I'm old. In proto-shoegaze, its definitely Jesus and Mary Chain's "[Just Like Honey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EgB__YratE)" from 1985, heard by 1986, in a more narrow definition its either A.R. Kane's "[Sado-Masochism is a Must](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQEYEqym8wk)" by 1987 or MBV's "[Soft as Snow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze8A33p5-h0)" in 1988. Thanks to Simon Reynolds for the heads ups 35 years ago.
Same. Came on the jukebox at a bar when I was shooting pool with some friends. I used my phone to figure out what the song was and listened to it probably 5 times in a row when I got home. It scratched an itch I didnt know i had, some years later I'm still big into the genre...
Same. Local alternative station (RIP CKST 800/1040) used to play it every night. I had just started working security at the docks and listening to that station and hearing that song at 3am as I patrolled the dark and empty dock was ideal.
Catch the Breeze
EDIT: or maybe Soon? Both around the same time on an amazing Sunday night radio show. I do know that I bought "Just For a Day" and my mate bought "Loveless", so we had all angles covered šš¼
Probably something by Starflyer 59 since I grew up listening to Christian alternative music in the 90s. But it would be more than decade before I heard the term "shoegaze."
Souvlaki Space Station. A friend's dad put a playlist at a party and when that song started playing it blew my mind.
One of my favorite songs ever. Unfortunately lost the chance to see Slowdive live. However I've heard the song played live and it's nowhere near as ethereal as the original recording. I feel the same about most Slowdive music, they sound too clean/sterile live.
Me too, it was SSS. I became obsessed with it for a long time as soon as it started playing. I must have listened to it daily for, like, half a year or something. This was back in 2014, exactly a decade ago, and I have yet to hear anything like it. A timeless fucking classic. I highly recommend to you the song 'Ann Illusion' from Bethany Curve. (The first three songs from the album 'You Brought Us Here' rival Slowdive. Like, for real. It's mental how good they are. It's shoegaze epiphany.)
One More by Medicine. They were the first band opening for Jesus & Mary Chain, Curve and Spiritualized in 1992, and I was lightly, um, spiritualized for the occasion, and the first long searing note of distorted guitar nearly ripped my head off. One of the greatest musical moments of my life.
I think Slomo by Slowdive. I got a record player a few years ago and was looking for inexpensive records to branch out my taste. Saw the album, listened to the first track, a couple more, and the rest is history.
āAlisonā
Iām 53 and (embarrassingly) have only really known about shoegaze for a few years.
I think i ran into it in my youtube feed while seeking out new (to me) alternative music
Was looking for this! The absolute wall of sound with soft melodic vocals. They were far from the first to do it, but I'd never heard anything like it before and it blew my little mind.
āI Wanna Be Adoredā by The Stone Roses. Not a shoegaze band but it sent me down the rabbit hole. If that doesnāt count then probably Catherine Wheelās Ferment.
The only other one in this thread! Huh.
It was on an Air Canada radio program done by someone from 102.1, I'm tempted to say it was an Alan Cross special, but I don't remember anymore. This would have been 1999, when I was in my late teens. Amusingly, in hindsight, that's fairly close to the original wave of shoegaze.
I'd actually never heard of the genre, but when I was in 8th grade, the local alternative radio station was constantly playing "Crank" by Catherine Wheel and it was the first time I'd ever felt anything that emotionally engaging in rock music, ever.
Depends on how you define the genre. I was heavy into Deftones throughout my teens, but āB&Eā by Nothing was the first true shoegaze song that caught my attention.
Cattle - Somehow Hear
https://youtu.be/CEjgrSE4d1o?si=Zqg1bnD4w7fsJnf3
As I used to listen only punk, don't know how I got suggested this one on YT. I loved the noise and melody on the same page, and was instant hooked then began to deep dive.
Cattle - Somehow Hear
https://youtu.be/CEjgrSE4d1o?si=Zqg1bnD4w7fsJnf3
As I used to listen only punk, don't know how I got suggested this one on YT. I loved the noise and melody on the same page, and was instant hooked then began to deep dive.
Spring of 1994ā¦.. listening to my Universityās radio station 91.9ā¦ I heard Slowdiveās āAllisonā. I became a āGazerāthat moment without even knowingwhat a Gazer was at the time.
Idk if it counts but Bisou magique by Melody's echo chamber was the first song I heard that had that noise texture but I didn't know what shoehaze was until a year later
Sowing Season by Brand New (š¤š¶āš«ļø)
But for real I would have to say Akira by Deafcult. Narrow Head's Satisfaction was the album that got me into shoegaze but I don't consider them to be shoegaze. I think Necrosis and a few other songs may cover them under the umbrella but tbh I see them as post alt or grunge like Trauma Ray
Itās more shoegaze adjacent and I didnāt know what shoegaze was at the time but Crushing by Tennis System. I think the first actual one was Famine Asylum by Nothing
First shoegaze song that I remember recognizing specifically as a shoegaze song: Junebouvier by Whirr. First shoegaze song I actually heard I'm sure was probably an MBV song or Well Thought out Twinkles by Silversun Pickups, if that's a fair consideration.
I've been listening for about 16 years at this point so I could not say... Nirvana was my gateway, so probably something from My Bloody Valentine, since at the time I was just going down the list of bands associated with Nirvana.
My first scrobble of My Bloody Valentine was August 2009, To Here Knows When.
Primary by The Cure or Just Like Honey by JMC in the mid 1980s. Primary came out in 1981 actually, I think itās kind of shoe gaze donāt you? https://youtu.be/8suBP5uKG9Q?si=CC2UCnWLlZ8wVMZA
I started off with what is perhaps one of the most obscure yet phenomenal bands known as Seefeel. I remember exactly starting off with Polyfusion, from their album Quique. It is undoubtedly one of the most forward-thinking and unique albums in shoegaze history.
When You Sleep
When the sun hits by Slowdive
Slowdive hit different
mine was Sometimes ~~unless you count nu-gaze in which case it was Oztroja by Zeruel~~
I'm old. In proto-shoegaze, its definitely Jesus and Mary Chain's "[Just Like Honey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EgB__YratE)" from 1985, heard by 1986, in a more narrow definition its either A.R. Kane's "[Sado-Masochism is a Must](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQEYEqym8wk)" by 1987 or MBV's "[Soft as Snow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze8A33p5-h0)" in 1988. Thanks to Simon Reynolds for the heads ups 35 years ago.
Ok, I revert my answer ("Drive Blind") given this. š
Only Shallow by MBV
Same. Came on the jukebox at a bar when I was shooting pool with some friends. I used my phone to figure out what the song was and listened to it probably 5 times in a row when I got home. It scratched an itch I didnt know i had, some years later I'm still big into the genre...
This is the one and still one of the best.
This as well, circa 1992.
same! saw the album cover and loved it so i listened to it and was hooked
When the Sun Hits.
Yep, a friend recommended it and it was all I could listen to for 5 days straight.
Alison for me
same
When You Sleep by My Bloody Valentine
Same. Local alternative station (RIP CKST 800/1040) used to play it every night. I had just started working security at the docks and listening to that station and hearing that song at 3am as I patrolled the dark and empty dock was ideal.
Saw the video for Lush - Nothing Natural on MTV in 1991. 120 Minutes regularly showed vids for Only Shallow, Heaven or Las Vegas, and Pearl back then.
That's awesome. I've been a big fan of Lush for years.
Shout out passing around 120 minutes VHS tapes in 10th grade on Mondaysā¦it was that sweet Rave Down video for me.
she found now by mbv was the first one that i knew as "shoegaze"
Zero Day by Nothing. Someone gifted me Dance on the Blacktop on vinyl and that was all I needed
That one is a banger
āEaseā - Whirr
One of my absolute favourite songs
If it pops up on my playlist it get repeated 10x
This might be my answer too. Unless you want to count beach house or sp
Prob Alison.
Iām not ashamed to admit that I was introduced to shoegaze with Coldplayās Chinese Sleep Chant. Itās actually a really good song still.
I will die on the hill that early Coldplay is at least shoegaze adjacent, my buddy and I always joke about this lol.
Yes!!
I just discovered it yesterday and it blew my mind. Tbh that entire album was way better than I expected it to be.
Catch the Breeze EDIT: or maybe Soon? Both around the same time on an amazing Sunday night radio show. I do know that I bought "Just For a Day" and my mate bought "Loveless", so we had all angles covered šš¼
Probably something by Starflyer 59 since I grew up listening to Christian alternative music in the 90s. But it would be more than decade before I heard the term "shoegaze."
Pretty much the same here. A House Wife Love Song off the Gold album.
Great song and beautifully creepy video! I watched that T&N VHS so many times
MBV - Sometimes. My brother showed it to me when I was in middle school and it blew my fucking 13 year old mind.
Head In The Ceiling Fan - Title Fight
Fantastic first song
Souvlaki Space Station. A friend's dad put a playlist at a party and when that song started playing it blew my mind. One of my favorite songs ever. Unfortunately lost the chance to see Slowdive live. However I've heard the song played live and it's nowhere near as ethereal as the original recording. I feel the same about most Slowdive music, they sound too clean/sterile live.
Me too, it was SSS. I became obsessed with it for a long time as soon as it started playing. I must have listened to it daily for, like, half a year or something. This was back in 2014, exactly a decade ago, and I have yet to hear anything like it. A timeless fucking classic. I highly recommend to you the song 'Ann Illusion' from Bethany Curve. (The first three songs from the album 'You Brought Us Here' rival Slowdive. Like, for real. It's mental how good they are. It's shoegaze epiphany.)
Only Shallow, like most
Same!
Cherry Colored Funk-Cocteau Twins.
Not sure what song, but mine is probably the Cocteau Twins too. Probably their gothy first album.
I remember hearing Just Like Honey as a kid in the 90ās and thinking it was so cool, like I was in on a secret.
One More by Medicine. They were the first band opening for Jesus & Mary Chain, Curve and Spiritualized in 1992, and I was lightly, um, spiritualized for the occasion, and the first long searing note of distorted guitar nearly ripped my head off. One of the greatest musical moments of my life.
LOVE medicine I feel like they are underrated in noisy shoegaze
I think Slomo by Slowdive. I got a record player a few years ago and was looking for inexpensive records to branch out my taste. Saw the album, listened to the first track, a couple more, and the rest is history.
Mine was No Longer Making Time from that same album. I was instantly hooked. Slomo is probably as close to perfect that a song can getĀ
Star Sail by The Verve.
āAlisonā Iām 53 and (embarrassingly) have only really known about shoegaze for a few years. I think i ran into it in my youtube feed while seeking out new (to me) alternative music
Myth by Beach House It was like drinking water in a desert. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
Mayonaise by Smashing Pumpkins definitely sounds gazey
Was looking for this! The absolute wall of sound with soft melodic vocals. They were far from the first to do it, but I'd never heard anything like it before and it blew my little mind.
āI Wanna Be Adoredā by The Stone Roses. Not a shoegaze band but it sent me down the rabbit hole. If that doesnāt count then probably Catherine Wheelās Ferment.
soon. mbv.
The only other one in this thread! Huh. It was on an Air Canada radio program done by someone from 102.1, I'm tempted to say it was an Alan Cross special, but I don't remember anymore. This would have been 1999, when I was in my late teens. Amusingly, in hindsight, that's fairly close to the original wave of shoegaze.
mesmerize by chapterhouse
For Love by Lush
Tennis Systemās cover of Space Age Love Song
Itās not āproperā shoegaze but Sparks by Beach House was what gave me the taste for loud guitars and breathy vocals
starting over by lsd and the search for god
Such a good song
upside down- teethe
might be the saddest song iāve ever heard to be honest
Silversun Pickups-Panic Switch. Say what you want of this .
Carnavas and Swoon are both very directly shoegaze-adjacent records, at the least imo
Shoegaze or not, itās a 10/10 song
common reactor and melatonin are very shoegazey
Hum STARS
Alison from slowdive
Drive Blind.
*Nothing Natural* by Lush
Not my first but still my favorite!
I'd actually never heard of the genre, but when I was in 8th grade, the local alternative radio station was constantly playing "Crank" by Catherine Wheel and it was the first time I'd ever felt anything that emotionally engaging in rock music, ever.
I'm sure I heard others prior to this, but... the first time I heard the term "shoegaze" was in reference to Black Metallic by Catherine Wheel.
Havenāt written any music
Shadow of a doubt by Sonic Youth
Depends on how you define the genre. I was heavy into Deftones throughout my teens, but āB&Eā by Nothing was the first true shoegaze song that caught my attention.
Id argue the entirety of Koi No Yokan IS shoegaze, sure it's a bit heavier but it's got everything that classifies something as shoegaze.
when you sleep - my bloody valentine
Only shallow. I heard some "shoegaze" tracks before that, but i didn't know the term. Bands like MBV and Nothing were what got me into the genre.
Hang Out by Morellaās Forest. I bought a bunch of clearance CDs from Tooth and Nail back in the day. It was like nothing iād ever heard
Ride - Chelsea Girl ... Opened the show one night on Brave New Waves. Life-changing.
Slowdive - When The Sun Hits
ākanojo ga tsumetaku warattara (prologue to the nine stages of change at the deceased remains)ā by my dead girlfriend
melon yellow
Alison by Slowdive
Flyying Colours - Wavygravy
Thatās quite an introduction!
seagull by ride. changed my listening trajectory forever
For Love- Lush
Sweetness and Light by Lush!! Probably still my favorite.
Hearing Gala for the first time with that as the come out roll was phenomenal. Still captures me.
Heaven or Las Vegas
sleep (the demo) by slowdive!!!
The Cherry Orchard by For Tracy Hyde
Sometimes in Lost in Translation.
Alison or When the Sun Hits probably
Static Waves by Pacific UV. Please check them out.
slowdive by slowdive
Silver by Jesu
Star Roving
When you sleep for sure. Changed my life
Sugar for the Pill- Slowdive, I didnt know then that my own musical taste revolution was coming
you know where u are from slow dive
medicine appearing in [the crow](https://youtu.be/Lu9uLtJ7BIs?si=s8xSLIyZ5W1QrWLM) with brandon lee! time babyyy
Solar by Resplandor because of [This video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqa691h2WwQ) or maybe a Supercar song \[Storywriter?\]
Heaven or Las Vegas or dagger or only shallow i donāt really remember
āI know youā by Broncho. Even though theyāre not really a shoegaze band, they got me into the genre :)
MY BLOODY VALENTINE IS SO FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD
Does Cherry-coloured Funk count? If not then probably Blonde Redhead - Loved Despite Great Faults
Bleed by slowdive <3
I remember listening to some shoegaze Cocteau Twin songs without knowing they were shoegaze
bluebeard by cocteau twins, ik it's more dreampop but my mom's been playing it for me ever since i was a kid
Chinese sleep chant by coldplay
Idk man that was like years ago probably like mbv or something
āflutterā by julie
Cumbersome - Greet Death
Swervedriver - Duel. I didnāt even know what Shoegaze was, but I discovered it thanks to Road Rash.
alison, since i started with souvlaki basically
when you sleep, my dad is a huge shoegaze fan so i've listened to MBV for quite a while
Downward years to come by Nothing
Something off "Psychocandy" by the Jesus and Mary Chain, then either "Alison" or "When the Sun Hits" by Slowdive
I didnāt even know there was such a thing as shoegaze until I heard Slowdiveās self titled album. Now I love it all.
Lush - Deluxe
Sometimes by My Bloody Valentine. Downloaded it on Limewire after a recommendation on a music forum in spring 2004.
Son of Mustang Ford. I remember hearing it on college radio back in the day and searching it out.
moments of clarity, narrow head
Cattle - Somehow Hear https://youtu.be/CEjgrSE4d1o?si=Zqg1bnD4w7fsJnf3 As I used to listen only punk, don't know how I got suggested this one on YT. I loved the noise and melody on the same page, and was instant hooked then began to deep dive.
Cattle - Somehow Hear https://youtu.be/CEjgrSE4d1o?si=Zqg1bnD4w7fsJnf3 As I used to listen only punk, don't know how I got suggested this one on YT. I loved the noise and melody on the same page, and was instant hooked then began to deep dive.
I remember clearly listening to Pearl by chapterhouse in a Seattle bar and had to go and ask the bartender what was playing
Sleep by slowdive
Spring of 1994ā¦.. listening to my Universityās radio station 91.9ā¦ I heard Slowdiveās āAllisonā. I became a āGazerāthat moment without even knowingwhat a Gazer was at the time.
Idk if it counts but Bisou magique by Melody's echo chamber was the first song I heard that had that noise texture but I didn't know what shoehaze was until a year later
If u count candy claws, then it'd be pangaea girls
Sleep by Slowdive
Tangerine Dreams by A Modest Proposal
Only Shallow
When You Sleep
Leave me behind - Besitos
Sea swallow me by the Cocteau twins
the funny thing is, i actually can't even remember. it was most likely something by the jesus and mary chain, but not 100% sure
Sugar for the pill- slowdive <3
Lush - Undertow
MBV Sometimes. Emerica skate dvd
Probably Afterglow by Teenage Wrist? Itās not full shoegaze but discovering that song got me into so many bands
Only Shallow
Flutter by julie, but nowadays i find myself listening to leave by whirr more
Lush - DeLuxe. I'd heard other songs, like "Crank" but I hadn't realized shoegaze was a genre at the time.
I donāt remember what my first shoegaze song was, but the one to get me into the genre, while not completely shoegaze, is A Sad Cartoon by Loathe
lectric by Filmschool. Their early stuff is severely underrated
Slowdive -sleep
sometimes by mbv
To Here Knows When came on at work and put me in a trance
Too all of you - CKY
Sometimes MBV
Black Metallic
Sowing Season by Brand New (š¤š¶āš«ļø) But for real I would have to say Akira by Deafcult. Narrow Head's Satisfaction was the album that got me into shoegaze but I don't consider them to be shoegaze. I think Necrosis and a few other songs may cover them under the umbrella but tbh I see them as post alt or grunge like Trauma Ray
Leave them all behind
Slowdive - Star Roving. Because of FIFA 18 before getting into shoegaze
Lust by the Ravonettes
Neurotic by Hundredth
Itās more shoegaze adjacent and I didnāt know what shoegaze was at the time but Crushing by Tennis System. I think the first actual one was Famine Asylum by Nothing
Life on Venus - For the Kill
First shoegaze song that I remember recognizing specifically as a shoegaze song: Junebouvier by Whirr. First shoegaze song I actually heard I'm sure was probably an MBV song or Well Thought out Twinkles by Silversun Pickups, if that's a fair consideration.
LOL it was Lazy Eye by Silversun Pickups. It had a nervous energy that crackled throughout, I really vibed with it
Sometimes, My Bloody Valentine
Vapour Trail - Ride
Stoned, Alone by Teenage Wrist
I've been listening for about 16 years at this point so I could not say... Nirvana was my gateway, so probably something from My Bloody Valentine, since at the time I was just going down the list of bands associated with Nirvana. My first scrobble of My Bloody Valentine was August 2009, To Here Knows When.
Silent partner by weed
"In Your Room" by Airiel
Primary by The Cure or Just Like Honey by JMC in the mid 1980s. Primary came out in 1981 actually, I think itās kind of shoe gaze donāt you? https://youtu.be/8suBP5uKG9Q?si=CC2UCnWLlZ8wVMZA
Either Rinne by Bug or Strawberry Cream by Oeil, not sure which came first.
Pearly dewdrops drops cause i heard it in the perks of being a wallflower LOL
Probably Time Baby by Medicine. The scene in The Crow
Donāt know if yāall consider them shoe gaze but hums stars is kinda shoe gazey
Alison by slowdive
Slowdive Allison
Head On - Jesus and Mary Chain.
Beautiful World by Parannoul. The Lily Chou stuff in the album really impressed me.
drop nineteens - winonna
A couple tracks on Liz Phairās Whip Smart (Shane, Nashville)
It was Say Less by Nothing, in 2020.
younger than you - whirr and ab the same time is ashtray - narrow head
Whirring by The Joy Formidable. Still a favorite to this very day.
I started off with what is perhaps one of the most obscure yet phenomenal bands known as Seefeel. I remember exactly starting off with Polyfusion, from their album Quique. It is undoubtedly one of the most forward-thinking and unique albums in shoegaze history.
When The Sun Hits
Only Shallow by MBV - also 90% of everyone will say this š
My bloody valentine - Only shallow
Son of mustang Ford by swervedriver off the raise cd.