One of the real pleasures of being on spring break is staying up late and waking up early. Right now, it's 2:15 AM and, though I am sleepy, I'm enjoying these wasted hours far too much to turn out the light. Right now, music is my diversion. Having been so busy with things of a literary nature, I haven't had much time for my first love. I began the night with the intention of exploring some new music, but instead I'm indulging in some old favorites. I thought I might talk a bit about these favorites, perhaps with a few short words about how they came to be favorites. Indie rock music tonight. Classical music another night.
Noise pop. Shoegaze. They haunt my ears. I can't seem to get enough of this particular aesthetic, characterized by (guitar) distortion, effects, and typically either an ambient or a poppy composition. Very often the vocals are buried deep in a mess of guitar textures. I don't think I know anyone who feels quite the same way about this sound as I do. Sure, it can be repetitive and boring, but there is something ineffably pleasing about that sound. I can't seem to stop seeking it out.
It began for me the same way it began for the world: with The Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine.
This song came out in 1985. I get an inexplicable and egocentric kick out of the idea that it came out in the year I was born.
And here's where, in the early 90s, shoegaze was born, though the term didn't exist then. "Shoegaze" or "shoegazing" is supposedly derived from a derogatory comment on the style in which these bands performed.
I think you can note a few similarities here. This is Ringo Deathstarr (a contender for the best band name ever) from Austin. The shoegaze influence was a little delayed, but it can be found in a lot of contemporary acts (all of whom I scavenge fitfully during late nights like this one).
This is The Brian Jonestown Massacre. They fuse what was best about the songwriting of the 60s with various 90s influences, including shoegaze! Although they never have, nor will they ever gaze at their shoes in performance, their "idiosyncratic" frontman, Anton Newcombe, writes a damn good song. BJM brings the 60s pastiche movement of the 90s to a genuinely good place, and they make Oasis look even dumber than you might have thought possible. (He sort of nicked the riff from The Yardbirds' "Heart Full of Soul" on this one, but I forgive him whole heartedly.)
Oh, but I'm not done! I haven't even broached the topic of post-punk and shoegaze!
It all began with Cocteau Twins. I'm sure they had neither of these definitions in mind when they recorded this song in '83, but who cares.
Another band I've come to really like are The Horrors. They began their career as a sort of gothy punk spectacle, but they've come out with some great post-punk-infused shoegaze.
Well, you've witnessed (heard) a good deal of my noisy obsession. If you love this stuff, give a shout, because I've been looking for a fellow on this one. I recognize that it's not everyone's (i.e. almost no one's) thing, but I'm here to proclaim my love for this aesthetic right here and now.
Edit: apologies to Slowdive. I love you, too.
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