shoegazing
/ˈʃuˌɡeɪ.zɪŋ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.20 in modern English
24
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A subgenre of alternative rock music popularised in early 1990s, characterised by a dreamlike sound making much use of effect pedals, and by a detached or introverted performance style.
British usage; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- ""[…]Anyway, correct me if I'm wrong here, Danny, but wasn't it you who told me that true shoegazing began and ended with Slowdive's 12-inch debut: the imaginatively titled, 'Slowdive'?” “You're taking me out of context here, dude. What I meant was that it was the epoch of the genre. The other bands still made a valid contribution, they just didn't define the moment.""
- "Johansson and Sitek started out in more faithful lo-fi style before filtering the songs through an indie-rock sensibility that's equal parts postpunk-gothic, 4AD dreampop, shoegazing drone, and TV on the Radio epicness."
- "Then in 2003, they released Still Electric only on their website; with this album, they'd taken on more of a shoegazing style of rock, similar to Chapterhouse or Catherine Wheel."
Etymology
From shoe + gazing, because of the tendency of such performers to look down rather than at the crowd and the heavy use of effect pedals.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈʃuˌɡeɪ.zɪŋ/
- British English: /ˈʃuːˌɡeɪ.zɪŋ/
Usage
- British usage
- Uncountable