Spotify is no doubt speed running this, but I also think music has always had this problem where history gets rewritten by the people who weren't there (and not particularly invested in learning from the people who were).
New Wave used to mean poppier, more sophisticated rock bands that shared punk's energy without actually being punk (i.e The Jam, Police), the light side to Post-Punk's dark. But by the 00s when I was a teenager and started exploring the music of the past, it became a catchall for 80s rock music so it included things like New Romantic, and Synthpop, and even Electronica So getting into New Wave, recommendations ended up being things like Human League and Duran Duran (and even New Order!) which I'm sure pissed off the people who were there, there just was no r/NewWave at the time to hear about it.
It feels like Shoegaze is going to be a catchall for a large chunk of 90s rock music the way New Wave was for 80s. It's just super weird that such a minor (in the grand scheme of things) subgenre has become the synecdoche.
> It's just super weird that such a minor (in the grand scheme of things) subgenre has become the synecdoche.
My theory is that all these other genres have their own baggage while shoegaze has largely shaken off its baggage (because it was a much leas popular genre), so there’s an attempt to revise these other genres as being related to it.
More like how a lot of people refer to all Alternative as grunge, even though that's just a handful of bands. Somehow that makes more sense considering grunge at least was a notable trend whereas shoegaze was microscopic.
Mind boggling how people think alt metal or grunge is shoegaze. Loud fuzzy riffs doesn’t = shoegaze.
Like how can you put MBVs “To Here Knows When” and Deftones “sextape” in the same genre.
Thats like saying Trance and Hardstyle are the same lol.
Exactly this is not to shit on these bands. I love failure, i love Deftones and hum. its just people need to learn the difference between the genres because those differences are what makes the music special in their own unique ways.
Shoegaze roots lay within post-punk and 60s psychedelia. gothic rock if you wanna push it. Stuff like Failure and Hum have more metal and hardcore roots. Shoegaze at its core is very psychedelic and surreal. People often seem to forget that when labeling these new bands that are only partially inspired by shoegaze.
Agree on all points. Hum and Failure make sense alongside Helmet, Quicksand, etc as an intellectual response to the grunge and heavy alternative on the radio.
They don't really fit when you compare them to MBV, Catherine Wheel, Slowdive, etc. Very different scenes and crowds.
Idk man, there can be great variety within a genre especially when it’s been around for decades. I used to be a huge metalcore fan and the same thing has kinda happened: Nowadays [stuff like this](https://open.spotify.com/track/6tRneEcItwpSxBtqgem5Dr?si=4uftROb-QIe2aT8XpzJ9IQ) is what’s popular and I wouldn’t say it’s very similar to what [I was listening to](https://open.spotify.com/track/0jCUZSnjn6hxp7zgX3h2rF?si=L4obwWnIRoCLXho5-0a3mg) outside of like a couple key elements.
Trends within a genre will change over time. Today in shoegaze there is obviously a lot of influence drawn from genres like grunge or nu-metal, today in metalcore there’s a lot of pop rock influence and programming.
Theres a difference between having variety and something being in a whole different genre. You have to draw the line at some point. For example Amusement Parks On Fire is a rather overlooked shoegaze band that could easily be passed as a emo/punk pop band for their time. But they know how to cross the line while still remaining faithful to each respective genre.
Whats happening now is you have a bunch grunge/post-hardcore fans labeling these new and old bands that are only vaguely influenced by shoegaze as “shoegaze”.
Its similar to the saying that Shoegaze is Dream pop but Dream pop isn’t Shoegaze. Its a super neck beard thing to rant about but its just something i don’t understand or really agree with lol.
> Whats happening now is you have a bunch grunge/post-hardcore fans labeling these new and old bands that are only vaguely influenced by shoegaze as “shoegaze”.
Someone in [another thread about this article](https://old.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/1dptsn6/how_shoegaze_and_numetal_became_entwined_a_brief/lajyh75/) made this point:
> Additional point: this where genres/subgenres/etc. are actually a good thing. Like I won't deny this stuff exists and is cool, but call it "post-shoegaze" or "atmospheric nu-metal" or something, I dunno.
At least part of it is the frustration with calling it just flat out shoegaze when it pretty much isn't. A lot of this could be headed off if a new term was accepted, but that often seems be met with a shit-flipping. Or it gets pointed out that genres evolve while conveniently overlooking that this usually involves bringing in new terminology...
Exactly how i feel, this new stuff coming out i simply call it post-hardcore or something along the line’s. It really boils down to just a large misunderstanding/ lack of care for the history behind the respective genres. Post-shoegaze does sound badass and fitting though considering how the scene has exploded in the last 5 years.
> Post-shoegaze does sound badass
my only gripe with this term is that the "post" part is basically describing a mash-up of two 25+ year old genres rather than something progressive.
Article is good, putting the “blame” on TikTok and Spotify is correct to a degree. But it misses a couple things that are imo important in understanding the phenomenon.
1) A general zoomer nostalgia for 90s/early 2000s aesthetics generally, but without any of the cultural signifiers that used to characterize the aesthetics they’re mimicking. For some examples: I know a skater zoomer who dresses like he listens to Korn, and is giving off those cultural signals through dress, however he loves artists like the Dead and Van Morrison. On the other hand I know a zoomer girl who dresses like an early 2000s mall goth, who is communicating through dress she’d like, I don’t know, Paramore, or more generously, The Cure. But actually really fucks with the Eagles. Cultural identity has completely atomized and separated itself from, something a group of people did to recognize each other, to how you represent yourself and the hodge podge of things you gleaned from the internet.
2) Eli in most of his articles following Nu gaze has focused a lot on new Shoegaze bands like Wisp or Glixen (fantastic live) in attempting to explain the scene. However, that’s missing the forest for the trees a bit. The Shoegaze revival among the Zoomers is primarily a nostalgia phenomenon, and it encompasses not just what Shoegaze purists consider the genre but almost all of 90s alt rock.
Random example: I saw many more Zoomers at slowdive than I did at Glixen, the latter who opened for Millennial stalwarts DIIV, and the majority of the bald men with glasses audience at the show were there for DIIV. My point being that there is not a large zoomer contingent supporting these nu-gazers, or coming together to form a scene. This largely tracks with streaming data, where something like 70-something percent of all streams these days are from the catalog (over 18 months old).
Outside of a few tracks, a few bands that go viral, Zoomers are not into new music as much as older generations. That’s why besides artists who get a smash hit from tiktok like Wisp, Really none of the Nu-Gazers have broken through to the extent that bands like slowdive have on Spotify.
3) Trying to psycho-analyze the Zoomer pathology of “why are they mixing nu metal and Shoegaze” is very easily explained when you realize the average age of a Zoomer right now is 20-22. A lot of them came of cultural consciousness inside, during the pandemic, and came to social identity’s outside of interaction with other people. Therefore the Algorithm was able to work its magic more effectively then it could in prior years when what drove streams wasn’t necessarily the algorithm but what you’re friends listened to.
Obviously I’ve thought a lot about this.
Appreciate these comments! Lot of good points made, though I'd push back on no. 2. The TAGABOW shows I've seen are packed with Zoomers (at least 80%), and I've witnessed a similar percentage for Glare, Full Body 2, and Feeble Little Horse shows I've attended. Can't speak to Wisp's crowds, and I've only seen Glixen at Slide Away, but I have seen tangible proof that these Zoomer-era bands are resonating with that audience.
I think Slowdive are a special case because the band were already incredibly established before they had their contemporary pop-off. Vinyl is available everywhere, tons of history to dig into with the band, and simply more music to consume. All that stuff makes it easier for an audience to form a deep connection with a band than someone like Wisp, who only has one EP to her name (and Glixen not much more). Anecdotally, the Airiel and Drop Nineteens shows I've seen lately have had more millennials/Gen-X'ers in the crowd than Zoomers. So maybe it depends on the region/scene, but I am basing some of my argument about these Zoomer bands based on IRL experiences I've had.
Interesting to consider the nostalgia aspect though, because you're right, that is a crucial component. Thanks for reading!
I didn’t mean to say that bands like TAGABOW or the like don’t have young people coming to their shows. I more meant that, in the same way 70% of music consumption is catalog. In a similar way I think that the vast majority of the Shoegaze revival is based in nostalgia acts, and that new acts aren’t getting as much support as you’d assume with a “Shoegaze revival”. TAGABOW, both times I’ve seen them have played the venues reserved for small indie acts that pass through my town. Full body, an opener at the smaller indie venue. At the end of the day these bands aren’t lighting the world on fire with streams. (Though I love them all)
You’re absolutely right that it’s not all 90s Shoegaze, I saw Ride recently and it was about as you said for Drop Nineteens. Majority Gen X/Millennials.
While I hold my position that genres are imaginary and really only useful in record stores and online arguments. Taking two genres which share nothing more than instruments and *some* effects is a wild oversimplification (which the article alludes to).
Nu-metal *in general* has nothing to do with shoegaze and vice versa. This is no more serious an article than someone in the early 90’s making an argument that gothic rock is overlapping with shoegaze because The Cure and Lycia have overt shoegaze elements. But the rest of the genre really doesn’t. This kind of article, *especially* with a title like this, helps no one.
I don’t get the Deftones shoegaze influence comparison, to me there is very little in common aside from altered tuning. Deftones are great hard rock band who gets put into a weird box because of their unique style. Deftones are far more nu metal than shoe gaze. I just have yet to hear the comparisons maybe aside from their prettier music in their catalogue Digital Bath
i don’t really get why this article is so focused on nu-metal when, as the author admitted, the main linking band being deftones, were barely ever nu-metal. if anything it should be “how shoegaze and alt rock became…” and focusing on bands like hum and smashing pumpkins moreso as that’s where this popular “heavy” sound came from as far a band like nothing goes. hell, why aren’t catherine wheel or swervedriver, the actual og heavy shoegaze bands in this conversation? i just don’t really see the connection to nu-metal at all even with how diluted the genre has got. the fact that kids are tagging tik tok vids with #shoegaze and #numetal isn’t really enough to warrant this article.
as far as how much people are trying to make this seem like an issue and stressing how diluted and mainstream the genre has gone, i’ve already started to see all the bands that “blew up” and had their monthly listener count shoot up start to slowly go back down. i think it’s pretty clearly just a fad at the moment that’s gonna end up dying back down in a couple years.
also find it funny how matter-of-factly the author states beach house is *not* shoegaze as if they aren’t one of the only true dreampop bands. slowdives last two records have been more dreampop than anything else are they not shoegaze now too? it was a good read anyway, i just think the author is pretty off-base here.
I hear a lot of hard rock being coined as shoegaze… people didn’t even like the term shoegaze until it became popularized and was used as a slang derogatory term for players of the genre. Much like how we heard grunge being thrown around, and everything was alternative in the 90’s.
I feel the blanket statement of alt rock is more appropriate in all of its misplaced ambiguity. Call it what you want, I call it art.
I've always sort of felt like the modern push of shoegaze was VERY removed from the shoegaze of yore. And it does deserve some sort of dinstinction seperated from things like MBV, Slowdive, Deftones etc. However, in a lot of ways this new push is still in its infancy. We also live in a time where the younger generations who are producing and consuming a lot of this music are OBSESSED with classification. And this is by design.
Older gen z and younger millenials used to sort find odd playlists here and there on youtube and pandora and other sort of archaic music streaming platforms, usually created by any joeshmo that called any song any genre, often just making something up. (Looking at you electro-indie/pop playlists of the 2010's).
Nowadays with the prolific rise of things like spotify and apple music, genre is not only pushed by an algorithm which is essential to having features on an app that curate custom playlists for users, but its also created a whole generation of music enjoyers obsessed with nailing down their exact genre wheelhouse and aesthetic.
For that reason a lot of people are uncomfortable with the new emergance of genres and sub genres because they're really isn't any sort of definitive classification for it yet. So its a lot easier for a brain that craves classification and everything to be in neat little subscribable packages to just call it all "shoegaze" for now.
There's been many attempts already as to define this new wave of noisy and dreamy music, i've heard emogaze, nu-gaze, even zoomergaze being thrown around by various people, usually one being adopted and perpetuated by bands. (Doesn't help that every single media outlet or interested party in your music is constantly asking you to define your music).
My friends recently have taken to sort of just calling it gaze or "gaze-adjacent" which isn't necessarily an attempt to name a genre, but right now it just seems like the most accurate way to describe this vein of music, atleast more accurate then just labeling it all as shoegaze.
Spotify is no doubt speed running this, but I also think music has always had this problem where history gets rewritten by the people who weren't there (and not particularly invested in learning from the people who were). New Wave used to mean poppier, more sophisticated rock bands that shared punk's energy without actually being punk (i.e The Jam, Police), the light side to Post-Punk's dark. But by the 00s when I was a teenager and started exploring the music of the past, it became a catchall for 80s rock music so it included things like New Romantic, and Synthpop, and even Electronica So getting into New Wave, recommendations ended up being things like Human League and Duran Duran (and even New Order!) which I'm sure pissed off the people who were there, there just was no r/NewWave at the time to hear about it. It feels like Shoegaze is going to be a catchall for a large chunk of 90s rock music the way New Wave was for 80s. It's just super weird that such a minor (in the grand scheme of things) subgenre has become the synecdoche.
It appears we've spotted a synecdoche user in the wild
> It's just super weird that such a minor (in the grand scheme of things) subgenre has become the synecdoche. My theory is that all these other genres have their own baggage while shoegaze has largely shaken off its baggage (because it was a much leas popular genre), so there’s an attempt to revise these other genres as being related to it.
Shoegaze being the catch all for a large chunk of the 90s is kind of like how in the 90s ‘alternative’ was the catch all for rock/rock bands.
More like how a lot of people refer to all Alternative as grunge, even though that's just a handful of bands. Somehow that makes more sense considering grunge at least was a notable trend whereas shoegaze was microscopic.
Mind boggling how people think alt metal or grunge is shoegaze. Loud fuzzy riffs doesn’t = shoegaze. Like how can you put MBVs “To Here Knows When” and Deftones “sextape” in the same genre. Thats like saying Trance and Hardstyle are the same lol.
preach brother
Or Hum's The Pod or Step Into You
Exactly this is not to shit on these bands. I love failure, i love Deftones and hum. its just people need to learn the difference between the genres because those differences are what makes the music special in their own unique ways. Shoegaze roots lay within post-punk and 60s psychedelia. gothic rock if you wanna push it. Stuff like Failure and Hum have more metal and hardcore roots. Shoegaze at its core is very psychedelic and surreal. People often seem to forget that when labeling these new bands that are only partially inspired by shoegaze.
Agree on all points. Hum and Failure make sense alongside Helmet, Quicksand, etc as an intellectual response to the grunge and heavy alternative on the radio. They don't really fit when you compare them to MBV, Catherine Wheel, Slowdive, etc. Very different scenes and crowds.
Idk man, there can be great variety within a genre especially when it’s been around for decades. I used to be a huge metalcore fan and the same thing has kinda happened: Nowadays [stuff like this](https://open.spotify.com/track/6tRneEcItwpSxBtqgem5Dr?si=4uftROb-QIe2aT8XpzJ9IQ) is what’s popular and I wouldn’t say it’s very similar to what [I was listening to](https://open.spotify.com/track/0jCUZSnjn6hxp7zgX3h2rF?si=L4obwWnIRoCLXho5-0a3mg) outside of like a couple key elements. Trends within a genre will change over time. Today in shoegaze there is obviously a lot of influence drawn from genres like grunge or nu-metal, today in metalcore there’s a lot of pop rock influence and programming.
Theres a difference between having variety and something being in a whole different genre. You have to draw the line at some point. For example Amusement Parks On Fire is a rather overlooked shoegaze band that could easily be passed as a emo/punk pop band for their time. But they know how to cross the line while still remaining faithful to each respective genre. Whats happening now is you have a bunch grunge/post-hardcore fans labeling these new and old bands that are only vaguely influenced by shoegaze as “shoegaze”. Its similar to the saying that Shoegaze is Dream pop but Dream pop isn’t Shoegaze. Its a super neck beard thing to rant about but its just something i don’t understand or really agree with lol.
> Whats happening now is you have a bunch grunge/post-hardcore fans labeling these new and old bands that are only vaguely influenced by shoegaze as “shoegaze”. Someone in [another thread about this article](https://old.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/1dptsn6/how_shoegaze_and_numetal_became_entwined_a_brief/lajyh75/) made this point: > Additional point: this where genres/subgenres/etc. are actually a good thing. Like I won't deny this stuff exists and is cool, but call it "post-shoegaze" or "atmospheric nu-metal" or something, I dunno. At least part of it is the frustration with calling it just flat out shoegaze when it pretty much isn't. A lot of this could be headed off if a new term was accepted, but that often seems be met with a shit-flipping. Or it gets pointed out that genres evolve while conveniently overlooking that this usually involves bringing in new terminology...
Exactly how i feel, this new stuff coming out i simply call it post-hardcore or something along the line’s. It really boils down to just a large misunderstanding/ lack of care for the history behind the respective genres. Post-shoegaze does sound badass and fitting though considering how the scene has exploded in the last 5 years.
> Post-shoegaze does sound badass my only gripe with this term is that the "post" part is basically describing a mash-up of two 25+ year old genres rather than something progressive.
more like how Shoegaze because a catch all term for nu metal, hard rock, post rock, grunge, etc
Article is good, putting the “blame” on TikTok and Spotify is correct to a degree. But it misses a couple things that are imo important in understanding the phenomenon. 1) A general zoomer nostalgia for 90s/early 2000s aesthetics generally, but without any of the cultural signifiers that used to characterize the aesthetics they’re mimicking. For some examples: I know a skater zoomer who dresses like he listens to Korn, and is giving off those cultural signals through dress, however he loves artists like the Dead and Van Morrison. On the other hand I know a zoomer girl who dresses like an early 2000s mall goth, who is communicating through dress she’d like, I don’t know, Paramore, or more generously, The Cure. But actually really fucks with the Eagles. Cultural identity has completely atomized and separated itself from, something a group of people did to recognize each other, to how you represent yourself and the hodge podge of things you gleaned from the internet. 2) Eli in most of his articles following Nu gaze has focused a lot on new Shoegaze bands like Wisp or Glixen (fantastic live) in attempting to explain the scene. However, that’s missing the forest for the trees a bit. The Shoegaze revival among the Zoomers is primarily a nostalgia phenomenon, and it encompasses not just what Shoegaze purists consider the genre but almost all of 90s alt rock. Random example: I saw many more Zoomers at slowdive than I did at Glixen, the latter who opened for Millennial stalwarts DIIV, and the majority of the bald men with glasses audience at the show were there for DIIV. My point being that there is not a large zoomer contingent supporting these nu-gazers, or coming together to form a scene. This largely tracks with streaming data, where something like 70-something percent of all streams these days are from the catalog (over 18 months old). Outside of a few tracks, a few bands that go viral, Zoomers are not into new music as much as older generations. That’s why besides artists who get a smash hit from tiktok like Wisp, Really none of the Nu-Gazers have broken through to the extent that bands like slowdive have on Spotify. 3) Trying to psycho-analyze the Zoomer pathology of “why are they mixing nu metal and Shoegaze” is very easily explained when you realize the average age of a Zoomer right now is 20-22. A lot of them came of cultural consciousness inside, during the pandemic, and came to social identity’s outside of interaction with other people. Therefore the Algorithm was able to work its magic more effectively then it could in prior years when what drove streams wasn’t necessarily the algorithm but what you’re friends listened to. Obviously I’ve thought a lot about this.
Appreciate these comments! Lot of good points made, though I'd push back on no. 2. The TAGABOW shows I've seen are packed with Zoomers (at least 80%), and I've witnessed a similar percentage for Glare, Full Body 2, and Feeble Little Horse shows I've attended. Can't speak to Wisp's crowds, and I've only seen Glixen at Slide Away, but I have seen tangible proof that these Zoomer-era bands are resonating with that audience. I think Slowdive are a special case because the band were already incredibly established before they had their contemporary pop-off. Vinyl is available everywhere, tons of history to dig into with the band, and simply more music to consume. All that stuff makes it easier for an audience to form a deep connection with a band than someone like Wisp, who only has one EP to her name (and Glixen not much more). Anecdotally, the Airiel and Drop Nineteens shows I've seen lately have had more millennials/Gen-X'ers in the crowd than Zoomers. So maybe it depends on the region/scene, but I am basing some of my argument about these Zoomer bands based on IRL experiences I've had. Interesting to consider the nostalgia aspect though, because you're right, that is a crucial component. Thanks for reading!
I didn’t mean to say that bands like TAGABOW or the like don’t have young people coming to their shows. I more meant that, in the same way 70% of music consumption is catalog. In a similar way I think that the vast majority of the Shoegaze revival is based in nostalgia acts, and that new acts aren’t getting as much support as you’d assume with a “Shoegaze revival”. TAGABOW, both times I’ve seen them have played the venues reserved for small indie acts that pass through my town. Full body, an opener at the smaller indie venue. At the end of the day these bands aren’t lighting the world on fire with streams. (Though I love them all) You’re absolutely right that it’s not all 90s Shoegaze, I saw Ride recently and it was about as you said for Drop Nineteens. Majority Gen X/Millennials.
While I hold my position that genres are imaginary and really only useful in record stores and online arguments. Taking two genres which share nothing more than instruments and *some* effects is a wild oversimplification (which the article alludes to). Nu-metal *in general* has nothing to do with shoegaze and vice versa. This is no more serious an article than someone in the early 90’s making an argument that gothic rock is overlapping with shoegaze because The Cure and Lycia have overt shoegaze elements. But the rest of the genre really doesn’t. This kind of article, *especially* with a title like this, helps no one.
whenever I play a noisy song for my friend, he semi-facetiously asks if it’s shoegaze lmfao
I don’t get the Deftones shoegaze influence comparison, to me there is very little in common aside from altered tuning. Deftones are great hard rock band who gets put into a weird box because of their unique style. Deftones are far more nu metal than shoe gaze. I just have yet to hear the comparisons maybe aside from their prettier music in their catalogue Digital Bath
i don’t really get why this article is so focused on nu-metal when, as the author admitted, the main linking band being deftones, were barely ever nu-metal. if anything it should be “how shoegaze and alt rock became…” and focusing on bands like hum and smashing pumpkins moreso as that’s where this popular “heavy” sound came from as far a band like nothing goes. hell, why aren’t catherine wheel or swervedriver, the actual og heavy shoegaze bands in this conversation? i just don’t really see the connection to nu-metal at all even with how diluted the genre has got. the fact that kids are tagging tik tok vids with #shoegaze and #numetal isn’t really enough to warrant this article. as far as how much people are trying to make this seem like an issue and stressing how diluted and mainstream the genre has gone, i’ve already started to see all the bands that “blew up” and had their monthly listener count shoot up start to slowly go back down. i think it’s pretty clearly just a fad at the moment that’s gonna end up dying back down in a couple years. also find it funny how matter-of-factly the author states beach house is *not* shoegaze as if they aren’t one of the only true dreampop bands. slowdives last two records have been more dreampop than anything else are they not shoegaze now too? it was a good read anyway, i just think the author is pretty off-base here.
Deftones were definitely nu metal.
Wouldn’t the proper answer to this question just be Deftones?
If only there was an article someone could click to check.
That's what I'm saying, no need for a long article when one word would suffice.
Sure, if you're an anti-intellectual.
This isn't exactly Dostoevsky.
Oh, cool, you googled "famous authors".
Hilariously lame comeback
[удалено]
i just wouldn’t have
Fuckin TikTok bands
Eli Enis best music journalist. You can tell it comes from a true love of music. It's so refreshing.
Nu metal is an embarrassment to the human race
As someone who listens to more nu metal than is probably appropriate for anyone over the age of 20 I couldn't agree more
Someone actually downvoted this.
Fred Durst is a SAINT!
I hear a lot of hard rock being coined as shoegaze… people didn’t even like the term shoegaze until it became popularized and was used as a slang derogatory term for players of the genre. Much like how we heard grunge being thrown around, and everything was alternative in the 90’s. I feel the blanket statement of alt rock is more appropriate in all of its misplaced ambiguity. Call it what you want, I call it art.
I love watching people dissect the various genres when in reality it was just a record label marking tool for selling a product :D
I've always sort of felt like the modern push of shoegaze was VERY removed from the shoegaze of yore. And it does deserve some sort of dinstinction seperated from things like MBV, Slowdive, Deftones etc. However, in a lot of ways this new push is still in its infancy. We also live in a time where the younger generations who are producing and consuming a lot of this music are OBSESSED with classification. And this is by design. Older gen z and younger millenials used to sort find odd playlists here and there on youtube and pandora and other sort of archaic music streaming platforms, usually created by any joeshmo that called any song any genre, often just making something up. (Looking at you electro-indie/pop playlists of the 2010's). Nowadays with the prolific rise of things like spotify and apple music, genre is not only pushed by an algorithm which is essential to having features on an app that curate custom playlists for users, but its also created a whole generation of music enjoyers obsessed with nailing down their exact genre wheelhouse and aesthetic. For that reason a lot of people are uncomfortable with the new emergance of genres and sub genres because they're really isn't any sort of definitive classification for it yet. So its a lot easier for a brain that craves classification and everything to be in neat little subscribable packages to just call it all "shoegaze" for now. There's been many attempts already as to define this new wave of noisy and dreamy music, i've heard emogaze, nu-gaze, even zoomergaze being thrown around by various people, usually one being adopted and perpetuated by bands. (Doesn't help that every single media outlet or interested party in your music is constantly asking you to define your music). My friends recently have taken to sort of just calling it gaze or "gaze-adjacent" which isn't necessarily an attempt to name a genre, but right now it just seems like the most accurate way to describe this vein of music, atleast more accurate then just labeling it all as shoegaze.