Beautiful Noise is a well done documentary on a very specific type of music. I call it dream pop, some call it shoe gaze. All the bands documented are excellent, but I would have liked to hear about all the fans who came to their shows! There are no interviews from every day non famous fans. Also the bands do not talk about touring which to me is an important part of being in a band. There was so much going on in the early 90s cultural landscape, but there isn't too much mentioned about that. My favorite band Curve only gets a minute of mention. There was no mention about how different their music was and how bands like Garbage were influenced by Toni Halliday and Dean Garcia's music skills. I liked this film and watched it three times to get an idea of what more I would have liked to see.
12 Reviews
IMPORTANT FILM - don't listen to the anal reviews
rettercritical25 July 2016
I was actually skeptical about this film when I saw the trailer and crowdfunding campaign. I had the usual worry of what they would cover in the film and what they would leave out. Some of the talking heads in the trailer were not really of this scene (a bunch of Americans!), so I was ready to yawn and roll eyes. But luckily they were people inspired by UK noise, that although more well-known than the shoegazers themselves, were there as supporting cast rather than the leads. Its quite surreal having massive pop-stars like Robert Smith talking about this much smaller music from a listener's point of view.
So its a vague scene for starters. I mean, where do we say "noise" started? Well, I think its OK to draw the line somewhere and just say it was Britain in 1980. Of course we know about the Velvet Underground and earlier - but this really is about "shoegaze" music (in the late 80s - early 90s), which openly revived the kinds of texture The Velvets and others explored in industrial music, but sometimes with new technology.
So the lead players are really The Cocteau Twins, Jesus And Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. Three hugely influential pillars of popular rock music that didn't really sell a lot of music. What this film does best is just let the musicians, engineers and studio heads speak for themselves. And what you get is not every piece of the sprawling puzzle (snobs wake-up, its impossible to explain everything about a decade of fuzzy music in one film) but a great overview of how the musicians felt about what they were doing and who influenced them. This is supported by bigger known American artists who sight these groups as influential to them.
The film doesn't have the structure and production value of something like a slick authorised Rolling Stones documentary - but thank goodness it doesn't. This was obviously a labor of love and the filmmakers obviously cared about the subject or all the significant artists wouldn't have contributed to it. A Rolling Stones (or any other big group) documentary is an authorised product these days, which means they get to cut out anything embarrassing and basically create a piece of advertising/propaganda to keep the legacy (business) going. Watch a John Lennon documentary and Yoko as the head of the Lennon estate will make sure you never know about John's previous wife.
This is definitely worth seeking out and surprisingly good.
So its a vague scene for starters. I mean, where do we say "noise" started? Well, I think its OK to draw the line somewhere and just say it was Britain in 1980. Of course we know about the Velvet Underground and earlier - but this really is about "shoegaze" music (in the late 80s - early 90s), which openly revived the kinds of texture The Velvets and others explored in industrial music, but sometimes with new technology.
So the lead players are really The Cocteau Twins, Jesus And Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. Three hugely influential pillars of popular rock music that didn't really sell a lot of music. What this film does best is just let the musicians, engineers and studio heads speak for themselves. And what you get is not every piece of the sprawling puzzle (snobs wake-up, its impossible to explain everything about a decade of fuzzy music in one film) but a great overview of how the musicians felt about what they were doing and who influenced them. This is supported by bigger known American artists who sight these groups as influential to them.
The film doesn't have the structure and production value of something like a slick authorised Rolling Stones documentary - but thank goodness it doesn't. This was obviously a labor of love and the filmmakers obviously cared about the subject or all the significant artists wouldn't have contributed to it. A Rolling Stones (or any other big group) documentary is an authorised product these days, which means they get to cut out anything embarrassing and basically create a piece of advertising/propaganda to keep the legacy (business) going. Watch a John Lennon documentary and Yoko as the head of the Lennon estate will make sure you never know about John's previous wife.
This is definitely worth seeking out and surprisingly good.
Stare at Them Shoes
Screen_O_Genic3 July 2020
Moody, dreamy, noisy, loud, gentle, feminine, insular, withdrawn, antisocial; Shoegaze was an anomaly in the glitzy and colorful Rock scene of the late 1980s - early 1990s when it emerged as a maligned and misunderstood oddball who nevertheless was impossible to ignore. With its nerdy outcast-looking band members who stood on stage and stared at their shoes (hence the name) while creating and conjuring whirlpools of ear-numbing noise the scene certainly wasn't primed for the big time but it's unique appeal left a lasting legacy that endures to this day. "Beautiful Noise" covers that crucial period in Rock history when the tide turned and the changing of the guard ushered a new and far superior phase in Rock with Shoegaze right in the middle of it. The genre's luminaries like Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine and Ride are given their proper space while stars like Robert Smith, Trent Reznor and Bily Corgan share their memories and views on the music's profound impact on them. Historic footage of the band's are shown highlighting the blistering and deafening power of the music. The film could have been better if the roots of the genre were shown (basically the bands are Velvet Underground offshoots) and the presentation of the bands less chapter-like. Nevertheless it's good to see a well-done doc on the fascinating and influential genre. May there be more to come.
Worthwhile watch for those who appreciate this music genre/movement
brendonm19 February 2015
I finally got around to watching my DVD of the "Beautiful Noise" documentary directed by Eric Green - and while much of it was what I expected, it was still great to hear the artists behind the music I've loved for so long discuss their influences, the scene they got lumped into and how their bands folded up shop, so to speak, as well as the current resurgence and interest in this type of music.
I question how useful or entertaining this doc will be for the uninitiated to this style of music. For the rest of us, it's a great walk down memory lane, and with interviews from rock luminaries like Billy Corgan and Trent Reznor, a validation of what we've known all along.
But my favorite part was the interviews of Kevin Shields and Alan McGee inter-cutting between each other as they talked about the recording process of MBV's "loveless" (they are basically ripping each other a new hole about the whole experience by recounting how, basically, they thought the other person was disrupting their lives, and in McGee's POV business). This just goes to show that history is determined by those who write it (or talk about it in this case).
Personally, the most important outcome of watching this documentary was that it made me pull out all of my shoegaze/dreampop CDs to rip them into FLAC format so I could revisit it all during a long trip I have coming up.
If you get a chance to see "Beautiful Noise", by all means do: the artists are interviewed in intimate settings where one gets the sense they were able to relax and really reflect upon the music they've made and their larger cultural impact. It was definitely worth the wait for this doc.
I question how useful or entertaining this doc will be for the uninitiated to this style of music. For the rest of us, it's a great walk down memory lane, and with interviews from rock luminaries like Billy Corgan and Trent Reznor, a validation of what we've known all along.
But my favorite part was the interviews of Kevin Shields and Alan McGee inter-cutting between each other as they talked about the recording process of MBV's "loveless" (they are basically ripping each other a new hole about the whole experience by recounting how, basically, they thought the other person was disrupting their lives, and in McGee's POV business). This just goes to show that history is determined by those who write it (or talk about it in this case).
Personally, the most important outcome of watching this documentary was that it made me pull out all of my shoegaze/dreampop CDs to rip them into FLAC format so I could revisit it all during a long trip I have coming up.
If you get a chance to see "Beautiful Noise", by all means do: the artists are interviewed in intimate settings where one gets the sense they were able to relax and really reflect upon the music they've made and their larger cultural impact. It was definitely worth the wait for this doc.
OK film for those new to the genre, but leaves a lot to be desired for long-time fans.
timo-reimann7 December 2014
After months of anticipation, BN is finally available for download! As a long-time fan of the early dream pop, and having read all the great comments on Facebook, I had pretty high expectations for this film. Unfortunately, the film is bit of a let-down from my perspective. I had hoped for an in-depth look into the music and history. (I.e. cultural landscape, influences, studio techniques etc.), but instead, the film is comprised mostly of light interviews and a bit of old footage.
Considering this thing was 10 years in the making, the filmmaker seems to have done very little research, or made any attempt to build a connection with the artists. I appreciate the ambitions here to cover a big spectrum of the music, but spending 2-5 minutes on each band definitely left me wanting more. He would have been better off focusing on one or two artists, like last year's "Made of Stone", which I enjoyed very much. The other issue I have with this film is the shallow interviewing. It seems that everyone who appears in the film was asked the same questions: When did you first hear about the band, and why do you like them? I would have learnt more if the artists were asked about their favourite food and colour :)
This film is worth a viewing for anyone new to the genre, but any hard-core fan like myself will already be well familiar with the band chronology, and the music's dreamy, ethereal quality :/
Considering this thing was 10 years in the making, the filmmaker seems to have done very little research, or made any attempt to build a connection with the artists. I appreciate the ambitions here to cover a big spectrum of the music, but spending 2-5 minutes on each band definitely left me wanting more. He would have been better off focusing on one or two artists, like last year's "Made of Stone", which I enjoyed very much. The other issue I have with this film is the shallow interviewing. It seems that everyone who appears in the film was asked the same questions: When did you first hear about the band, and why do you like them? I would have learnt more if the artists were asked about their favourite food and colour :)
This film is worth a viewing for anyone new to the genre, but any hard-core fan like myself will already be well familiar with the band chronology, and the music's dreamy, ethereal quality :/
Works For Me. But...
ash_whiting22 January 2017
Not a bad effort. However, it would have greatly benefited from featuring a lot more of the bands who were influenced by the original wave. It suffered slightly from only really talking about the main players in this "scene" - Not that it ever really was one, outside of the music press.
Would have been nice in the last half hour, rather than it kind of petering out, to feature the new wave. People who have been influenced by it. More than just a name on a screen and a couple of photos.
Having said this, it's lovely to see some interviews with Guthrie, Kevin Shields, etc and to get their take on the goings on back then.
Not really sure about the addition of Billy Corgan and Trent Reznor though. Never really considered their music either influenced by, or relevant to, these bands.
Maybe they needed them. Just in case the American Market didn't understand the point of the doc... Seemed pointless to me. The sort of people who will watch this doc are the sort of people who don't need Billy Corgan spoon feeding them what they already know. It just came across as mildly patronising to be honest.
In fact, you could argue that the American Bands of the time kind of ruined it all in the eyes of the music press. Smashing Pumpkins, kind of being one of the bands that caused the press backlash in the first place.
Kind of ironic. That.
Oh. And lovely to see that old git Alan McGee churning out his "Loveless is overrated" tirade yet again.
No mate. You are just bitter that they didn't want a drug addict ruining their buzz in the studio. And it cost you a few quid.
Still. Less than you ever spent on drugs. And nowhere near the amount you pretended it cost to perpetrate your sad, mad, self-mythologising. So there's that.
God if I have to hear that wizened old man saying that again, I'll kill myself.
He didn't support these bands. He let them flounder, and as Kevin Shields rightly said, "He was just a drug addict who didn't understand what we were trying to do"
Yup.
Still. I waited a long time for this to surface. I paid me money and was happy to see some of the more obscure bands mentioned (Flying Saucer Attack, Pale Saints) amongst the others.
So all in all, if you like these bands. This won't tell you anything you don't already know. It'll preach to the converted. But I give it a 7 because this doc shone a light on an otherwise overlooked scene that meant a lot to me when I was a kid.
And you can shout "F**k off McGee, you utter, utter twit" at the telly whenever he comes on.
Also. Bobby Gillespie.
Nah. Never took that wee chancer seriously, either.
Some good live footage I'd not seen before too. So hooray for that.
Would have been nice in the last half hour, rather than it kind of petering out, to feature the new wave. People who have been influenced by it. More than just a name on a screen and a couple of photos.
Having said this, it's lovely to see some interviews with Guthrie, Kevin Shields, etc and to get their take on the goings on back then.
Not really sure about the addition of Billy Corgan and Trent Reznor though. Never really considered their music either influenced by, or relevant to, these bands.
Maybe they needed them. Just in case the American Market didn't understand the point of the doc... Seemed pointless to me. The sort of people who will watch this doc are the sort of people who don't need Billy Corgan spoon feeding them what they already know. It just came across as mildly patronising to be honest.
In fact, you could argue that the American Bands of the time kind of ruined it all in the eyes of the music press. Smashing Pumpkins, kind of being one of the bands that caused the press backlash in the first place.
Kind of ironic. That.
Oh. And lovely to see that old git Alan McGee churning out his "Loveless is overrated" tirade yet again.
No mate. You are just bitter that they didn't want a drug addict ruining their buzz in the studio. And it cost you a few quid.
Still. Less than you ever spent on drugs. And nowhere near the amount you pretended it cost to perpetrate your sad, mad, self-mythologising. So there's that.
God if I have to hear that wizened old man saying that again, I'll kill myself.
He didn't support these bands. He let them flounder, and as Kevin Shields rightly said, "He was just a drug addict who didn't understand what we were trying to do"
Yup.
Still. I waited a long time for this to surface. I paid me money and was happy to see some of the more obscure bands mentioned (Flying Saucer Attack, Pale Saints) amongst the others.
So all in all, if you like these bands. This won't tell you anything you don't already know. It'll preach to the converted. But I give it a 7 because this doc shone a light on an otherwise overlooked scene that meant a lot to me when I was a kid.
And you can shout "F**k off McGee, you utter, utter twit" at the telly whenever he comes on.
Also. Bobby Gillespie.
Nah. Never took that wee chancer seriously, either.
Some good live footage I'd not seen before too. So hooray for that.
Beautiful Film
jp-11-44076117 September 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Beautiful Noise is an amazingly intelligent, thorough, and detailed film that chronicles the formation of a style of music that many refer to as Shoegaze. The term Shoegaze was originally coined by a talentless hack of a "journalist", and was meant to disparage the lack of showmanship employed by these bands who preferred to let the music speak for itself, instead of prancing around on stage.
The film does an excellent job of introducing us to the bands responsible for the birth of the genre, like the Jesus and Marychain, My Bloody Valentine, and the Cocteau Twins. They didn't set out to start a movement, they simply wanted to play THEIR music, but their unique style ended up having an influence on many other musicians.
What they started, developed into a more cohesive movement in the late 80s and early 90s, with British bands like Ride, Catherine Wheel, Slowdive, and Chapterhouse using heavily effected guitar sounds and an overall mood that was influenced by the bands mentioned earlier.
Beautiful Noise follows the chronology of the movement to weave an entertaining story and includes many rare interviews with members of the most important bands of the genre. There is also some excellent input from a few legendary musicians from outside the movement, like Robert Smith, Trent Reznor, and Billy Corgan, all of whom are fans, and most likely influenced these bands in some form, as well.
Beautiful Noise never actually mentions the name "Shoegaze", and most of these bands would probably never consider calling themselves "Shoegaze". For me the term is merely a convenient way of grouping a bunch of bands that have obvious similarities. I like taking back the power of the word.
If you're a fan of the genre or any of the bands in the film, Beautiful Noise is a must. If you are interested in music on any level, then Beautiful Noise is a must. It would be an wonderful introduction to this music if you have always been interested but never really listened to any of the bands. The film does such a fantastic job of capturing the essence and spirit of the movement and detailing the motivation and driving force behind the artists.
I was lucky enough to see Beautiful Noise at a festival in Hollywood, and it's a shame more people haven't had a chance to see it yet. I can't wait for it to come out on Blu-Ray so I can watch it again and again.
The film does an excellent job of introducing us to the bands responsible for the birth of the genre, like the Jesus and Marychain, My Bloody Valentine, and the Cocteau Twins. They didn't set out to start a movement, they simply wanted to play THEIR music, but their unique style ended up having an influence on many other musicians.
What they started, developed into a more cohesive movement in the late 80s and early 90s, with British bands like Ride, Catherine Wheel, Slowdive, and Chapterhouse using heavily effected guitar sounds and an overall mood that was influenced by the bands mentioned earlier.
Beautiful Noise follows the chronology of the movement to weave an entertaining story and includes many rare interviews with members of the most important bands of the genre. There is also some excellent input from a few legendary musicians from outside the movement, like Robert Smith, Trent Reznor, and Billy Corgan, all of whom are fans, and most likely influenced these bands in some form, as well.
Beautiful Noise never actually mentions the name "Shoegaze", and most of these bands would probably never consider calling themselves "Shoegaze". For me the term is merely a convenient way of grouping a bunch of bands that have obvious similarities. I like taking back the power of the word.
If you're a fan of the genre or any of the bands in the film, Beautiful Noise is a must. If you are interested in music on any level, then Beautiful Noise is a must. It would be an wonderful introduction to this music if you have always been interested but never really listened to any of the bands. The film does such a fantastic job of capturing the essence and spirit of the movement and detailing the motivation and driving force behind the artists.
I was lucky enough to see Beautiful Noise at a festival in Hollywood, and it's a shame more people haven't had a chance to see it yet. I can't wait for it to come out on Blu-Ray so I can watch it again and again.
"Noise" Annoys
myownventricle8 January 2015
I was ridiculously excited for this documentary, which features some of my all-time favorite bands. I bought the blu-ray (as I didn't know how else to see it) and turned it on feeling giddy as a fervert young chappy. And very soon it became disappointingly clear that this was not the documentary I'd been waiting for.
If you are familiar with these bands you will learn nothing new and most of the interviews are cheek-slappingly banal. And even if they weren't, the cinematography is distractingly subpar: bad lighting, often out of focus, low definition. Why in the heavens is there a blu-ray edition if nothing was shot on HD!? Crappy SD footage will not look better on a blu-ray, but it sure costs more to the excited fans/suckers!
I essentially felt that I would have derived a richer experience surfing YouTube watching old interviews and live performances of the bands, as I'm sure I could find higher quality and more interesting clips that weren't either far too brief or featured for way too long.
And for a documentary about the shoegaze movement, the word "shoegaze" is never uttered, just "this period" and "these bands." I essentially felt more informed than the filmmakers.
I feel that the shoegaze movement was one of the most fascinating periods of music history and deeply deserves a fresh, beautiful, illuminating documentary. Sadly, this is not it.
If you are familiar with these bands you will learn nothing new and most of the interviews are cheek-slappingly banal. And even if they weren't, the cinematography is distractingly subpar: bad lighting, often out of focus, low definition. Why in the heavens is there a blu-ray edition if nothing was shot on HD!? Crappy SD footage will not look better on a blu-ray, but it sure costs more to the excited fans/suckers!
I essentially felt that I would have derived a richer experience surfing YouTube watching old interviews and live performances of the bands, as I'm sure I could find higher quality and more interesting clips that weren't either far too brief or featured for way too long.
And for a documentary about the shoegaze movement, the word "shoegaze" is never uttered, just "this period" and "these bands." I essentially felt more informed than the filmmakers.
I feel that the shoegaze movement was one of the most fascinating periods of music history and deeply deserves a fresh, beautiful, illuminating documentary. Sadly, this is not it.
Uhhh
courtostone10 September 2018
I love the scene and genre the documentary is exploring, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. It's a shame... Though if you are interested in scene it does have some from key member from the scene in interviews. Also, the time spend with bands and members are uneven, even if they are massive in the genre and scene.
Beautiful Noise? Trust me, that's an oxymoron.
StarWarsDisco26 January 2020
I had always heard of many of these bands all through my listening career of the 80's' and early 90's, but never really had a chance to have a proper listen to any of them, or, perhaps I did, but was unmoved. When I first heard Lush's De-luxe, I knew instantly that I liked this band and their sound. And that was my introduction to the "shoegazing" movement. I delightfully explored their whole back catalog.
So, over the years I tried numerous times to get into some of the other shoegazing bands covered in this documentary. And no matter how I tried, I always came up with the same conclusion; 'there is a reason none of these bands ever made it big, they all suck'.
Incorporating noise, feedback, distorted guitars etc. into rock n roll was nothing new in the 1980's, as this documentary would have you believe. The Beatles first famously used feedback from George Harrison's guitar amp at the beginning of I Feel Fine. Later The Velvet Underground fully incorporated noise into their sound and did it masterfully. In the 80's, the band that was experimenting with noise but also retaining a keen sense of musicality and songcraft was Sonic Youth, who, no surprise, have had much more success and longevity than either Cocteau Twins or My Bloody Valentine.
This documentary has a kind of amateurish, half-assed feel to it, kind of like the Beautiful Noise scene it's portraying. So my predisposition to the whole movement was pretty much reinforced while watching it. Unfortunately Lush gets only a brief bit of covarage for their contributions. At least they used one of their very beautiful compositions "For Love" over the beginning of the Girls and Guys segment.
In conclusion, unless you're a real die hard fan of this scene or any of the bands covered, there is very little reason to watch this show. Even if you are a fan, they cover so many acts in such a short amount of time, you can't possibly sink your teeth into any of them to get a good handle on their music or their message. Do yourself a favour and buy a Lush album instead.
So, over the years I tried numerous times to get into some of the other shoegazing bands covered in this documentary. And no matter how I tried, I always came up with the same conclusion; 'there is a reason none of these bands ever made it big, they all suck'.
Incorporating noise, feedback, distorted guitars etc. into rock n roll was nothing new in the 1980's, as this documentary would have you believe. The Beatles first famously used feedback from George Harrison's guitar amp at the beginning of I Feel Fine. Later The Velvet Underground fully incorporated noise into their sound and did it masterfully. In the 80's, the band that was experimenting with noise but also retaining a keen sense of musicality and songcraft was Sonic Youth, who, no surprise, have had much more success and longevity than either Cocteau Twins or My Bloody Valentine.
This documentary has a kind of amateurish, half-assed feel to it, kind of like the Beautiful Noise scene it's portraying. So my predisposition to the whole movement was pretty much reinforced while watching it. Unfortunately Lush gets only a brief bit of covarage for their contributions. At least they used one of their very beautiful compositions "For Love" over the beginning of the Girls and Guys segment.
In conclusion, unless you're a real die hard fan of this scene or any of the bands covered, there is very little reason to watch this show. Even if you are a fan, they cover so many acts in such a short amount of time, you can't possibly sink your teeth into any of them to get a good handle on their music or their message. Do yourself a favour and buy a Lush album instead.
So poorly done, hard to know where to start.
aperer19 June 2022
First off, the promotional poster rips off Brian Eno's comment that only 5,000 people bought the first Velvet Underground's first record, but they all started bands. The poster for this movie says "They didn't sell a lot of records, but everyone who heard them started a band". Heard who? The three bands at the top of the list actually sold quite a few records. My Bloody Valentine's Isn't Anything sold 60,000 copies in a few years after its release going Silver in the UK. Pretty good for being on a an indie label like Creation Records. Cocteau Twins and JAMC both got picked up by majors because they were selling decent amounts or records. This was obviously director's Eric Green's first movie and he forgot to do research or have a premise. Yeah, you want to research a topic if you make a movie about that topic. If you actually do the research, the whole Shoegaze "genre" which isn't even arguably a genre as there's nothing that these band have in common, all started as a result of MBV's Isn't Anything in 1988. No one ever mentioned any larger trend surrounding the releases of the Cocteau Twins or JAMC before 1988. He just rewrote history to include a million bands. The shoegaze thing happened when these bands tried to copy MBV starting around 1990 but they did it using guesswork and modulating pedals (echo, reverb, chorus, phasing, flanging, etc) that MBV avoided. (MBV used reverse reverb combined with the unique tremolo system on the Jazzmaster as their starting point, but no one even tried to copy that as a jumping off point. If he'd done any research, he would have understood that.) But the movie doesn't tell any story; its literally a collection of random interviews with no form. Its just a mess. The bands in the British Invasion were all British or from the UK; I've no idea what this random collection of bands has in common. People have been using pedals for years to make nebulous sounds. Except for MBV, for the most part, none of these bands did anything that the Beatles hadn't done already, and done better. I like most of these bands, mind you. I just don't see what the premise of the movie is. Its all so random. Watch it and see if you can figure out the premise or story it's telling. I haven't a clue. But he edited a lot of random interviews together so I guess that's something requiring skill (if you're a monkey.) Completely wasted opportunity. Ane he crowdfunded this nonesense. Glad I didn't know about it or give money.
Fun for those already familiar with shoegazing, but not an ideal introduction for the masses unfamiliar with this musical scene
crculver25 May 2015
BEAUTIFUL NOISE is a documentary about shoegazing, the 1980s/early 1990s genre of pop music that emphasized guitar flange and vocals buried in the mix. Though Eric Green began work on the documentary in 2005, it was only released in 2014 after crowdfunding could help secure rights to the huge amount of music used in it.
The documentary mainly consists of presentations of the most prominent bands in this scene: Cocteau Twins, Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive, Chapterhouse, Pale Saints, Lush, and Medicine. The first three get the most time dedicated to them, while the rest are covered more briefly. Their stories are told through a mix of archive footage and recent interviews of the band members. To show the wider impact of these musicians, there are also interviews with Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, Robert Smith of The Cure, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Adam Franklin of Swervedriver, Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, 4AD label head Ivo Watts-Russell, Ulrich Schrauss, Rob Dickinson of Catherine Wheel, and Creation label head Alan McGee.
The documentary then moves on to short bits on various aspects of the scene in general: experimentation, the predominance of female vocals, the image of shoegazers are shy, uncertain performers, their rocky reception in the press, "the scene that celebrates itself", and finally the collapse of the shoegazing scene due to changing economics or bands' internal squabbles. The document ends with a mention of the "resurgence" of the shoegazing aesthetic in new post-millennium bands like M83 or A Place to Bury Strangers and the reunion of some of the classic bands.
The downside of this format is that while it provides a great deal of exclusive live footage and interviews to thrill fans of this music, it offers no straightforward narration that would inform viewers unfamiliar with this movement in musical history. Also, to fit into a 85-minute format, material naturally had to be cut, but it is disappointing how the perennially overlooked band AR Kane is so prominently mentioned at the start of the documentary, but we get only two brief shots of band member Alex Ayuli.
The documentary mainly consists of presentations of the most prominent bands in this scene: Cocteau Twins, Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive, Chapterhouse, Pale Saints, Lush, and Medicine. The first three get the most time dedicated to them, while the rest are covered more briefly. Their stories are told through a mix of archive footage and recent interviews of the band members. To show the wider impact of these musicians, there are also interviews with Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, Robert Smith of The Cure, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Adam Franklin of Swervedriver, Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, 4AD label head Ivo Watts-Russell, Ulrich Schrauss, Rob Dickinson of Catherine Wheel, and Creation label head Alan McGee.
The documentary then moves on to short bits on various aspects of the scene in general: experimentation, the predominance of female vocals, the image of shoegazers are shy, uncertain performers, their rocky reception in the press, "the scene that celebrates itself", and finally the collapse of the shoegazing scene due to changing economics or bands' internal squabbles. The document ends with a mention of the "resurgence" of the shoegazing aesthetic in new post-millennium bands like M83 or A Place to Bury Strangers and the reunion of some of the classic bands.
The downside of this format is that while it provides a great deal of exclusive live footage and interviews to thrill fans of this music, it offers no straightforward narration that would inform viewers unfamiliar with this movement in musical history. Also, to fit into a 85-minute format, material naturally had to be cut, but it is disappointing how the perennially overlooked band AR Kane is so prominently mentioned at the start of the documentary, but we get only two brief shots of band member Alex Ayuli.
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