Named for the widow of John Cassavetes, The Gena Rowlands Band's name is just the beginning of a slew of film and entertainment references demonstrated by titles such as "Garofalo, C'est Moi", "Traci's Big Screen Test", and "The Last Words of Lesley Gore".

Though The Gena Rowlands Band's Bob Massey utilizes many pop culture references throughout the album, the album is far from a pop affair. La Merde et Les Etoiles's arrangements are sparse and present a distance mirrored by the lyrical content. Massey's voice often acts as the sole human element in an empty world accented by cello and violin.

While the unconventional instrumentation of the compositions accurately exhibits the overall feeling of the album, only carefully listening to Massey's lyrics can it be realized how the entertainment references act as a foil to a depressing reality with lines expressing that "love is only in the movies" and that "all my favorite movie stars don't really exist". While the experimental arrangements make La Merde et Les Etoiles a worth listen, it is the lyrical depth that make it deserving of multiple spins.