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.
Les Yper-sound
Stereolab Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I go on this team
Divide everything
A flag or a number
Make 'em opposites
So there's a reason
Stigmatization
OK now we can fight
Just put it all flat
Justification
OK now you can fight
It is correct and reasonable
to interpret Stereolab's song "Les Yper-sound" as a social commentary on the arbitrary divisions and categorizations that people create amongst themselves, which ultimately lead to conflict and division. The lyrics describe a scenario where people are split into two teams and everything is divided and categorized, regardless of whether there is a meaningful reason behind it. The act of dividing everything and making them opposites stamps each team with a stigma, which gives each side justification to fight against the other. The song seems to critique the tendency of societies to create false and meaningless differences among individuals and groups, which can lead to breakdowns in communication, understanding and ultimately peace.
Overall, the song's lyrics are a critique of societal divisions, which is a timeless theme. It allows listeners to reflect on how divisions in society can be created by arbitrary factors and how they can ultimately lead to conflict. It is possible to interpret this song in a wide range of contexts, such as race, gender, class, and politics. Stereolab seems to be suggesting that we try to minimize or eliminate these divisions by recognizing that they are often arbitrary and superficial.
Line by Line Meaning
You go in that team
Select a group to align with
I go on this team
Choose a different, opposing group to align with
Divide everything
Separate all aspects of society into categories
A flag or a number
Choose a symbol or identifier for each group
Make 'em opposites
Ensure the groups are in opposition to each other
So there's a reason
Provide justification for the divide
Stigmatization
Brand one group as inferior
OK now we can fight
Encourage conflict between the groups
Divide everything
Continue to separate all aspects of society into categories
Just put it all flat
Simplify and flatten the complexity of society to support the divide
Justification
Provide further reasoning for the separation
OK now you can fight
Encourage more conflict between the groups
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: LAETITIA SADIER, TIMOTHY JOHN GANE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@myRadiotron
RIP Mary Hansen. Thanks for the memories.
@AnotherAnonymousMan
So many emotions watching this. Bitter sweet joy, nostalgia, melancholie. Mary lives on in the music and it's truly enriched my life. Thank you.
@briansmith9455
Not fun fact : Mary, my friend Jenson, and I were all hit by vehicles on bicycles that year. Jenson was paralyzed from the waist down, I have a metal left leg, and we know what happened to Mary unfortunately.
@AnotherAnonymousMan
@@briansmith9455 Life is both more fragile and more precious than we think. Every now and then, I have to remind myself to step back from my negativity, and cherish my life and not to take it for granted.
All the best, friend!
@brunilda106
@@briansmith9455 OMG!!! so sorry to hear this. Thinking of all of you <3
@blooflazh7
@@briansmith9455 Sorry to hear that man. Be safe out there
@NoName-fo7mz
@@briansmith9455 thanks for making it about you
@mikenaughton
R.I.P. Mary ❤️
@sidDkid87
💔😢
@adamfindlay7091
Thanks I didn't know.