Following is the interview with Allen, a musician who plays drums in a Taiwanese band called Feu! He is also a friend of mine. We both share the interest of shoegaze music. I thought by conducting an interview with someone who loves shoegaze music for a long time would help to gain more insights of a shoegazer. So, here it is.
Tom: Do you like shoegaze music, what do you like about it?
Allen: I love it!!! Noise. I love it because it's noisy!
T: How long have you been listening to shoegaze?
A: Not sure, 4 or 5 years I guess.
T: Are you also interested in other genres?
A: Indie pop, noise pop, electro pop. I love pop music.
T: Cool! Do you think there's anything common between pop music and shoegaze?
A: I would say noise pop, insteard of shoegaze. To me, noise pop is like pop music plus noise; sweet vocal and noisy guitar.
T: Do you play in any band?
A: Feu! Noise pop, indie pop stuffs.
T: Back to shoegaze music, what exactly you like about noise? How do you feel about listening to noisy guitar?
A: I think no one has a specific answer of why they like those noises, I can only say it's just a feeling that your ears being filled up. I think those guitar sounds are something about attitude, the attitude created by those guitarists.
T: The noisy guitar sound was created in a way that goes against the "normal" popular music?
A: Yes, I think so.
T: Umm... are there many people you know who listens to shoegaze?
A: Not many, compare to those who listen post-rock. shoegaze is like indiepop, you can always find in somewhere that a small group of people listen to it.
T: For you, personally how did you come across with shoegaze music? Did anyone introduce you?
A: No one really told me what to listen. But it's like when you tired of listening to Britney Spears, you listen to punk, then britpop, then post rock, then indie pop, and then shoegaze. I didn't listen to Britney Spears though. I used to love KC & Jojo.
T: Haha, yeah they're good R&B singers. So... as a shoegazer, what do you think it's neccessary to be a shoegazer? What's important? clothes? beliefs? or simply music?
A: Well, first of all, you must to have a pair of strong ears. I think so, clothes, or beliefs are completely irrelevant to shoegaze!
T: Okay... tell me your top 5 shoegaze bands? Not necessary five, just name the ones you really like.
A: Haha love this question. But I've never thought about it though. You know it's pretty easy to think about top 1, everyone loves MBV (My Bloody Valentine).
(After a while) MBV, Jesus and Mary Chain, Yo La Tengo, Galaxie 500; actually only the first two are real shoegazers.
T: Yeah...
A: I think the so-called shoegazing bands we're listening to nowadays are the MBV or JAMC cover bands. When you listen to them, trust me, you're only trying to look for something close to MBV.
T: Yeah...umm... there are more what you call "so-called" shoegazing bands coming up lately. Do you think shoegaze is getting trendy?
A: I think so. You can see so many bands are doing this stuff, doing some electric shoegaze stuffs, or add more popular sounds into the "shoegaze".
T: Do you think it's a bad thing for shoegaze?
A: I would not say it's bad, but you can see the so-called shoegaze music is actually limited. I mean no matter how many bands are playing shoegaze music today, they can not get rid of the barrier MBV stood.
T: Do you think it will it turn out to be like punk or hip-hop? Become mainstream?
A: I don't think shoegaze would be like hip-pop or punk. Like i said, not everyone has that kind of strong ears. And not everyone can stand those high volumes.
T: So... do you think people who listen to shoegaze normally would have appreciation for other types of music? like you do for indie pop, noise pop...?
A: No! I think those who's listening to shoegaze music have narrower taste than normal people. Once you accept this kind of music, you can never go back. When you're listening to some indiepop stuffs, you would wonder why don't they put some noise elements in?
T: That's a very good point. Myself, I listen to all sorts of music, apart from shoegaze, I also listen to folk, eletronic, indie-pop, indie-rock. I thought most shoegazers are like that. Unlike metal or emo fans, who would only listen to the hardcore stuffs.
A: To some extent, I agree with you. Listening to music is always relating to your mood.
T: Wow, I already asked so many questions. What are you currently listening to?
A: Currently my ears are kind of broken, can't stand listen to anything. I'm getting tired.
T: Really? How come? Too much noise?
A: No, too much music.
T: Yeah... I know how you feel. With the Internet, there are just so many new bands and so much music that's becoming unbearable for me as well. Most of them are not bad, but certainly not that good. I'm getting sick of it, but still I listen to some of them. With the internet, you just realise that new bands are coming out crazily like baby boomers. Don't you think? Do you use Myspace, Facebook or Twitter to discover new bands?
A: Yeah, I think so. It's weird. Even though I'm tired of it, I still buy CDs from the record store. Yes, Myspace.
T: Cool. Thank you so much for your time!
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"Well, first of all, you must to have a pair of strong ears." Hahahaha! So true.
ReplyDeleteI think Allen really mentions the key point. 'Not everyone has that kind of strong ears. And not everyone can stand those high volumes.' Maybe shoegaze music is solely made for people like you who are in need of this kind of strong and intense...and noisy feeling from the inside.
I think it's a well-designed interview. Key Q&A are included and the ambiance you created is lively and easy. Such an enjoyable post to read!