Stereolab vs. Saint Etienne

Stereolab

stereolab, because once i thought they were the greatest band on earth

though if we're talking about later material st etienne fares a LOT better

I still like Stereolab's record collection better.

For every good Saint Etienne track, six others absolutely blow. Stereolab's ratio is smaller...like 3:1 or something.

Saint Etienne, no contest.

fwiw, I love love both bands - even their bad stuff really - and have been making a lot of polls that I purposely can't decide on

For every good Saint Etienne track, six others absolutely blow

I'm not sure I agree with this. Tons of really wonderful SE tracks end up as B-sides or on Fan Club only releases.

The comparison is interesting!

I've always thought of Stereolab as more formal and serious (sometimes even a bit sterile). Saint Etienne are a lot more optimistic and playful (while still being melancholic) which is more my cup of tea, I guess.

it's interesting you say that daavid, cause I think the opposite.

also I am a little drunk but:

stereolab's lyrics are okay at best and really bad at worst and saint etienne have pretty admirable lyrics...hell they are a VERY admirable band all things considered. would rather have a beer w/ saint etienne x 100.

but stereolab has a warmth that saint etienne lacks, despite their motorik stuff, despite their marxist lyrics. my favorite albums by each are 'sound dust' and 'good humour' if that says anything. probably voting stereolab.

...I also think Stereolab sound a lot more organic, more like a real band than Saint Etienne, which is actually a bit of a turn-off for me.

I've always thought of Stereolab as more formal and serious (sometimes even a bit sterile).

This is all negated by their live set.

st etienne. stereolab is nails on a chalkboard to me

St Et, despite their latest single being bloody awful.

St Etienne, and i like 'Method Of Modern Love'

For every good Saint Etienne track, six others absolutely blow

But at least they have good tracks

i can't choose, i won't!

obviously st etienne

Okay, I like Saint Etienne, but if they win this then the world has gone fucking crazy and I might have to go on some sort of killing spree.

i hate St Etienne and have GUNZ

stereolab is def better killing spree music

Juxtapose "The Noise of Carpet" music/lyrics with machinegun fire.... "In another world, it'd be funny"

if St Et win i will go on a hugging spree

some pretty strong arguments for stereolab all around

though if we're talking about later material st etienne fares a LOT better

i feel the *exact* opposite. post-Tiger Bay St. Et. is so completely boring to me and I was a massive fanboy for them in the early years. Stereolab have been far more consistent. Of course, all their later-period albums sound the same song, but it's a really good song imo.

i'm not voting because no i've never heard st. etienne sorry. i just want to say this boring kind of thing: i think the fluorescences ep is a pretty good test of whether or not i can "jibe" with someone else's music taste, i.e. if they like it, we're in.

They have huge amounts in common, and what a devilishly brilliant and difficult poll.

But I'm probably going to have to go with Stereolab. But I'm going to get out So Tough and listen to it to atone for that difficult decision.

GOD NOW I FEEL REALLY TERRIBLE ABOUT MY CHOICE AND WANT TO CHANGE MY MIND.

DADDY VS. CHIPS. DADDY OR CHIPS?

"Stereolab have been far more consistent."

well, yes, "consistent" is certainly one way of putting it.

ilx stereolab love is up there w/ ilx cure love in the 'have i fallen into some weird alt universe of shitlove' stakes

^^^^ boring

plz spend your time on this thread explaining why you like saint etienne instead of talking about alternate universes

poll results are only valid in this universe, for the record

"So many people can now experience the real thing, they don't have to listen to fucking Stereolab" - Steven Stapleton

why don't you go listen to some gregorian chants

yes, can do that while slagging off stereolab, no probs

I think it was actually Simon Reynolds' dismissal of both bands as "record collection rock" that first made me curious about Saint Etienne. I'd probably go along with the Stereolab more consistent/Saint Etienne better singles line.

i way prefer st etienne (don't dislike stereolab by any means - own and enjoy emperor tomato ketchup, feel no need/desire to hear more) BUT st etienne stans can be hugely annoying, that whole "perfect pop" thing, whereas stereolab stans tend to be v charming in their enthusiasm.

that dismissal is truer of stereolab, but it's a pretty weak criticism, the kind of thing only a music critic would say.

don't think stereolab have ever done a record i'd call moving.

xp

'sound dust'!!

lol tbf i haven't heard every stereolab record.

super electric moved the hell out of me both when i first heard it and when i saw them do it live

worth reading these old St Et pieces by SOME GUY btw - interesting quotes/challops from the trio (weird "hating" on funk and overtness/passionate vocals) but that was then

i've managed to dig em for like 15 years without being that invested in them 'as a band', their ideas, fans, etc.

more 'moving' (to some degree) stereolab:
'how to play your internal organs overnight'
'one small step'
'international colouring contest'
'pack yr romantic mind'

Stereolab more consistent/Saint Etienne better singles

Thread in a nutshell.

I own nearly everything by both bands, love them both to death. I'll cop out and vote Stereolab strictly based on Last.fm play counts, and refuse to analyze further.

!!!

i will choose etienne because their heights are higher. and i think i like their record collection better unless stereolab has put out something similar to THE TRIP. plus, i sat in the sun for an hour today listening to etienne and it was, eh, restorative.

I love St. Etienne, but Stereolab basically were the 1990s for me.

i don't think i've ever heard st. etienne
i'm pretty burned out on stereolab but still think they are a great band, slow & steady decline notwithstanding

stereolab, because once i thought they were the greatest band on earth

^^^

Stereolab rock, St Et don't. Thus, Stereolab.

Or "rocked" or "have been known to rock", or whatever.

(IE, I haven't heard their last few recs, so I dunno if they actually still rock)

http://www.scharplingandwurster.com/img/products/rockrot.jpg

Saint Etienne
the way they dress up melancholy in sunshiney pop gets to me
haven't heard anything past Tiger Bay, though.
Stereolab is great, of course
but if someone put on an album of theirs i haven't heard
it would take me awhile to realize that i hadn't heard it.

I like StEt. They like me. (possibly)

Oh, and you know that 'sold for a fortune on e-bay'? That was me, back in the day. No-one more surprised than I was.

But in the end, what's the overriding thought?

"ALL GOOD THING TO COME
ALL GOOD THING TO COME
WILL COME, WELCOME
ALL GOOD THING TO COME"

I suppose I tend towards St Et. but I would rather listen to Laetitia singing than La Cracknell.

The issue of whose music is more "moving" is silly, considering that St. Etienne are all about wistful, nostalgic, dewy-eyed portraits of a mythical London, and Stereolab are all about Krautrock space-boogie. The phrasing of the question creates an automatic win for St. Etienne.

stereolab, because once i thought they were the greatest band on earth

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm yes

i found ETK quite moving generally anyway

I find Stereolab's rockier songs more moving that their poppier ones (or the songs that are "meant" to be more reflective like the ones named upthread), but of course it's really just a matter of taste.

If Stereolab loses this, I will be deeply disappointed in ILM because they are my favorite band.

The issue of whose music is more "moving" is silly, considering that St. Etienne are all about wistful, nostalgic, dewy-eyed portraits of a mythical London, and Stereolab are all about Krautrock space-boogie. The phrasing of the question creates an automatic win for St. Etienne.

That's sorta taking both bands at face-value. I feel like Saint Etienne's wistful, nostalgic songs are like very successful genre exercises. Like, maybe 'Mario's Cafe' really *is* about some cafe Stanley/Wiggs frequented..but it feels more like they're writing a pop song in the vein of if they were two pop songwriters who had some cafe they frequented. If that makes any sense?

Whereas Stereolab plays off their stoicism and Krautrock space-boogie, but it's betrayed by the fact that Sadier's actually pretty expressive with her voice, far more than Cracknell.

Like, maybe 'Mario's Cafe' really *is* about some cafe Stanley/Wiggs frequented

At least one of the characters in it is demonstrably real (Joe Dilworth)

Stereolab supporters should be prepared to face disappointment. There's a good chance Saint Etienne will win this based on the results of the ILM 90s singles poll (they were tied with Pulp as the artist with more entries in the top 100, and did a lot better than Stereolab).

Stereolab aren't much of a singles band

I was told a story ages ago about some friend of the teller pulling Sarah Cracknell one night and going back to hers with, obviously, the intention of getting some smashing done - except he became so distracted by going through her record collection that she passed out in the meantime and he had to go hungry :( (this was kind of crowbarred in I know but it amuses me)

Luka ModReq (DJ Mencap), Monday, March 16, 2009 7:36 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark

This is a great story, so I chose to believe it. Dude totally deserved it, I mean, I'm sure Sarah Cracknell has a very interesting record collection but...it's Sarah Cracknell!!!

stereolab saint etienne, because once i thought they were the greatest band on earth

I wish I still did really. I don't really have a greatest band on earth anymore, which is sad.

Mario's cafe is real! I've been there. It's very small. Not much too it.

The issue of whose music is more "moving" is silly, considering that St. Etienne are all about wistful, nostalgic, dewy-eyed portraits of a mythical London, and Stereolab are all about Krautrock space-boogie. The phrasing of the question creates an automatic win for St. Etienne.

i suppose, but the et have a much greater range. sometimes i want music to be moving, and i don't think ver lab are capable of a song like 'paper'. or 'he's on the phone', going in another direction. being 'consistent' isn't a big win; it just means doing the same thing over and over. both groops (dys) have a slightly annoying penumbra of fans/hype/etc.

so does any band

both bands cultivate(d) that crate-digging, oxfam-hunting obsessive aesthetic, so not surprising their fans also tend to be the same.
carn't choose in this poll, too much to love about both.

But non-crate-digging, oxfam-hunting obsessives are more likely to listen to St. Etienne. Not that it matters.

interesting theory. what are you basing it on?

St. Etienne having hits and sometimes being a pop band?

What hits?

You're In A Bad Way (#12)
He's On The Phone (#11)
Sylvie (#12)

Broadness-of-popularity profiles are maybe somewhat reversed in the U.S., as you can probably imagine. (Although obviously St. Etienne can bridge the listenerships of pop/dance/indie more than Stereolab no matter where you are.)

I'm skeptical about the idea that Stereolab's music has never been moving or had range -- or anyway I know this claim has never been true for me personally.

(In fact, I would say that apart from specific standouts on both sides ... if you took sample slices of both bands' catalogs, I might personally wind up feeling like the St. Etienne material was the more technical one, the less emotionally affecting one. It depends what era you're talking about and which tracks you'd draw and what your tolerance is for the idea that certain bits of emotion are sort of in quote marks in St. Etienne's case -- but I definitely wouldn't take it as a given that they are, in the grand aggregate, uniformly the more moving act.)

Broadness-of-popularity profiles are maybe somewhat reversed in the U.S., as you can probably imagine

Why as you can probably imagine?

...if you took sample slices of both bands' catalogs, I might personally wind up feeling like the St. Etienne material was the more technical one...

The thing is, this depends a lot on which sample slice you choose to take! What you say makes sense for something off "Sound of Water" but definitely not "Foxbase Alpha" or "So Tough".

"as you can probably imagine" = because there's a pretty intense and specific Englishness to Saint Etienne that's one of the many, many, many reasons they weren't exactly in line for a bunch of US chart hits

daavid, I was actually thinking specifically of Foxbase Alpha and So Tough! This might be some kind of pop-versus-rock distinction, or something, but ... it's not as if St. Etienne records are always full of raw emotionalism, or anything; even their peaks of emotionalism are very constructed, and some of them might even read to some people as arch, or even camp, emotionalism that's really aestheticized and put in quotes

i think the "quotes" bit might come from focusing on the record collector personae of the group and less on their vv empathetic lyrics. i don't necessarily sense much detachment there and never really did. i don't think they're any less constructed than other musicians.

"as you can probably imagine" = because there's a pretty intense and specific Englishness to Saint Etienne that's one of the many, many, many reasons they weren't exactly in line for a bunch of US chart hits

Maybe, but Stereolab are an indie art rock band (with a French singer!), can't see them selling a whole lot either

Once Stereolab moved past their droning phase and got more poppy/swingy, they were regarded as a pretty major indie band, and I don't think it was particularly uncommon in the U.S. -- in a sort of upper-middlebrow way -- for a lot of music fans to have an album or two of theirs to throw on when in the mood for something mellow and mildly spacy and to point out that it kinda sounded like the Jetsons. Whereas St. Etienne's had a profile as a particularly English thing, and they often worked in genres (the dance/pop/Euro ones) that the U.S. is a lot less keen on than the UK and Europe are. (This is/was especially true of U.S. indie fans, and St. Etienne's press and distribution inroads to the U.S. were mainly indie ones, not pop ones.) This is my experience of the two bands in America, anyway. Even just on basic name recognition, a huge, huge gap. John McCain's daughter likes Stereolab; I would bet money she hasn't listened to a bunch of Saint Etienne.

it's not as if St. Etienne records are always full of raw emotionalism

This is true, but at the same time, if not raw, Foxbase Alpha and Saint Etienne have this amateurish quality to them (Sarah's frequently off-key, the synths sound cheap, too much reverb). It's a constructed sound, but not done very carefully; that's what I mean by less technical...

...I meant "Foxbase Alpha" and "So Tough".

I was told a story ages ago about some friend of the teller pulling Sarah Cracknell one night and going back to hers with, obviously, the intention of getting some smashing done - except he became so distracted by going through her record collection that she passed out in the meantime and he had to go hungry :( (this was kind of crowbarred in I know but it amuses me)

Luka ModReq (DJ Mencap), Monday, March 16, 2009 7:36 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark

This is a great story, so I chose to believe it. Dude totally deserved it, I mean, I'm sure Sarah Cracknell has a very interesting record collection but...it's Sarah Cracknell!!!

― daavid, Wednesday, March 18, 2009 12:30 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

This is like the Bill Murray "No one will ever believe you" story.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

about what I expected

ew gross

50 people like Saint Etienne that much?

64 people like etc etc

scary thought (st etienne)

ilx stereolab love is up there w/ ilx cure love in the 'have i fallen into some weird alt universe of shitlove' stakes

― Ward Fowler, Sunday, March 15, 2009 9:20 PM (4 weeks ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

qft

gtfo curve rools

John McCain's daughter likes Stereolab

lmbo @ this

actually heard 'fait accompli' in a club the other week good times

Johnny, you might have missed the thread on one really, really strange day -- right before the second debate, when the market was tanking and McCain was "suspending" his campaign to run to Washington, etc. -- and the "song of the day" on Meghan's blog was Stereolab's "Ping Pong"

i.e., sarcastic Marxist song about economic cycles and war and how everything will be alright

Stereolab supporters should be prepared to face disappointment.