recommend me some lost shoegaze classics

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electro group just released a 7" on (ta da!) Clairecords so i think they're still around.

mention of IPR is OTM - an amazing label. everything i buy on that label is a gem of shoegazing or Factory/4AD influenced wonderment.

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 9 October 2003 00:01 (twenty-two years ago)

the Ropers album on Slumberland is not only a shoegaze classic but one of my top ten records of all time. i'd listen to it before everything else on this thread.

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 9 October 2003 00:02 (twenty-two years ago)

"Morningrise" single by Slowdive. Was better than anything on their first album.

― Neil FC (Neil FC), Thursday, 9 October 2003 00:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Gaslight Radio - Hitch On The Leaves

One of my all-time favourites.

― Sarah Pedal (call mr. lee), Thursday, 9 October 2003 00:51 (twenty-two years ago)

supercar - "storywriter"

― fernando, Thursday, 9 October 2003 00:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Catherine Wheel - "Ferment" & "Chrome"

― steve, Thursday, 9 October 2003 01:09 (twenty-two years ago)

gaslight radio shoegaze? surely shome mishtake? (namedrop: i used to be in a band with their keyboard player)

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 9 October 2003 01:13 (twenty-two years ago)

i've seen them loosely defined as such, and i can see why. they don't fit a strict definition, though.

― Sarah Pedal (call mr. lee), Thursday, 9 October 2003 01:14 (twenty-two years ago)

the best lost shoegaze band from detroit was Spectacle, their mini-cd 'developing in a world without sound' was sorta like a cross between slowdive and pale saints. then their manager took their name and moved to LA and made a terrible record, or something like that.

― keith (keithmcl), Thursday, 9 October 2003 02:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Gaslight Radio! Man, I thought only Chris Barrus and I knew about them, at least on here.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 9 October 2003 03:51 (twenty-two years ago)

i always felt they were horrifically overrated but i was pleasantly surprised when i heard their album

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 9 October 2003 03:52 (twenty-two years ago)

These bands always struck me as "post-shoegaze" or dream pop:

Mogwai
GYBE!
(some) Mercury Rev
Sigur Ros

― turkey (turkey), Thursday, 9 October 2003 06:54 (twenty-two years ago)

And STILL nobody has mentioned Whipping Boy, who made two early shoegazing classic EPs - because shoegazing was an EP kind of genre - and a ropey LP and then disappeared for a few years to come back even better but not shoegazey. So, search out the two EPs on Cheree which are great stuff.

Do Lorelei count too? Their early singles were pretty shoegazey. And the Moon Seven Times?

― Rob M (Rob M), Thursday, 9 October 2003 07:06 (twenty-two years ago)

are half-string or curtain society anything like toulouse?

Half-String have the right tone but not as many hooks and the singer is slightly more mopey. Curtain Society have the hooks but are more crisp than Toulouse. I definitely recommend Half-String's A Fascination With Heights.

And everyone who praised the Ropers as one of the best groups of all time is unequivocably correct. Don't forget the early singles, handily compiled on the s/t ep. Does anyone here have the Boyracer/Ropers tour split 7" ... I've been dying to hear that song for years.

― zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Thursday, 9 October 2003 20:49 (twenty-two years ago)

And STILL nobody has mentioned Whipping Boy

I have the Whipping Boy album (Heartworm) and consider When We Were Young as one of the great lost singles of all time, but in no way on this earth would I ever have thought of them as shoegazers.

― ailsa (ailsa), Thursday, 9 October 2003 21:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Does anyone here have the Boyracer/Ropers tour split 7" ... I've been dying to hear that song for years.

i have that, somewhere in the deep recesses of my vinyl stacks. i'll have a look for it. it's a nice track..

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 9 October 2003 22:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Always thought Whipping Boy were more aligned to the Catherine Wheel/Puressence 'we're secretly influenced by the Chameleons and the Sound and all that but I suppose we should have snorted more cocaine like Interpol and then we'd be famous or something' school.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 9 October 2003 23:37 (twenty-two years ago)

they did get that way with the second album, yes

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 9 October 2003 23:55 (twenty-two years ago)

first puressence album > second whipping boy album > second puressence album > first whipping boy album >>>>>>> catherine wheel

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 9 October 2003 23:55 (twenty-two years ago)

the nightblooms

― bob snoom, Thursday, 16 October 2003 11:22 (twenty-two years ago)

aurevoir borealis is a beautiful newish, shoegazer-y band from detroit who released a lovely six song ep on windy and carl's label, friends of the czars even. of course the czars aren't shoegazers so nevermind that.

― keith (keithmcl), Thursday, 16 October 2003 23:27 (twenty-two years ago)

some great stuff above. seems like there's some stuff here and there that's not so shoegazerish... or at least it's not what shoegazer meant 10 years ago.

reminds me... guitar "sunkissed" by morr... what if the sneaker pimps did a shoegaze record?
m.

― msp, Friday, 17 October 2003 02:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Shoegazer fans may like the, er, "mix-cd" from the Martini Bros (billed as "DJ Cle & Mike Vamp") called Cruising - large amounts of it mine a sort of shoegazer/krautrock/electro intersection, with their own track "Happiness" sounding like one of the longer tracks from Kitchens of Distinction's "Death Of Cool".

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Friday, 17 October 2003 12:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Some guy in the local alterna-weekly called Low shoegazer recently. That might be a good description, but they don't really fall under that genre's guidelines.

― boldbury, Friday, 17 October 2003 14:32 (twenty-two years ago)

And while, Bedhead isn't really labeled as 'shoegazer', I think there is definitely some shoegazer-type stuff on their WhatFunLifeWas, like "Haywire" and "Living Well", in particular.

― boldbury, Friday, 17 October 2003 14:38 (twenty-two years ago)

the marine time keepers are another amazing slowdive ripoff band, they probably rank with malory as the two best at copping that sound.

― keith (keithmcl), Friday, 17 October 2003 23:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Monaural's Rhodes 12" was far and away the best of the SE Michigan shoe/space continuum for me.

― Andy K (Andy K), Friday, 17 October 2003 23:45 (twenty-two years ago)

What about Swervedriver - Raise? its not a "lost" classic, but it is a classic.

― Johnny Badlees (crispssssss), Saturday, 18 October 2003 00:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Did somebody mention fuexa?

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Sunday, 19 October 2003 23:07 (twenty-two years ago)

two weeks pass...

I can't believe everyone has left out the rest of the Pale Saints' album. Much of their work was as 'gazey as 'In Ribbons', if not moreso. Azailia Snail, while lo-fi, has a definite shoegaze lean. Also, Lorenzo's Tractor often heads off into shoegaze/dreampop territory. Somebody once called them a shoegothjamband or something like that.

― Finelrond Brightblade, Saturday, 8 November 2003 22:40 (twenty-two years ago)

but the pale saints weren't lost and also the pale saints are hurt by the last ian-less album which almost made me cry as it was so awful. strangely, though, meriel barham is pretty good on her own as kuchen.

― keith (keithmcl), Sunday, 9 November 2003 03:18 (twenty-two years ago)

I've never heard of Whipping Boy but I'm going through their stuff now. Apparently all these songs are posted with the band's blessing. Enjoy:

http://www.gamerseurope.com/whippingboy/downloads.htm

― MB, Sunday, 9 November 2003 10:22 (twenty-two years ago)

That's FANTASTIC! I've been looking for their other stuf beyond Heartburn for forever and a day now. Much appreciated.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 9 November 2003 15:29 (twenty-two years ago)

i quite like all the ones already listed here: mbv, lush, swirlies, slowdive, ride, swervedriver, the 1st 2 catherine wheel cds, drop 19s, 16 deluxe are good (at times).
i had never heard of whipping boy, so thanks for the link above. sofar i like what i am hearing of them.
has anyone considered duster on this list? kinda slowtempo shoegazey stuff.

― brooke, Saturday, 22 November 2003 02:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Unknown to me -- tell me more.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 22 November 2003 03:02 (twenty-two years ago)

northern state

― Chris B. Sure (Chris V), Saturday, 22 November 2003 03:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Duster's records are good. they are the WORST LIVE BAND I've EVER seen, bar none.

― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Saturday, 22 November 2003 03:28 (twenty-two years ago)

they are the WORST LIVE BAND I've EVER seen, bar none.

Oh, there's far worse bands out there. I saw Duster and Hovercraft play an in-store in the mid 90s and they were pleasant enough.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Saturday, 22 November 2003 09:56 (twenty-two years ago)

there's going to be a couple of rather shoegazesque tracks on the upcoming Tugboat album. phear my pedals.

― the surface noise (electricsound), Saturday, 22 November 2003 10:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Smashing Orange and Whipping Boy...Yes. Drop nineteens YES!

How 'bout Creation era Telescopes....amazing.

― cs appleby (cs appleby), Sunday, 23 November 2003 10:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Can we add Coldplay. The top 40st of head drop style.?? Yellow..please.

― cs appleby (cs appleby), Sunday, 23 November 2003 22:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Thanks to whomever for finding the Whipping Boy site. I think I miss You was vinyl I missed very much. THANKS.

― cs appleby (cs appleby), Sunday, 23 November 2003 22:57 (twenty-two years ago)

six years pass...

Is there a decent book or article out there that gets into how shoegaze came about, where it came from, etc.? Or do I just have to prepare a list of questions for Ned to answer?

― scott pgwp (pgwp), Thursday, 14 October 2010 04:30 (fifteen years ago)

HI THERE

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 14 October 2010 04:37 (fifteen years ago)

Something like Blissed Out gives a sense of some of the rhetorical claims at the time, but only from one person, after all. Even so, Simon Reynolds did help codify a lot of the language used to discuss it so you can't quite escape him on that front.

A larger perspective would have to go into a lot more -- that MBV in 1988 were synthesizing everything from Sonic Youth to Public Enemy to the Beach Boys to etc. etc. gives a sense of it, but at the same time it's not like they were the only band interested in those performers, and they certainly did not set out to go 'oh yeah let's create a genre called shoegaze,' any more than Bauhaus formed by thinking, "So, let's create goth." You'd have to also include other contemporary bands seen as allies or fellow travellers or what have you.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 14 October 2010 04:42 (fifteen years ago)

David Cavanagh's My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize talks about Creation more than shoegaze-as-such but there's a huge overlap by default. Mike McGonigal's 33 1/3 entry on Loveless goes into MBV's history. Again, too limited by half in terms of a truly encompassing study but still...

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 14 October 2010 04:44 (fifteen years ago)

I know you asked about books but I want to recommend a lost shoegaze classic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GJ9IhY6BpE

― doo doo frown :( (Stevie D), Thursday, 14 October 2010 04:50 (fifteen years ago)

Ah, good starting points. Thanks Ned. I didn't know there was a Creation book.

― scott pgwp (pgwp), Thursday, 14 October 2010 05:04 (fifteen years ago)

Oh yeah, read that one immediately -- Alan McGee hated it, calling it the 'accountant's story' or something similar, but he is so ridiculously wrong (and also is completely trying to hide any take on his former label that can't be summed up as 'yeah I was this wild and crazy RAWK guy trashing the man every chance I get!' -- I mean god bless the guy for doing what he did at all, obv., but he's long been caught up in his own mythmaking).

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 14 October 2010 05:06 (fifteen years ago)

I will!

The reason I'm even thinking about it is I started thinking about the aesthetic of obscured or effaced vocals. It didn't exactly start with shoegaze (and definitely didn't end with it) but that seems to be the genre that really embraced it. I've been going through my collection thinking about the antecedents to the style.

― scott pgwp (pgwp), Thursday, 14 October 2010 05:11 (fifteen years ago)

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