I hate Steampunk (A Rant)

[Despanan]

Okay, seriously, what the fuck is up with steampunk at the clubs these days? Every other word I've been hearing out of some idiot, fashion-obsessed, gothling has been "Steam-" this, and "Steam-" that. We've even got a few crappy "Steampunk" (ie: Gimmick) bands these days, doing songs about what I can only assume to be airships, pirates and farts. I've even heard people trying to spin the term off into crap like "Clock-Punk" and "Sandal-Punk" What's next? If I go to the club dressed in a leopard-print loincloth, with a club in one hand, and my unconscious girlfriend in the other shall I suddenly be part of the rapidly growing "Cave-Punk" movement?

Now I like reading Girl Genius as much as the next guy, but simply throwing on a pair of industrial goggles with your Victorian outfit does not make you part of some cutting-edge fashion movement based on the works of Jules Verne and Mary Shelly. It makes you boring, and a ten-minute dissertation on exactly what sort of Era-Punk your look is trying to imitate makes me want to pierce my own ear-drums with the straws in my rum and coke, just to drown out your droning, festering, gob. Gaslamp-inspired looks can be cool, but for chrissake, if these people put HALF the effort they currently put into labeling themselves into their actual outfits, I wouldn't be spending so much time staring into the club's overhead spotlights in a vain attempt to damage my vision to the point where this lazy, inane, attempt at originality appears to be interesting.

The bottom line is; anachronistic outfits can be cool, but they seem to be rapidly becoming an excuse for lazy sheep to pretend they're on the cutting edge of goth fashion, and what was once a fun, and interesting, literary device/aesthetic is being watered-down by legions of these morons who just seem to be looking for some new lable to wrap around themselves in an effort to bolster their all but non-existent personality.

end rant. We now return to our regularly-scheduled scorning. Thank you.

[Minyaliel]

Dear, if you´d ever seen the movies "Delicatessen" and "City of the Lost Children", you´d be into Steampunk too. Promise.

[LiUsAiDh]

Originally Posted by Despanan

"Sandal-Punk"

Really?? I imagine they look like JC with a mohawk.....

[Despanan]

Originally Posted by Minyaliel

Dear, if you´d ever seen the movies "Delicatessen" and "City of the Lost Children", you´d be into Steampunk too. Promise.

You missed my point. I AM into Steampunk. I'm NOT into idiots wearing goggles with their Victorian goth outfits and calling it Steampunk.

[Minyaliel]

...oh. Well, then we do agree after all.

[Minyaliel]

By the way, I thought Cave Punk was a pretty neat idea. I think I´ll have to dress up as one for Halloween. *giggle*

[XxBloodyrosexX]

Shouldn't this be posted under 'whining'?

[Despanan]

Your Mom should be posted under "Whining".













'Cause I put my penis in her.












(Seriously though, this is commentary on fashion. Thus it should be here)

[Breathless Horror]

Potentially stupid question: How did the "punk" get into Steampunk? When did neo-victorian style clothing with modern-ish accents become anything related to the styles of punk?

Punk

Steampunk

I is confuzzled.

[JCC]

Steampunk predates Punk subculture by a good 40 years at least.

[Despanan]

From Wikipedia:

Although many works now considered seminal to the genre were published in the 1960s and 1970s, the term steampunk originated in the late 1980s as a tongue in cheek variant of cyberpunk. It seems to have been coined by the science fiction author K. W. Jeter, who was trying to find a general term for works by Tim Powers (author of The Anubis Gates, 1983), James Blaylock (Homunculus, 1986) and himself (Morlock Night, 1979 and Infernal Devices, 1987) which took place in a 19th-century (usually Victorian) setting and imitated conventions of actual Victorian speculative fiction such as H. G. Wells's The Time Machine. In a letter to the science fiction magazine Locus, printed in the April 1987 issue, Jeter wrote:
“ Dear Locus,

Enclosed is a copy of my 1979 novel Morlock Night; I'd appreciate your being so good as to route it Faren Miller, as it's a prime piece of evidence in the great debate as to who in "the Powers/Blaylock/Jeter fantasy triumvirate" was writing in the "gonzo-historical manner" first. Though of course, I did find her review in the March Locus to be quite flattering.
Personally, I think Victorian fantasies are going to be the next big thing, as long as we can come up with a fitting collective term for Powers, Blaylock and myself. Something based on the appropriate technology of the era; like "steampunks," perhaps ...

—K.W. Jeter
”

Some prototypical steampunk stories were essentially cyberpunk tales that were set in the past, using steam-era technology rather than the ubiquitous cybernetics of cyberpunk but maintaining those stories' "punkish" attitudes towards authority figures and human nature. Originally, like cyberpunk, steampunk was often dystopian, sometimes with noir and pulp fiction themes as in cyberpunk. As the genre developed, it came to adopt more of the broadly appealing utopian sensibilities of Victorian scientific romances.

Steampunk fiction focuses more intently on real, theoretical or cinematic Victorian-era technology, including steam engines, clockwork devices, and difference engines. While much of steampunk is set in Victorian-era settings, the genre has expanded into medieval settings and often delves into the realms of horror and fantasy. Various secret societies and conspiracy theories are often featured, and some steampunk includes significant fantasy elements. There are frequently Lovecraftian, occult and Gothic horror influences as well.

[Minyaliel]

The "punk" in steampunk is not meant as the "punk" aka "the punk subculture", but in the original sense of the word as it was used before becoming irrevokably connected to the youth rebellion of the 70´s/ 80´s.

[Opteron_Man]

Originally Posted by XxBloodyrosexX

Shouldn't this be posted under 'whining'?

I was thinking the same thing. This thread belongs there.

[chelseagirl]

MTV news on Steampunk:

http://www.mtv.com/player/html/popup...811&vid=280093

[Mealla]

Originally Posted by XxBloodyrosexX

Shouldn't this be posted under 'whining'?

It's a discussion of a particular developing type of gothic fashion and people jumping on the bandwagon without even really knowing what it is in a failed attempt to be original. Since it is a discussion related to a particular fashion, and what steampunk, and the steampunk "look," are and are not, I think it's appropriate here.

I will admit I like a couple of the related bands though. *runs and hides*

[Despanan]

See, The outfits in that video actually had some work put into them. Though I particularly like the part where the little dude from boston reached out to put is arm on that girl's shoulder and she gave him the Death Glare on national television.

Originally Posted by Mealla

I will admit I like a couple of the related bands though. *runs and hides*

*Lets out a bestial scream while rabid froth runs down his chin. Picks up a lamp and throws it at Mealla's fleeing form*

BLAAAAARRRRR!!!!

just kidding. I personally enjoy Doctor Steel from time to time.

I can't exactly remember which band it was though...there was some singer who said something to the effect of "I don't really believe in Steampunk, we just do this for money" and I though: "WTF are you smoking that lead you to believe there was a great deal of money in putting up a Steampunk front? (and for that matter, how the hell does one "really believe in steampunk"?) You even fail at being a jaded jackass."

[Underwater Ophelia]

Originally Posted by chelseagirl

MTV news on Steampunk:

http://www.mtv.com/player/html/popup...811&vid=280093

Before all of you idiots condemn this video because it was made by MTV--THIS WAS A GOOD VIDEO, DAMN IT.

It was informative and unbiased, and covered many different aspects of Steampunk.


Anywho, I didn't know Abney Park was doing the steam thing now.
Good for them, I guess.

[Lolly PopMuzik]

Originally Posted by chelseagirl

MTV news on Steampunk:

http://www.mtv.com/player/html/popup...811&vid=280093

John Norris in steamgear ftw. It would've been absolute gold if they got Kurt Loder in on the act though...

For as tired as I am of the whole Victoriana is life shtick, most of the material they showed still looks fresh and imaginative.

[Vivisection]

Excellent stuff.

Now we need one of these hate-speeches for every other revoltingly lame "subculture" too.

[Ryukil]

Originally Posted by Despanan

You missed my point. I AM into Steampunk. I'm NOT into idiots wearing goggles with their Victorian goth outfits and calling it Steampunk.

Sort of like that band Abney Park? They changed their costumes up a bit and were suddenly a "Steampunk band."

[Mandarinz]

^ I like Abney Park But I don't quite understand how a band can be Steampunk; I thought itwas more of a visual thing than an aural (is that right? the word for listening...) thing??

[Ryukil]

Check out the Clockwork Quartet.

www.clockworkquartet.com

To me they are much more genuinely "Steampunk." Listen to the song "The Doctor's Wife." You can tell that the lyricists are very intelligent, and the song itself is powerful emotionally. I look forward to more stuff from them in the future.