Sorry There's No Punk! Captain Sensible's Damn' Favourite LPs | Page 8 of 14 | The Quietus

Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

7. StereolabEmperor Tomato Ketchup

More than any other band, Stereolab fans must’ve played each new album not knowing quite what to expect as the bands career was a total musical adventure through Krautrock, French pop and then seeing them end up as pioneers of the loungecore scene. Moog synths had gotten a bad name at the hands of some of the more self-indulgent prog rockers – “a monumental waste of electricity” was John Peel’s verdict, a view with which I agree. But with their quirky pop aesthetics, along with their trademark blips and bleeps, Stereolab almost single handedly rehabilitated the Moog, and for that we must thank them. A few years ago when The Damned played Glastonbury I made a point of catching Stereolab’s set on the John Peel stage. Their mesmerising grooves and beats pretty much had the audience in a trance by the finale, so it was maybe a good job I was hanging onto the barrier at the front at the time.

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