Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come

jaguar

Joined: October 28, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC

Posts: 3869

Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 16, 2006 at 12:41 AM UTC #

A friend of mine posted this elsewhere and I don't have a pervo link for the article. Sorry about that boys. :p
_________

From February 2006 issue of Playboy Magazine, page 28

goodbye garage, hello wind tunnel

Enough with the rock duos and stripped faux-garage sound. We're predicting that this year, in reaction to all the minimalism of the past few, we'll see a new set of 1980's bands canonized and imitated: Ride, My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive, the most successful of the so-called shoegazing bands that emerged late in the decade. Their aesthetic was diametrically opposed to what's been going on in the rock scene of late. These British acts buried pop melodies and vocal harmonies beneath layer upon layer of guitar noise, giving the effect of the Beatles playing in a wind tunnel. They're still around: Ride's Mark Gardener issued a low-key solo LP in October, MBV's Kevin Shields set the tone of the atmospheric Lost in Translation soundtrack, and Slowdive's principals release mellow Americana as Mojave 3. But with impressive albums on the way from a slew of young bands - including Film School and Ambulance LTD - influenced by this triumvirate, it's time we saw a full-on revival of complex, layered guitar rock.
_________

As much as I appreciate this article, the author seems not to be very familiar with any of the Nu-Gazers but it's a start. Personally, even though I like them, I wouldn't put Ambulance LTD in this category at all and Film School aren't full out Shoegazers. Love them though! But not a bad teaser for scratching the surface.

nhaskins

Joined: May 17, 2003 at 05:01 AM UTC

Posts: 314

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 16, 2006 at 12:43 AM UTC #

YES! That'll make 2006 a fabulous year!

jaguar

Joined: October 28, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC

Posts: 3869

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 16, 2006 at 12:46 AM UTC #

I fully agree!

Champ, put KRR on now. My Shoegaze show is playing. ;)

KRR

The Trans-Atlantic Underground

Sir HC

Joined: August 31, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC

Posts: 4059

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 16, 2006 at 01:58 AM UTC #

They forgot Monster Movie with other Slowdive people.

jaguar

Joined: October 28, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC

Posts: 3869

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 16, 2006 at 02:04 AM UTC #

Originally posted by Sir HC:
They forgot Monster Movie with other Slowdive people.

Yeah, Monster Movie is with Christian Savil of Slowdive along with Sean Hewson and now Rachel Goldstar/Staggs is with them (From Experimental Aircraft, Eau Claire, Rollerderby Records, ex-The Black Angels and Kool Rock Radio. :D ) Unfortunately, I forgot the guy's name off hand but the drummer from Dreamend is also helping out Monster Movie.

Also they left out Televise which is Simon Scott's latest project, or even Inner Sleeve, his past attempt (From Slowdive.). Or even Rachel Goswell's solo work which is a bit more Folky sounding.

As I said, I really don't think that they are up on what is happening. I'm just happy that they recognize that something is happening.

vansmack

Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC

Posts: 19725

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 16, 2006 at 04:47 AM UTC #

When I read Playboy, it's not my shoes that I gaze at….and it was way too easy to make a come joke, so I passed. You're welcome.

Mobius

Joined: March 28, 2002 at 06:01 AM UTC

Posts: 1371

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 16, 2006 at 08:50 PM UTC #

Who are the new shoegaze bands? BRMC's first one seemed on its way, but I guess they've changed directions.

I think The Strokes magic move would have been (would be) to step in a shoegaze direction. Bring in Alan Moulder, step up the intertwined guitars and search for the perfect tone, keep Casablancas hidden in the mix. Not pure Shoegaze of course, but certain element seem like a natural fit. . . . they're ambition led them in a bad direction.

The Killers are working with Moulder and Flood now, but they're more U2-wannabes.

jaguar

Joined: October 28, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC

Posts: 3869

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 16, 2006 at 10:03 PM UTC #

Okay…

The following list are both Nu-Gazers or bands heavily mixed in with the Shoegazers, be it sound-wise or listened to by them, or even share bills with them.

Please, just don't ask me what defines Shoegaze because I'm sick to death of that arguement and even the Shoegazers don't always agree. In the meantime, go to Wikipedia if you really want some kind of guideline.

Monster Movie</li>
Experimental Aircraft</li>
Plumarai</li>
Eau Claire</li>
Alcian Blue</li>
Isobella</li>
Televise</li>
Glissade</li>
Ceremony</li>
Shade</li>
Air Formation</li>
The Voices</li>
Highspire</li>
Stellarscope</li>
A Place To Bury Strangers</li>
Resplandor</li>
Airiel</li>
Astral</li>
SIANspheric</li>
A Northern Chorus</li>
Hinterland</li>
My Architects</li>
Greenspace</li>
LKWRM</li>
Lyca Sleep</li>
Malory</li>
Alison's Halo</li>
Readymade</li>
Guitaro</li>
Fleeting Joys</li>
She, Sir</li>
Sonnet IVIII</li>
Hypatia Lake</li>
Tree Wave</li>
Her Vanished Grace</li>
The Autumns</li>
Autumn Thieves (disbanded 2 weeks ago)</li>
Autumn Lull</li>
The Lassie Foundation</li>
Serena Maneesh</li>
Daydream Nation</li>
Red Lily</li>
Lilys</li>
Sleepless</li>
Oppressed By The Line</li>
Of Normandy</li>
Silver Screen</li>
Ether Aura</li>
The Layaways</li>
Plumbline</li>
Pia Fraus</li>
Broken Robots</li>
The High Violets</li>
Foxtail Somersault</li>
The Radio Dept.</li>
Douglas Heart</li>
Epic 45</li>
Coastal</li>
Landing</li>
Dreamend</li>
Soundclub</li>
The Telescopes (both Nu and Classic)</li>
Tex La Homa</li>
Vitesse</li>
My Education</li>
Sing-Sing</li>
South Ambulance</li>
The Feeling Good Conspiracy</li>
Heliconia</li>
The Battles Of Winter</li>
Timonium</li>
The Flir</li>
Printing House</li>
The Workhouse</li>
Amusement Parks On Fire</li>
Skywave (disbanded)</li>
Polar</li>
The Floor</li>
Charlene</li>
Hartfield</li>
Project Skyward</li>
Bright Channel</li>
Flavor Crystals</li>
The Morning After Girls</li>
The Emerald Down</li>
DestroyAllDreamers</li>
Southpacific</li>
Mahogony</li>
Loveliescrushing</li>
Star</li>
Astrobrite</li>
Stella Luna (we think they've disbanded)</li>
The Vera Violets</li>
Drone Dimension (disbanded)</li>
Sway</li>
The Swirlies (disbanded)</li>
Autodrone</li>
Film School</li>
Asher</li>
Citizens Here And Abroad</li>
Fiver</li>
Snowden</li>
The Snowdonnas</li>
Starflyer 59</li>
Sciflyer</li>
Helen Stellar</li>
Mira</li>
Secret Shine</li>
Colfax Abbey</li>
Glider</li>
Pacific UV</li>
Bethany Curve</li>
Electro Amp Cynic</li>
Con Delore</li>
Broadcast</li>
Cerulean</li>
San Arcs</li>
Un.Real</li>
Should</li>
The Meeting Places</li>
Whirlaway</li>

Can't really be considered Shoegaze but are much loved by and part of the inner circle:

Windermere</li>
Kent</li>
Ulrich Schnauss</li>
God Is An Astronaut</li>
Hammock (You ought to hear their version of "Black Metallic"!!! It's on my show.)</li>
Mew</li>
Ladytron</li>
The Stevenson Ranch Davidians</li>
Portal</li>
Singapore Sling</li>
Gazer (Hard Rockers flirting w/ Shoegaze)</li>
The Ectasy Of Saint Theresa</li>
Stafrann HÃ¡kon</li>

….for starters.

(A number of the bands on the upper list could easily be placed on the lower.)

If you want to hear these bands, listen to my show, "The Trans-Atlantic Underground" and Rachel's show, "from Austin to Sweden with love" on Kool Rock Radio.

Also, go to Friend of Guy Chadwick's DJ nights at the Marx Cafe the 1st Friday's of the month for his "We Fought The Big One" nights.

jaguar

Joined: October 28, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC

Posts: 3869

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 16, 2006 at 10:06 PM UTC #

Originally posted by vansmack:
When I read Playboy, it's not my shoes that I gaze at….and it was way too easy to make a come joke, so I passed. You're welcome.

Smackie, I thought of you as I wrote my original post and was going to note you in there somehow but as you mentioned, it was just too easy. :D And I don't think that 'reading' is what you are up to when leafing through Playboy.

HoyaSaxa03

Joined: March 22, 2004 at 06:01 AM UTC

Posts: 7053

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 17, 2006 at 02:02 AM UTC #

M83 wouldn't be on this list?

i know gonzalez is a knob-twiddler in the studio, but his live band seems pretty shoegaze-friendly

how did ambulance LTD ever get pegged as shoegazers? they have a track or two that jams out, but for the most part they're just indie popsters … i feel like allmusic tied them in with shoegazers and everyone else just kind of ran with it

snailhook

Joined: June 13, 2003 at 05:01 AM UTC

Posts: 1608

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 17, 2006 at 02:10 AM UTC #

ambulance ltd is NOT shoegaze.

jaguar's list cannot be topped. she is the queen of the gaze!

jaguar

Joined: October 28, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC

Posts: 3869

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 17, 2006 at 02:18 AM UTC #

Originally posted by HoyaParanoia:
M83 wouldn't be on this list?

i know gonzalez is a knob-twiddler in the studio, but his live band seems pretty shoegaze-friendly

how did ambulance LTD ever get pegged as shoegazers? they have a track or two that jams out, but for the most part they're just indie popsters … i feel like allmusic tied them in with shoegazers and everyone else just kind of ran with it

Oh, yes. M83 would be in the lower list. Neither are exhaustive lists. Only what came to mind as I put it together.

Add

Sennen</li>
Heroes Of Switzerland</li>
Xero-Kline</li>
Familiar Trees</li>

to the upper list.

My impression of the Playboy article is that someone at the magazine picked up on the buzz factor and gave the assignment to one of their music journalists. Probably being a career journalist, critic, or whatever term you want to use, they know how to write and something about music but mostly about what they personally listen to which I doubt has anything to do with Shoegaze. In order to meet a deadline, they did minimal research which centered on Shoegazing history and never got around to what is happening at the moment.

The Ambulance LTD notation was a dead give away that they really didn't know much about what they were writing about. Either that, or the record label paid them to do so.

jaguar

Joined: October 28, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC

Posts: 3869

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 17, 2006 at 02:22 AM UTC #

Originally posted by snailhook:
ambulance ltd is NOT shoegaze.

jaguar's list cannot be topped. she is the queen of the gaze!

Thank you Snail, King of all that is Folk Psyche and Experimental.

HoyaSaxa03

Joined: March 22, 2004 at 06:01 AM UTC

Posts: 7053

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 17, 2006 at 02:39 AM UTC #

Originally posted by Jaguar:
The Ambulance LTD notation was a dead give away that they really didn't know much about what they were writing about.

i'd definitely agree, but what do you think about my allmusic theory?

i feel like whatever goes on allmusic gets repeated ad infinitum in the press by lazy and/or ignorant writers … it's especially noticeable when mainstream media (i.e., playboy) talk about out-of-the-mainstream bands

jaguar

Joined: October 28, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC

Posts: 3869

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 17, 2006 at 02:52 AM UTC #

Originally posted by HoyaParanoia:

Originally posted by Jaguar:
The Ambulance LTD notation was a dead give away that they really didn't know much about what they were writing about.
i'd definitely agree, but what do you think about my allmusic theory?

i feel like whatever goes on allmusic gets repeated ad infinitum in the press by lazy and/or ignorant writers … it's especially noticeable when mainstream media (i.e., playboy) talk about out-of-the-mainstream bands

Yes, I fully agree along with maybe a very few other sources included.

I also believe that often there will be certain bands named in anything from reviews to simple summaries for the same reason. We saw that years ago with every and any band being compared to Radiohead. Sometimes I suspect that is done to maximize computer hits to increase sales but I don't know that for a fact.

Reechard D Taylor

Joined: Unknown

Posts: 0

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 17, 2006 at 04:52 AM UTC #

Originally posted by Jaguar:
From February 2006 issue of Playboy Magazine, page 28

goodbye garage, hello wind tunnel

Enough with the rock duos and stripped faux-garage sound. We're predicting that this year, in reaction to all the minimalism of the past few, we'll see a new set of 1980's bands canonized and imitated: Ride, My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive, the most successful of the so-called shoegazing bands that emerged late in the decade. Their aesthetic was diametrically opposed to what's been going on in the rock scene of late. These British acts buried pop melodies and vocal harmonies beneath layer upon layer of guitar noise, giving the effect of the Beatles playing in a wind tunnel. They're still around: Ride's Mark Gardener issued a low-key solo LP in October, MBV's Kevin Shields set the tone of the atmospheric Lost in Translation soundtrack, and Slowdive's principals release mellow Americana as Mojave 3. But with impressive albums on the way from a slew of young bands - including Film School and Ambulance LTD - influenced by this triumvirate, it's time we saw a full-on revival of complex, layered guitar rock.
_________

As much as I appreciate this article, the author seems not to be very familiar with any of the Nu-Gazers but it's a start. Personally, even though I like them, I wouldn't put Ambulance LTD in this category at all and Film School aren't full out Shoegazers. Love them though! But not a bad teaser for scratching the surface.

This may sound weird coming from me (an avid lover of many bands considered "shoegaze"), but I hope this style stays where it is: underground. The last thing we need are more bands aping a style that they have no clue about, nor the heart to play. So much of today's Franz Ferdinand friendly "indie" bands (read: bands who are typically on corporate rock labels with megabucks & smart pre-market testing plans) don't give a shit about creativity, art or pushing the envelope. They don't even know what indie is. The Killers & The Bravery have as much credibility as the Backstreet Boys. It's the same damn thing. So we've already seen a bunch of no-talent assclowns ape The Smiths, The Jam & The Cure and come up laughably short…let's hope they steer clear of imitating Kevin Shields and co.

jaguar

Joined: October 28, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC

Posts: 3869

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 17, 2006 at 07:18 AM UTC #

Gee, FoGC, you sound like Rhett. :p

I know all of you are missing my New Year's show which is airing now but I was just told that my next show, "Spaced Out Of Mind" should air sometime Tuesday afternoon. Take that with some rock salt though because this guy tends to be way off with his timings.

Got Haggis?

Joined: October 22, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC

Posts: 2016

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 17, 2006 at 01:43 PM UTC #

Autolux is sort of shoe-gazerish….they remind me of a cross between the pixies + mbv

isn't kevin shields a full time member of Primal Scream now?

jaguar

Joined: October 28, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC

Posts: 3869

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 18, 2006 at 05:16 AM UTC #

Originally posted by Got Haggis?:
Autolux is sort of shoe-gazerish….they remind me of a cross between the pixies + mbv

Hmmmm….. a little bit. You are sort of in the neighborhood but wrong street and several blocks away.

Originally posted by Got Haggis?:
isn't kevin shields a full time member of Primal Scream now?

No. Kevin is a full time member of pure gazing procrastination!! He's recently fiddled around with a few other musicians, with Pattie Smith being another, but no full time commitments with anyone as of yet and don't really expect any. At least he's getting out a bit and doing something!

Arlette

Joined: Unknown

Posts: 0

Re: Shoegazers: Our Time Has Come January 18, 2006 at 05:39 AM UTC #

I won't post the picture because it's huge, but when I saw this I thought: Now, that's the definition of irony. Kevin Shields complaining about music being too loud.

http://www.poptones.co.uk/index.php?/bands_gallery/image_full/118/