The potential for them to get delayed / have border issues is great. I just don't see how booking Portland on the 13th, then Vancouver the next day, and Seattle the day after that makes any sense. Seems really stupid to do it that way. I understand the issues that cause something like this to happen (venue availability etc), but it's a really dumb schedule.

I think this is the first time I've listened to anything off of Cobras, and wow @ "Come Andy Play..."!

It's smooth in a way that's different from the usual Groop exotica smoothness.

My Glasgow pre-sale tickets arrived as no 2 and 3 - not sure it’s sold out yet but I’m in agreement with the post upthread about jumping on these reunions - still kicking myself for not going to see the Afghan Whigs in London when they initially reunited with Rick McCollum in the band as I thought they’d come back round...they have but not with him.

I honestly am starting to feel this way about any good shows nowadays. It seems like everything sells out now, where in the past you could get last minute tickets for most club shows.

On a train to Brussels - getting quite excited about the show. (Sorry Willem, if I see someone exuding tell-tale “friend of an ILXor’s brother” vibes I’ll spill some beer over them.)

i am so happy to learn that bitchin bajas will be opening for them at the WI show

Haha, I appreciate the empathy, Tim, but please just enjoy the gig :)

Yeah that was as good as I’d hoped. Looking forward to seeing them in Denver in October now!

Brussels show was freaking awesome. Still the best band.

No "Brigitte" or "Blue Milk", but they added "Crest". "John Cage" moved to second encore; otherwise a similar set list to 1st Ramsgate show.

Hey Jeff were you near the front in a Cavern of Anti-Matter shirt? If so I saw you but chickened out of saying hello because I wasn’t sure.

Friend sent me a clip of Metronomic Underground - goosebumps! Still pissed I missed it but at least he bought me a lousy t-shirt

Yes, Tim. That was me. I looked for you (but also didn’t want to lose my spot if you know what I mean, not being particularly tall). I’m back in Blighty now. Enjoy Brussels if you’re still there.

Ah, sorry to have missed you. Brussels excellent as ever, but we’re on a train to Berlin now (NB not Stereolab-related).

It was good to see them in London earlier this week. I've never seen them before. From reports, it seems they have their current set more rehearsed than previous tours.

Peng! Is such an amazing album, you guys.

a reunion should be a bit more polished. not that they need to justify their continued existence to me, i'd go see them do anything, but it's great to know they will knock it out of the park

https://imgur.com/gallery/GMuGzom

i never contributed to this thread? that's unpardonable. i was really into their early krautrocky stuff around 1990/91. at that time i didn't know krautrock really. and i always loved the voice of laetitia sadier, the matter of fact way she sings with her french accent i always found endearing. i saw them live a couple of times, they weren't a live band, especiallly later on when they lost the motorik vibe and verged towards soundtracks and elevator music they lost me. for many years the last cd i had bought was "transient random-noise bursts with announcements". then after more than ten years they came back (for me) with "margerine eclipse", a great return to form.

moka you are right peng! is so great.

I just had an epiphany while revisiting their back catalog: all my favorite Stereolab songs have prominent Mary Hansen vocals. Her counter melodies on songs like "Brakhage" and "Fluorescences," to name just two examples, really make those songs for me. Such a shame she died so young and so tragically.

This is very true. It really sucks because she was starting to be featured more and more.

anybody mention/find it interesting that they're not doing these recent shows with a female back-up singer? Mary was a great part of the band obv but they had other singers, and the female harmonies is such a great part of their sound.