Topic: Shoegaze Appreciation Thread (Read 11801 times)

byebyepanda · « **on:** 28 Mar 2007, 23:18 »

SHOEGAZE, DREAM POP, WHATEVER! Let's talk about it and all that is related to it!
I haven't seen much talk about it (well I haven't been on these forums for a while) so lets chat shall we?

amok · « **Reply #1 on:** 29 Mar 2007, 00:00 »

I've always been a bit unsure where 'shoegaze' ends and 'quiet indie' begins but either way, I'm gonna go right ahead and say that Slowdive would have a good chance of being the best band ever if one of their members hadn't cheekily usurped them by forming Monster Movie, who're even better. And Mojave 3 complete the holy trinity.

Really diggin' this kinda stuff recently, looking forward to picking up some new listenin' ideas.

byebyepanda · « **Reply #2 on:** 29 Mar 2007, 01:04 »

Never heard the term "quiet indie". I guess the best I could describe shoegaze is that its very reverb, distorted and/or fuzzy, noisy at times music with not very distinct vocals. Slowdive is definitely one of my favorites, along side My Bloody Valentine.

Caspian · « **Reply #3 on:** 29 Mar 2007, 01:19 »

MBV rule majorly, but that's fairly obvious. While I like some of the mellower, dreamier stuff (Snowdrift, Slowdive, Ride, Headlights even? I don't know..) I definitely enjoy the more layered, huge wall of sound style bands. MBV, obviously, and the more metal orientated ones.. Jesu, and possibly even Nadja and the Angelic Process. That's not really shoegaze, I guess, but heavy, droney shoegaze is a good enough description of those bands, and I love them. Also: M83, for the whole electro shoegaze thing. Freaking awesome band.

I really need to hear more shoegaze though, those bands are basically all I've heard..

byebyepanda · « **Reply #4 on:** 29 Mar 2007, 01:49 »

Are Radio Dept. consider shoegaze?

anditsdiscontents · « **Reply #5 on:** 29 Mar 2007, 02:50 »

are MBV the kinda archetypal shoegaze band? are they shoegaze's parents?
are there any other shoegaze bands i might recognise? can anyone give me a few symptoms of shoegazingness?

öde · « **Reply #6 on:** 29 Mar 2007, 03:13 »

Quote from: anditsdiscontents on 29 Mar 2007, 02:50

are MBV the kinda archetypal shoegaze band? are they shoegaze's parents?

Yes.

Quote from: anditsdiscontents on 29 Mar 2007, 02:50

can anyone give me a few symptoms of shoegazingness?

Quote from: byebyepanda on 29 Mar 2007, 01:04

very reverb, distorted and/or fuzzy, noisy at times music with not very distinct vocals.

freestyle trombonist · « **Reply #7 on:** 29 Mar 2007, 05:59 »

i love the red house painters so much.
(lately, i love sun kil moon and mark kozelek's more recent stuff, but it's not so shoegazey. but early rhp is amazing.)

imapiratearg · « **Reply #8 on:** 29 Mar 2007, 07:01 »

JamisonParker is apparently shoegaze. They're one of my favorite bands ever.

casull · « **Reply #9 on:** 29 Mar 2007, 07:04 »

I saw jesu open for isis this week. I think I wouldn't live shoegaze as much on an album as I did live, but then, I really don't know much about it.

ScrambledGregs · « **Reply #10 on:** 29 Mar 2007, 08:07 »

One of my professors in college went to see My Bloody Valentine back in '91 or whenever they were touring the States around the Loveless era. I told him I was sickeningly jealous, but he said he had to keep leaving the show because it was so painfully loud even with ear plugs he could feel it in his body and it made him ill.

Thrillho · « **Reply #11 on:** 29 Mar 2007, 12:45 »

I'm a shoegazer when I play onstage but i'm in a metal band. It's good fun, especially since I only have one pedal.

byebyepanda · « **Reply #12 on:** 29 Mar 2007, 13:28 »

Haha, I don't think Jamisonparker are shoegaze.

Der Golem · « **Reply #13 on:** 29 Mar 2007, 13:57 »

Quote from: Caspian on 29 Mar 2007, 01:19

the Angelic Process

So good.

!!!CPAOI!!! · « **Reply #14 on:** 29 Mar 2007, 15:34 »

Quote from: tommydski on 29 Mar 2007, 09:36

I guess this applies to bands like JAMC, MBV or Ride? I think pretty much everyone likes those bands already.

JAMC and MBV are both amazing bands, but I've always been sort of bored by Ride.

As for the distinction between shoegaze and slowcore, despite the fairly consistent differences between each style of music I've always thought of oringinal shoegaze music as coming exclusively out of the Thames Valley scene in the early-to-mid 90's.

A fair amount of the neo-shoegaze/dream pop stuff is really, realy good though. If you haven't already heard Citrus by Asobi Seksu I think you should get on that. Also, I mentioned this in another thread but A Sunny Day in Glasgow just put out a REALLY good dream pop album that's diggable if you're into static and noise.

byebyepanda · « **Reply #15 on:** 29 Mar 2007, 15:53 »

A Sunny Day in Glasgow is the band? Which album?
Yeah Citrus is really good. Love it!

Johnny C · « **Reply #16 on:** 29 Mar 2007, 17:12 »

I'm jamming with someone in April who has expressed an interest in making instrumental music. I'm going to try and push in an influence which leans more on the shoegazing side than on the industrial stuff she named.

ScrambledGregs · « **Reply #17 on:** 30 Mar 2007, 06:34 »

I think shoegazing and slowcore are similar but not synonymous. Shoegazer is typically more noisy whereas slowcore is, obviously, slow, but also more minimalist. A typical MBV song is like being wrapped in a white noise blanket: at first it's suffocating but it quickly becomes comfortable. A typical (well, pre-00's) Low song is like slowly working your way through a cover and then deciding you liked how it sounded when you played it slowly and sparsely on a piano or single electric guitar.

Caspian · « **Reply #18 on:** 30 Mar 2007, 06:50 »

Quote from: Der Golem on 29 Mar 2007, 13:57

Quote from: Caspian on 29 Mar 2007, 01:19
the Angelic Process

So good.

Yeah man, amazing band. I wish more people had heard of this band..

Seriously, anyone else reading this thread, get The Angelic Process. They are shoegaze purified and refined. And made much heavier.

BillAdama · « **Reply #19 on:** 30 Mar 2007, 07:04 »

A litmus test for shoegaze is 'Would the goth kids on South Park dance to it'.

I never understood what the genre was either until I pictured dancing while staring down at my feet.

There's some real good shoegaze out there. Serena Maneesh last near was a great album.

imapiratearg · « **Reply #20 on:** 30 Mar 2007, 07:08 »

Quote from: byebyepanda on 29 Mar 2007, 13:28

Haha, I don't think Jamisonparker are shoegaze.

Maybe their music isn't, but Parker Case pretty much always has his head down when playing on stage. Making him a shoegazer, no? Also, JamisonParker doesn't really fit into a specific genre like pop punk or "emo", because they're rather effect heavy, and most of their songs are slow. I don't know, i might be wrong.

Skibas_clavicle · « **Reply #21 on:** 30 Mar 2007, 09:42 »

God, I love hipsters.

Johnny C · « **Reply #22 on:** 30 Mar 2007, 11:03 »

Those fatsters, though. Real assholes.

valley_parade · « **Reply #23 on:** 30 Mar 2007, 11:23 »

Quote from: !!!CPAOI!!! on 29 Mar 2007, 15:34

Also, I mentioned this in another thread but A Sunny Day in Glasgow just put out a REALLY good dream pop album that's diggable if you're into static and noise.

Just downloaded it. Thanks for the suggestion.

timehat · « **Reply #24 on:** 30 Mar 2007, 14:25 »

I enjoy shoegaze/dream pop a good deal, with Cocteau Twins being at the top of my list in that vein. I also enjoy MBV, Slowdive, The Radio Dept., M83, Mojave 3, and Swervedriver.

ScrambledGregs · « **Reply #25 on:** 30 Mar 2007, 17:10 »

Can you really dance to shoegazer?? I mean that's like dancing to post-rock. I can't make logical sense of it in my head. At least some goth stereotypical music has beats or rhythms...

Caspian · « **Reply #26 on:** 30 Mar 2007, 21:48 »

You could definitely dance to some MBV. When You Sleep would be great. Soon would be pretty sweet too.

amok · « **Reply #27 on:** 30 Mar 2007, 22:32 »

Quote from: ScrambledGregs on 30 Mar 2007, 17:10

Can you really dance to shoegazer?? I mean that's like dancing to post-rock. I can't make logical sense of it in my head. At least some goth stereotypical music has beats or rhythms...

Goths these days dance to German synthpop. Shuffly south park goths wouldn't know what the fuck, they'd be much more at home with some shoegaze.

Valdemar · « **Reply #28 on:** 30 Mar 2007, 23:48 »

Quote from: Caspian on 30 Mar 2007, 06:50

Yeah man, amazing band. I wish more people had heard of this band..

Seriously, anyone else reading this thread, get The Angelic Process. They are shoegaze purified and refined. And made much heavier.

I am waiting for their new album Weigning Souls With Sand to come out on May 15th. Though I suppose I may have to buy Coma Waering beforehand.

Caspian · « **Reply #29 on:** 31 Mar 2007, 01:02 »

Quote from: Valdemar on 30 Mar 2007, 23:48

Quote from: Caspian on 30 Mar 2007, 06:50
Yeah man, amazing band. I wish more people had heard of this band..

Seriously, anyone else reading this thread, get The Angelic Process. They are shoegaze purified and refined. And made much heavier.

I am waiting for their new album Weigning Souls With Sand to come out on May 15th. Though I suppose I may have to buy Coma Waering beforehand.

I';d buy Coma Waering now, for two reasons:
1. It's the album of 2006 by a really long way.
2. It's limited to 750 copies.

Also: I am really excited about the new album. The album title is really awesome too.

Valdemar · « **Reply #30 on:** 31 Mar 2007, 05:16 »

Done. Apparently it has an autograph on it according to their website.

!!!CPAOI!!! · « **Reply #31 on:** 31 Mar 2007, 13:58 »

Quote from: valley_parade on 30 Mar 2007, 11:23

Quote from: !!!CPAOI!!! on 29 Mar 2007, 15:34
Also, I mentioned this in another thread but A Sunny Day in Glasgow just put out a REALLY good dream pop album that's diggable if you're into static and noise.

Just downloaded it. Thanks for the suggestion.

Definitely

öde · « **Reply #32 on:** 01 Apr 2007, 13:49 »

MOOSE.

ScrambledGregs · « **Reply #33 on:** 01 Apr 2007, 16:34 »

HOW do you dance to shoegazer?? I mean I can't picture the sort of movements one might utilize to dance to shoegazer.

öde · « **Reply #34 on:** 01 Apr 2007, 17:09 »

Imagine shy indie kid.
Imagine said kid dancing.

Or like a club where everyone's just kinda flailing about like they're on e, in slow motion.

byebyepanda · « **Reply #35 on:** 01 Apr 2007, 21:09 »

Quote from: imapiratearg on 30 Mar 2007, 07:08

Quote from: byebyepanda on 29 Mar 2007, 13:28
Haha, I don't think Jamisonparker are shoegaze.

Maybe their music isn't, but Parker Case pretty much always has his head down when playing on stage. Making him a shoegazer, no? Also, JamisonParker doesn't really fit into a specific genre like pop punk or "emo", because they're rather effect heavy, and most of their songs are slow. I don't know, i might be wrong.

Haha yeah. I meant the music not being shoegaze :]

imapiratearg · « **Reply #36 on:** 02 Apr 2007, 15:22 »

Yeah, i know.

onewheelwizzard · « **Reply #37 on:** 04 Apr 2007, 18:24 »

What distinction can be drawn between shoegaze and drone? Guitar tone?

byebyepanda · « **Reply #38 on:** 04 Apr 2007, 19:08 »

Isn't droning like a sound that just gets repeated very loud?

McTaggart · « **Reply #39 on:** 04 Apr 2007, 21:33 »

Shoegaze has more song to it.

onewheelwizzard · « **Reply #40 on:** 04 Apr 2007, 23:55 »

I'm not really sure about that ... I mean, Earth is the seminal drone band and there are plenty of songs in their history that aren't just the same note every two seconds. I don't think a reasonable distinction could be made between them and MBV, unless I'm missing something.

McTaggart · « **Reply #41 on:** 05 Apr 2007, 03:01 »

Earth is a seminal doom metal band. A drone doom metal bad if you like. The metal part is there because of the use of song structure. I think we have completely different idea of 'drone'.

'Drone' to me says long and static, without regard for song structure, melody, tuning or that whole time signature thing. It's very similar to noise in that respect.

onewheelwizzard · « **Reply #42 on:** 05 Apr 2007, 04:08 »

Fair enough. Upon revisiting what I think you would consider "drone," namely bands like Pelt, I'd probably agree.

Where would you place SUNN0)))?

Misereatur · « **Reply #43 on:** 05 Apr 2007, 04:40 »

I'd place Sunn as Drone/Avant Grade metal, or just simply Avant Grade. There is a difference between Drone and Shoegaze, but they can work together. I see Jesu as Drone Shoegaze.

RefD · « **Reply #44 on:** 05 Apr 2007, 22:43 »

*puts on a Lush CD from the litter bin and pretends to understand wtf this thread is about*

Caspian · « **Reply #45 on:** 06 Apr 2007, 05:30 »

Quote from: RefD on 05 Apr 2007, 22:43

*puts on a Lush CD from the litter bin and pretends to understand wtf this thread is about*

Listen to some My Bloody Valentine then you'll understand. Their music is a good indication of what Shoegaze is. I think the genre name comes from the fact that MBV would stare straight at the ground when they played live, hence 'shoegazing'.

öde · « **Reply #46 on:** 06 Apr 2007, 07:44 »

Moose are sometimes credited as the first band to be called shoegazers since the lead singer read lyrics taped to the stage.

BrittanyMarie · « **Reply #47 on:** 06 Apr 2007, 12:27 »

Last night I saw Calla, and I was involved in a discussion as to what they were, genre-wise. I said they were kinda droney shoegaze, but upon reading this thread, I think my definition of drone is not quite what your guys' are? I meant it like... shoegaze music with a drone influence.

Jackie Blue · « **Reply #48 on:** 11 Apr 2007, 03:52 »

Quote from: ScrambledGregs on 30 Mar 2007, 17:10

Can you really dance to shoegazer?? I mean that's like dancing to post-rock. I can't make logical sense of it in my head. At least some goth stereotypical music has beats or rhythms...

Dude you can dance to anything. Regardless, most shoegazer songs DO have beats and rhythm.

My question would be, how can you NOT dance to songs like "Soon", "Just Like Honey", "Black Nite Crash", "40 Days", "Extramundane", etc.

When I saw Asobi Seksu a couple weeks ago I was dancing like a madman.

fish across face · « **Reply #49 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 02:25 »

Quote from: tommydski on 29 Mar 2007, 09:36

The American version of Shoegazing was often called Slowcore and right now I'm absolutely fascinated with all the bands that have had this term applied to them. I guess the roots would be bands like American Music Club and Red House Painters but I think it reached it's fruition when bands like Galaxie 500, Low, Codeine and Bedhead were active during the 90s.

Random trivia time: on Ride's song Making Judy Smile they made a reference to (the then broken up) Galaxie 500. So I guess the original shoegazers new all about that business. Pity it's such a terrible song. Not sure why so many of those bands straightened out. Thinking of Ride, Teenage Fanclub and The Boo Radleys, all of whom made some weird stuff, got dissed for copying MBV at various points, but became more and more in thrall to classic British guitar bands. Seems really weird now to imagine Teenage Fanclub or The Boo Radleys ever being considered shoegazer, but they certainly were at the time.

It's funny, MBV used to get slagged in NME (when it was a music mag, not a lads' mag) and Melody Maker (when it was) for being JAMC rip-offs... then within a couple of years other bands like The Boo Radleys and Chapterhouse were getting slagged in turn for being MBV rip-offs. Mind you, probably fair enough on all counts.

How about Loop? They were alright. I guess they never got so much hype cos they're much colder, more difficult than the other shoegazers.

Swervedriver? They kinda got roped in with all this noisiness, but they were a bit more ROCK than most.

Of the contemporary stuff, I have yet to hear anything very interesting. Beach House was OK, is that shoegazer? Sorta Mazzy Star-ish.

Actually the album that one of the MBV guys produced (think it was Colm?) for Hope Sandoval was pretty astoundingly pretty.

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: Shoegaze Appreciation Thread (Read 11801 times)

freestyle trombonist

ScrambledGregs

!!!CPAOI!!!

ScrambledGregs

BillAdama

timehat

ScrambledGregs

Valdemar

Valdemar

!!!CPAOI!!!

ScrambledGregs