The first shoegaze record

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by gottenbold, Dec 7, 2019.

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  1. Evethingandnothing

    Evethingandnothing Forum Resident

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    Devon
    Agreed. That's why I said "tend to", as tendencies allow for exceptions to the rule.
    Anyways, all great stuff. I didn't actually get to hear much MBV at the time. I'm familiar enough with the early Ride stuff though.
     
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  2. Synthfreek

    Synthfreek I’m a ray of sunshine & bastion of positivity

    Posting just because...

    Faust - Krautrock (1973)
     
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  3. Evethingandnothing

    Evethingandnothing Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon
    If Moose are the original Shoegaze band then I can tell you that the unlikely roots of Shoegaze are Vegas period Elvis and James Bond soundtracks, 'cos that's what those guys were into. I knew them briefly for a while in London and guitarist Moose once came to my house for alcohol, music and conversation. And you can certainly hear a bit of John Barry influence in the track you posted.
     
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  4. Em.

    Em. Forum Resident

    Location:
    SoCal, USA
    I think that Russell and Kevin of Moose (neither of whom were in Critical Mass) were also big fans of Scott Walker. Not that I hear it across their catalog, but it recently occurred to me that that the song "Reprise", from Moose's "Reprise EP", is heavily based on two songs from Scott Walker's "Til The Band Comes In" album ("The War Is Over - Sleepers Epilogue" and "Prologue"):

     
  5. Em.

    Em. Forum Resident

    Location:
    SoCal, USA
    ...and here's Moose's "Reprise":



    Those 'drip' sounds in the Moose tune are a nod straight to Scott Walker's "Prologue".
     
  6. Evethingandnothing

    Evethingandnothing Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon
    Yeah, I wouldn't doubt that for a moment. Definitely big Walker Brothers fans.
    Apologies for the namedropping. I didn't know them well, but I'd forget my own life if I didn't have cause on occasion to recount it. Nice guy btw.
     
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  7. little danny

    little danny Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Texas
    Fun thread.

    JaMC's Psychocandy godhead seems the most immediate indication of where things were going, though I also agree with others who've mentioned Galaxie 500 as well as Spacemen 3 and other druggy UK guitar groups (e.g. Loop) whose music presaged the maligned shoegaze of the UK music press in the late '80s/early '90s

    I'd also throw early albums by New Zealand/Flying Nun stalwarts Bailter Space in there.

    There's lotsa '60s and '70s records that are clearly not shoegaze but inadvertantly point the way. The Velvets (esp. White Light White Heat), of course, and I think the Beatles' "It's All Too Much" is actually a pretty cool example.

    The Factory's "Try a Little Sunshine" or Beautiful Daze's "City of Jungle" clearly aren't shoegaze, but it's still fun to put them into some sort of cosmic continuum of music where vocals are distant-sounding or deliberately (or accidentally) buried by swirly, heavy masses of guitars and distortion.

     
  8. little danny

    little danny Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Texas
  9. octophone

    octophone immaterial girl

    Location:
    Scotland
    Good to see some Moose chat here - I was fond of the early EPs too and, indeed, had the same mixed reaction to "...XYZ". But I saw them live around the time of the album and they were really good - in particular, the version of "Sometimes Loving Is The Hardest Thing" was absolutely transcendent.
     
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  10. dave_ida

    dave_ida Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bedford, England
    You are quiet right..I was thinking that Russell is Russell Fong.. not Russell Yates!

    Russell Fong was in Critical Mass with Lincoln Fong.. but both were also part of Moose on their first two LPs
     
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  11. dave_ida

    dave_ida Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bedford, England
    I saw Critical Mass supporting Ultra Vivid Scene in Bedford UK.. mindblowing

    I then saw Moose at London Subterranea with Tim Gane playing guitar. Now that was fantastic!
     
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  12. JohnBR

    JohnBR Forum Resident

    It's almost funny how every shoegaze discussion invariably evolves into a Moose appreciation thread. That's a testament to how beloved they were, and still are! Count me as another huge fan of Moose, although sadly I never got to see them live.

    I did get to speak with Mick Conroy at a Modern English show recently (he contributed to the Live a Little, Love a Lot album), and his eyes lit up when I mentioned Moose. He seemed surprised, but delighted, that Moose still has fans.
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2019
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  13. I dunno, I don't often see much mention of them other than shoegaze threads in this very forum.

    I'm not too familiar with them past the first album, and while I liked them they were never faves. I found the vocals on many tracks kind of off-putting - kind of bored-sounding, overly soft and/or mumbly, the kind of vocals poptimists point to and say "this is why I hate indie!"
     
  14. JohnBR

    JohnBR Forum Resident

    I have to admit that like others, I was disappointed with the first album. But they won me back with Liquid Make-Up, Honey Bee, and Live a Little Love a Lot! And I have a better appreciation for the first album now.

    As for the vocals, to each his own I guess. Their vocals are one of the things I love about them.
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2019
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  15. Recordingpianoman

    Recordingpianoman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland
    I was a big fan of all of this stuff in the 90’s, Pale Saints, Kitchens of Distinction, Lush, MBV. The gateway drug for all of this was Cocteau Twins and The Cure, who I was obsessed with earlier on. But when I heard this song, it made me think I found the origin of the whole thing:

    To me, it has most everything, amorphous guitar textures, breathy and sleepy vocals. All it needs is for the guitar track to overwhelm Lou’s voice...
     
  16. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    Well.... try "Metal Machine Music"!::biglaugh:
     
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  17. Em.

    Em. Forum Resident

    Location:
    SoCal, USA
    Absolutely agreed. Not only the tone and tambre of Russell Yates' voice, but his phrasing and delivery is a big part of what I love about Moose.
    Kevin (Moose) McKillop is now in a band call Piroshka with his wife Miki Beyenyi (of Lush), but I wish Russell Yates were still making music.
    He's been running his management company, called "Cool Badge", for at least 15 years, which was also the name of his/their label that released Moose's "Liquid Make Up" EP in 1993.
     
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  18. Billchi_11

    Billchi_11 What would DBoon do?

    Location:
    Chicago
    "Psychocandy on codeine". Yep
     
  19. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    I seriously doubt that anyone will be able to find "the first shoegaze record" because even if we are focusing on the 80's it's been such a slow gestation.

    Starts with British bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees - especially "JuJu" and "A Kiss In The Dreamhouse" - and The Cure - especially "Faith" and "Pornography" - morphes through early Cocteau Twins and obviously The Jesus And Mary Chain until it arrives at neo-psych bands like Spacemen 3 and Loop. Which at that point were more Garage-y than ethereal.

    I'm also pretty positive some US distortion has additionally informed the genre, the wall of sound on albums by Sonic Youth, Hüsker Dü or Dinosaur Jr. wouldn't have gone unnoticed.

    If hardpressed I'd say MBV's "Isn't Anything" probably seems like a pretty early example for relatively pure dreampop sound.
     
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  20. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will...

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    Me either though I had heard the term prior to skimming through this thread last week. I found a CD of Nowhere by Ride yesterday for $2.50 so what the heck. Listening to it now. No opinion yet.
     
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  21. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    I had heard the term. I thought it was a put down, not a genre lol
     
  22. Chemically altered

    Chemically altered Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ukraine in Spirit
    80 and 90s post punk/alternate guitarists that constantly looked down at their foot peddles while playing. I think.
     
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  23. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

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  24. jamesc

    jamesc Senior Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX
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  25. Echo's Answer

    Echo's Answer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    After 6 pages.....The only person who got it right.

    Canned Heat? :crazy::tsk:
     
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