Dots and Loops is just as good, if not better, than Emperor Tomato Ketchup and I will explain, in depth, if anyone (no one) is curious (doesn't respond because they (are afraid) don't care).
The highlights of "Emperor Tomato Ketchup" are better than any of the highlights of "Dots and Loops" ("Metronymic Underground," "Noise of Carpet," "Percolator," and the glorious and perfect "Cybele's Reverie") but "Dots and Loops" holds up better as an album. It was a step backwords back into space age bachelor pop and a lighter and more bubblegum approach, plus it has the best finish to any Stereolab album... it's like a perfect marriage between what Tim Gane does and what Sean O'Hagan does. Speaking of, I really hope someone comes along and compiles like a "Singles Going Steady" or "Steve Miller Band Greatest Hits 1974-1978" for the High Llamas, who basically coasted on mostly mediocre albums with a few gorgeous killer songs on each, which led to me purchasing several albums which I love one song, like two others, and can't remember a damn thing about the rest of the album except it was enjoyable and pleasant. They've got a great, and I mean a close-to-perfect, singles collection in them, if they can find a guy willing to pan for gold.
And please don't let that guy be Robert Pollard.
I still think about the Stereolab show at the Paradise that was sold out before I could get tickets, especially now that a band is on a hiatus that seems disturbingly permanent (or as permanent as can be in this day of age, it's like that old joke that in comics "nobody stays dead except for Jason Todd and Uncle Ben," although they did eventually resurrect Todd, it should be in rock and roll that "no band stays broken up except for the Smiths and the Talking Heads)"). Then I remember if I had gotten tickets to that show, I would have missed game four of the ALDS (which was exactly the same time) where I got to witness a walk-off playoff series clinching Red Sox win at Fenway Park.
To this day I wouldn't trade that experience for anything, it was an experience on my Bucket List (number two, in fact, right above number three, appearing in a zombie movie as a zombie, preferably a minor character who turns into one during the course of the film, and slightly behind number one, which is going down on Regina Spektor). Still a part of me wants to master time travel so that I could have seen both.
And you are dead on about "Chemical Chords," there's a track here as great as anything else in Stereolab's canon (although I'll always love them best for "The Free Design"), I want to say "The Ecstatic Static."
Stereolab was one of the best live shows I've ever seen (saw them on the Sound-Dust tour) and I was really impressed with how they transformed "Metronomic Underground" and "Cybele's Reverie" into live performances; you can sort of get the idea from the terrific compilation album, ABC Music.
You kind of hit the nail on the head about what I was getting at, but it's also the fact that Dots and Loops is more of a daring, and completely successful, departure for them than ETK. ETK is like the pinnacle of their early-middle period, but Dots and Loops takes them into outer-space lounge jazz territory. "Miss Modular" is one of the best singles of their entire career, "Refractions in the Plastic Pulse" is their best long-form effort and "Rainbo Conversation" is one of the few tracks where Sadier's voice actually carries a great deal of passion.
I'm in the minority with Stereolab fans in that I also really think that Cobra... gets pandered unfairly (thank you, Pitchfork - seriously, that review and the head guy's review of a GYBE! album are why they get so much shit, awful, awful reviews by people who betray their musical ignorance). But taking a step back, you'll see that they really transformed themselves and their song-writing, going from longer, minimalist tracks to shorter, more subtly orchestrated, almost "pop" songs. Chemical Chords kind of proves this, and it's one of the reasons why I think it's a fantastic album. But, Cobra... is the seed for that. I love "The Free Design," but "Fuses" is almost as good, if not as tight, "People Do It All The Time" is also a terrific, lounge pop kind of song, sort of bridging the gap between their early/late styles. My favorite song of the album, and one of my all-time favorite 'lab tracks is "Infinity Girl."
I'd say the reason that I think Dots and Loops is "better" than ETK is that it's more important to the evolution of their style; it's also a reflection of how much I think their latest release contains some of the best material in a prolific band with a lot of good tunes.
(I love "The Ecstatic Static" too, but "Three Women" with that opening drum, bass and tambourine intro gets me every time.)
oh, also, while I'm on the subject of that album: thanks to the digital age, it's possible to recreate an album the way you think it should be. In my iTunes, I've chopped a third of the tracks off (and almost half the total time, which is telling w/r/t my assertion above about their songwriting shift), leaving it at a manageable 43 minutes and very listenable. It makes it a really good album! Like, 7 or 8 out of 10. Here's the listing if you're interested.
1. Fuses 2. People Do It All The Time 3. The Free Design 4. Blips, Drips and Strips 5. Infinity Girl 6. Op Hop Detonation 7. Puncture in the Radax Permutation 8. Strobo Acceleration 9. The Emergency Kisses 10. Come and Play in the Milky Night
Upon another go-round with "Chemical Chords," the song I loved was actually "Self Portrait with Electronic Brain". I really do wish bands would try as hard as possible to include song titles in their lyrics, it's just way too much work otherwise.
I feel that Stereolab is sort of like a modern day Fall, always different, always the same.
Anyway, if there's a time in the hopefully near future where you and I, and Fagen and Becker, are all alive and healthy, we absolutely HAVE to see Steely Dan perform together, like no excuses other than births, weddings, or funerals!
And please don't let that guy be Robert Pollard.
I still think about the Stereolab show at the Paradise that was sold out before I could get tickets, especially now that a band is on a hiatus that seems disturbingly permanent (or as permanent as can be in this day of age, it's like that old joke that in comics "nobody stays dead except for Jason Todd and Uncle Ben," although they did eventually resurrect Todd, it should be in rock and roll that "no band stays broken up except for the Smiths and the Talking Heads)"). Then I remember if I had gotten tickets to that show, I would have missed game four of the ALDS (which was exactly the same time) where I got to witness a walk-off playoff series clinching Red Sox win at Fenway Park.
To this day I wouldn't trade that experience for anything, it was an experience on my Bucket List (number two, in fact, right above number three, appearing in a zombie movie as a zombie, preferably a minor character who turns into one during the course of the film, and slightly behind number one, which is going down on Regina Spektor). Still a part of me wants to master time travel so that I could have seen both.
And you are dead on about "Chemical Chords," there's a track here as great as anything else in Stereolab's canon (although I'll always love them best for "The Free Design"), I want to say "The Ecstatic Static."
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You kind of hit the nail on the head about what I was getting at, but it's also the fact that Dots and Loops is more of a daring, and completely successful, departure for them than ETK. ETK is like the pinnacle of their early-middle period, but Dots and Loops takes them into outer-space lounge jazz territory. "Miss Modular" is one of the best singles of their entire career, "Refractions in the Plastic Pulse" is their best long-form effort and "Rainbo Conversation" is one of the few tracks where Sadier's voice actually carries a great deal of passion.
I'm in the minority with Stereolab fans in that I also really think that Cobra... gets pandered unfairly (thank you, Pitchfork - seriously, that review and the head guy's review of a GYBE! album are why they get so much shit, awful, awful reviews by people who betray their musical ignorance). But taking a step back, you'll see that they really transformed themselves and their song-writing, going from longer, minimalist tracks to shorter, more subtly orchestrated, almost "pop" songs. Chemical Chords kind of proves this, and it's one of the reasons why I think it's a fantastic album. But, Cobra... is the seed for that. I love "The Free Design," but "Fuses" is almost as good, if not as tight, "People Do It All The Time" is also a terrific, lounge pop kind of song, sort of bridging the gap between their early/late styles. My favorite song of the album, and one of my all-time favorite 'lab tracks is "Infinity Girl."
I'd say the reason that I think Dots and Loops is "better" than ETK is that it's more important to the evolution of their style; it's also a reflection of how much I think their latest release contains some of the best material in a prolific band with a lot of good tunes.
(I love "The Ecstatic Static" too, but "Three Women" with that opening drum, bass and tambourine intro gets me every time.)
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1. Fuses
2. People Do It All The Time
3. The Free Design
4. Blips, Drips and Strips
5. Infinity Girl
6. Op Hop Detonation
7. Puncture in the Radax Permutation
8. Strobo Acceleration
9. The Emergency Kisses
10. Come and Play in the Milky Night
Reply
I feel that Stereolab is sort of like a modern day Fall, always different, always the same.
Anyway, if there's a time in the hopefully near future where you and I, and Fagen and Becker, are all alive and healthy, we absolutely HAVE to see Steely Dan perform together, like no excuses other than births, weddings, or funerals!
Reply
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