Shoegaze, slackers, ‘noise chasms’ and the 10-year reinvention of rock

Shoegaze, slackers, ‘noise chasms’ and the 10-year reinvention of rock

Author: Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold May 19, 2026 Duration: 44:38

A whole new age of psychedelia kicked off in the mid-‘80s, of dream-weavers and glorious underachievers, a complete rejection of the standard rock approach to stagecraft, sound and self-promotion. Simon Reynolds was at the heart of it, writing for Melody Maker and piping aboard the pioneering noise-mongers aiming to entrance and disorientate, as recalled in his new book ‘Still In A Dream: Shoegaze, Slackers and the Reinvention of Rock 1984-1994’. He looks back with us here from his home in Los Angeles at its key bands, events and spiritual godfathers, these among them …

 

… the return to childhood via Syd Barrett and Jonathan Richman to Sarah Records 

 

… is ‘feeble little horse’ the most Shoegaze band name ever? 

 

... what it was about Morrissey that made Smiths singles sink after Top Of The Pops 

 

… the reason Bowie formed a band 

 

… charming/infuriating interviews with the Cocteau Twins: “words only have any meaning when they’re sung”

 

… how Britpop brought down the curtain of the wall of sound  

 

… Shoegaze, Dreampop, Lovelynoise, Wide-Brimmed Hat Music and the rock press attempt to impose order: “if a band was on the cover they could double their fee” 

 

... the divine arrogance of Lawrence of Felt who “didn’t want ordinary people buying my records”

 

… the ever-extending “noise chasms” of My Bloody Valentine

 

…  “shattering quartz”: reviewing music that’s about sound not words 

 

… Shoegaze DNA in the 21st Century

 

... and the greatest album of that decade, “each track like a session beer”.

 

Order copies of ‘Still In a Dream’ here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/still-in-a-dream/simon-reynolds/9781399618373


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There’s a particular kind of conversation about music that happens between friends who’ve spent a lifetime immersed in it-not as distant critics, but as participants in the culture. That’s the atmosphere you’ll find in Word In Your Ear, a podcast from Mark Ellen, David Hepworth, and Alex Gold. With a collective eighty years of writing and broadcasting for titles like Smash Hits and Mojo, and shows from "The Old Grey Whistle Test" to VH-1, they don’t just recount history; they unpack the stories behind it with the ease of a shared laugh. This podcast grew naturally from their work on the late, great magazine The Word, where they began recording over thirteen years ago, building a dedicated following who found something genuinely special in the mix. Each episode weaves together music, commentary, history, and interviews, moving seamlessly from deep-dive analysis of a seminal album to a frank chat with a surprising guest, all delivered with the warmth and wit of a late-night chat. It feels less like a formal show and more like you’ve been invited to pull up a chair in a room where the anecdotes are plentiful and the expertise is worn lightly. The result is a consistently engaging listen that treats music not as a museum piece but as a living, breathing part of our lives.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Word In Your Ear
Podcast Episodes
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