The sun never sets on the British empire, not even in music. When performing these artists were constantly using their distortion pedals, and thus spent entire shows switching pedals, staring at their feet. Shoegaze is identified by its mystifying vocals, fuzzy guitar distortion and evanescent feedback. Just like the Impressionists got their name when Louis Leroy called their art simply, “impressions,” the term “shoegaze,” elucidates the genres features. Most classifications of art and music come from these sorts of judgments. The name shoegaze came from a criticism, which is not a surprise. This genre would go on to influence American music and ultimately many others. This genre of music originated in the UK in the late 1980s. How have other cultures influenced our culture? How have we influenced other cultures?Įnter my favorite genre, shoegaze. This transnational shift in the field emphasizes the study of US culture on an international scale. I came to learn that in fact, the international is highly relevant to the creation of the American identity.