The future of Stereolab

aw!

*cough* *cough*

thanks very much!

wow, lovely eno cover.

Is there anything he can't do?

Thanks, this is a nice collection of stuff, even though it underscores the fact that the quality of their music fell off a cliff starting with "Dots and Loops". Looking back I can't even understand why I liked D&L at the time -- I guess I forced myself to like it because it was Stereolab. They totally unraveled when all their music started sounding cute and quirky (thx for nothing John McEntire!). They could still bring it when they played live but their records sounded so flimsy.

"Lo-Fi" might be better than any Stereolab album save for "Mars Audiac Quintet" (and even that album is a bit overlong whereas "Lo-Fi" is 25 minutes of perfection).

I've had ABC on a mix-tape for YEARS but it was only pretty recently I finally found out where it came from, because I never saw it in Stereolab discographies anywhere and it wasn't on any of the Switched On comps.

They totally unraveled when all their music started sounding cute and quirky (thx for nothing John McEntire!).

So glad that people are coming around on this...

My theory was that they were one of those bands that improved their musicianship and got to the point where they could play the music they always wished they could. And lost what they had to a greater extent.

Their later stuff was an improvement, I would add. (I got that 6 (or was it 8) 7" singles set of stuff)

I quite like the last 2 albums but I lost interest for several years when Dots & Loops came out.

honestly, i've enjoyed all of their records -- some more than others, sure, but I never saw a crazy drop off in quality. I got into them around Dots and Loops though, so I might be coming at it from a different perspective.

I would add that I don't think I've given that period anywhere near a fair chance, I've barely listened to a lot of it.

Yeah Dots & Loops is where I got off the bus, I never even had a copy until this year.

I would also like to be quick to place blame on Sean O'Hagan for those string arrangements, turgid and distracting nonsense.

Yeah, I thought it was him, but then he did some great stuff with them previous to D&L.

St Elmo's Fire was a collab with Ui inc. everyone's favourite indie-racial blogger and former ilxor Sasha Frere-Jones iirc

(well, fairly sure I do rc as I remember buying the thing and playing it a bunch, but as to who did what, I couldn't possibly tell you)

The first two Switched Ons I probably like more than any of Stereolab's albums proper, so looking forward to this bundle of goodies - thanks!

I liked the O'Hagan stringy stuff on MAQ and to a lesser extent ETK.

Felt very disappointed in D&L at the time and wanted to blame the collaborators, but since I had newly fallen in love with both Tortoise and Mouse on Mars it was kind of hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong.

They totally unraveled when all their music started sounding cute and quirky (thx for nothing John McEntire!)

yeah D&L was the "departure point" for me as well - the comment upthread about the improvement in musicianship resulting in a subsequent abandonment of most of the things that made them special/interesting is very on point imho. Listening to this collection, a lot of it is on that edge where they clearly became enamoured of technique and technology and complex compositions. some of the actual SOUNDS and tricks used are still great and engaging, and its nice to hear them flex their muscles with genuine bossa and samba rhythms, for example - but tunefulness and hooks went out the window. they lost a basic pop component, and traded it for a certain inscrutability. they still had all the same signposts (krautrock, experimental electronic music, brazillian jazz, etc.) but they became arranged in such a mannered and cluttered way no actual light could shine through. I'm not saying they needed to stick to playing one chord for 20 minutes, but their melodic sense definitely nosedived.

yeah that is probably otm ... still enjoy their "sound" though, throughout all of the records.

and I don't blame O'Hagen really (altho that High Llamas crap is terrible), he had previously done some quality stuff for them

xp

buncha High Llamas haterz here, eh? I might like them better than Stereolab!

heretic.

The 1997 Peel session is kind of interesting - it's never been properly collected, but it has a lot of the Dots & Loops songs without the Dots & Loops production.

Also this is really good - not sure what it actually is, maybe demos.

shakey, I'm surprised that a (fellow) beach boys + stereolab fan could hate the high llamas so much!

Well, I got "Gideon Gaye" thinking I'd love it...

Um, no.

A feeling of "HOW MUCH LONGER IS THISGOING ON FOR HELP!!!"

thats their weakest album fwiw and it all of it can come off as quirky or whatever at first but theres some fine psychedelia in there

YEah, I gathered as much but there was a sense of "oh you have to get this, you like the Beach Boys, and Stereolab don't you?" from the weeklies, it put them too far back in my mind...

Interesting opinions about "D&L" -- when we did the 90's poll a few years ago, it was nearly universally praised on this board!

You could see the writing on the wall with the McEntire tracks on ETK, but they moderated his influence a little better and the hooks were still there. I thought "Cobra and Phases Group ..." was a bit of a comeback because they regained some of the funkiness that went away with D&L (I should prob revisit that album though, I haven't heard it in ages). I really liked "Chemical Chords" too, they were keeping things simple and writing real songs again.

My theory was that they were one of those bands that improved their musicianship and got to the point where they could play the music they always wished they could. And lost what they had to a greater extent.

I disagree because they were still killing it live, they'd lay down these monster grooves that were way heavier than anything on their records. Stereolab really should do a live album, I'm not sure why they never did ... although "ABC Sessions" serves a similar purpose (and might be the best Stereolab album!)

So - what do y'all think of this stuff? For me, some of it is unlike anything else I listen to and more experimental than their LPs and therefore has a special place in my heart.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Saturday, May 8, 2010 7:35 PM (4 days ago)

Thanks for putting these up. I'm twelve songs in and there's been some great songs so far.

I really didn't think ABC was them until the last minute.

Elektro has probably been my favourite so far, just amazing. I really loved The Eclipse too but wish it had been longer.

they were still killing it live, they'd lay down these monster grooves that were way heavier than anything on their records. Stereolab really should do a live album, I'm not sure why they never did

Very much on the money.

Agreed -- and ABC Sessions is indeed a monster of a collection.

Watch them streamroll through "Analogue Rock", "Blue Milk", and "The Seeming and the Meaning" like they were the Feelies or something (from a 1999 show in Brussels).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHFrxgT_Ak8

count me in as a D&L-era bailer!

loved ETK tho!

for a while they were my favourite band.

i did like "interlock" that song that came out some years ago on a single or something

NoTimeBeforeTime, that video is great, especially "The Seeming and the Meaning". I don't remember ever seeing them play such fierce versions of those tracks.

Cannot let this High Llamas bashing stand -- Gideon Gaye is one of the best albums of the 90s! ONE OF THE BEST.

How did it do in the recent poll(s)?

probably poorly.

(Wasn't being sark, just wondered...)

agree about the ABC Sessions being awesome - was kinda blown away when a friend passed that on to me last year

xps

shakey, I'm surprised that a (fellow) beach boys + stereolab fan could hate the high llamas so much!

hey given all the comparisons it kinda surprised me too, but I honestly don't hear a lot of the Beach Boys in the High Llamas. its more like they mine a verrrry narrow vein of the BB's ouevre (specifically the instrumentals from the Pet Sounds era, which is like what, a year and a half?) sans the vocal melodies/harmonies, and without any of the Boys' oomph or weirdness. O'Hagen seems primarily concerned with aping the Wrecking Crew's Brian Wilson-penned AM pop arrangements, and it's just not that interesting to me. it's very flaccid.

yeah, as o'hagen himself will tell you, the beach boys thing is a little bit overstated when it comes to the high llamas stuff. sort of like saying stereolab is just a krautrock tribute band. i mean, the influence is there, but there is plenty of other stuff thrown into the mix. i understand why some people wouldn't be that into the Llamas but I love 'em. For me, each album is a wonderful little world to get lost in.

its more like they mine a verrrry narrow vein of the BB's ouevre (specifically the instrumentals from the Pet Sounds era, which is like what, a year and a half?)

I always felt like it was more that they did a focused study on this period of the BB ouevre, trying to see what else could be done within its margins. admittedly a lot is lost without the harmonies, and nobody believes o'hagan is 1/10th of the songwriter that BW is - but he certainly has a talent for arrangements.

high llamas have long been my go-to study music in school. I don't listen to them a lot now that I've graduated, but I always found the music - 100% pretty arrangement, zero 'song' - to be ideal background noise when I was trying to focus on something else.

yeah, as o'hagen himself will tell you, the beach boys thing is a little bit overstated when it comes to the high llamas stuff. sort of like saying stereolab is just a krautrock tribute band.

this is true when it comes to the content of the music, but I think in each case you feel the shadow of the beach boys / krautrock even when they're doing something unrelated - like even when o'hagan is going bloopy or stereolab is making bossa nova. this is not meant to be a criticism really...I am willing to rep for basically anything that either band has released.

I personally love High Llamas, but I think Gideon Gaye is one of their weaker albums. I recommend trying out Snow Bug or Beet, Maize, and Corn. Neither of these are very Beach Boys-sounding, but they are very good for other reasons. Stereolab singers sing a bunch of the songs on Snow Bug.

For more of a Beach Boys vibe, check out Hawaii.

Gideon Gaye has some Steely Dan moments.

Checking In, Checking Out is basically a straight rip of Pretzel Logic-era Steely Dan. Probably why it's my favorite song on Gideon Gaye.

I saw the 'Lab KILL "The Seeming and the Meaning" at the Granada in Lawrence in 99 (I think?). Top five concert moments for me.
A guy in the audience requested "Surreal Chemist" with wild fervor, the band seemed confused by that. It was funny.

with shakey mo and whoever else: loved basically everything prior to dots & loops, and basically nothing thereafter. not sure what the difference is, exactly. more complex and subtle arrangements, obviously, and an abandonment of heavy, druggy guitar & organ jams over a simple beat, but the latter approach was largely gone by emperor tomato ketchup, and i adore that record. as others have said, to my mind, their ear for undeniable pop hooks went out the window somewhere around this point - or else they lost interest in that kind of appeal. i still like some of the beats and sounds, but the sum total comes across as a tasteful but forgettable wash.

Sound Dust is something of a reclamation album, imo. Hated Dots and Loops, never owned it and probably never will.

sound dust is my favorite stereolab album by a huge margin