Some Classic Shoegaze Songs

There was a little sub-genre of music back in the day that not only influenced a lot of some of your favorite musicians, but is still fairly prevalent today. 'Shoegaze' was appropriately called because so many of the bands utilized so many different kinds of guitar effects processors that they were always staring down at the floor, changing up the effects coming through the speakers. Thus, from the crowd, it looked like everyone was just looking at their shoes, so...shoegazing.

If you grew up in the mid- to late-80's, you definitely heard a lot of the genre's influence in groups like the Smashing Pumpkins, Belly, Hum, Catherine Wheel (some of which I've included below) and literally hundreds of others who grew up listening to the music when they were younger.

I stumbled across this old Pitchfork article full of bands I'd never heard of before and it got my juices flowing; I love finding new music worth drowning in for awhile. So while my list is by no means anywhere close to expansive, the list from the Pitchfork writer may give you some more/better ideas if you're interested: https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9966-the-50-best-shoegaze-albums-of-all-time/

Here are a few classics of the genre, along with some personal favorites of my own:

Starflyer 59 - "Monterey"

Ride - "Vapour Trail"

The Verve - "Star Sail"

My Bloody Valentine - "Loveless" (Full Album)

Slowdive - "Alison"

Lush - "Desire Lines"

Velocity Girl - "Drug Girls"

_Hum - "Isle of the Cheetah"

_Catherine Wheel - "Black Metallic"

Belly - "Super-Connected"

_Cocteau Twins - "Heaven or Las Vegas"

Swervedriver - "Sci-Flyer"