自赏Shoegazing

自赏（Shoegaze）是指80年代末90年代初的英伦独立音乐的一个流派，之所以叫做自赏是源于这些乐队的一动不动的舞台表演风格，当这些乐队在舞台上表演时只盯着舞台地板就好比一直盯着自己的鞋子，Shoegazing 即自此而得名。因而有人就把这一类乐队称为“自赏派”。

当“自赏派”音乐开始为听众所接受并传播之时，“自赏派”进而特指那些声响吵闹并且冗长而沉闷；乐器充满阵阵的失真和密集的回授效果；歌声和旋律被吉他音响声墙所淹没并无法分辨各种乐器之间音色的音乐。这类风格的代表性乐队有：My Bloody Valentine(血色情书)，Slowdive（慢潜），Medicine(药)，The Jesus and Mary Chain(耶稣玛丽链)，Ride(驾驭)，Lush(繁茂)，The chapterhouse(分会场),等。

“自赏派”在英国流行乐历史上具有重要地位，“自赏派”那迷人的旋律与巨大的吉他声墙，以及他们我行我素的个性，吸引着无数忠贞的乐迷的喜爱与怀念，尤其是那些不为时尚所惑的角落里的听歌者。

但是千万不要以为自赏就仅仅是从视觉角度进行的定义，它之所以代表一种音乐类型是特指这种音乐的纯粹声响。这种音乐往往带给你的是不可抗拒的喧吵并伴随着长时间低沉单调的吉他回复、扭曲失真的声波和一系列吉他回馈的层叠，人声和旋律消弥于吉他声墙中，营造出一种你完全分辨不出各种乐器音色的音乐冲击。

大部分的自赏乐队的音乐都以My Blood Valentine 乐队音乐为模板，My Blood Valetine 曾以早期的EP 和第一张专辑《Isn’t Anything》确立了Shoegazing 的基本音乐模式，其他诸如Dinosaur Jr., the Jesus & Mary Chain, 和Cocteau Twins 这些乐队也对此种音乐有主要影响。

后来跟进的乐队，像大家熟知的Ride、Lush、ChapterHouse 和the Boo Radleys 都在固有的音乐模式下加入了自己的特色，如Ride 就加入了60 年代迷幻乐元素，而Lush 则结合了介于流行乐和Cocteau Twins 似的梦幻流行乐（Dream Pop）之间的音乐元素。 没有一支自赏乐队是做动态表演的，而且对媒体采访也不感兴趣，正因这些阻止了这些英国乐队进入重要的美国市场。

在这些乐队占据英国音乐媒体和排行榜达3 年之久后的1992 年，经过美国的Grunge 和英国由Suede 乐队始作俑者的Britpop 这两次浪潮，自赏乐队不再被公众给予关注，有些乐队（如ChapterHouse、Ride）几年内便宣告解散，而另外一些乐队（如the Boo Radleys 和Lush）则与时俱进得以延续至今。

Shoegazing (also known as shoegaze) is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted there until the mid 1990s, with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991. The British music press—particularly NME and Melody Maker—named this style shoegazing because the musicians in these bands stood relatively still during live performances in a detached, introspective, non-confrontational state, hence the idea that they were gazing at their shoes. The heavy use of effects pedals also contributed to the image of performers looking down at their feet during concerts.

The shoegazing sound is typified by significant use of guitar effects, and indistinguishable vocal melodies that blend into the creative noise of the guitars. A general description given to shoegazing and other affiliated bands in London in the early 1990s was The Scene That Celebrates Itself. In the early 1990s, shoegazing groups were pushed aside by the American grunge movement and early Britpop acts such as Suede, forcing the relatively unknown bands to break up or reinvent their style altogether. Recent times have seen a renewed interest in the genre among "nu-gaze" bands.

Shoegazing (or shoegaze, originally interchangeable with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock that emerged in the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. Its sound is characterised by an ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volume. The term "shoegazing" was coined by the British music press to ridicule the stage presence of a wave of neo-psychedelic groups who stood still during live performances in a detached, introspective, non-confrontational state with their heads down. This was because the heavy use of effects pedals meant the performers were often looking down at the readouts on their effects pedals during concerts

Most shoegaze bands drew from the stylistic template set by My Bloody Valentine on their early EPs and 1988 debut Isn't Anything. A loose label given to the shoegazing scene and other affiliated bands in London in the early 1990s was The Scene That Celebrates Itself. In the early 1990s, shoegazing groups were pushed aside by the American grunge movement and early Britpop acts such as Suede, forcing the relatively unknown bands to break up or reinvent their style altogether.

In the 2000s, there was renewed interest in the genre among "nu gaze" bands. Shoegaze combines ethereal, swirling vocals with layers of distorted, bent, flanged guitars,[4] creating a wash of sound where no instrument is distinguishable from another. Most bands drew from the music of My Bloody Valentine as a template for the genre,although co-founder Kevin Shields stated that the band's choice of pedals never included chorus, flanger or delay effects.