Why Does Gen Z LOVE Shoegaze?

what the heck is zoomergaze? i don't even know. trying something a little different, i hope u enjoy :-)
shoegaze playlist - open.spotify.c...
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#shoegaze

[@theyelllowbutton]

wanted to try something new + make a mini video essay •ᴗ• let me know what u think!! ♡

[@sleepafterdreams]

Loved the format!

[@AlexSchemm]

Great video! The mini essay format works really well. There's a ton of musical topics that you do this with. More please :)

[@DaneBass-gn2lq]

Love the format! My 16 year old son started a shoegaze project last year!

[@sgtporrillo9997]

Very gud

[@sleepafterdreams]

@@DaneBass-gn2lq I hope it goes well for your son! many successes!

[@Hewasnotnumber1]

Honestly I’m just depressed

[@threeofeight197]

Haha. That’s who it’s for. 😂

[@alanjosh4335]

Real

[@envyghoul8818]

Real

[@crimsonhawk4912]

I'm gay

[@31oud7]

real

[@UltraVegito-1995]

Shoegaze is basically when you play a sad alt rock ballad in an abandoned mall in your childhood nostalgia and the music's echoing/reverbs around

[@allenstabler5916]

🤫

[@flyingfish]

i feel like as a gen z the reason shoegaze resonates so deeply with me and so many others years after its prime is just due to how well it can transcend boundaries like practically no other genre- its ambient, noisy, distorted, and ethereal with just the right amount of nostalgia that u cant really recreate with words how melted the music sounds and the youth can recognize no matter how long its been

[@lonelystation-pi6le]

love ur music!!

[@chrishealton3830]

Love the music you make, discovered you on Spotify a while back

[@sleepafterdreams]

You've already said it, it really is a very beautiful kind of music with which you can play a lot, I'm glad to see that as an artist your point of view is genuine, you can feel the soul in it! I hope all of you who are doing shoegaze out there get to be heard!

[@clvrswine]

You are what we hate. A run-on sentence with no respect for structure or punctuation. As if that's OK, because this isn't a test. It's just a KZbin comment. This comment is utter gibberish. It says nothing. "I feel like..." is all you think you need to feel justified. You should feel ashamed. You can't articulate your opinion. Shoegaze is not for you, fella.

[@korneliusoderso]

Man is right

[@alexandriaorcld6365]

it's a mixture of melancholy, nostalgia, and comfort. i love it.

[@ceciliagently]

shoegaze is part of a collective umbrella term that i like to call "dissociation music". im a little older than these kids (30) but thats what appeals to me. its music that just creates a mood, that i can get lost in. some of that early 2000's alt rock / pop has a similar vibe as well

[@jadesded]

That's a good way of putting it I've always described it as just intimate/introspective/introverted music like stuff I'm listening to entirely for myself. I think my first exposure to it (other than growing up around Detroit & hearing Dub Techno a lot) was the early future-garage/post-dubstep/wonky/purplenoise scene that arose in the early 2010s lots of sparse skittering beats on ethereal pads, but there's always been a thru-line y'know around the early to mid 2010s cloudrap and vaportrap and later in the late 2010s certain blends of phonk/deconstructed club carried that torch, but definitely in the 2020s like this video mentioned it really took off, and the artists who are making it are more overt about the intentions. I mean obviously you have shoegaze, but across all industry the ideas been zeitgeist because the conditions to make and listen to this sparse style of music have grown, especially with all the stuff shedtheory/marlon dubois pioneered in like ambient-rap, opium bird style beats, ambient-jerk etc. In a way it feels like direct fallout to genres like hyperpop/pc music (the recent wave of this stuff that happened post-2019 not the pioneers), rage, plugnb etc. where the critique of internet fatigue/overstimulation/web3.0 were explored but from like a 'peak' perspective whereas this is very much the 'comedown of the high' experience with rising resentment/uncertainty for excessive media/tech. Or another interpretation being this music is how we passively consume podcasts to just have noise on in the background, but it's the musical equivalent like you were saying with mood.

[@jorgepeterbarton]

it sounds like drugs. most psychedlic rock doesn't sound like drugs, it sounds like people on drugs made it. as 35 i was in the middle period where it lost popularity for sure, there were barely anyone who knew it when i was a teen. Post-rock was quite big, radiohead was big, IDM like Boards of Canada quite big and to me that was a gateway and adjacent i guess. I was ell into pj harvey and to an extent sonic youth from that too. Still in a period of getting a CD from the library to burn to CDR. The lack of variance has grown though. Bands like Mew and Autolux came out then, and got called 'shoegaze', because there weren't tons of them, and people tried to find comparison. Its amazing how its kind of specified down to a specific thing...I remember such a thing with post-rock, which seemed like a label for anything experimental at some point, yet became know for 'our band sounds like explosions in the sky' by the 2010s. I feel its getting that way now, maybe? do i even like shoegaze? does SeeFeel and Bowery Electric count today? does Ride even count today? does it have to be 'slowdive version n, but heavy'?

[@ceciliagently]

@@jorgepeterbarton as someone with a bit of experience using drugs, i can't say that's why i listen to these kinds of songs personally, although i can say that drugs certainly add to the dissociative experience i mentioned. i really like it when songs have moments that make me feel like im floating.

[@MusicMissionary]

Wow I never thought of it that way.

[@usernameonutube]

I’m 33 and was heavily into shoegaze when I was 18 it might just be something we all do around that age lol

[@jimjohnson724]

shoegaze is basically psychedelic rock with more reverb, so i'm not surprised people are attracted to their dreamy, disconnect-from-reality feel to it.

[@Hellxvixlett]

The reverb is one the best parts

[@Moosemoose1]

Basically. I always say its just Psychedelic Grunge/Post-Rock

[@Sighrin]

I listened to almost exclusively metal before i found shoegaze. i needed something not so heavy sometimes, but the indie pop was a little too light and gentle. so shoegaze was the perfect in-between

[@jratlo4420]

So real

[@ryanstinson726]

doomgaze was just right for me

[@AspenEmrys]

Shoegaze is arguably heavier than metal

[@MarryMeSenpai]

Blackgaze got me into shoegaze with sadness an their split album with unreqvited and rain chamber

[@ugureren4818]

my first proper affection towards shoegaze comes from Deafheaven's Sunbather. It's been more than 3 years since I listened to it first, and to this day there is only a handful of days that I didn't listen to it. It slowly bled towards non-metal sounds as well, but in my opinion, the album Sunbather is the perfect mixture of wall of sound, etherealness and the harshness of the black metal sound.

[@samr.896]

Literally begging you to keep doing these. This is fantastic. I got into shoegaze in like 2017 while in college. I was dealing with a lot of depressive thoughts, and shoegaze was kind of an escape.

[@RyanMichero]

Gen Xer here who adored the shoegaze bands when they were current (and resented the Britpop bands for supplanting them). Even at the time and place I grew up (suburban Dallas) there weren't lots of people into these bands. So I've been trying to evangelize My Bloody Valentine, Swervedriver, Slowdive, The Boo Radleys and the like to people for decades as well as following the neo-shoegaze and shoegaze-adjacent bands that have popped up in the meantime (Alcest, Ringo Deathstarr, Asobi Seksu, Nothing, Deafheaven, Alvvays, Parannoul, etc etc). It warms my heart that Gen Z is embracing it so much. The kids are alright.

[@dannycapra]

Ringo Deathstarr ,what a great band name, It's up there with Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Charlie Watts Riots.

[@easytoassemble54321]

I'm a Gen-X Brit, who - conversely - was listening to a lot of Grunge / US Alternative when I was young, and Shoegaze went into my ears off the back of that. A Shoegaze-ajacent genre I love is Paisley Underground (mainly a West Coast scene in the late-80's). Kinda like Shoegaze mixed with Byrds-style 60's Psychedelic jangle.

[@robgrano6814]

I'm even older than you (I was in my late 20's when Ride's first EP's dropped) but I have to disagree a bit. A lot of the newer shoegaze that Gen Z seems to be attracted to is, as I said above, very derivative and same-y. The fact that "Wisp" is so huge speaks volumes. I read something not long ago where one of the guys in Slowdive said that a lot of bands can get the sonics and the mood right, but it's less common to find one that has the tunes. I've listened to a ton of the newer shoegaze and dream-pop stuff (plus the awful slow, loud emo that pretends to be shoegaze) and while the good stuff stands out, a lot of the second (and lower) tier stuff is all starting to sound the same -- like a record store guy I know said, "Slowdive without the chord progressions and melodies."

[@stimso]

MBVs Loveless was a game changer. I remember when and where I first heard it, and how I felt Boo Radleys make lovely songs. "Wish I were Skinny" is just rad. And Swervedriver's Raise is insane. Laze it Up. Rave Down. So many moments of transcendence listening to old Swervo!

[@matthewharper7333]

@@robgrano6814 I think is true of every genre's lifespan. The people who are breaking the ground and establishing some of the defining characteristics are coming from a world where the genre doesn't really exist. They are typically music geeks versed in other styles that they are meshing together different ideas. JaMC is some Beatles, Velvet Underground, and Beach Boys whirled about with distortion pedals and sibling hatred. But, once the style is somewhat stable- in that you can hear a song and tell if it is shoegaze or not- then the influences and background of the performers narrows. Then the process starts all over again. I like innovation in music and is really one of the main things that I look for, however, it isn't for every band. Some do very well in their genre niche. And then there are the tag-a-longs and less talented bands that will dilute the whole scene. But that is cool, too. It gives motivation to innovate. Otherwise, the Ramones wouldn't have started as a finger to disco and Post-Punk wouldn't have started as a finger to punk.

[@DigitalBath306]

deftones was always shoegaze adjacent i think that played a big part

[@xivivix7195]

Flying Saucer Attack's self-titled album is a hidden gem of the 90s

[@TotallyNuss]

Arguably Ride?! Is that a joke?! They were at the center of it. I was there. I saw them with Slowdive in 1992. Nowhere is a seminal Shoegaze LP.

[@leshurex]

Right!? I've been looking for this comment when I heard that. If someone say that about Ride, then it's clear it never listened to them before. Before posting these kind of videos people needs to get the facts straight by proper research (not by repeating random lists/articles found on Google or social media). Otherwise, I think it's awesome Shoegaze is getting the new love it deserves.

[@urbanrunoff]

i'm an Xer and MBV was my favorite band but i never got into Ride or Slowdive, maybe because i came from post punk and it was too "pop" for me (nothing wrong with it) . I still listen to shoegaze today but i prefer the "harder" stuff like Whirr.

[@POPNDOUGH]

Seriously. I had to stop the video to post when I heard that. Nowhere is a god tier album. I listened to that, and Dinosaur Jr's Green Mind almost exclusively my entire senior year in high school.

[@lukemcevoy2385]

​@@urbanrunoffsame.

[@WarmProp]

X'er here, my revival has been through Blackgaze. Alcest is huge.

[@HyruleWanderer]

Have you heard Kardashev? Amazing band too!

[@StephanieStutzArt]

Millenial here and same! Post-rock and alcest and I think Spotify recommended me Slowdive back in 2015 or so. So, so happy they gathered and are active again now!

[@yuna6705]

I am Gen Z, however, same!! Also happened through blackgaze, most notably Alcest for me!!

[@tvt2428]

yeah, I came from deafhaven, but I've probably heard of alcest before "actual" shoegaze

[@tvt2428]

@@HyruleWanderer goated band

[@HollisPresnell]

I’m a Gen Z bassist and most shoegaze is just really samey to me. I went to a shoegaze show a few months ago and 2 of the 3 bands sounded exactly the same on each song lol. The third band being Growing Pains, which were pretty good and outshined the other bands.

[@Jeramiahstool]

from my experience shoegaze bands always sound horrible live

[@MartyFisket]

When influences / inspirations arent as diverse this is what happens

[@jorgepeterbarton]

yeh there is that. that a lot of the new bands don't do anything, they are like cover bands. whilst the original bands were pretty innovative/experimental, i rather see the spirit of that, but then people wouldn't call it shoegaze.

[@devilxcity]

@@jorgepeterbarton EXACTLY!!! The shoegaze movement was coined for just how bizarre the guitar playing really was at the time, and now anyone can make a "shoegaze" song. There isn't any sense of newness to this revival, just rehashes or grasps at what these bands accomplished 3 decades ago.

[@818Kira]

I got into shoegaze back in like 2009-2010 through my friends in school I always thought of it as our little niche because nobody knew it but us Crazy to see it’s popularity a over decade later

[@JeredtheShy]

Something that's been kinda lost now is that shoegaze is supposed to be unspeakably loud. The shoegaze show should "make your pants flap" because it hits you with such a deafening wall of noise, at least in theory. That was an important counterbalance to its chill vibes, and gave it the punk edge it needed in a hard ass world. But when you only play it on your phone, that's lost, so I wonder if GenZ is trying to pick it all the way up or if it's just lofi beats to not study to.

[@nnikaa3]

I like to play shoegaze very loud

[@jorgepeterbarton]

bands aren't loud no more. and do gen z even own suitable hifis?

[@EatingFuzzyDonuts]

Extremely loud music is overrated. I want to actually hear it and not just have ears blasted off. Overly really takes away from the music listening experience because it destroys the nuances of music. So I don’t think it’s a bad thing that people don’t blast shoegaze at ridiculous volumes anymore.

[@shman]

super happy to have been a part of this!!! answering the survey truly gave me the best insight on why i love the genre so much and reading my friends and some stranger's answers was magical. thank you for making this!!! much love

[@politicaltroll8920]

Shoutout to Taiwanese and Japanese shoegaze bands they played a big part in me coming back to shoegaze

[@Boomblast57]

I think the reason I love Shoegaze so much and why it’s such a huge comfort to me is because to me no matter how I feel, be it sad or angry or feeling on top of the world, it can just fit and pair with all those emotions. For example the song “When the sun hits” by Slowdive. It can be read as a sad song or even a spiteful song full of gloom with lyrics like “sweet thing I watch you burn away!” But also a hopeful and inspiring song especially with the lyric that flows into the chorus “It matters where you are!” Which is incredible because it makes the song bend around you and just help connect and confirm your feelings Xx AWESOME VIDEO ❤

[@clvrswine]

"Confirm your feelings"? Yikes. You would never have said that when this genre existed. Get a spine.

[@ijustneedmyself]

​@@clvrswine Okay so, he needs to get a spine and you need to be less of a dick 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@Boomblast57]

@@clvrswine kinda confused what you’re on about? Or do you just like being rude for no reason?

[@scapeagoat2520]

no mention of Cocteau Twins?

[@cocteautwin]

in a more psycho-social analysis, gen z is a very lonely and depressed generation, and we have so much at our disposal to “escape in”, and the sounds of shoegaze very much feel like being in a distant, softer, fuzzier world. That depends on what artists/albums you’re listening to though, and that’s also why Cocteau Twins and Lush are my favorite shoegaze/dream pop bands.

[@ryan1977L]

Great video. Really informative. The Jesus and Mary Chain predates shoegaze by several years. Their wall of sound mixed with melodic pop was a progenitor of shoegaze.

[@IanMcCausland]

Came here to say this. The JAMC were ahead of everyone!!

[@ivanterrible7362]

Why does Gen-Z love shoegaze? It's what we were listening to while you were being conceived.

[@fuzztortuga]

as a millennial/gen z guitarist who’s been into gaze for awhile it makes me happy to see more ppl get into the genre and expand upon it with bands like narrowhead and nothing

[@thomasgrasha]

I remember being a 16 yr old kid in a tiny town on the Gulf Coast of Texas and having my mind blown after choosing a free cassette copy of MBV Isn't Anything based on the cover art from BMG music catalog (look it up whippersnapper!

[@wmpcritial]

for about a year i've been looking for a rock genre that immulates the sound that would always give me goosebumps. deftones introduced me to dreamy styled rock i knew that it was the style i was looking for, and after finding that shoegaze was a legitimate genre of music, i realized that this style is everything i could've ever asked for 😭

[@nicholashana]

I'm gonna be that person be super bummed about no Cocteau Twins mention. Good video though.

[@cocteautwin]

i think people consider them dream pop (which is just a poppier shoegaze really) since their most popular songs of today are more upbeat like cherry colored funk, heaven or las vegas, and sea swallow me.

[@nicholashana]

@@cocteautwin They’re still essential to what shoegaze drew influences from as it formed in the late 80s.

[@michaelwhalen9084]

not the NEOPUNKFM reference in the description 😭😭

[@frafrafrafrafra]

I'm so glad to have been part of this, shoegaze isn't my favourite genre but is near and dear to my heart, and seeing it becoming more known and appreciated has been a welcomed surprise.

[@poet_of_the_apocalypse9850]

An underlying cause for this uptick in support is authenticity. Shoegaze is immortal in its authenticity for reasons I'll explain. Authenticity is a sentiment echoing back through post punk and its predecessors. Almost like clockwork as soon as the post punk groups achieved absolute mainstream success, the post punk 'ego death' began. Albeit post punk bands deconstructing their sound more and more to destroy ego in the name of authenticity. But even still the transition is never seamless. You can't completely abandon song structure in pop music. Shoegaze is immortal because of this undying purity of a deconstructed, faceless sound that exists as its own organism. Authenticity is always in high demand in an alternative setting and the music press at the time knew exactly how to suppress what they couldn't market. Now, recommendation algorithms and people alike don't have to put up with that shit anymore and its easily facilitated. A theory as to why shoegaze is the placeholder term, a shibboleth among the alternative scene is because it quickly and easily distinguishes what can be deemed as similar enough to our tastes for us to care. Probably why that horrible term 'zoomergaze' exists. Shoegaze is a password for authenticity. It's wonderful that the consensus is shoegaze though. I identify with it like it's my left leg. Personally, I started listening to shoegaze after trying to find something that could hold a candle to the Disintegration album, and as a result I discovered Slowdive. I wanted some faithful representation of completely genuine emotional resonance and that continues to motivate my desire to seek out better music and have good taste to this day. Shoegaze is the closest thing to being able to reach out and touch something you can't see. Textured noise incarnate in the context of pop music.

[@heter0flexual623]

this is why hardcore will never die too, the scene is so real and passion fuelled. it had so much energy back when black flag and bad brains were coining the genre, when bands like sick of it all and hatebreed were evolving the genre, when trapped under ice carried it through the mud and now hardcore is arguably the biggest its ever been with turnstile, knocked loose, drain, speed, etc. hardcore will NEVER die ever, the culture is too authentic and filled with love and its constantly both evolving yet staying true to its roots

[@clvrswine]

Nonsense. Post-punk is much more prolific in our times. How you connect Disintegration with Slowdive is quite insane. There are very, very few Shoegaze bands. The term is misapplied and you clearly have fallen for that misuse. You seem to have forgotten that Brit-Pop reared its head around the same time. Too many acts were branded Shoegaze while they had nothing to with the sound. While Moose is championed as the source for the word Shoegaze, they are really a Britpop band. Was Lush Shoegaze? Perhaps, for a moment. I think what you wanted after Disintegration was more Cure, make-up and puffy hair. Shoegaze is not about image. MBV never transitioned like Slowdive did (to Mojave 3). Shoegaze is and was very tied to Ethereal. The word Authenticity has nothing to with any of it. It was always a blurred, smudged genre that only existed in the minds of people that can't play instruments.

[@poet_of_the_apocalypse9850]

@@clvrswine Not to sound indignant, but you completely missed the point.

[@glassacre]

i also found Slowdive via Disintegration. At the time, i became fascinated with the "wall of sound" aesthetic. I also found Cocteau Twins via Disintegration. 🙌

[@MrCshmn]

If you want one of the best classic early era shoegaze albums check out the very first album by The Verve, A Storm In Heaven (don’t be put off by the later britpop work. The debut is stunning).

[@MrThomyorkey]

Do you Shoegaze have always been very popular in South East Asia through the ages?

[@frankie1118]

smashing pumpkins were definitely shoegaze esque

[@bills.stills]

Nothing is a God Tier band, glad they were mentioned in this video!

[@bills.stills]

Narrow Head, Gleemer and Whirr as well

[@atrainofthought99]

Japanese shoegaze also hits on another level 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@mari98_]

Spotify definitely fed me shoegaze when I was revisiting some of my emo phase favorites, especially since I always like a little grunge music I learned about from old vh1 comps

[@Jeramiahstool]

i think the combo of the loud constant stimulation with the droning stability is oddly calming

[@um_please_no1728]

Really good assessment. I did a write-up on shoegaze back in 2020 for my friends and was surprised how much it took off for them during the pandemic. Your findings were really similar to mine when I asked about the appeal. Here's hoping these recent numbers will push Kevin Shields to finally release the MBV album lol. Great video!

[@eboethrasher]

There is yet another one on hold? At least you'll never have to wait as long as we did. 22 years with no idea that it would even happen. One day, boom, there it was.

[@s3lfFish]

of course so 46% of new listeners is our generation that got kids and those kids started to listen to what we were listening at their age. Wait?.. we did the same thing with 70's rock and psychedelism and punk... ;) I guess some things never change You didn't forgot any bands, I even discovered some. But I would mention a canadian band that was crossing bridges between shoegaze and lofi : Eric's trip ;) Thx for the video, I'll check the new bands from this generation, though I'm into glitchcore right now so It will take a while :p

[@gavinjones3933]

Here’s an amusing thing… I’m 55 and it appears I’m an accidental Gen Z. When shoegaze came out first time around, it was kinda OK, but I was more into industrial metal, experimental music and hardcore punk. I’ve got into shoegaze (and postrock) in the last four/five years. Guess I’m regressing. Or maybe it’s just quality music?

[@IamtheWV17]

But I'm a millennial and found it in 2009 😅

[@Haden475]

i think its like this cyclical nostalgia thing where the media that we experience as younger kids is made by the previous generation of older 20's/30-sometings and reflects the past of that generation, so as we grow up, we end up being influenced by the aesthetics of that generation. like a 30 year old writing a comic in 2005 is going to be influenced by their late teens/early 20s a lot (so mid 90's). and then someone born in 1997 reads that comic and gets all these early impressions from the aesthetics of that era. there's just always this kinda lag until we get to our adolescence and start actually experiencing art made by our own generation for our own generation, but that lag is still experienced as a strong influence. i totally agree with the assessment that shoegaze does hit some chords along the lines of the how similar the anxieties of the mid-90s are to the 2020's

[@andrewa776]

Pls checkout "Galaxie 500" and if you only have time for one album it has to be "on fire". One of my favorite bands of all time

[@ales6305]

Im gen z and I HATE SHOEGAZE!!!!!

[@mxvega1097]

Nice take. You captured he deep contradiction of shoegaze - that we want to numb our thoughts, but are desperate to feel. I started playing shoegaze in 1990, and I think the cultural mood, zeitgeist even, was similar. We were unearthing mid-60s garage rock with new guitar tones, a touch of Paisley Underground, Cocteau Twins. We were tired of the 80s anxiety, recessions, stalemates in politics, and just nothing seemed to be coming right. So - I want to scream at the world, in my own private hellhole was kind of the vibe. Still into it, and love TAGABOW, Flyying Colours, Hotline TNT.

[@narcocastillo3783]

Great video! I feel like the trajectory of shoegaze lately has been mirrored by the post-punk/goth scene as of late as well. Huge scenes internationally and in the US -- highly recommend checking out the goth/post-punk scene in Latin America, it's awesome.

[@joowiez1618]

do you have some bands recommendation ? im trying to listen to more latino bands

[@narcocastillo3783]

@@joowiez1618 For sure! I recommend: French Police Guerra Fria San Coyote DUVVII Depresion Sonora blood club Future Nobodies Twin Tribes Fatamorgana Belgrado Las Eras Velvet Wounds Friolento La Texana

[@joowiez1618]

@@narcocastillo3783 thx for reccomandation. Btw, idk if u know them em already but since you mentioned La texana you should check out te vi en un planetario. The singer is his gf

[@nicolascabello2858]

If you are 26, you are Gen Z

[@HarmonyPocket]

I"VE LITERALLLLY BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS. Like when I was younger (I'm 27) and in highschool no one knew what shoegaze was. I felt so alone. AND NOW IT'sS POPULAR WTF. I was called a dam HIPSTER! for liking shoegaze and collecting vinyls.

[@beauloucher]

3:40 name song???

[@TheEyesThrone]

quick answer, because its fkn sick af

[@FoolioCG]

please make more video essays

[@azloii9781]

I love how we keep pretending our generation is relevant anymore

[@cloudair4154]

i got into it back in like 2008 or 2009 with the cocteau twins.. then moved into other things like daysleepers, curve, mbv, whirr, etc

[@robertpetre9378]

I find it so ironic because when they first came out, Slowdive were not very popular and a lot of people hated from, but now they seem to be so popular with younger kids for some reason😅.

[@glitcharcing]

8:59 damn right

[@laurisaarinen1126]

I'm a millennial, but i love shoegaze and all dreamy or ethereal sounding music. I do like lot of different music though. First of all, it's not only shoegaze but other "sad-sounding" genres like post-punk and dream pop have resonated with the large number of isolated, sad teens during the pandemic. Also the similarities and influence shoegaze had on 2010's genres like vaporwave must have had an effect.

[@bartocorleone]

You know I’ve been wondering this for the longest time because I work on a record store here in Santiago, Chile and at least once a day some Z’er comes in and asks if we have either my bloody valentine’s loveless or Slowdive’s souvlaki and it’s always those two… i’ve talked to a couple of them and said that they should listen to other bands like ride, catherine wheel or whirr. What I think it’s amazing though is what labels like numero are doing. Helping to grow Emo by putting out a lot of forgotten heroes of the genre. A lot of people have come to the store and ask me for Indian summer, moss icon and karate and some other alternative adjacent bands like Unwound and duster. Love the content :)

[@nikeyy35]

As a gen Zer (23), My introduction to shoegaze came from a blend of learning guitar and finding music similar to artists I already enjoyed in goth, darkwave, ambient. This took me to exploring dark ambient groups like Godspeed! You Black Emperor. From there I found blackgaze and deasfheaven due to the similar roots in black metal. From there I went to Shoegaze and realized it was a sister genre of dreampop which I was already familiar with due to artists like Beach House. Then i found ambient shoegaze with artists like glare and duster. I think the biggest reason for its connection to gen Z is due to the lasting influence on all of alternative music by Shoegaze and dreampop, Id argue we wouldnt have artist like Lana Del Rey, Phoebe Bridgers, and Men I Trust without the influence or artists like, Robin guthrie, Bilinda Butcher, Liz Fraser, Kevin Shields, Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead.

[@MalC1]

Same, I found shoegaze through goth and dreampop music. Shoegaze is like a good mix of aspects I like from both genres. Anything that sounds remotely similar to Cocteau Twins, I will listen to it.

[@DaneBass-gn2lq]

I have personally witnessed this phenomenon! My son is 16. And he is a guitar player. I was in my 20's when shoegaze first hit. I think it is just a natural progression from listening to Nirvana, Soundgarden, etc. Eventually, you get to the stuff on the edges. Shellac, Unwound, Melvins. That usually includes shoegaze. Smashing Pumpkins was my son's gateway. My Bloody Valentine shares a lot sonically. He got so deep into the genre that he recorded a shoegaze EP a few months back. It's on all of the services. Sonic Wave Failure 'dark'

[@eyedeerman]

Haha I’m not alone! I made a shoegaze playlist titled ‘Shugazi’ for the sake of the obviously awesome word play

[@alexthomas7923]

I remember mentioning in passing that I had been listening to my bloody valentine a couple years ago and it turned out my dad had been a huge fan of them during the loveless era and had seen them when they played a show in our college town in the Midwest. Was a wholesome bonding moment over an interest that I never knew we shared

[@lopatoj]

I was listening to a pluggnb beat on soundcloud, the cover featured miki berenyi of lush, I did some digging and found their music, and then the rest of the genre from there. If that isn't a distinctly gen z occurrence then IDK what is.

[@TheInstallations]

I am a Gen X , still listening to Cocteau Twins, Robin Guthrie, Slowdive, amongst others, I probably influenced my kids taste...

[@marcobruno3110]

Nice vid, Kelsie. Around 1992 I was into Lush and a friend said I should check out My Bloody Valentine. I did and couldn't believe my ears. So good. And so, it was word of mouth from a friend. For those looking for something new and a bit more obscure from that first era of shoegaze, check out Blind Mr. Jones - the "Crazy Jazz" EP, early Telescopes, and Curve's LP entitled Doppelganger.

[@broncoxy]

shoes are so expensive nowadays, might aswell gaze at them~

[@mr.lumbergh]

Gaze feels like a light, floating tapestry. It’s the same thing I like about Dream Pop, and what led me to Gaze in the first place. I started getting into THAT back in about 2017. Gen X btw, I’ve had at least three big shifts in my musical taste since I was a teenager.

[@YamiJai]

I think it’s cool that Shoegaze is getting recognized, I’ve been listening to it since high school from bands that I didn’t know were Shoegaze I didn’t know it had a name until a friend told me it was called Shoegaze, then I started getting into more Shoegaze bands, then I had forgotten about it since I started listening to different genres but about 2 or 3 years ago I went to a comic book shop/record store and they were playing When You sleep by my bloody valentine so I Shazam’d it cause I was like “Aye this goes hard” then I just enjoyed the music as I was shopping for manga volumes, the only thing that bothers me about Shoegaze being popular now is the cringey kids that overly act like their depressed and that post cringe Tik Toks with those songs like I saw a Tik Tok of a girl that looked like she was in her middle or high school gym and posted with a caption that said something like “What they don’t know is that I just had hot lesbian seggs 2 minutes ago” while she had When You sleep by mbv playing for the audio, and I was just saying in my head “Why tf did you have the need to post this?”, like that was just uncalled for and weird, it just was so weird to see especially with that song playing now it kinda feels weird when I hear that song cause now I just think of that Tik Tok, it’s just the new cringe fans that are ruining Shoegaze for me I still love it but I’m just so annoyed with all these cringy kids acting like they depressed over every little thing and think they’re better than everyone

[@STATE.38]

Gotta name drop "Gold" 1995 by Starflyer 59 as one of the most amazing shoegaze albums of the 90s.

[@irugirug]

the shoegaze and dreampop revival came around the mid 2000s and in more strong way in the 2010s. (asobi seksu, m83, a place to burystrangers, beach house, fleeting joys,etc) Gen z didnt discovered the wheel. The millenialls revalued this bands before. but im glad that sound never die.

[@taylorshort4872]

Good summary just one correction Jesus and Mary Chain was pre shoegaze but heavily influenced the shoegaze bands MBV etc

[@BryanHaywood]

Super late to the party but I’m geriatric millennial, and I was exposed to Shoegaze music by lost in translation film which had both MBV and JMC in it. It also has probably my favorite song of any soundtrack “City Girl” by the man himself Kevin Shields. Then I went to MySpace and looked for similar bands and found the others. I remember seeing Lost in Translation in theaters around 03-04? I was 18-19 and just being so mesmerized by the sound and how it felt like you were more like experiencing it rather than listening to it. As I’ve gotten older and I have younger siblings who are Gen Z, they’ve asked me for music recommendations and Shoegaze was one of the few things I mentioned to them that they liked.

[@heleneramos889]

Total Ne0n eclipse of the Sounds! Ears WATCHING!

[@the_musicsnob]

I puke in my mouth when I hear the name "shoegaze". I dig tht the young minds like yours are interested in thy style of indie, though. I'm an old fart from Detroit. We used to have to spend endless hours exploring the record stores for new music. Anyway ill save you the nostalgia trip. Nice essay🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🎸🤙🏼🤙🏼

[@gaetanolopez2338]

Psychocandy came out long before shoegaze existed, and mbv didn't yet have the sound of Loveless. In my opinion, the origins of this genre could be summarized as follows: J&MC + Cotceau Twins with a sprinkle of Cure = Shoegaze. 😊

[@dwayneclark6]

I Love Shoegaze, Dreampop, cause many are mega brilliant. American Black Boomer. At this time I'm listening to Chapter House (Something More),

[@CryWolfFilms]

Its just a wall of melancholy and depression without a lotnof vocals so it ages amazingly

[@Iridescence93]

been listening to shoegaze since the mid 90s. Slowdive is one of my favorite bands. "floaty" is the perfect word to describe the appeal of the sound. It's really nice to see younger people discovering this music no matter how they are doing it.

[@explosionmage]

KZbin recommended me Panchiko after listening to Radiohead. That’s how I found out about shoegaze. Since I’ve found older bands like Mbv as well as newer artists like Julie.

[@birdwatching_u_back]

Honestly that “When the Sun Hits” clip sounds a lot like David Bowie’s “Heroes”

[@Kelly-qy4yr]

As a Gen X-er who grew up with and worshipped many of these bands (and still do!), I’d say this is a very accurate - and brilliant- assessment. And it’s so heartwarming to see these stats! Thanks Gen Z for giving it life again - Shoegaze is forever! Xx

[@v.s.santoni4488]

The trend came back in the 2000s too. Hipsters latch into anything remotely obscure. Gen Z hipsters are no different from millennial hipsters.

[@warlockdruid]

TikTok is garbage and always has been. Shoegaze came purely from our melancholic souls and taste in music.

[@hobbymanx9200]

I gotta feeling there’ll be some emo whining and screaming over fuzzy guitar-driven shoegaze beats that include 808-driven trap rap/hyper pop elements in no time. Retro fads are cool, but things should always evolve. Btw, to me, shoegaze isn’t dreamy music but “grunge with vacuum cleaner noise” in a good way. Listen to Upside Down by Jesus And Mary Chain.

[@DanGoodman-n4b]

Younger generations have always had crebels against mainstream music. But GenZ don’t want to be identified as being bomer rock fans. The shoegaze genre offers variety but with a common theme of delay & reverb. Sounds like you don’t know where the genre name came from. It is because the musicians would gaze at their feet to locate the foot controls for the electronic effects. A

[@aisle_of_view]

Listen to The Lilys "A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns” - Just incredible

[@1chumley1]

Do you think anyone would admit to learning about Shoegaze from TicToc? No way. I don't care how confidential the survey is.

[@erghjunk]

Awesome vid! IMO shoegaze was kind of in the right place at the right time. Guitar-centric music has been at a general low point for a while now and was due for a bounce back in the minds of music fans. I think shoegaze "won out" so-to-speak by being on point with the vibes of a big chunk of the music-listening public (as you thoroughly document), unabashedly guitar focused in a time where that is less common, and by being unique (and kind of exotic) despite being quite old as a genre.

[@Drstrange3000]

I'm a millennial and I have loved this kind of music for years but didn't know it was a genre or that it was loved by gen Z. I mostly find it relaxing. I also struggle a lot with dissociation, so it makes sense, I guess. It sounds like some of the music I was into when in school. Has a nostalgic feeling to it. I listen to other kinds of stuff and can flip to something extremely upbeat, but this stuff calms me down like no other.

[@artOVtrolling]

“Just call it emo” No. Emo and Shoegaze aren’t the same thing. Shoegaze is more like a trait than an actual genre. My Chemical Romance is emo but not Shoegaze. This Will Destroy You is Shoegaze but not emo.

[@thesean3194]

Great vid. Coming from a Gen X er who lived thru the shoegaze era (and was in a shoegaze band on campus playing gigs in Champaign IL) don’t forget Curve. Massive distorto guitar layers, incredible rhythms and Toni Halliday on vocs. The band was loud and sublime.

[@render6671]

i like shoegaze when its bizarre, noisy and energetic, i honestly would prefer isnt anything over loveless but sounds too much like incelic punk, noise pop and that album is too repetitive, the best shoegaze is energic, free, and somehow combining disturbing noise with beautiful melodies

[@yousefsarhan]

i dont use tiktok and none of my family and friends told me about shoegaze i was looking for a video to watch on youtube and i saw a beautiful looking lady on a music cover which was the song scenic by ozean and oh my what a very beautiful song i went the songs comments and i found that its a really similar song to Slowdive's songs and that was the start of me just listening to this genre non stop the dreamy feeling that this genre give is just undescribe-able if that's a word hahaha

[@jmusick848]

saw a video that called it "grungegaze"

[@michaelcraig9449]

This girl thinks everything comes from being online. She is wrong. People live real lives, they discuss in real life, they go to bars, concerts, festivals, etc.

[@davidantolinezuribe2413]

Lemmy said once that heavy metal will always exist insofar angry teens will need to find a way to expresas themselves and rebel. After seeing this video, I guess the same applies for shoegaze and sensitive-saturated-nostalgic teens.

[@captkrimbo7770]

This was a really interesting video, thanks! I was growing up in London when it was happening and for a brief moment in time we had places like Syndrome (big ups to that grumpy bouncer who never checked ID properly) and you really felt like this was *something* and then it felt like London was just wall to wall britpop/grunge within the space of a year or two. I'm so glad a new generation has found all these awesome bands and albums!

[@eboethrasher]

Cool, another oldy moldy like me!

[@womplad9864]

I was looking for unreleased albums on YT and found "I Saw The Sun" and it was over for me from there....

[@warnerbasement1628]

Sonic Youth had a lot to do with the sonic landscape that shoegaze drew from creating washes of sound and while SY are more frenetic and dissonant, their seminal albums hold up precisely because of that etherial landscape they created that influenced so many. The fact that Kim Gordon just dropped a hip hop /noise album that's as relevant as anything being created by people 1/3 her age is a testament to her roots in the post punk sonic landscape that shoegaze took a lot from.

[@jthymesthree602]

So interesting to see younger people getting into shoegaze these days. I’m what some people would consider a Xennial and I remember not many people listening to shoegaze back when I first got into it. Mostly only the other music nerds I worked with at the record shop knew about it. I think it’s cool that so many kids are listening to it now.