Why is it called shoegaze?
Of all the recent terms to become so strangely obscured that it’s hard to remember their real meaning, “shoegaze” reigns supreme. In the indie and alternative world, it’s something that’s thrown around a lot, representing something as aloof and off-kilter as the origin of the name itself. But where does its name actually come from?
Although not a new trend, shoegaze has experienced a significant resurgence in recent years. Since the 1980s and 1990s, its exact definition has also shifted somewhat depending on who you’re talking about. For instance, you could say the true originators emerged in the 1990s, like The Jesus and Mary Chain, or even the Cocteau Twins, who brought a dreamy, hazy, albeit considerably gritty atmosphere to the music that relied on distortion and abstraction to create their endearing, hypnotic world.
Slowdive are also probably the name that most people think of when discussing shoegaze bands, which also makes sense, considering how they took the earlier ethereal appeal of the genre to the next level, mixing and diluting the crisp effects of the guitar to create something where all arrangements and instruments blend into one. It’s a fitting name for one of its defining pioneers, too, if we’re to think of the sluggish descent of sonic bliss, appearing to Nick Chaplin in a dream and citing the earlier Siouxsie and the Banshees song.
It’s the same reason people started to call Cigarettes After Sex shoegaze – it’s all about the ambience and letting yourself fall into the visceral experience of music without the need to pick apart certain layers or segments, but mainly because they’re not all that easily noticeable to begin with. But all this begs the question: What does the name mean, and how does it reflect this semi-conscious state of euphoria? In short, it’s actually fairly literal.
In fact, the term supposedly comes from the heaviness of the effects pedals and how artists in the beginning would be staring down at their shoes or pedals as a result, earning the title based on how they appeared on stage. The first use of the term reportedly occurred in the 1990s when journalists described how these musicians would go into a hypnotic trance, staring down at their pedalboards, stuck in a sort of daze almost as intriguing as the music itself.
And while the details differed slightly depending on the band or reviewer, the basic premise was always the same: they’d stare downwards, just sort of standing there in a dissociative state reminiscent of many dark wave pioneers but with a more established detachment that went against everything anyone expected of a performer. But then again, it suited the music, because it was simply about letting go and enjoying the power of feeling.
At first, though, it was used more often than not to dismiss bands for being too lax or boring. As Lush’s Miki Berenyi once explained, “Shoegazing was originally a slag-off term […] It just became a generic term for all those bands that had a big, sweeping, effects-laden sound, but all stood resolutely still on stage.” But it morphed into its own, earning respect for its intentionality and purpose as an artistic tool to enhance the beauty of music that became aware of its own indolence.
