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.
You Little Shits
Stereolab Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Within the world there are worlds
The situation is the universe of man
As the measure of all things
Understand that you are another world in miniature
And that in you there are the sun, the moon and also stars
Man as the messenger of being
His bloody from water, his breath from air
And body heat from fire
These lyrics from Stereolab's song "You Little Shits" encapsulate the idea of the interconnectedness of all things, both on a macro and micro level. The first two lines suggest that there are infinite layers of existence that coexist, each containing multitudes of worlds. The next two lines bring things down to a more personal level, referencing the idea of how humans measure and understand the world around them - by relating everything back to themselves.
The following lines describe how each individual human is a world in miniature, containing all of the elements that create and sustain life. It's a beautiful image that emphasizes the idea that everything in existence is connected - every person, every planet, every star. The final line brings it back to the idea of our physical connections with the earth and the elements that make up our bodies.
Overall, the lyrics of "You Little Shits" present a holistic view of existence that emphasizes our interconnectedness with everything around us. It's a reminder that we are all part of something larger, and that our actions and choices can have a profound impact on the world and the people around us.
Line by Line Meaning
There are worlds within the world
There are countless different realities within our single reality.
Within the world there are worlds
Within each individual reality are numerous other smaller realities.
The situation is the universe of man
The circumstances we experience define our entire perception of reality.
As the measure of all things
We only know what we can measure and comprehend with our limited human senses.
Understand that you are another world in miniature
Every individual is a world unto themselves, with their own complexities and intricacies.
And that in you there are the sun, the moon and also stars
You contain your own sources of energy, light, and beauty.
Man as the messenger of being
Humans are the communicators and interpreters of existence itself.
By analogy flesh and bones of man derive from earth
Our bodies, like the earth, are composed of various elements and naturally occurring materials.
His bloody from water, his breath from air
The essential components of our physical bodies are also found in the natural world around us.
And body heat from fire
Our bodies, like all living things, require a source of warmth and energy to function properly.
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LAETITIA SADIER, TIMOTHY JOHN GANE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Anthony Queen
There are worlds within the world
Within the world there are worlds
The situation is the universe of man
As the measure of all things
Understand that you are another world in miniature
And that in you there are the sun, the moon and also stars
Man as the messenger of being
By analogy flesh and bones of man derive from earth
His bloody from water, his breath from air
And body heat from fire
Cristy Ho
Well what do you know, the strangest thing just happened. I was thinking about listening to Stereolab but I was unsure if I was in the mood for it. Then I started having intrusive thoughts about the words "little shit" so I googled it and this video came up.
Eklektik40
Your story was almost interesting.
Federico Barraza
Uno de mis favoritos de Peng!
rahul sethi
favorite stereolab tune.
Federico Barraza
Amo esa guitarra psicodélica
Anthony Queen
There are worlds within the world
Within the world there are worlds
The situation is the universe of man
As the measure of all things
Understand that you are another world in miniature
And that in you there are the sun, the moon and also stars
Man as the messenger of being
By analogy flesh and bones of man derive from earth
His bloody from water, his breath from air
And body heat from fire
Steve Forest
A visit to the toilet inspired me to search out this song.
No One In Particular
Crushed Velvetine Underground
Nick Rowsell
A1.
CY Cheng
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