Shoegazing Origins

Ok, so maybe I lied about doing this every week. How about I modify that to as often as I can. Some of you out there may look at a guy who reviews shoegaze albums and think, “Where's Loveless?” Well, I just won't do it. We all know how classic that album is and when My Bloody Valentine get off their asses to release a new album, I may honor them here with a review. Besides, how could you be arsed to read these entries if you had never heard Loveless before, anyway?

The classic:

Cocteau Twins – Treasure (1984)

I was going to go with a different album, but decided it wasn't obscure enough. Although, it's not as if the Cocteau Twins are very obscure. If you don't know about them, you should. This is also not a shoegaze album. Rather, it is considered “dreampop”, but shoegaze stemmed from dreampop and one listen to this album should show you how the Cocteau Twins most definitely inspired the development of shoegaze a few years later. Atmospheric guitars? Check. Intense dreamy melodies? Check. Indecipherable lyrics? Check. If there are two bands that influenced the genre more than anything, it would be the Cocteau Twins and the Jesus and Mary Chain (I was about to review Darklands, but you've already heard that, right? RIGHT?). The Cocteau Twins lent their melodic pop structures while the Jesus and Mary Chains inspired the wall of guitars that are so prevalent in shoegaze. Listen to this album then listen to Darklands and then check out Black Tambourine from my last entry. Pretty soon you'll be saying, “So THAT's where shoegaze came from!”

The Cocteau Twins started with a ton of gothic influence that slowly faded away with each album. Garlands could easily find a place next to a trenchcoat and black nail polish. The gothic influence fades a bit with Head Over Heels and with Treasure there is only a very subtle hint of it. It feels as if the band matured over each album and this progression really worked for them. They just got better and better. They made the kind of music that gets you thinking, “Where has this been my whole life?” Robin Guthrie is the master of dreamy guitars and Liz Fraser's unintelligible singing adds a level of mystery to the music that sets this band apart from any other. I would be very surprised if you listened to this album and it didn't inspire a feverish hunt to collect all of their music.

The whole album is great from top to bottom, but standouts are “Lorelei”, “Pandora”, and “Aloysius”. “Lorelei” in particular definitely has elements of later shoegaze in it. What does this album get? 9.5/10. Yep.

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The new:

Asobi Seksu – Citrus (2006)

Asobi Seksu is a New York based band that has been building a reputation for themselves the past few years. They may not be as obscure as some of the other bands I will be reviewing in the future, but they are far and away my favorite recent shoegaze band. That's why they deserve a review, and of course your attention. This is a band I can credit the online radio Pandora for introducing to me.

For some reason, shoegaze seems like it would fit perfectly with some Asian influence. Asobi Seksu pretty much prove that one. Yuki Chikudate is so freaking cute. I want a cute Asian girl to serenade me with shoegaze everyday. If you couldn't tell, my mind wonders to unmentionable fantasies while I listen to this band. It doesn't help that their name translates roughly to “playful sex” in Japanese (which also fits in very nicely with the music itself). Emotional and playful at the same time, “Asobi Seksu” is the perfect name for them.

Citrus is another good example of how advanced production techniques can improve even a relatively unknown band's sound. The album sounds slick and polished with very clear guitars (yet still with plenty of crunch behind them) and subtle synthesizers. This is also a strange album as it sounds as if each good song that comes on is good only because of sheer luck. Then the next song is even better. That's when I think to myself, “Ok, but the next album will be crap.” I was wrong about that one, too. Hush is even more subtle and intricate (though it borders on straight ahead dreampop rather than shoegaze). Check that out if you dig Citrus. Asobi Seksu really know what they are doing. Standouts are “Strawberries”, “New Years”, and “Thursday”. Ok, well, the whole album really. I give it an 8.5/10. 

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Nothings Shocking: The Child Molesters, Feederz, Der Fuckemos

This is my expose of "shock" punk/rock...I have decided to concentrate on three bands....The Child Molesters, Feederz, and Fuckemos.....all three represent a hilarious politically incorrect morbid sense of humor which I think if you listen to with a good sense of humor you can really enjoy....take these with a grain of salt and maybe even find a new anthem!

The Child Molesters - Wir Lieben Die Jugendlich Mädchen (1981)

First off let me say that research a band call "The Child Molesters" was quite a feet and more than likely has put me on some weird Chris Hanson watch group....and to be honest there is little known about them....and most of the stuff I did find contradicted other stuff written about them...what I found was that The Child Molesters were a late 70s early 80s punk rock band from L.A....they were well known for their incredibly insulting lyrics about murder, homosexuals, and the obvious...they had a very hard time booking shows due to their name and the fact that they dressed in nazi uniforms all the way down to the arm band.

To start is an EP titled 'Wir Lieben Die Jugendlich Mädchen' this was released as 12" and basically consists of two early 7"s...this consist of four classic funny songs...to my surprise these are really good catchy punk rock songs....with just gut busting lyrics ranging from songs about being a fucked up person (I'm So (Fucked Up) ) to being in love with a 13 year old (13 Is My Lucky Number) and right into my personal favorite song I'm Gonna Punch You In The Face these are just great fun stupid punk songs....enjoy.

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Feederz - Ever Feel Like Killing Your Boss? (1984)

I think out of these three bands Feederz are the most notorious due Kurt Cobain sporting a Feederz sticker...which read "Vandalism: Beautiful Like A Rock In A Cop's Face" on his guitar during Nirvana's tour with Sonic Youth in Europe of 91 (made famous in the film 1991: The Year Punk Broke) they were originally from Arizona but fled to San Francisco after their first show in which their amazing lead singer Frank Discussion pointed an AR-15 loaded with blanks at the audience and fired upon them.....they are also legends due to their infamous show at Gilman in Berkley where he played the entire set with a dead dog wrapped around his neck and threw other road kill at the audience.....Feedrz take a complete Situationist approach to punk rock with lyrics which are critical of all government, consumerism and religion.....this is their first full length release and was originally packaged in a sleeve made out of sand paper in hopes that it would ruin any other album that may come near it....it was later re-released with less abrasive cover art.

This album is just amazingly good angry punk rock which are very much like the cover itself with songs about necrophilia (Dead Bodies) and the joys of terrorism (Terrorist) and their all time classic Jesus...which originally appeared on the Alternative Tenticles compilation "Let Them Eat Jelly Beans"...if your in the mood for fast well played subversive punk rock put this on and turn it up.

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Fuckemos - Can Kill You (1994)

Noise rock from Austin Texas and like the other famous band from Austin (Butthole Surfers) they are incredibly unique....the singers voice reminds me of someone who has been up for days eating quaaludes and huffing compressed air....their name is actually gear towards a club in Austin called "Emos" not the stupid sub genre...although it works both ways.

"As is the case with a multitude of other bands from Austin, TX -- consider the case of the Butthole Surfers, Big Boys, Dicks, or Roky Erickson -- the Fuckemos reside in near-alien peculiarity, a hodgepodge of absolute originality, savant-wizardry, punk rock playfulness, and absurdity. The band owns the distinction of possessing a name not reprintable in most publications. Musically, this quartet is a hybrid of the aforementioned Butthole Surfers and the straightforward metal of acts like Judas Priest or Dio. With frontman Russell Porter pitch-shifting his vocals to sound like a 78 record played on 33 rpms and using themes that even Butthole Surfer Gibby Haynes might not have touched, the Fuckemos are perhaps one of the strangest metal bands to have emerged from planet Texas....(Patrick Kennedy) "

This is seriously one of my all time favorite records....every song on here is a hit.....these songs are catchy, funny and memorable....with great lyrics blanketed by warm fuzzy guitar noise and even the occasional horn.... from the opener "The Screams Of The Wild Women" where the singer repeats in almost mantric style "Pussy Photos"...to the fist pumping "FUCK EMOS".....there is even a sad ballad about a depressed führer who is trapped in a bunker and thinking about suicide....seriously these songs are just a fun rambunctious riot of bad taste....

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"Mother Tell Your Children, Children Tell Your Friends:

That We Are Not One Of Those Pussy Ass Dipshit Trendy Rock Alternative Bands!"

Medium Medium - The Glitterhouse (1981)

The Glitterhouse has to be one of post punk's most under looked, underrated, and under appreciated albums, which is a tragedy because it's certainly a masterpiece. Medium Medium has everything that's delicious in a post punk band, as well; bass bass bass, punchyourselfinthedick percussion, and a singer that sings like if he stops his head'll fuckin' explode. Not only do they have this, but said singer, John Rees Lewis, plays a mad sax and writes the fuck out of a song.


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