Over/underrated: a music podcast with Fran and Babs

Author: Barbara Mendes-Jorge and Fran James

Do you believe the hype? Fran and Babs talk about bands and artists potentially given undue credit & musicians who should be more famous, by curating five or ten-track playlists to argue their case
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Language: en

Genres: Music, Music Commentary

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S10E2 - Special Episode: What is shoegaze? Interviewing Simon Reynolds, music journalist and author
Episode 2
Thursday, 23 July, 2026

If you've ever wondered what the origins of shoegaze are - and how it is used as a classification - then this episode is for you! We're joined for an interesting discussion by someone who was there as the scene was unfolding in the UK: author and music journalist Simon Reynolds.Simon began his career at Melody Maker in the mid-1980s and has contributed to publications such as Spin, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Pitchfork and others. He has also written a range of music books, his latest one being Still In A Dream: Shoegaze, Slackers And The Reinvention Of Rock, 1984–1994.In this episode, we discuss how Simon sees the arguably slippery label of shoegaze, what it was like to be an "inkie" music journalist in the pre-internet age and whether the role of the music critic has changed in recent years.We also asked Simon to provide five underrated shoegaze songs for discussion - listen to find out which one he describes as feeling "like standing in a wind tunnel and being buffeted by blossom petals" 🌸Simon is on Instagram and writes a range of blogs, including the most recent Blissblog. We recommend checking out his back catalogue, especially the book which now serves as a prequel to Still in a Dream, Rip it Up and Start Again: Post-punk 1978-1984.You can ⁠⁠⁠find ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the ⁠⁠⁠playlist for this episode on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠- it includes the five songs discussed during the recording, plus bonus songs from other artists we've discussed during the episode.Download, review, subscribe and get in touch - especially if you have any suggestions for future themes or musicians to discuss. Follow us on social media: it's⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@overunderratedmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@oumusicpod.bsky.social⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on Bluesky. You can also email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠overunderratedmusicpod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Thanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mark Abbott⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our logo.