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.
Tickertape of the Unconscious
Stereolab Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Vous n'tes plus que ?
Vous tiez l'vidence,
Vous n'tes plus que ?
Vous tiez l'ternit,
Vous n'tes que do pass.
Ticker-tape of the Unconscious
You were the evidence,
You are now only ?
You were the evidence,
You are now only ?
You were the eternity,
You are only some past.
The lyrics of Stereolab's "Ticker-tape of the Unconscious" seem to convey a sense of loss and regret. The opening lines are particularly poignant as they suggest that the subject of the song was once obvious and clear, perhaps a person who was always there, but is now no longer present. The repetition of the phrase "Vous tiez l'evidence" (you were the evidence) creates a sense of emphasis and reinforces the idea that whoever the subject is, they were incredibly important and significant.
The subsequent repetition of the phrase "Vous n'tes plus que ?" (you are now only?), followed by "Vous n'tes que do pass" (you are only some past), further drives the theme of loss and suggests that whatever or whoever the subject was, they have now become a distant memory or a thing of the past. The use of French throughout the song adds to the sense of nostalgia and longing, and perhaps highlights the fleeting nature of human relationships and connections.
Overall, "Ticker-tape of the Unconscious" is a beautiful and melancholic meditation on memory, loss, and the impermanence of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Vous tiez l'vidence,
You were the clear and undeniable proof,
Vous n'tes plus que ?
but now you are reduced to what?
Vous tiez l'ternit,
You were the timeless existence,
Vous n'tes que do pass.
but now you are just a fleeting memory of the past.
Ticker-tape of the Unconscious
This is an exploration of the stream of thought that occurs in the background of our consciousness, like a ticker-tape of constant messages.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: LAETITIA SADIER, TIMOTHY JOHN GANE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind