A Interesting Article I Came Across On Shoegaze

[androidpopjr]

I don't know how I feel about this:


http://www.wired.com/listening_post/200 ... snt-shoeg/

[Ghost Hip]

I like shoegaze, i like punk, i think grunge is a bit silly, and alternative and indie are too general.

done.

[veteransdaypoppy]

happy 2k posts, pp.

[androidpopjr]

I like shoegaze, i like punk, i think grunge is a bit silly, and alternative and indie are too general.

done.

I mean it's all just rock n' roll... But I don't know why they would hate being labeled shoegaze.

[Wizard]

How about we all argue semantics while looking at Kevin Shields' pedal board(s).

[androidpopjr]

How about we all argue semantics while looking at Kevin Shields' pedal board(s).

haha nice

[sev]

It's just like any other label. They are perpetuated by various facets of the music business in order to lump together and sell.

Remember "grunge"?

Does Nirvana sound like Soundgarden?
Does Pearl Jam sound like Alice In Chains?
Does Alice In Chains sound like Nirvana?
Does Soundgarden sound like Pearl Jam?

No, no, no, and no.
But they're all "grunge" huh?

[Wizard]

It's just like any other label. They are perpetuated by various facets of the music business in order to lump together and sell.

Remember "grunge"?

Does Nirvana sound like Soundgarden?
Does Pearl Jam sound like Alice In Chains?
Does Alice In Chains sound like Nirvana?
Does Soundgarden sound like Pearl Jam?

No, no, no, and no.
But they're all "grunge" huh?

they all wear flannel. that means they're grundge. oh, i guess that means you can count pavement in too.

[Roseweave]

I hate when people try to remove labels altogether. When I feel like getting into a new band, I'll use one or two genres as adjectives. Take them away and it makes it a lot harder to describe the kind of music I like. I don't think this is particularly "Progressive". I think a lot of big studio execs have a vested interest in getting rid of them so everything can become pop rock, to be honest.

[Enoch-Fox]

"Shoegaze" is one of the least uniform genre labels I've come across (although the despicable use of "indie" as a genre tag needs to cease) but even so there are usually elements that tie the bands together. Bands within genre tags aren't intended to sound IDENTICAL... it's just a touchstone, a hint. People should quit throwing a fit about it.

Also, if listeners are using a tag, it doesn't matter what bands or 'zine writers think about it. This guy can plead as much as he likes for people to stop saying "shoegaze" but it won't happen, the term has entered the vernacular.

[Mel x]

I like shoegaze, i like punk, i think grunge is a bit silly, and alternative and indie are too general.

done.

I mean it's all just rock n' roll... But I don't know why they would hate being labeled shoegaze.

because it was coined and used as a negative by the British music press, back then it wasn't a 'genre of music' it was usually used to describe a band that were boring to watch..... The only time you'd hear it used was in a negative context "yeah I'd like loop if they weren't such a bunch of shoegazers" or "I fucking hate shoegazers" it wasn't something to aspire to or call yourself. It was an insult. I have no idea when or how that changed around, it seems to me it was picked up retrospectivally in the US, to describe most of the late 80's early 90's British Indie bands. But people don't really use it here in the UK.

[Wizard]

because it was coined and used as a negative by the British music press, back then it wasn't a 'genre of music' it was usually used to describe a band that were boring to watch..... The only time you'd hear it used was in a negative context "yeah I'd like loop if they weren't such a bunch of shoegazers" or "I fucking hate shoegazers" it wasn't something to aspire to or call yourself. It was an insult. I have no idea when or how that changed around, it seems to me it was picked up retrospectivally in the US, to describe most of the late 80's early 90's British Indie bands. But people don't really use it here in the UK.

The british have this wonderful habit of doing that... in the late 70's when the TVP's came out and jangle pop made babies with the DIY aesthetic you had this new sort of punky-shambly-jangley sound that was all about expressing feelings and sharing the tapes you made in your bedrooms and being normal and un-punk. Well all that haters called it "twee" the way babies were said to pronounce sweet. It was an insult.. Again. But, the "twee" pop kids embraced it and threw it in their faces. Now and then they proudly referred to themselves as it. Not to mention the fact that MBV was at one point considered "twee" due to thier fuzzy jangly adorable sweet sound and lyrics a la Sunny Sundae Smile and Ecstasy and Strawberry Wine and This Is The New Record....