Still in a dream: shoegaze, slackers and the reinvention of rock, 1984-1994
Published: White Rabbit
Release date: 18th June 2026
Still in a dream primarily spans the period at the start of renowned music critic Simon Reynolds’ career, writing reviews, feature interviews and front cover stories for the weekly ‘inkie’ music paper Melody Maker on all the glorious bands that defined the era and the man, 1984-1994, according to Reynolds “…the most exciting period of my life…”
C86, dream pop, daydream daze, Reynolds own buzzword (ROBW), shoegaze, slackers, revisionaries (ROBW), a thought-tingling definition of indie that I’ll be quoting till kingdom come, rockers doing it differently, and a conversation starter – if we must – on Post-Rock v Britpop under the apt title Battle of the Britains. Fourteen chapters, over 450 pages, with a magnificently crafted introduction that sets the scene for the book. For some, a lucky 50-page fanzine (available at select record stores). Lo-fi small caps for the book title, and a cover that looks like a 4AD album cover. Reynolds knows his audience: musicians, other writers, and floppy-fringed boys engaged in the current culture who self-identified; Simon, a more handsome, clever, confident and capable version of themselves in brand-black denim jeans.
Questions: Perhaps generational identity is a self-fulfilling fallacy, encouraged by the language of media and literature. Hypotheses: “As an operation, Mercury Rev demonstrated the fecklessness of the born-to-be-slack”. Opinions: “…PJ Harvey’s Rid of Mewas In Utero made by someone with an actual uterus.”
We know and appreciate the Simon Reynolds authority and formula but, still in a dream, is worth more than the value of considered critical conversation, with original ideas and theories from alternative fields of study, often named, sometimes forgotten since they’re so deeply embedded, for example ‘…what you want is something the same but different,’ in reference to hard-wired music fans, (Adorno and Horkheimer, 1944, TheCulture Industry: Enlightenmentas Mass Deception’ fromDialectic of Enlightenment.)
Unlike his academic peers –Simon Frith, John Fiske and Robert Walser – Reynolds is more contemporary and has a different creative narrative; the music is his muse. He wants to have a conversation about music, and more importantly, in this book, share what the musicians and artists have to say for themselves, exploring the creative process: how the Cocteau Twins’ guitar sound evolved; the creative and experimental drive behind A. R. Kane, heartfelt (a Melody Maker front cover for Reynolds).
The blurb for the UK tour (listed below) quotes Reynolds on still in a dream, ‘a love letter to my youth’. Simon was on an adventure, like the bands. It was about the sounds they could make, the swell, the spaces… Post-punk, no one talked of their musical influences from the legacy – inspiration came from inner voices, or experimental attempts to apply dreamscapes, or reinterpret myth, film, poems (no surprise Polly Harvey and Nick Cave dated for a while). Reynolds threw himself into each piece.
His internal drive to create by his own volition shines through here, described as the follow-on from his acclaimed book Rip It Up and Start Again, the internet insists, a spiritual sequel.
“Everything about this My Bloody Valentine gig suggests extreme heat,” says Simon – in the present tense – at a London ULU gig, followed by a lyrical description of the ‘blast furnace’ of sound and its four elements.
Still in a dream is not so much a memoir or biography, unravelling the person, but a grand hat tip and bow to the bands and their music; shared experiences with his readership and lifetime partner, Joy Press, a respected cultural critic, editor and author, and sometimes co-writer. Trinkets of that romance are told in an almost ‘I married her, dear reader,’ awkward tone, one that reflects the humble and shy person, the same one who boarded a plane for the first time to interview the Throwing Muses.
“If Throwing Muses did not transform rock, they did change my life.” (I Bleed)
The fresh perspective on Nirvana in The Television Will Not Be Revolutionised, by comparison, Grunge v the Mass Media is a critical strength. Here, the journalist is at play: “Rock that popped: Pop that rocked”, parody descended into pastiche since Retromania for Reynolds. Critical comparisons to popular TV and films of the era are prominent, including an in-depth discussion on Richard Linklater’s Slacker and Dazed & Confused. There’s an analysis of music videos linked to MTV (it made grunge but was also the enemy, Reynolds reminds us). That said, the critique is not precision surgery like feminist musicologist Sheila Whitely, or a working methodology like popular culture theorist Roy Shuker. It’s personal. There’s a story. Perhaps this is what makes still in a dream stand out from his back catalogue.
You want personal? Go straight to Chapter Three, Haylcon Days: Talulah Gosh – Pastels – James – C86 – Sarah Records – Beat Happening + K Records or How Swoon is Now, Intermission, and Afterward/Afterwards, a humorous true tale.
The blurb for the UK tour (listed below) quotes Reynolds on still in a dream, ‘a love letter to my youth’. Definitely, but there’s also some readjustment from the elder Reynolds; apparently, Cocteau Twins Liz Phair was sceptical of his theory of ‘otherness’ (Chapter 1, The Ethereal World).
In the end, still in a dream will be personal for some readers too: triggering stops and starts as you retrieve vinyl, CDs and other memorabilia to revisit with fresh interest. But if you cannot find your Pastels badge. Stay calm.
UK Tour
Monday 15 – London – Rough Trade EastLocation: Old Truman Brewery 91, Brick Lane, London E1 6QL Time: 8 pm. Conversation withMiki Berenyi(Lush/author Fingers Crossed) followed by audience Q+A and book signing. Getticketshere
Tuesday 16 – Bath – Roseberry Road StudiosLocation: 25 – 28 Roseberry Road, Bath, Somerset, BA2 3DX Time: evening, details TBC Conversation withJonathan Wright (journalist and Groovy Times co-founder)Followed by audience Q+A, book signing and a DJ set fromDave Howell – Get tickets here
Wednesday 17 – Bristol –Strange Brew Location: Strange Brew, 10-12 Fairfax St, Bristol BS1 3D Time: evening, details TBC Conversation with Darran McLaughlin(Strange Brew) Followed by audience Q+A and book signing (books courtesyBookhaus). Get ticketshere
Thursday 18 – London – IMCP The Long Play Sessions, Location: The Venue, ICMP (Queens Park Campus), NW6 6PA Time: 7 pm Conversation withRudy Tambala(A.R. Kane) Followed by audience Q+A and book signing Get tickets here
Friday 19 – Leeds – Waterstones Location: 93-97 Albion St, Leeds LS1 5AP Time: evening, details TBC In conversation withDavid Hesmondhalgh (Leeds University/author of Why Music Matters) Followed by audience Q+A and book signing. Get tickets here
Saturday 20 – Brighton – Resident Location: 27 – 28 Kensington Gardens, North Laine, Brighton, BN1 4AL Time: evening, TBC Conversation with Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins / Bella Union)Followed by audience Q+A and book signing –Get tickets here
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Words by Ngaire Ruth
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