Shoegazing

Shoegazing is a style of music that emerged in Great Britain in the late 1980s. The beginning of the genre is said to be Isn't Anything by My Bloody Valentine, released in 1988 (1988 in music). However, it drew heavily upon synth pop and New Wave artists, as well as electronica, glam rock and other artists like David Bowie, Jesus and Mary Chain and especially Cocteau Twins and Roxy Music. The name was given from the New Musical Express, playfully noting the tendency of the bands' guitarists to stare at their feet, seemingly deep in concentration, while playing. The Melody Maker preferred the more staid term "The Scene That Celebrates Itself", and the music is sometimes now referred to as a category of dream pop (though this term is mainly restricted to the US.)

Shoegazing is characterized by the use of distortion and fuzz, droning riffs and a Spectorish wall of sound from the noisy guitars. While the genres which influenced shoegazing often used of drum machines, shoegazing often featured live drumming. Shoegazing drummers such as Chris Cooper of Pale Saints and the late Chris Acland of Lush often displayed complex drumming.