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.
Canned Candies
Stereolab Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Reviens
La La La
J'ai perdu mon chien
Reviens
Cours par monts et par vaux
Là où souffle le vent
Distrait par l'appétit
Il oublie son propos
Il oublie, il oublie
Mais cette fois je le vois
Il ramène quelque chose
The song Canned Candies by Stereolab begins with the phrase "J'ai perdu mon chien" which translates to "I lost my dog." The entire song features this phrase as its primary lyric. The rest of the song is a slow and repetitive tune with a simple melody that invites the listener to become lost in the hypnotic rhythm of the music. The phrase "Reviens" is repeated frequently, which means "come back." The song is an ode to a lost pet and the heartbreak and longing one feels at such a loss.
Throughout the song, it becomes apparent that the dog in question has a habit of running off and getting into trouble. The lyrics mention that the dog runs "par monts et par vaux," or over hills and valleys, without paying attention to the wind blowing or its own intentions. The dog's forgetfulness is a recurring theme in the song where it is seen forgetting its purpose in its hunger or thirst, and as a result, the singer suffers the frustration of calling it back repeatedly, hoping for it to return.
While the song appears to be a simple, repetitive melody, it contains a surprising depth of emotion, capturing the feeling of loss and the desire to have the dog back. The repetitive nature of the song and its minimalistic nature serves to underline the concept of loss, with the return of the dog never mentioned. This fact highlights that the singer's hope never fulfilled, that they are forever lost in their sorrow.
Line by Line Meaning
J'ai perdu mon chien
I have lost my dog
Reviens
Come back
La La La
No significant meaning
J'ai perdu mon chien
I have lost my dog
Reviens
Come back
Il me refait le coup
He's doing it again (running away)
Cours par monts et par vaux
He runs away everywhere
Là où souffle le vent
Wherever the wind blows
Distrait par l'appétit
Distracted by hunger
Il oublie son propos
He forgets his purpose
Il oublie, il oublie
He forgets, he forgets
Mais cette fois je le vois
But this time I see him
Il ramène quelque chose
He brings back something
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LAETITIA SADIER, TIMOTHY JOHN GANE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind