Shoegazer Productions is a YouTube channel by Randy "The Shoegazer" McNeely. Started in 2014 as a music review channel, it expanded into other topics in mid 2015. The shows featured on the channel include:
- The Lost Media Chronicles - a show about
lost media. Rather than aiming for the usual top 10 format, he extensively discusses a single topic in order to try to convey the importance of the lost work in question. On May 4th, 2020, Randy posted a video announcing the end of the series and explaining the real life issues that led him to make that decision. - 2 Beats + - a sketch review show that serves of something of a parody of sketch review shows, while also still trying to serve as a genuine review show. There's (with so far the exception of one episode) always one person there to counter his intentionally snobby and pretentious arguments. Originally co-hosted by Jordan, then replaced by Trey. Due to heavy Troubled Production bleeding well into its second season, the show is no longer going.
- Adventures in Vinyl Land - another music review show that focuses on records past and present. Rather than focusing on vinyl elitism, Randy talks more about the music itself and lets the audience decide what is the best way to listen to their music. The record is more there for the artwork and visual aid than anything.
- Randy Reads - a short-lived show that only got 3 episodes in that audiences found too boring due to its V-Log format. It was a book review show from the point of view of a "non-reader", which probably also didn't help matters.
- Production Hell- a series that talks about works that had a Troubled Production.
There was a multitude of people that worked with him on the channel in the past. 2Beats+ in particular had a strangely large cast of characters (at least for a show of its size). After Jordan left the channel quietly in 2015, Trey came in and served as the channel's video editor before he quit for reasons of Creative Differences among other things. Randy mostly does the videos on his own now, sparingly using his old characters, though Fred, his pet parrot, has been getting a few short appearances with fans wanting him to make a comeback.
In June of 2018, Shoegazer Productions was removed as the video maker for The Lost Media Wiki. Reasons as to why have not been made publicly known and both parties currently wish to keep it that way.
Despite being around for over 4 years, it remains a somewhat small channel.
General tropes:
- Butt-Monkey: Shoegazer often gets comical mistreatment, usually on the orders of Fred.
- Fowl-Mouthed Parrot: Fred the parrot; he doesn't mimic other people, he can swear perfectly on his own, thank you very much.
- Limited Wardrobe: Tended to wear the same plaid button shirts for the first few episodes. This changed after when he started wearing black V-neck t-shirts as well.
- The Mafia: Fred's character is based on a stereotype of an Italian-American mobster.
- Shared Universe: Because of the occasional cameo he gives, ''2Beats+' is part of the Reviewaverse.
- The channel has moved away from this as of 2018, deciding to be a more straightforward/ informative channel. Randy cites the downfall of Channel Awesome having turned him off from doing skit-based reviewing again.
- World of Weirdness: The Reviewaverse. There's a talking mob-boss parrot, of course this universe is weird.
- Mid-Review Sketch Show: Has popped up in some form in all 3 of his shows.
- 2Beats+ thrived off of this trope. YMMV on whether or not it succeeded in what he was trying to do.
- The Lost Media Chronicles dipped into this a few times with mixed reception. He doesn't appear to do it anymore.
- Adventures In Vinyl-Land had it for one episode where Trey reviewed The Return of Bruno by Bruce Willis. Fred appeared in all of his glory singing his praises to Bruce's fictional character of Bruno and Trey had to prove to him that Bruno was not a real artist.
Tropes relating to The Lost Media Chronicles:
- April Fools' Day: What is episode 18 about? What's that? About that A Day With Spongebob mockumentary that is the hottest piece of lost media in the community?? Nope!!! Prepare for YouTube Poop!! "Soiled it!!"
- Episode 20 would eventually be a genuine episode about A Day With Spongebob.
- April Fools for 2017 involved a new persona that Randy created called Jerry the Sockgazer who has some... questionable tastes. The less said about that on this page the better.
- April Fools for 2018 saw the return of Jerry in an even more creepy and disturbing video than the last one.
- Author Appeal: Shoegazer has a strong passion towards music and a large portion of the episodes are centered on music-related lost media, which goes hand-to-hand with his other webshow, 2Beats+. He also likes old movies. He prefers to not do video game material, because he feels they are overrepresented on Youtube already.
