Where to Start With Stereolab?
 

Any suggestions?

I wouldn't bother.

I would. Start off with "Dots and Loops" or "Emperor Tomato Ketchup". Not too experimental, yet worth checking out.

Thanks.

Mars Audiac Quintet for sure.

yeah!
or emperor tomato ketchup
my first stereolab album was Random transient noise bursts with announcments. which is also great. moe noisy, although not necesarilly the best place to start with them...

i pretty much agree with this although i'd say that "space age bachelor pad music" and "instant 0 in the universe" are not good ones to start with.

He knows what he's talking about ^

This box contains the majority of the band's EPs in their entirety, including most of their singles, and the DVD is a nice compliment with 3 great live performances. This is actually how I started delving through their music.

Thanks I will look for that on my next paycheck.

i started with peng and emperor tomato ketchup. go from there.

start with any, since after a certain point they all sound pretty similiar..

i like the one with jenny iodine on it a lot, and that one's pretty different from their other stuff. but i'd go with dots and loops.

The title of the thread sort of says it all: Stereolab, where do you start?

Yes, indeed, where to start with a band so consistantly innovative, beautiful, and listenable? If only all bands could be as good as stereolab!

The song Percolator from Emperor Tomato Ketchup got me into them instantly when I heard it on the radio, if that helps.

"Mars Audiac Quintent" and/or "Emperor Tomato Ketchup" are good places to start. "Dots And Loops" is pretty groovy to, although I must admit, I haven't kept up with their last few albums so I'm far from an expert or anything....

I started with Switched On and I think that really makes more sense than beginning with a later record. Switched On is a singles comp, but it's their indie roots, and it stands up perfectly well against the later stuff.

im listening to space moth right now. what a great fucking songs. unfortunatly, sound dust starts great, but always kind of drags on after a few songs...
but it is worth it if not for this song only....

I've bought Peng first, and still like it a lot.

I'd third this I think. I'd be inclined to say that unless you end up a big Stereolab fan then this might be all you need. A perfect place to sample their wares being as it's pretty much 3cds for the price of one and has a lot of their best cuts on it.

Nobody even mentioned "Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night". it's my fave along with ETK.

I need to buy my first stereolab albu soon. which should I get?
Ive listened to some youtube links, and its one of the "why not earlier?"- moments

ha ha i guess you should read the thread. It's fairly accurate.

^^^

^^^

Haha. I wrote that more than a year ago, but when I saw the title of this thread again, the words "I wouldn't bother" came straight into my head again.

dots & loops, f'sho!

sayin'

'Emperor Tomato Ketchup'

by the way this is the only album by them, that I like as whole.
new one is meh. did you hear that?

This is the only one i have, and it's not too impressive. It's considered their best, so...yeah.

When I was in high school, I walked into a record store and "Golden Ball" on "Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements" was playing. I was blown away. I felt like it was something I was looking for and finally found. About the same time, I started listening to Sonic Youth, so the two are kind of linked for me. "Transient.." is their most noisy work -- their early albums, Peng, Transient... are the most Kraut rocky, then by "Dots and Loops" you see them getting more into a 'tropical modernist' sound, quoting bossanova, jazz and other forms of music.

if you like o'rourke-era sonic youf and therefore him, you could try cobra and phases etc etc (long title), which he produced & mixed & tweaked.

'cobra...' is the one i go back to the most.

i like emperor tomato ketchup

Cobra And Phaserhfhfnbvyththg hyghyhfv fjfuj
Sound-Dust
Dots & Loops
Switched On
Aluminum Tunes

i've spent some time w/ this lately...saw them last week. here's the rundown:

http://www.bigtakeover.com/reviews/s...tober-6th-2008




a lot of their stuff is pretty similar; i'd go w/ finding _Oscillons_ (best value for sure), and then get _Dots and Loops_ and maybe _Aluminum Tunes_. i will not argue against any title in particular, though (but not much up to date post-Cobra).

ok... not one stereolab album is worth ignoring.. not one... not many bands are this brilliant on a regular basis... buy any of them but my personal favourites are probaly these. although order changes a lot

transient random noise bursts... amazing album.. truly amazing
emporer tomato ketchup
margerine eclipse
chemical chords
sound dust
dots and loops

furthermore..
get the 3 switched on volumes... totally essential.....

actuually scrub that post.... buy them in order of release...

I, personally, wouldn't bother.

James Blonde suggests Peng! and Switched On.

Disregard my previous statements. Stereolab are awesome.

What helped you to wise up?