shoegazing

Shoegazer music is one of my favorite sub-genres of music. Its progenitors are obscure 1960’s bands, such as Austin, Texas’s, “The 13th Floor Elevators,” and New York City’s, “The Velvet Underground.” The music is typified by repetitive rhythms that drone in a similar fashion to Indian Classical music. Not surprisingly, this music can induce trance-like or, if you prefer, meditative states. And that is precisely why I like it. The droning task is most frequently taken on by the bass players of these bands, but sometimes other instruments are used to produce the necessary conditions for elevation. Some people simply call this music psychedelic or neo-psychedelic, but the fact is that true 1960’s psychedelic music was frequently characterized by its use of 12-string guitars to create floating textures within the music. But 12-string guitars also introduce a certain twang to the music that sounds too much like country to me.

The name “shoegazer” post-dates the original germination of the music by nearly 20 years and it is frequently the case that British bands are believed to be the creators of this music. From Wikipedia comes the following:

“The British music press (notably NME and Melody Maker) called this genre “shoegazing” because the musicians in these bands often maintained a motionless performing style, standing on stage and staring at their effects pedals or the floor while playing their instruments; hence, the idea that they were gazing at their shoes.[1] The shoegazing sound featured extensive use of guitar effects, and indistinguishable vocal melodies that blended into the creative noise of the guitars.”

Some of my favorite shoegazer albums follow. If you like this sort of thing I encourage you to check out some of these albums, though be forewarned that the screeching guitars can sometimes be difficult for some listeners. I hope that you enjoy these records, and if so, please feel free to comment about it.

Now without further adieu:

The 13th Floor Elevator’s, “Absolutely the Best”

• The Velvet Underground’s, “Velvet Underground & Nico”
• Suicide’s, “Suicide”
• Jesus & Mary Chain’s, “Psychocandy”
• Spacemen 3’s, “The Singles”
• Ultra Vivid Scene’s, “Ultra Vivid Scene”
• My Bloody Valentine’s, “Loveless”
• Broken Social Scene’s, “Broken Social Scene”

If you are going to start somewhere, I would recommend Ultra Vivid Scene’s record as it is pretty accessible and a great example of the genre and its possibilities. There are many other shoegazer bands beyond these, including:

• Lamb
• Luna
• Broadcast
• Spiritualized (less shoegazer than most)
• Ladytron
• Spectrum

I hope that you enjoy this stuff, and let me know if you do!

Jason