Curious what you guys have noticed about people when you introduce them to either genre and they were not impressed. Personally I became close friends with a former colleague and i introduced them too to Dreams Burn Down by Ride ( personal all time favorite) and he really enjoyed it. and overnight he was finding artist and bands. and now in days he’ll sent me recommendations from new bands i’ve never heard. on the other hand i have shown this genre and they were not impressed. mostly saying it’s too loud and you really can’t hear anything. so, would like to know if you guys have similar experience?
I’ve noticed that a lot of musicians I see, particularly of the snobby variety, will claim they “see through” the layers of production and find simple compositions and basic melodies. But like brother, you’re missing the whole point…most shoegaze bands make pop songs. It’s ABOUT the fuzzy guitars, swirling effects, and whistling feedback.
lmao this reminds me when i looked through the comments on a Julie song guitar cover and this guy said "play some real music not this distorted 3 chord song" and someone asked what else they should have played and he said "like the beach boys or something like that"
yes, exactly that’s whats tell people it’s pop/rock but really fuzzy. i’ll show them jamc as a reference of pop/rock with noise or early mbv
The biggest problem with shoegaze is the compositions are usually crap. Hornsey it hold the genre back so much. And yeah it is about composition just like every type of music is. Still some good bands though just less than there should be given the popularity of the genre
Most “musicians” aren’t in bands that people love. The people want simple basic music. “Musicians” want to play a song with 13 chords, odd time changes and music that people just don’t understand the complexity.
Songs with a simple structure and a good beat get people going.
Now that being said, sometimes I like that too, but I love all kinds of music, I’m always looking for something new and exciting.
This is complete nonsense
One of my musician friends doesn't like it because he thinks the production overshadows the simple compositions. He's more of a prog guy. I see his point but I think it's a bit shortsighted. To me shoegaze is about a specific feel and vibe, and if you don't like feels and vibes in your music, you won't get it.
they couldn’t understand the lyrics
I don't understand this. I would think more casual music fans wouldn't care that much about this as long as something to the music hooks them in. It sounds more like an excuse.
eh, I think it's less the lyrics and more the vocals not always being upfront. I can see where that create some distance as the vocals rarely provide their own hook.
(and to be honest, a lot of shoegaze bands don't even do the "vocals as a textural instrument" bit well either).
i thought that too, until we had hispanic heritage theme for our album club and the main complaint i heard for the albums (debi tirar mas fotos/dynamo) was that they didn’t like not being able to understand the lyrics. it really surprised me bc i more prefer if it sounds good and didn’t realize how much lyrics matter to most ppl
This is the reason 90% of the time
Yup, most people don’t understand the vocals are supposed to be a part of the instrumentals, not necessarily understood. This seems to annoy a lot of people, but it’s one of the soothing qualities that’ve drawn me to “wavy music” since I was a kid in the 90s and 00s!
I also have bad anxiety, and I’ve met a few other shoegazers who have anxiety. Not sure if there’s a correlation?
I often think about why people are drawn to a certain kind of music. Like, I have what my wife who is a long time family and child therapist, says is some of the worst ADHD she has seen. I was unmedicated until I was almost 50. I love dissonant and I guess aggressive music. Shoegaze, post hardcore/post punk, psychedelic, noise rock, stoner rock, old school punk, and metal. I also love some alt-country and Americana, and classic rock. I also grew up in a broken latchkey family with abandonment issues. Does my brain seek out chaotic or unusual music? I wish I knew.
Hey, you just described me ..?
Perfectly stated! The noise combats the chaos in our brains!
Early 90s the excuse was often that all the effects and "noise" covered up a lack of technical ability and inferior songwriting.
Dont know what it would be now cause I learned to ignore that stuff
It was definitely a hard sell back in the early 90s, even to other musician friends... I had a small group of friends that really got it and most of my girlfriends really liked it as "make out" music but during the Grunge era most people just thought it was noise... As a 50 year old now my friends that liked it then still like it now and I'm over trying to get other people into it even with the resurgence...
“It’s just noise”
That’s all music is.
“It’s boring” - My wife
I’ll second that. My favourite band are Mogwai and then the rest of what I listen to is mainly shoegaze, dream pop, noise rock etc. All in her words “boring” 🤦🏻♂️😂
Boring tends to be the typical response I think
My sister calls it “hell’s theme song”
“Why don’t you try listening to something normal”
It all sounds the same.... More so these days
I'm Black, and when I was in college another Black girl who I had just met invited me into her dorm room. At the time I was fresh in my love for My Bloody Valentine, so I got the idea of letting her listen to the Tremolo EP as we got to know each other. As THKW played she asked, with a furrowed brow, "is this group popular?" From my perspective she seemed to be vibing to certain parts of certain songs, like the coda of Honey Power, but when I asked her if she wanted to listen to it again she said, "No", which made me laugh.
Which reminds me of the time that I tried playing Loveless for a Hispanic girl I used to work with, who couldn't get into it because she couldn't understand the lyrics, and I don't think she liked the droney aspects of Loomer and the weirdness of THKW, although When You Sleep made her perk up a little.
Was alive cognizant and target audience for first wave of shoegaze also a time like now of fuck everyone who is not American. I was receptive to the propaganda honestly and probably the target audience. Loved American hardcore, punk, cow-punk etc. Loved the Smiths but less English bands and/or foreign bands than you would imagine nowdays. Actually was involved in a second wave(?) of shoegaze bands that featured some now ultra-revered bands but that was much more of a multi-genre scene than nowdays. I grew up in a super musically fertile city/metro area and once I realized my friends bands and nationally renowned bands were not the entire world my tastes expanded. There is a lot post ‘98 music that is now considered shoegaze that was just music to me. Post 2020 and peoples isolation there was a ton more genre segregation than there was in my day. So I guess long story short is a wasn’t willing to allow genre to define my tastes other than a very broad indie than alt sense.
An older friend lent me Loveless when I was 12 in 1995, I loved Greenday, Blur and Oasis at the time.
I remember not understanding what I was hearing and wondering if it was dance music or something. I just didn’t have any reference points for it and was confused as to how people could like it.
Regardless, I didn’t forget it and remained intrigued by the album and particularly, the cover. A few years later I found myself wanting to hear it again and sought it out.
can't hear the vocals
“Your music is repetitive and sounds the same”
My wife thinks it's too noisy and obnoxious, her favorite artist is Taylor Swift for reference
My wife doesn’t like the vocal style of most or the dissonance. She does like some stuff. She enjoys Hum, even Inlet.
I thought it was best friend's with Emo so I just dismissed the whole genre. Now I can't get enough after hearing My Bloody Valentine, Slow Dive, et al. Yes I was a Punk Rock and Metal snob but I'm still trying to learn. I didn't like Sonic Youth when I first heard them because of my shortsighted attitude. Years later I picked up Rather Ripped and I was hooked. Got to see them twice in Brooklyn before they called it quits
never heard of tha stuff, thats why 9its stillgot coolness factor, it hasnt been mind because the majority of populace are blind n cant dance with the , urm what genre were we talkin bout here mayam>
just the facts now....
“Can’t hear the words/vocals”
“Too many effects”
“Guitars sound like synths”
“Puts me to sleep”
“Weird”
I played a few Slowdive songs for my ex (when we were still together), and he said they were boring and repetitive.
"I'd probably like this too if I got real high"
I think shoegaze is an acquired taste for many reasons, my fiancé often finds it grating when I put it on lol 😂. I think a big reason people may not like this genre is because a lot of shoegazers play guitar with the whammy bar in their hand. Often shoegaze melodies and chords constantly shift in and out of pitch, and it is not something that many people have a frame of reference for/enjoy.
I always get a concerned look "are you ok"
here are some reasons i've heard:
too slow
too sad
lyrics can't be heard
not lyrical enough
way too loud
Basic writing, cant hear lyrics, uninteresting playing, more or less same sound every song. It can be very one dimensional. So its pretty obvious why some would like it some dont. But does have its own vibe and can be soulful. It def isnt my fave genre but I can respect it and even like some bands/songs. Its a niche genre tho and detractors be coming with the territory.