They were founded in 1990 by songwriters Tim Gane (guitar, keyboards), formerly of the band McCarthy, and Laetitia Sadier (sometimes credited as Seaya Sadier; vocals, keyboards, trombone, guitar), who is from France and sings in both English and French.
Over the years, Gane and Sadier have enlisted a large number of other musicians to accompany them on stage and on record. The initial line-up featured Martin Kean, formerly of The Chills, on bass, and Joe Dilworth (from their Too Pure label-mates Th’ Faith Healers) on drums, with Russell Yates (of Moose) and Mick Conroy (ex-Modern English) also appearing at early live shows. In 1993 they recruited Andy Ramsay (drums), who has remained in the group line-up ever since, and Mary Hansen (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion). Hansen’s distinctive backing vocals became an important aspect of the Stereolab sound, and she remained a regular feature of the line-up until her death in a cycling accident on December 9, 2002. Multi-instrumentalist Sean O’Hagan of The High Llamas has also been a frequent contributor, particularly with string, brass and keyboard arrangements to the band’s studio albums. John McEntire (Tortoise) has also contributed keyboard, electronic effects and studio help over the years. Other members have come and (in some cases) gone over the years, including Duncan Brown, Dave Pajo (from Tortoise), Richard Harrison and Simon Johns (all bass); Gina Morris (vocals); and Katharine Gifford and Morgane Lhote (both on keyboards).
Early Stereolab material displayed a heavy influence of krautrock sounds, particularly Neu! and Faust, characteristically relying on droning, repetitive guitar or keyboard riffs, with or without vocals. Early heavy use of distorted Farfisa combo-organ sounds were also reminiscent of early recordings by The Modern Lovers. As the band developed, they incorporated new instrumentation, and an increasingly complex sense of rhythm and structure, frequently making use of irregular time signatures as well as unorthodox chord progressions and melodic intervals. The band has often made copious use of female backing vocal lines.
Lyrically, Stereolab’s music is quirky (song titles evoke memories of 1950s science fiction stories, and are often borrowed directly from old films and records of the period, but have nothing to do with the song’s content), but highly politically and philosophically charged, sometimes with a decidedly Surrealist or Situationist bent. (Sadier notes the libertarian Marxist theoretician Cornelius Castoriadis as a particular inspiration.) Sadier’s lyrics, in both French and English, often read like highly condensed sociological texts, standing in deliberate and distinct counterpoint to the lush hedonic pop sound of the band. A prime example would be “Ping Pong” from Mars Audiac Quintet, which is an explicit restating of Marxist theory concerning the relationship between economic cycles and war cycles.
Stereolab earned a minor place in the Britpop movement, with their sound proving influential to bands like Blur: occasional keyboard-driven b-sides and singer Damon Albarn’s love of retro keyboards showed the influence, and in recognition Laetitia Sadier was invited to provide vocals on “To The End” from Parklife.
Despite the band’s fan base and critical acclaim, Stereolab has not achieved high levels of financial or popular success. On June 7, 2004, suits at the Warner Music label (to whom the band was signed in the U.S.) announced they were dropping Stereolab in response to the poor sales (40,000 to that date) of Margerine Eclipse. This was part of an ongoing effort by Warner to cut costs; The Breeders and Third Eye Blind were also dropped from the label for this reason. Laetitia Sadier is now also a member of Monade, which is essentially expressive of her own singular musical goals.
Brakhage
Stereolab Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To keep our dazed lives going
Many things, to keep our lives
Lives going, so many things
We need so damn many things
(We need so damn, we need so damn many things)
To keep our stupid lives going
(To keep our stupid, keep our stupid lives going)
Many things to keep our lives
(To keep our lives, to keep our lives, many things)
Lives going, so many things
(So many things, so many things, lives going)
We can be bound, run around
(We can be bound, we can be bound, run around)
Fooled animal bite its tail
(Fooled animal, fooled animal, bite its tail)
Animal, he has been bound
(He has been bound, he has be bound, animal)
Run around, around and 'round
('Round and around, 'round and around, run around)
The lyrics of Stereolab's song "Brakhage" highlight the various things that we need in life to keep going. The repetition of the phrase "we need so damn many things" emphasizes how much we rely on external factors and material possessions to maintain our lives. The words "stupid" and "dazed" suggest that this dependence on things may not always be beneficial or fulfilling.
The line "fooled animal bite its tail" is particularly interesting, as it suggests that humans, like animals, can become trapped in a cycle of behavior that is ultimately self-destructive. The image of an animal biting its own tail is a metaphor for this, as it represents a circular and ultimately futile action. The word "bound" also appears several times in the lyrics, suggesting that we may be trapped or constrained by our reliance on things.
Overall, the lyrics of "Brakhage" suggest that we need to question our dependence on material possessions and think more deeply about what it means to live a fulfilling life. The repeated use of certain words and phrases emphasizes the cyclical nature of human behavior and the potential risks of becoming too attached to things.
Line by Line Meaning
We need so damn many things
Our lives are so complex that we constantly require an extensive amount of resources to keep them functioning.
To keep our dazed lives going
We are lost and disconnected, hence the reason why we need numerous things to survive.
Many things, to keep our lives
In order to sustain our lives, we need several items and resources.
Lives going, so many things
The abundance of things we need allows us to keep up with the pace of life.
(We need so damn, we need so damn many things)
We require an overwhelming number of things to survive, and this fact cannot be ignored.
(To keep our stupid, keep our stupid lives going)
Our lives might seem foolish at times, but we still need these resources to sustain ourselves.
(To keep our lives, to keep our lives, many things)
We need so many different things to keep ourselves alive and moving forward.
(So many things, so many things, lives going)
The numerous things we require help in keeping our lives in motion.
We can be bound, run around
We can be trapped and limited while running around in circles, trying to acquire our necessities.
(We can be bound, we can be bound, run around)
Our lives can be restricted while we are busy chasing after everything we need.
Fooled animal bite its tail
We can be deceived and end up pursuing our needs in a never-ending and self-destructive cycle.
(Fooled animal, fooled animal, bite its tail)
Our pursuit of the things we need can become a mindless and damaging cycle that we are trapped in.
Animal, he has been bound
We can become so dependent on the things we need that it binds us to our survival strategy.
(He has been bound, he has be bound, animal)
We have become trapped in our need for resources, just like an animal in captivity.
Run around, around and 'round
We can circle the same resources in pursuit of them, without any tangible progress or results.
('Round and around, 'round and around, run around)
We can find ourselves endlessly chasing our needs without getting anywhere, stuck in a circular pattern.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: LAETITIA SADIER, TIMOTHY JOHN GANE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind