LM Artist Poll No. 74 · STEREOLAB · Results Thread

Emperor Tomato Ketchup deserves to be at the top. One of my five favourite albums ever.

Yes Moodles! I'll do tracks more separately. Just wanted to clear albums quickly first.

these rollout graphics are sweeeet

I think we should all chip in to a stipend to hire Moka as official ILM Ballot Poll Graphic Designer.

Transient is for me their only "complete" album that I can listen through without fatigue, but I guess that's because I'm still a rockist.

I'd like to imagine there were a few #1 votes for the later sprawling singles comps. Would seem like one of many possible perfectly rational choices.

Tracks results coming up. I added album covers to this ones. Sometimes they work, sometimes they dont :p

http://i.imgur.com/vF64wbc.jpg
60. Pop Quiz 4 votes, 100 points. 0 first place votes.
From:Music for the Amorphous Body Study Center EP, 1995.
https://youtu.be/KAqy-JpoBO0

Blimey! Lucky I switched to a ranked ballot. My #2. Robbed, etc, etc.

I had never heard this EP prior to this poll and I was pleasantly surprised. The opening three tracks are all great.

http://i.imgur.com/WLhtX6Y.jpg
59. Changer 4 votes, 106 points. 0 first place votes.
From: Stunning Debut Album 7”, 1991.
https://youtu.be/7O9mwPMd7i0

This is where it all starts.

http://i.imgur.com/ExPZ3L9.jpg
58. Avant Garde MOR 4 votes, 108 points. 1 first place vote.
From: Space Age Batchelor Pad Music, 1993.
https://youtu.be/OrcaCYTErTg

I feel bad about not acknowledging SABPM in any way on my ballot. I knew I would.

That's one of the many holes I have in my Groopological knowledge, going to have to redress that!

So, there are a couple of ties in the countdown. I'll follow crut's method on the depeche mode poll: ties are broken first by number of #1 votes, then by number of total votes. If they have the same votes and points then a tie is mentioned, otherwise that will be the method of ranking them.

http://i.imgur.com/1mVeinv.jpg
57. Puncture in the Radax Permutation 5 votes, 109 points. 0 first place votes.
From: Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night, 1999.
https://youtu.be/KA6vh2wVfQM

Yeah, I did that on the Fall ballot too, accidentally or so I thought. (Xpost)

http://i.imgur.com/Q8ob6g3.jpg
56. K-Stars 5 votes, 109 points. 1 first place vote.
From: Peng!, 1992.
https://youtu.be/QzFiCRw1XAw

I love this one (everything on this album, actually). It sounds like Young Marble Giants would in the 90's, a bit of shoegaze influence in there... could be partly responsible for setting that Morr label micropop a decade earlier.

Slow down, Moka! Jesus.

Yes @ #57! You were blessed if you heard Mary sing this live. She only did it once or twice, I think.

Hahaha, sorry! I have to leave to work in 30 minutes and I want to cover all the ground possible. I promise tomorrow results will rollout very slowly.

Possibly the Peng! track least likely to be mistaken for an entirely band when juxtaposed with #57. :)

entirely DIFFERENT band

http://i.imgur.com/GVTUkCC.jpg
55. Peng! 33 4 votes, 110 points. 0 first place votes.
From: Peng!, 1992.
https://youtu.be/6993BdVL_0k

'incredible things are happening in this poll' was another alt title I was considering.

http://i.imgur.com/ydxjVXk.jpg
54. Spark Plug 5 votes, 111 points. 0 first place votes.
From: Emperor Tomato Ketchup, 1996.
https://youtu.be/Girx3PL5o-g

http://i.imgur.com/RHYgvhy.jpg
53. Nihilist Assault Group 6 votes, 111 points. 0 first place votes.
From: Mars Audiac Quintet / Wow & Flutter EP (1994)
https://youtu.be/QqdxiW7A2fY

I really should've voted in this but couldn't get myself together

(MAQ too low)

lol M.O.R. was my #1 and here it is at #58

I have to go so I leave you with the final results of the day. A tie, actually.

Apologies for the hasty rollout today. Tomorrow I'll be rolling them out with 20 mins at minimum in between.

http://i.imgur.com/vZLrmJC.jpg
TIE 51. OLV 26 5 votes, 112 points. 0 first place votes.
From: Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996)
https://youtu.be/5Zm5H-116mQ

http://i.imgur.com/7GpCvMd.jpg
TIE 51. New Ortophony 5 votes, 112 points. 0 first place votes.
From: Mars Audiac Quintet (1994)
https://youtu.be/808qJizotKA

Gee, I might have stayed on Team "New Orthophony" if I realised it had broader support. As mentioned on the other thread, such a vote would have been very firmly for the far superior unedited (Aluminum Tunes) version. (Haha, okay, the version in the link in other words.)

I'm considering the first release as the one to mention in almost every track but yes, the new ortophony unedited v. is awesome!

just catching up now, will have some more organized thoughts on this a bit later. For now, will just say that I'm impressed that none of these dipped below 4 votes. I was expecting lots of 1 vote tunes. Also, the graphics do indeed look fantastic!

It's kind of insane how much stuff they cranked out between '92 and '96, they covered a huge amount of ground in their first few years.

I love how varied the opening songs are. Dimisses criticism of naysayers that their songs all sound the same.

Also early stuff is very charming.

There weren't many other tracks on the compilations that weren't previously on singles/etc were there? That long "NO", countrified "Tone Burst", "Sadistic" and... perhaps a couple of further things on Aluminum Tunes. Does this mean 20-something-th anniversary deluxe reissues with squillions of bona fide outtakes are on the horizon? Bwahaha.

WHOA

https://www.discogs.com/Stereolab-Eaten-Horizons-Or-The-Electrocution-Of-Rock/release/1124263

I have MP3s of this that I never listened to, just figured out what they were

Gosh! Seems it's on YT too: https://youtu.be/MGBF9aZkum8

Haven't heard these, checking them out now.

WHOA

https://www.discogs.com/Stereolab-Eaten-Horizons-Or-The-Electrocution-Of-Rock/release/1124263

I have MP3s of this that I never listened to, just figured out what they were

    Last Sold: 16 May 13
    Lowest: $427.17
    Median: $463.59
    Highest: $500.00

I know!

Stereolab could have made a whole career out of stripped-down Joao Gilberto-style acoustic-guitar-and-voice arrangements, I'm now thinking.

Bummer, I'm traveling this week, so few chances to check in on the rollout.
Concerned about the state of my ballot after seeing my #2 crossed off (Olv 26).

Terrific early results, and I'm especially happy to see two ETK standouts - over the years, "Spark Plug" and especially "OLV 26" have really deepened for me. "K-Stars" is one of those tracks on Peng (like "Super Falling Star" and "Stomach Worm") that seem to have more to do with the wider world of indie at the time than their own hermetic method; looking back, I think they were generally really good at straight pastiche and I kinda wish they had done more. Likewise: those giant swooning strings on "Pop Quiz"!

I'm going to be busy tomorrow so I'll be posting only 10 songs throughout the morning. Actually 9 since I'll post number 50 right now from my mobile to see if the code and ordering doesn't fuck up and make sure I can post from mobile without problem.

Without further ado. Number 50!

http://i.imgur.com/uOoagoi.jpg
50. Percolator 6 votes, 113 points. 0 first place votes.
From: Noises EP / Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996)
https://youtu.be/KmvUPGaMeGw

Just before going to sleep last night, I lay in the dark and listened to the entirety of Refried Ectoplasm really flippin' loud. That's so so so their best album. And as much space as as my growed-up, 21st century brain-self can clear for their later, more sophisticated experiments & inclinations, I don't think they ever surpassed (or even matched) their early genius for tone & propulsion. Every sound on that album is perfect, perfect not only in isolation, but in synthesis with every other. French fucking Disko.

I played ETC loudly today on the way into work, now I have realised my "Fiery Yellow" vote should have been for "Anonymous Collective", because that is the track I meant.

I saw the top 100, I guess it wouldn't have made much difference anyway. FY at 75, AC at 68..

Also, how many Stereolab track titles have anything to do with the lyrics? I was beginning to think it was "International Colouring Competition" only, but up came "des etoiles electroniques" and the title is right there in the song!

SONGS RANKED:

K-Stars
"Animal or Vegetable (A Wonderful Wooden Reason...)"
Metronomic Underground
Mountain
Super Falling Star
Super Electric
Les Yper-Sound
Diagonals
Puncture in the Radax Permutation
Tempter
French Disko
International Coloring Contest
Outer Accelerator
Peng! 33
The Seeming and the Meaning
Brittle
Des Étoiles Électroniques
Cybele's Reverie
Miss Modular
People Do It All the Time

ALBUMS RANKED:

Peng!
Refried Ectoplasm (Switched On Volume 2)
Dots and Loops
Emperor Tomato Ketchup
Switched On

Love Stereolab but haven't delved into their catalogue enough to have run up a ballot. Now that it's over I'm looking forward to spinning the Spotify playlist all day at work. Thanks, Moka and all y'all voters!

Songs:

1 Pack Yr Romantic Mind
2 Brakhage
3 Cybele's Reverie
4 Long Life Love
5 Metronomic Underground
6 Ping Pong
7 Nihilist Assault Group
8 Our Trinitone Blast
9 Fluorescences
10 One Small Step
11 The Seeming and the Meaning
12 Spacemoth
13 Rainbo Conversation
14 Percolator
15 Moodles
16 Suggestion Diabolique
17 Orgiastic
18 Check and Double Check
19 Gus the Mynah Bird
20 The Flower Called Nowhere

Albums:

1 Sound-Dust
2 Emperor Tomato Ketchup
3 Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements
4 Dots and Loops
5 Peng!

Ah, go on then...

1 Lo Boob Oscillator
2 French Disko
3 Fiery Yellow
4 Jenny Ondioline
5 Klang Tone
6 Fluorescences
7 Emperor Tomato Ketchup
8 Tone Burst (Country)
9 Ping Pong
10 Wow And Flutter
11 International Colouring Contest
12 Farfisa
13 Pack Yr Romantic Mind
14 I'm Going Out Of My Way
15 Harmonium
16 Animal Or Vegetable (A Wonderful Wooden Reason...)
17 Golden Ball
18 Cybele's Reverie
19 The Noise Of Carpet
20 Soop Groove #1

Albums:

1 Refried Ectoplasm
2 Transient Noise Bursts
3 Emperor Tomato Ketchup
4 Oscillons from the Anti-Sun
5 Mars Audiac Quintet

I am glad "pack yr romantic mind" did so well.

SONGS
Pack Yr Romantic Mind
The Light That Will Cease To Fall
Need To Be
High Expectation
Surrealchemist
Avant Garde M.O.R.
Contact
Au Grand Jour
Doubt
Super Falling Star
Exploding Head Movie
Equivalences
We’re Not Adult Orientated
The Seeming and the Meaning
Enivrez-vous
Super-Electric
Ping Pong
Tone Burst
Contronatura
With Friends Like These

ALBUMS
Switched On
Peng!
Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements
The Groop Played Space Age Bachelor Pad Music

Margerine Eclipse

For a while there up until ballot 18 Pack was #1 Jenny #2 and Fluorescences #3. If we only had received 18 ballots those would have been the top 3.

Thanks Moka!

My ranked ballot:
1 Anamophose
2 Jenny Ondioline
3 Motoroller Scalatron
4 I'm Going Out Of My Way (Really guys?)
5 Tomorrow Is Already Here
6 Changer
7 Eloge D'Eros
8 Peng! 33
9 Crest
10 transona five
11 Golden Ball
12 the groop play chord x
13 transport sans bouger
14 The Light That Will Cease To Fail
15 Au Grand Jour (the 3:41 fast version)
16 Lo Boob Oscillator
17 Nihilist Assault Group
18 Perversion
19 You Little Shits
20 OLV 26

Releases Ranked:
1 Super 45
2 Mars Audiac Quintet
3 Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements
4 Emperor Tomato Ketchup
5 The Groop Played Space Age Batchelor Pad Music

thank you moka! i hadn't listened to the lab in years but this has me excited about them all over again.

can't believe i didn't vote for "revox" or "john cage bubblegum". or "sadistic". or "surrealchemist". i got too caught up being all open-minded & democratic. in retrospect should have voted a straight peng! / refried ecto ticket. all other ballots are wrong.

I was also one of the #1's for 'Pack Yr Romantic Mind.' Such a gorgeous tune.

i think 'pack yr romantic mind' was the first song of theirs that really grabbed me ('transient' was my intro)

non-placers i voted for:

09 Lock-Groove Lullaby
10 Anonymous Collective
14 Blue Milk
15 Surrealchemist
20 Fuses

I voted for a lot of low-flyers — maybe the only Chemical Chords partisan here? Looks like at least one other person voted for it. Great poll, even if the heavy weighting toward the mid-90s is a bit predictable (must confess that though I voted for select songs I'm a bit burnt out on ETK, MAQ and Refried Ectoplasm); the biggest surprise is probably that anything from Cobra (the closing track of a very long album, no less) made it into the top 20.

Tracks (unranked)

Miss Modular
Contronatura
Fluorescences
Allures
Brigitte
Jenny Ondioline
Pack Yr Romantic Mind
Neon Beanbag
Daisy Clickclack
Vorticol Phonethèque
International Colouring Contest
U.H.F. - M.F.P.
Slow Fast Hazel
Caleidoscope Gaze
The Emergency Kisses
Iron Man
One Note Samba/Surfboard
Check and Double Check
Nought More Terrific Than Man
Eloge D’Eros

Albums (ranked)

Sound-Dust
Chemical Chords
Dots and Loops
Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night
Aluminum Tunes

I've got a lot of Stereolab on my ipod but I never know where to start so this poll (which I didn't take part in) was a godsend. I simply made a playlist of the top 15 and I'm good to go. There seems to be a fair bit of overlap between those tracks and Serene Velocity but also some other goodies not on that comp. Thanks, ILM and Moka!

Serene Velocity's tracklisting has a lot of non-album versions of the songs, I think?

Jenny Ondioline, French Disko and Wow & Flutter are the versions from singles. Other than that there's just Percolator, which is a bit longer.

Firmly coming around to the notion that Margarine Eclipse got shafted here. Been listening to it a lot and man, what a superb album! Their best of the 2000s and I kinda wish I'd voted for it now.

"Dear Marge" is crushing me beneath its emotional weight. It might be the most unashamedly beautiful song they ever recorded. WHY DID I NOT VOTE.

Totally snowed under with work at the moment and making my way through these results at a snail's pace, but:

Gee, I might have stayed on Team "New Orthophony" if I realised it had broader support. As mentioned on the other thread, such a vote would have been very firmly for the far superior unedited (Aluminum Tunes) version

I'd never heard this longer version of New Orthophony before and agree it's great.

forgot to vote for the gold chains parti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e310Daluio8

you know what's GREAT? Play "Nihilist Assault Group" from Mars Audiac Quintet and "Nihilist Assault Group (Parts 1, 2, 3)" from Oscillons from the Anti-Sun (which is actually parts 3, 4, 5 and is mislabeled) back to back bcz they were originally supposed to be one single Jenny Odioliney suite.

Been on a Lab deep dive this week and have just woken up to how great Sound-Dust is.

"Double Rocker", my god

Yessss, Sound-Dust is so good

I also have a lot of weird memories mixed up with it because I'll always think of it as their 9/11 album.