Stereolab

bluesnag

I've been listening to Stereolab again lately, and I'm trying to find out at which point in their catalog my interest dwindles. I really like all of their stuff through Mars Audiac Quintet without exception. I definitely like Emperor Tomato Ketchup, and plenty of Dots & Loops and Cobra. But I think Cobra is the last album I really have any interest in. Just a few singles after that, along with the EP "Instant 0 in the Universe" from '03. How 'bout y'all?

Edit: Added "French Disko" live on TV vid:

utters

great band, but best in smaller doses I find...

they've got too many ideas for their own good

Cobra... is my favourite of their albums

TheKindCromang

Sound-Dust is where I dropped off from following them, but HOLY SHIT this song kicks my ass every time!

THE BLACK ARTS!

bull_ox

I'll check out anything they put out but don't get that serious about the post-90s material

Mary Hansen R.I.P.

Still a good show though, or at least it was a few years back...

hcrink

I have not been moved to purchase any record post-Emperor Tomato Ketchup.

bull_ox

"In 2009, Stereolab announced via their website that they were going on indefinite hiatus."

I did not know that.

NachoManCandySandwich

TheKindCromang said:

Sound-Dust is where I dropped off from following them, but HOLY SHIT this song kicks my ass every time!

THE BLACK ARTS!

Yup!

Unknown

Had their first three albums, sold them for good money, don't miss them even a little bit.

bull_ox

NomoreGarciaparra said:

Had their first three albums, sold them for good money, don't miss them even a little bit.

Congrats.

Unknown

bull_ox said:

NomoreGarciaparra said:

Had their first three albums, sold them for good money, don't miss them even a little bit.

Congrats.

Thanks. Means a lot. I'm crying real tears here.

CBear

Dots and Loops will stay in my collection for a long time.

CBear

Dots and Loops will stay in my collection for a long time.

Beatnicholas

dots and loops is fantastic.

HarveyCanal

This one pops up in my dj sets...

funky16corners

hcrink said:

I have not been moved to purchase any record post-Emperor Tomato Ketchup.

I love Stereolab, but I'd say that this is just about right.

4YearGraduate

After Cobra I vaguely recall them adding a horn section on the next record and my interest completely fading. Nothing kills my high like a saxomophone. That said, Stereolab will always be in my top 5 for everything preceding. Live shows I saw were life altering.

Aluminum tunes has some rare heat on it too from the aforementioned good era.

a huge huge rest in peace to Mary.

bluesnag

4YearGraduate said:

Aluminum tunes has some rare heat on it too from the aforementioned good era.

I would say that all 3 of the Switched On series has some of their best stuff. If someone didn't want to dig too deep, but wanted a good representation of their material through the nineties, those three are the way to go. Or rather, those kind of do the deep digging for you.

Mjukis

I've listened to Dots and Loops a lot, just recently bought the Miss Modular EP and Cobra & Phases. Both are great, but like people said, you probably don't need that many Stereolab records. Sometimes the smart muisc school-like perfectionism takes over. "Hey, the horn section is playing the theme from Dancing Queen over a Can-beat with some United States of America bleeps on top!" Music for and by record collectors. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

m_dejean

Mjukis said:

I've listened to Dots and Loops a lot, just recently bought the Miss Modular EP and Cobra & Phases. Both are great, but like people said, you probably don't need that many Stereolab records. Sometimes the smart muisc school-like perfectionism takes over. "Hey, the horn section is playing the theme from Dancing Queen over a Can-beat with some United States of America bleeps on top!" Music for and by record collectors. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Don't agree with that. Sure, there's a lot of references, but what drew me to the music initially was the super catchy melodies, plain and simple. You're singing along to all these happysad sounding shoobeedoolalala tunes and after a while you start listening to the lyrics like "waitaminute, what the hell is this woman singing about". That was the first attraction for me. The whole nerdy music history lesson thing came second, but yeah, they did introduce to a lot of other stuff (kraut, exotica, etc.).

ETK was my first introduction to Stereolab in '96. Co-worker at a mexican takeout spot used to play it all the time on our shifts. Grabbed me straight away. Saw them on their '97 tour - blew my mind. Mind blown again when Dots and Loops came out a while after. Bought the subsequent 2-3 albums but wasn't as much into them as earlier. Think I just got a bit burned out on their sound. Saw them on the Sound Dust tour, great again.

Then I didn't really listen to them for years. Did buy some bits here and there. Instant O, Fab Four Suture. Still some strong material to be found here and there. Wasn't quite the same without Mary Hansen though. I really love the vocal interplay between her and Sadier.

Been revisiting Cobra and Phases lately, on repeat. Much better than I gave it credit for the first time around. Going to investigate some of the albums I didn't really check (Margerine Eclipse a.o.). Don't agree with the Peng-era fans who don't like post-ETK Stereolab. Late 90s/early 00s is the peak for me. Tried to get into some of the earlier albums, but I like the later sound better.

Definitely need to be selective with their discography. So many releases.

4YearGraduate said:

After Cobra I vaguely recall them adding a horn section on the next record and my interest completely fading. Nothing kills my high like a saxomophone.

??

Plenty of horns on both Dots and Cobra.