Shoegazing: Difference between revisions
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[[File:shoegazing_mbv_8089.jpg|link=My Bloody Valentine ( |
[[File:shoegazing_mbv_8089.jpg|link=My Bloody Valentine (band)|right]] |
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Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock and Alternative Dance that was pioneered and popularised by [[My Bloody Valentine ( |
Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock and Alternative Dance that was pioneered and popularised by [[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine]] in the late 1980s-early 1990s. It's basically [[Psychedelic Rock]] taken [[Up to Eleven]], with a sound characterised by a huge wall of guitars playing drone-based riffs, breathy [[Perishing Alt Rock Voice]] singing, pounding drumming and a mix that builds up everything into a huge wall of sound where the individual instruments blend together. In addition, a danceable undercurrent tends to lie beneath this wall of sound (some bands emphasised this to the point of straddling the line between shoegaze and Madchester). In short, a perfect combination of aggressive and dreamy. |
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While shoegazing is basically [[Psychedelic Rock]] taken [[Up to Eleven]], it was influenced by [[Dream Pop]]'s emphasis on sound over actual song, and indie [[Noise Rock]] bands such as [[Sonic Youth]], [[Dinosaur Jr]], [[The Jesus and Mary Chain]] and [[Velvet Underground]]. |
While shoegazing is basically [[Psychedelic Rock]] taken [[Up to Eleven]], it was influenced by [[Dream Pop]]'s emphasis on sound over actual song, and indie [[Noise Rock]] bands such as [[Sonic Youth]], [[Dinosaur Jr.]], [[The Jesus and Mary Chain]] and [[Velvet Underground]]. |
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The name comes from a ''Sounds'' review of a Moose concert and was picked up by ''NME'' in reference to shoegazing bands' motionless live performances where they mostly stared at their effects pedals (to the right you can see [[My Bloody Valentine ( |
The name comes from a ''Sounds'' review of a Moose concert and was picked up by ''NME'' in reference to shoegazing bands' motionless live performances where they mostly stared at their effects pedals (to the right you can see [[My Bloody Valentine (band)|Bilinda Butcher]] doing exactly that). [[Ride]] singer Mark Gardener also attributed the motionlessness to an average presentation, in reaction to the "ego" of famous bands like [[U2]]. Melody Maker's nickname for the movement was The Scene That Celebrates Itself, due to shoegazers' habit of moonlighting in each other's bands and attending each other's concerts. |
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The genre's first release was the EP ''You Made Me Realise'' by the Anglo-Irish band [[My Bloody Valentine ( |
The genre's first release was the EP ''You Made Me Realise'' by the Anglo-Irish band [[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine]] in 1988. They are also responsible for the most critically acclaimed and well-regarded shoegazing album, ''Loveless'' (1991), which seen as the ''essential'' shoegazing album for [[Crowning Music of Awesome|damn good reason]]. Other bands in the genre include: [[Ride]], [[Lush]], Chapterhouse, [[Slowdive]], Moose and [[The Verve]], the latter being a fusion of shoegazing, space rock and psychedelic rock. The only problem with these bands is that they suffer from a pretty bad case of [[Overshadowed by Awesome]] thanks to the pervasive presence and legendary reputation of the aforementioned My Bloody Valentine.<ref>You might say "But I know The Verve!", but the thing is, they never completely fit in with the scene and had a bit of a [[Genre Shift]] on the way to success.</ref> |
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The shoegazing genre itself was at the forefront of alternative rock in the UK, which in the late 1980s-early 1990s was split between a spacey, psychedelic alt-rock scene which included shoegazing (roughly corresponding to Southern England - the overwhelming majority of shoegazing bands came from the Thames Valley, which probably contributed to the camaraderie between members and the Scene That Celebrates Itself moniker), and a poppier alt-rock scene which included Madchester (roughly corresponding to, surprise surprise, Northern England). While the genre itself was a mostly British thing, there were a few shoegazey bands to emerge out of the USA, like [[Starflyer 59]] and Medicine. |
The shoegazing genre itself was at the forefront of alternative rock in the UK, which in the late 1980s-early 1990s was split between a spacey, psychedelic alt-rock scene which included shoegazing (roughly corresponding to Southern England - the overwhelming majority of shoegazing bands came from the Thames Valley, which probably contributed to the camaraderie between members and the Scene That Celebrates Itself moniker), and a poppier alt-rock scene which included Madchester (roughly corresponding to, surprise surprise, Northern England). While the genre itself was a mostly British thing, there were a few shoegazey bands to emerge out of the USA, like [[Starflyer 59]] and Medicine. |
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Shoegazing collapsed in the midst of a mid-1990s [[Hype Backlash]], its bands increasingly seen as privileged, self-indulgent middle-class kids with "nothing to say" and being replaced by working-class [[Britpop]] bands ([[Meet the New Boss|who then immediately became filthy rich]]). MBV went into a hiatus, not releasing anything since 1991 and only resurfacing as a band with a reunion tour in 2008. [[Lush]] pulled an abrupt [[Genre Shift]] into Britpop to some success and broke up after their drummer killed himself. [[Slowdive]] evolved into the folk-rock/DreamPop band Mojave 3. [[Catherine Wheel]] went into slowly changing their own style and broke up in 2000. And Ride broke up in 1996 after failed attempts to adapt to [[Britpop]]. |
Shoegazing collapsed in the midst of a mid-1990s [[Hype Backlash]], its bands increasingly seen as privileged, self-indulgent middle-class kids with "nothing to say" and being replaced by working-class [[Britpop]] bands ([[Meet the New Boss|who then immediately became filthy rich]]). MBV went into a hiatus, not releasing anything since 1991 and only resurfacing as a band with a reunion tour in 2008. [[Lush]] pulled an abrupt [[Genre Shift]] into Britpop to some success and broke up after their drummer killed himself. [[Slowdive]] evolved into the folk-rock/DreamPop band Mojave 3. [[Catherine Wheel]] went into slowly changing their own style and broke up in 2000. And Ride broke up in 1996 after failed attempts to adapt to [[Britpop]]. |
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In the 2000s the genre saw something of a resurgence with the indie crowd. In 2001 a band called [[My Vitriol]] released Finelines which is given credit with starting the shoegaze movement of the 2000s called Nu Gaze (Coined by Som Wardner himself from [[My Vitriol]]). Bands such as [[Silversun Pickups]], Asobi Seksu, Blonde Redhead, and The Big Pink were bands that followed this new movement. There were also [[Darker and Edgier]] bands that used the shoegazing sound to oppress or disquiet rather than uplift, like [[Singapore Sling]] (the first band to make a career out of this "darker" sound), [[A Place to Bury Strangers]], The Horrors, [[Jesu]], Have a Nice Life and The Angelic Process. There are also a few metal bands that have adopted some elements of shoegaze as well (such as Alcest, Deafheaven, [[Jesu]] again, arguably Nachtmystium), most of them usually being placed as metalgaze or or just post-metal. Then there are bands such as [[ |
In the 2000s the genre saw something of a resurgence with the indie crowd. In 2001 a band called [[My Vitriol]] released Finelines which is given credit with starting the shoegaze movement of the 2000s called Nu Gaze (Coined by Som Wardner himself from [[My Vitriol]]). Bands such as [[Silversun Pickups]], Asobi Seksu, Blonde Redhead, and The Big Pink were bands that followed this new movement. There were also [[Darker and Edgier]] bands that used the shoegazing sound to oppress or disquiet rather than uplift, like [[Singapore Sling]] (the first band to make a career out of this "darker" sound), [[A Place to Bury Strangers]], The Horrors, [[Jesu]], Have a Nice Life and The Angelic Process. There are also a few metal bands that have adopted some elements of shoegaze as well (such as Alcest, Deafheaven, [[Jesu]] again, arguably Nachtmystium), most of them usually being placed as metalgaze or or just post-metal. Then there are bands such as [[M83]] and A Sunny Day In Glasgow who have aimed towards more electronic experimentation with shoegaze. Yeah, it's been incorporated into almost everything.... |
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Has nothing to do with [[Male Gaze|Male Gazing]]. Or [[Foot Focus|Foot Focusing.]] |
Has nothing to do with [[Male Gaze|Male Gazing]]. Or [[Foot Focus|Foot Focusing.]] |
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* [[My Bloody Valentine ( |
* [[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine]] |
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* [[ |
* [[Lush]] |
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* [[ |
* [[Ride]] |
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* [[ |
* [[Catherine Wheel]] |
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* Moose |
* Moose |
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* [[ |
* [[Slowdive]] |
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* [[ |
* [[Kitchens of Distinction]] |
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* [[ |
* [[Spiritualized]] |
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* Swervedriver |
* Swervedriver |
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* [[ |
* [[Curve]] |
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* [[ |
* [[Pale Saints]] |
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* Chapterhouse |
* Chapterhouse |
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* The Boo Radleys |
* The Boo Radleys |
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* [[ |
* [[The Verve]] (one of the few shoegazing bands to not be from the Thames Valley/Southern UK; they were from Wigan, Greater Manchester) |
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* Lilys |
* Lilys |
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* Medicine |
* Medicine |
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* The Nightblooms |
* The Nightblooms |
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* [[ |
* [[Starflyer 59]] (but only for their first few albums) |
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* [[Blur ( |
* [[Blur (band)|Blur]] on their first album represent one of the aforementioned bands that straddled the line between Shoegazing and Madchester, but dropped the whole thing with their next album to jump on the [[Britpop]] bandwagon. Once they reinvented themselves as a noisy art-rock band, some of their shoegazing influence started to reemerge on ''Blur'' and ''13''. |
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Second wave or "Nu Gaze" bands: |
Second wave or "Nu Gaze" bands: |
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* Blonde Redhead |
* Blonde Redhead |
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* Darker My Love |
* Darker My Love |
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* [[ |
* [[Deerhunter]] |
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* Glasvegas |
* Glasvegas |
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* LSD and the Search for God (Arguably the most talented and influential of underground Shoegazing acts) |
* LSD and the Search for God (Arguably the most talented and influential of underground Shoegazing acts) |
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* [[ |
* [[M83]] |
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* [[ |
* [[My Vitriol]] |
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* [[Silversun Pickups]] (Most commercially successful Shoegazing act) |
* [[Silversun Pickups]] (Most commercially successful Shoegazing act) |
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* Belong |
* Belong |
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[[Darker and Edgier]] shoegaze bands: |
[[Darker and Edgier]] shoegaze bands: |
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* [[ |
* [[Singapore Sling]] |
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* [[ |
* [[A Place to Bury Strangers]] |
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* The Horrors (''Primary Colours'' era only, ''Skying'' fits more with the traditional shoegaze) |
* The Horrors (''Primary Colours'' era only, ''Skying'' fits more with the traditional shoegaze) |
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* [[Have A Nice Life]] |
* [[Have A Nice Life]] |
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"Metalgaze" bands: |
"Metalgaze" bands: |
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* [[ |
* [[Jesu]] |
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* The Angelic Process |
* The Angelic Process |
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* Alcest ([[Black Metal]], shoegaze and folk) - curiously, lead songwriter Neige claims that he'd never heard of the genre until he read reviews of his own albums comparing them to shoegaze. |
* Alcest ([[Black Metal]], shoegaze and folk) - curiously, lead songwriter Neige claims that he'd never heard of the genre until he read reviews of his own albums comparing them to shoegaze. |