Breathe - Drowner

[link] Very chimey and open at the beginning; there is a lot of space. Then when the somewhat Cocteau Twins-esque vocal comes in everything goes full.  Then it all disappears for a moment and begins to build again. The dynamic changes certainly keep my attention. A very interesting melding and melting. Going from clean to dirty and back again. This song hangs a lot of major stuff on it and accomplishes an ambitious schedule.

Bewildered - Cranes

[link] Early 90s stuff that is enjoying new popularity among the younger shoegazers, according to airplay on DKFM. As complex as Cocteau twins but mining a distinct territory. The overlap with conventional SG is a bit minimal in places but the feeling and atmosphere are there.

machines emulating song beginnings

The startup tones of Windows 7 Starter on my Toshiba netbook sound like the first few guitar notes of A Forest by the Cure  (here is a cover of that song by Creaming Jesus that I also like). Also, when our microwave kicks on, it reminds me of the very beginning of What Difference Does it Make by the Smiths. So when I'm cooking dinner I often have that as an earworm.

vintage live Cars

[link] Two great songs off the Panorama album, their most experimental work.

Span the Universe - Soundpool

[link] This song turns the shoegaze sound into a vibrant rainbow. Sweet and sugary.

Run and Run - Psychedelic Furs

[link] One of my all time favorite songs from one of my all time favorite bands.

Love in Vacuum - Til Tuesday

[link] Always a good time for one of my favorite bands of my youth, Til Tuesday.

I love that cosplay exists

[link] even though I don't do it myself and I don't know who most of these characters are. It's just cool.

Picture - Ninth Paradise

[link] Pretty heavy, and on the proggy side with the unconventional time signature. Not as ethereal as mainstream SG.  Mines a more raw, garagey thread. Which makes it a bit less accessible than most.

Misunderstanding - Genesis

[link] Genesis was yet another interesting thread in the eclectic mix of rock that was on the radio at the turn of the 1970s-1980s decade. They were working through some higher accessibility in those days, after the earlier art rock of the Gabriel days, which purists will say is the best.  Phil Collins was about to launch into a very successful pop solo career. These guys could put a song together and they could play their instruments.

Magnet and Steel - Walter Egan (w/Stevie Nicks)

[link] Another of my favorites from the 70s. Great hooks in a pretty simple song.

Nights are Forever - England Dan and John Ford Coley

[link] I'm always back to my roots in the miasma of 70s top 40 music. This is a great song. Multiple hooks. Great harmony in the chorus. One of my early favorites.

Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey - Paul and Linda McCartney

[link] I probably already discussed this topic, but I stipulate to the greatness of the Beatles without actually choosing to listen to their stuff very much.  It just doesn't do much for me.  This particular post-Beatles track (compilation of song fragments) from the McCartneys in 1971 I remember being played to my 6th grade music class, I think as an example of musical creativity.  In particular the vocal effect on the Uncle Albert part toward the beginning has always stuck with me.

Dream About Me - Depreciation Guild

[link] I really like these guys' sound (interesting band name). The vocal on this song reminds me a bit of Michael Quercio of the Three O'Clock (one of my faves from the late 80s).

Ambient Gaze

Or ambigaze.  The term has already been coined.  I've been thinking about doing something like this conceptually.  Here is one video I found. The artist is Echoes Dwell.  I like it a lot.

Okay, Cupid - White Lodge

[link] Heard this on DKFM today.  Very hooky and poppy with a bit of a goth-maudlin male (Zach Weeks) vocal. Definitely springs from the Joy Division (almost Cure-ish) axis of postpunk. Good stuff.

Mercy Seat - Ultra Vivid Scene

[link] UVS was a staple of 90s college radio music. UVS is also seen by some as being within the Shoegaze fold. But their (i.e. Kurt Ralske's) sound overlapped with other artists.  Most palpably for me, was The Church, another band I was listening to a lot at the time.

Tape Tape - The December Sound

[link] There is a decidedly gothic tint to The December Sound.  But overall they can be heard as carrying forward threads that MBV initiated, especially with the main guitar screech theme. I also hear a little Ultra Vivid Scene in the phrasing and slight bounciness of this song.

We Ride Tonight - The Sherbs

[link] This Australian band hand a handful of singles that got played on US rock radio stations (or else I would never have heard them) in the early 80s. This is probably my favorite. Hugely influential on me. All the best music of that era integrated keyboards and guitar. Guitars became way too prominent in rock after that, for a long long time. Great atmosphere and pacing in this song.

All your base are belong to us

Here is the original that went viral. The video game is from 1991 and the vid was made in 2000.  I discovered it a few years after that, well after the meme had peaked. It's really well done and pretty funny.  And a loving tribute to the video games and video game music of that era.

One Girl/One Boy - !!!

[link] Taking a break from shoegaze for a moment.  Friend of mine posted this on a message board I frequent.  Very bouncy pop.  Fun stuff.

Cuckoo - Still Corners

[link] This one moves along (like the train in the video) and has lots of space between the high vocal and the muted rhythm track. Pretty good for a dream while traveling.

Love Fade - Tamaryn

[link] Pretty straightforward SG with a poppy side. A lot is done with high vocal washes.  There's a march like quality to this one. Channels Souxsie in places, but from a very silky texture, not abrasive at all.

Andy Summers

Here is a recent interview. He looks really different having aged. He has a documentary about his years with the Police. A must see for Police Fans like me. (Must be pretty new b/c I can't find anything online about it).

Drive that Fast - Kitchens of Distinction

[link] A classic from the early days of SG, although this is not in the core of that sound. This is really dreamy and poppy; the vocal is breathless.  Huge atmosphere and narrative content. One of my favorites from back in the day.

Breather - Chapterhouse

[link] Really good poppy-end shoegaze from one of the flagship bands of the sound. The main feature I like here is the use of vocals as another layered instrumental sound.

Mass of the Fermenting Dregs

These guys are fun to watch. Asian women using rock music to slash down the barriers of cultural norms of expected behavior are really interesting.

Untold - Luminous Orange

[link] Both edgy and trippy.  I like this sound.  It definitely takes SG to a new place. The vocal parts especially. These guys through everything at it in this song.

Im Nin'Alu - Ofra Haza

[link] Ofra Haza was huge on college radio in the late 80s and early 90s. I really like the atmosphere she achieves when her voice is put above these rhythms. She was lost way too soon.

Just Alright - Tokyo Shoegazer

[link] On both the noisy and upbeat side, almost poppy in the vocal arrangement. This one kind of skips off the surface of the pond, at least until the heavy instrumental bridge comes in.  Then it sinks to the bottom like a concrete snapping turtle. But just as quickly it bubbles back up to the surface.

Living in the Plastic Age - the Buggles

A 1980 song for 2014.

Shadow Where It Doesn't Disappear - My Dead Girlfriend

[link] This band appears to be named after a Manga. This song moves along pretty good and doesn't bury the rhythm under the noisy guitar.  Still, it achieves a pretty good atmosphere with its blurry vocal flitting over the top. Pretty good stuff.

For 2014

Things are getting better for me, in terms of managing my scientific career under the weight of my home responsibilities. In this calendar year I need to publish a lot of stuff.  And I need to get back to my book project, although I don't know if I can get that close to completion this year. The demands on me are still really unreasonable all around, but I am resigned to that. Nobody can really help me. I just need to continue to figure out ways to be productive while taking care of all this stuff.

Bertoia amazes me

The song Snow Slide and the video for it give me a feeling that are hard to describe. Wistful is the first word that comes to mind.  It's comfort music for the soul.  The video shows a dream where the lead singer goes into another world and unexpectedly meets her bandmates, each one providing her with a key that helps make a door back to her world to appear.  But then when she wakes up in the real world her friends (in their otherworld guises) are there with her.  She's living a dream.  From the band's pics and videos, one does get the impression that this is a group of friends have a great time.  This is what being a band is all about.  They have an amazing musical voice and they are getting this message across.