Tell It Like It Is
aw, this post is fabulous. thank you so much for letting me contribute in any way i can!
one of my friends was a bit disappointed by the lack of my bloody valentine, but i told him it was all good. 
i feel so, so less alone right now.
now i know other people exist who, like me, know and love this persuasion of music with passion, grace, wit.
and very well done to you merz for organising this.
MBV?
always a bit over-rated i thought... 
(oooooooh!)
No. just kidding.
Perhaps MBV could make it for volume 2. They were always late delivering the master tapes you know...
I thought about MBV since I knew what everyone else was writing about... I guess we all avoided them because of being too obvious, I know that is what went thru my head. Loveless is the classic for the Shoegaze genre though...
A+ post. Glad to see some love fro Drop Nineteens, too.
I had forgotten about that Cocteau Twins track, Lorelei...always loved it and had forgotten the name.
great compliation man. its a good idea in the future for other bloggers to!
Nice collective project and great selection of tracks (a special bravo to the bit on 'Dagger'). If I had to give mine, it would probably have been something on Sarah Records. Obviously 'Sensitive' by the Field Mice would have been the first pick, but Secret Shine, Sweetest Ache and Eternal shouldn't be forgotten too.
Yes, the lack of MBV was the first thing that stood out. Too bad nobody wanted to be obvious. Obscurity is happiness, I suppose.
I've always considered MBV's "Soon" to be the pinnacle of the genre, and yes it's my favorite. My top five faves would probably be MBV, then on to something by Ride ("Chelsea Girl," "Drive Blind," "Vapour Trail") or Lush ("De-Luxe" maybe) or, I dunno, probably Slowdive ("When the Sun Hits" or "Catch the Breeze"). I'd even throw The High's "Box Set Go" onto the short list (if they meet the qualifications as a shoegaze band).
Bravo to all! I will now grow my fringe and walk around staring at my feet for the rest of the day. Well done Merz, a marvel of organization. Now just post some MBV to tie it all up...
For my part, my shoes will always belong to Lush. Sweetness and Light makes me all happy and floaty. Oh, and I had a crush on Emma Anderson.
Once again, hip hip hooray to everyone involved!
FiL
Great posts and great songs everybody.
Apologies for not getting round to contributing but I've had a hectic week/end.
Well done one and all.
All this talk, on all these blogs, about shoegaze, and no mention of House of Love. Poor Guy.
Oh Kitty, the Land of Shoegaze is soo vast. But you are right, HoL deserves better from us. I'm sure someone (p'raps I?) will rise to the occasion soonish...
Wonderful, wonderful post. Good work all who contributed.
I love the House of Love but don't know if I would put them up in the Shoegaze genre...More of an 80's Smiths type sound. BTW, the reunited Bickers/Chadwick House of Love's 2005 Days Run Away was pretty good... anyone catch that one?
Well, like with so many genres the edges can become blurred. I think House of Love certainly could be tagged with the label, as many of the key elements and feel are there. But maybe I'm guilty of another kind of gazing, namely navel...
FiL
Excellent work with this post. These are a lot of the best shoegaze tracks around. It's so difficult to 1) define "shoegaze" and 2) pick your favorite shogaze song. When I think of shoegazer, I think of the etherial, melodic guitars, overlaid with rich female vocals, and therefore think that Lush and Slowdive are the best of the "shoegaze" bands. And songs like "Sweetness and the Light," "De-Luxe", and "Souvlaki Space Station" really define the genre for me.
Styzer - nice work with Malory's "Just Be" - a "shoegaze" track if I've ever heard one. And Darren made a nice call with a track from Blur's Leisure - Coxon threw in a lot of shoegaze guitar on that one, especially with "Sing". Just think, they could have really pissed Oasis off by becoming the next Slowdive.
yeah, I am with you Christopher on the ethereal guitars and female vocals, that is the real definition of shoegaze in my humble opinion. I almost did a Lush track and should have done MBV... next time!
Nice post, it's interesting to see what others cherish about shoegaze. And I'll try not to be offended that you didn't ask me to contribute. (; (you need to read that in a gently teasing way, of course!)
cindy, I am sorry, I posted a thread on the elbo.ws blogger forum asking others to contribute . I should have realized that not everyone reads the forum. I love your blog and your writing, it would have been a pleasure to have you write something. Please accept my apologies.
Merz
Merz -- yes, i did buy the 2005 HoL album. Must admit, though, it hasn't been played much. Might need to revisit it. At the time, it just didn't strike me as being very 'HoL' in its sound (if you know what I mean). But, I will give it another go. Colin.
Colin, yeah it's nowhere near as good as the early stuff. I need to revisit it myself and go thru it again also...
Oh, Merz -- it's okay! I was just kidding! (: Looks like I need to read the blogger forums over on elbo.ws!
i just have to say this is one of the most enjoyable music blog posts i've read in a very long time. keep up the good work!
Excellent post. One of my most cherised live shows was MBV at the Cleveland Empire in early 1992. Let me know if there is a Round 2.
For me there are a few shoegaze tracks that tower above the rest...
Not the most original selections.
OLD SCHOOL
"Vapour Trail" - Ride --- this song never fails to fill me with nostalgia and wisk me away. Not their most accomplished song, but their most memorable.
"Black Metallic" Catherine Wheel --- the song shimmers like it is being played under icy water.
"Sooner" MBV ---one of those songs that introduced me to good music. The gateway drug if you will.
NEW(ISH) SCHOOL
"Isle of the Cheeta" HUM --- So much sound. The title is pretty much a perfect descriptor.
"Mile Marker" The Appleseed Cast --- Not really shoegaze per se, but it has one of the best closings in music
ever.
"You've All your Life on a Dirt Road" Manitoba --- kinda like is shoegaze gone ultra percussive and absolutely crazy.
thats all I have in my head right now...
good post, nice to see dagger mentioned there - a wonderful thing retreating to the Welsh countryside. If I might suggest a couple? The Sight of You by the Pale Saints seems to be a big omission - ride covered it in their first radio session and gave it props when their first singles were released. Also Jack by Moose as they are a band that neatly link the Cocteau Twins sonic cathedrals of sound with the shoegazing crowd.
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