Still In A Dream - A Story Of Shoegaze

In case you've missed it, there's another big release waiting for you to get your paws on...
Still In A Dream - A Story Of Shoegaze.

Shoegaze was a term invented circa 1990 to describe a new breed on UK Indie guitar bands inspired by the likes of 4AD Records, My Bloody Valentine and US acts like Sonic Youth. Bands like Ride, Moose, Lush, Pale Saints and The Telescopes married dreamy, off-kilter melodies, skewed, heavily effects-laden guitar riffs and psychedelic production values. Although shoegaze was initially a somewhat derogatory term to pigeonhole a clutch of new acts, the term quickly evolved to become an accepted genre of music which has influenced successive generations of bands, especially those outside of the UK. Housed in a lavish 'book' set, Still In A Dream pays tribute to that seminal period with numerous classics, cult favorites, rarities and tracks new to CD. Across five discs, the evolution of the sound labelled as shoegaze is charted from the bands who inspired it on Disc 1 to many of the US and other non-UK acts on Disc 5. Awash with rare memorabilia, 12,000 words of sleeve-notes from journalist Neil Taylor and band biographies, Still In A Dream is the ultimate tribute to what was also called The Scene That Celebrated Itself'!

TRACKS

Disc: 1
1. Roller Coaster - the Jesus and Mary Chain

2. Cherry-Coloured Funk - Cocteau Twins

3. Christine - House of Love

4. Baby Milk Snatcher - A.R. Kane

5. Mercy Seat (12" Version) - Ultra Vivid Scene

6. Hypnotized - Spacemen 3

7. Arc-Lite (Sonar) - Loop

8. Surfacer - 14 Iced Bears

9. Tugboat - Galaxie 500

10. Puppet Clouds - the Prayers

11. The 3rd Time We Opened the Capsule - Kitchens of Distinction

12. Girls Have Gone Missing - A.C. Marias

13. Precious Little - the Telescopes

14. Sight of You - Pale Saints

15. Ocean Run Dry - Jane from Occupied Europe

16. Angel - Sonic Boom





Disc: 2
1. Drive Blind - Ride

2. De-Luxe - Lush

3. Slip So Slow - See See Rider

4. Crystal Eyes - Nightblooms

5. Waiting for the Angels - the Darkside

6. I Don't Care If You Go - Velocity Girl

7. Inescapable - Cranes

8. Falling Down - Chapterhouse

9. Switchblade Smile - Whipping Boy

10. Kaleidoscope - the Boo Radleys

11. Rave Down - Swervedriver

12. Slowdive - Slowdive

13. Liar -The Charlottes

14. Sugarblast - Dr.- Dr. Phibes & the House of Wax Equations

15. Decadence - Bleach

16. She's My Friend (Wilde Club Version) - Catherine Wheel

17. Somersault Sunrise - Blow Up

18. All Different Things - Bark Psychosis





Disc: 3
1. Ten Little GRLS - Curve

2. Godlike - the Dylans

3. Gorgeous Blue Flower in My Garden - TH' Faith Healers

4. February Fourteenth - the Lilys

5. Good Afternoon -The Honey Smugglers

6. Chlorine Dream -Spirea X

7. Gravity - Moonshake

8. Translucent - Spitfire

9. Suzanne - Moose

10. Run - Spiritualized

11. Heaven Sent An Angel - Revolver

12. June Wilson - Lowlife

13. Square Wave - the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa

14. By Tomorrow - Black Tambourine

15. Explosion - Whipped Cream

16. My Deranged Heart - Smashing Orange

17. Gong - the Hinnies

18. Greek Love (Original 12") -Bang Bang Machine





Disc: 4
1. Closer - the Sunflowers

2. Mirrored - Drop

3. In Hollow (LP Version) - the Belltower

4. Phonefreak Honey - Sweet Jesus

5. Sunshine Smile - Adorable

6. I Don't Mind - Sun Dial

7. Sugar Your Mind - Swallow

8. Winona - Drop Nineteens

9. Talkin' 'Bout the Smiling Deathporn Immortality Blues - Flaming Lips

10. Aruca - Medicine

11. Charming Sister Kiss Me Dead - Coaltar of the Deepers

12. Starhappy - the Honey Buzzards

13. Babysbreath - Lovesliescrushing

14. No.1 Fan - Majesty Crush

15. The Car By the Side of the Road - the Swirlies

16. Chemical Tester - Submarine

17. Shine - Bailterspace

18. True Love Will Find You in the End - Spectrum

19. Spooky Vibes - Blind Mr. Jones





Disc: 5
1. Memory - An April March

2. Soaring High - Flying Saucer Attack

3. Alive - Drugstore

4. Loveblind - Secret Shine

5. Bronx Cheer - Mercury Rev

6. Chelsea - the Curtain Society

7. Plainsong - Seefeel

8. Surround Sound - Spindrift

9. Miss Leader - Rollerskate Skinny

10. Die Easy - Bardo Pond

11. Dozen - Alison's Halo

12. The Last Unicorn - Swirl

13. Next to Nothing - Bowery Electric

14. Me Voy - Bethany Curve

15. Orange Creamsicle - Astrobrite

16. 23 Minutes in Brussels - Luna

Lush :: Baby Machines Downloadable CD Sleeve

I've been sitting on this one for a while, another CD sleeve I made up for you to download. Its one-of-a-kind. A sleeve for a live recording I have, from the original line-up of Lush back in April 1988. The recording is believed to be taped from their second ever gig.

Ah, the miracle of Photoshop. I may have earned scornful rebukes, but before you purists start hurling your shattered beer bottles and bits of rock at me for this, hear me out first. There are no photos in existence, so far as I know, of Lush as a five-piece, pre-Meriel Barham's exodus from the position as the original lead vocalist for another band.

To fix that slight yet glaring detail I picked a fitting publicity photo taken soon after Lush (Miki, Emma, Steve, Chris) was signed with label 4AD, and combined in a pub-shot from the Pale Saints (specifically Meriel) from the approximate same time. Overall it isn't too much of an atrocity, is it?

To add a little more pseudo-authenticity, I also decided to use a historic name for the title: the Baby Machines came from the original idea that the mates started with for a band name, before a friend suggested that they go with 'Lush' instead.

And there you have it... my hopefully semi-accurate imaginary portrayal of Lush as they might have appeared together on a record sleeve when they were still a five-piece.

Lost Fansites Revisted

Many great sites paying hommage to Lush have been googled over the past decade-plus, a few have matured in to sites befitting the band, others have persisted only as time capsules forgotten by their creators, and most have just come and gone. Web providers revise services, get bought out, and ultimately all those homepages often get erased.

A select few of these sites were top-notch in their day, but like the band, they have ceased to be... or maybe we've just forgotten them?

Lush Images from Fanclub gig, Dublin Castle, Camden, December 1994

These are a few images which I grabbed back in 2005, I've long forgotten where they originated from until I chanced upon them again quite accidentally tonight! They're a wonderful showcase of live images of the band, up close and personal, very beautifully and professionally displayed, somewhat reminiscent of 4AD album art. Thankfully they're still up, hosted on Lysa's Lush page.

If you're out there - Thanks to Brian, the photographer/artist, and Lisa for keeping these and her site up all these years!

update: After corresponding with Bill of Lush Remembered I learned that the full set of the original scans used for the 'collages' where also posted on his site. He would greatly like to get in touch with the photographer.





The Lush Archives back in 2003 was an early repository of band photos, many seen no where else on the web. For the first time a fans were creating professional looking sites, this one for sharing a wealth of what was then considered high-quality scans instead of those tiny little gifs in circulation since the '90s.

Miki, Chris and Phil jamming furiously in Cologne, May 12 1992.

These live gig photos were featured on another site... but who's? Sorry, but I can longer say. I made these grabs back in 2003.

Drinks on her Boss pedals? hmmm, maybe that's why Miki's smiling!

Emma, Miki and Steve from various gigs

Yet another fan site with more great live shots, and another time capsule that's fading. Check out Sweetfoolthemouth site and SAVE those live gig photos -- before the last of the image links are gone forever.

update: The photographer is Jo Brooks, who was also heavily involved in photographing other bands, especially the Pale Saints. She's is still web-active with her blahg discussing such things as Life, and occasionally even Lush & Pale Saints.

Snippet from an old removed Sweetness & Light .mov file

Back before there was YouTube, we had the Superblast! site, the only place many of us had for viewing those glorious music videos. The site still remains online. But for how much longer though is up to the service provider to decide. Until the inevitable plug is pulled, its a reminder that not only have we persisted, but just how far the fan community has come along.




So, who created the pioneering sites? Neil's was certainly there, as well as Eyesore (now mantained at Quimby's), Downer, and of course Lysa's Lush site...

Back in 1997 when I first logged online with a primitive AOL 2.0, one of my daily destinations in addition to the above sites was the Lush message board, moderated by someone called Miki (no, not that Miki). It was all fun, all fan-run, if only visited by a handful. Today we have Purpleveinsscenicgreens on Yahoo groups, lovingly run by Jen, boasting a membership of over 400 now.

Things age and things change, but hopefully for the better with time.




If you were connected to any of the sites mentioned above, or know of any more details pertaining to them, please let me know!

Lush @ Windsor and ULU - May 24 & 25, 1990