Been listening through this comp¹, but also using it as a jumping off point to explore more by some of these artists and also just an excuse or occasion to listen a lot of other 80s and 90s rock I loved or always wanted to listen to but didn’t have access back at the time.

A listening project, but casual, wide ranging, inclusive, and maybe with no end until I get distracted by something else. Just allowing myself to listen to what I want, and right now what I want is a lot of late 80s and early 90s noisy rock. So far I’ve also listened to a bunch of My Bloody Valentine, A.R. Kane, finally tried some Cocteau Twins, The Stone Roses (don’t start; I know they are not ‘shoegaze’ at all but they are mentioned in these liner notes as a key group of the period which made me want to listen to them again and I have also always wanted to explore Manchester music more and so I am doing that as well with this project, therefore finally listened to The Verve’s first album A Storm in Heaven which I’ve wanted to hear since I was probably 15 years old or something like that - it would have been one of my favorites if I had back then), &c. Also had this unrealistic idea at some point to listen to “everything” released by 4AD because many of my favorite 21st century artists are associated with the label and I understood it to have a storied history, so this comp and project is scratching that itch as well. A lot more things queued up to check out that I will hopefully log on this site as I get to them.

And of course it was also going to lead me to listening to Smashing Pumpkins a whole bunch, but that’s for other posts…maybe Sonic Youth, maybe my more recent 4AD favorites in this vein Deerhunter and TV on the Radio…

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Past Log Updates

DATE : 2024-12-16 (Backdated)

I also posted this in my reading log as ‘currently reading’

Reading Log: Still in a Dream - A Story of Shoegaze 1988-1995

This is more listening than reading, but it is formatted as an actual book with probably 40+ pages of liner notes and essays to go along with 5 compilation discs to listen to. Since I did sit down and read it like a book, I’m listing it as reading as well. I’m not marking it as completed yet because I haven’t finished listening to all of the songs, nor my various side quest deep dives into individual albums and artists associated with this compilation and era.

I happened upon this in the Salt Lake City Public Library catalog while I was searching for something else, and I’m so glad I did get the physical copy. Having all the essays and band biographies there at hand was so helpful, and I think this is much more thorough than some random “Shoegaze and Dream Pop” playlist one could get from the streaming platforms. Also, though this comp is offered on the streaming platforms, the physical version is much more generous, with more than double the tracks of the streaming version, including many from the most notable artists. No My Bloody Valentine though. (It’s okay, I already have their stuff.)

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Resources

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1. Please note that the edition of this compilation on streaming services only has 36 tracks, versus the 87 tracks on the physical 5-CD set, and many of the most notable tracks are missing. Here’s the official catalog record of the physical copy I borrowed, because I love a good MARC record - Still in a dream : 1988 ..1995 a story of shoegaze / ride, pale saints,chapterhouse, cocteau twins, spiritualized, swervedriver, spacemen 3, slowdive, lush, and more. | Catalog - The City Library ↩︎