  Popular Music  Great Albums You May Have Missed: School of the
Seven Bells - Alpinisms   With the seemingly endless expansion
of musical terms and genres in the postmodern world, I have
acquired some favorites, not least of which is a genre called
"Shoegaze" music.  As may be obvious from the name, the music
involves heavy use of effects, produces a dreamlike yet
philosophical state, uses washed-out yet catchy melodies,
whispery or otherwise idiosyncratic reverberated vocals, and
often electronic drums and synths; and though bands often wander
into experimental territory, they generally don't stray too far
from your tried and true indie rock/pop rock song structures.
"Shoegaze" was coined as a term in the early '90s to describe
bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Ride, and Lush; but has been
applied retro-actively to bands like The Cure, The Smiths,
Bauhaus, and even Sonic Youth. As music and terminology evolves
so quickly these days,  new bands that still fit into this genre
may now be referred to as "nu-g