Steampunk

[Sir. Helpmann]

If you want to go around life looking like a fucking cartoon character, then steampunk is for you.

If on the other hand you have a modicum of taste and self respect, you'll be advised to turn your nose up at this style that was devised by nerds for the benefit of nerds.

You can so tell this idea was born from the type of diseased fool who wastes their energy and money on role playing games (and the assorted over priced books that come with it).

Anyone who is even considering this style can write themselves off as a fucking loser, and will (when they grow up) be ashamed to even show pictures of themselves when they were gripped in a bout of immaturity and poor judgement.

[Eclipsing the Son]

I think it was founded by a 40 year old fan of Wild Wild West.

[SKULHEDFACE]

Originally Posted by Sir. Helpmann

If you want to go around life looking like a fucking cartoon character, then steampunk is for you.

If on the other hand you have a modicum of taste and self respect, you'll be advised to turn your nose up at this style that was devised by nerds for the benefit of nerds.

You can so tell this idea was born from the type of diseased fool who wastes their energy and money on role playing games (and the assorted over priced books that come with it).

Anyone who is even considering this style can write themselves off as a fucking loser, and will (when they grow up) be ashamed to even show pictures of themselves when they were gripped in a bout of immaturity and poor judgement.

As cruelly as you put it you are right for the most part. As for being ashamed.. well.. there you are making the assumption that I will start giving a fuck about how other people perceive me.

[PinstripesAndPithHelmets]

Originally Posted by Maggoty Anne

Rasputina is the most steampunk band I can think of. Frustration Plantation ftw. Oddly, every other band I think of is dark cabaret: Tom Waits, Jill Tracy, the Dresden Dolls, Vermillion Lies, Harlequin Jones, Humanwine.

Abney Park sucks.

I agree, Abney Park is rather silly. Caterwauling about being an airship pirate doesn't make me think "Victorian"; it makes me think "wtf?".

Tom Waits does have some cabaret-ish material, especially off the Black Rider album, but a lot of his work is raw, scratchy, and sounds very workshop, for lack of a better word. I'm thinking Bone Machine, or even a lot of his songs from Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards.

[PinstripesAndPithHelmets]

Originally Posted by Eclipsing the Son

It looks very cool but is hardly functional in public. I can imagine dressing like this for Halloween or maybe a concert. It's a cool premise. I don't think it's a successful form of everyday fashion though.

Agreed. That's why sci-fi novels and games set in a steampunk world are cool, while wearing leather greatcoats festooned with pocketwatch parts during the summer is not.

I personally like styles reminiscent of the late 19th - early 20th centuries in the West. That, however, doesn't mean I'm going to wear goggles to class.

[Maggoty Anne]

Originally Posted by Sir. Helpmann

If you want to go around life looking like a fucking cartoon character, then steampunk is for you.

If on the other hand you have a modicum of taste and self respect, you'll be advised to turn your nose up at this style that was devised by nerds for the benefit of nerds.

I don't need Sir. Helpmann to approve of anything I enjoy.

And you could just as easily say all goths dress like this all the time.

[stolide]

Wait, you mean we don't?

[PinstripesAndPithHelmets]

Originally Posted by Maggoty Anne

I don't need Sir. Helpmann to approve of anything I enjoy.

And you could just as easily say all goths dress like this all the time.

Also a valid point. Helpmann's profile pic really serves to undermine his statement.

[twistedsyn]

Originally Posted by Sir. Helpmann

They're not goths.

They're nerds who think they're goths.

There is a difference.

Any difference then normal people saying Goths are dorky gamers who think they are vampires.

[twistedsyn]

Hehe, there is a Goth/Steampunk meetup</a> in DC Jan 3rd on the Mall.

http://community.***********.com/ste...n/1325073.html


I wonder if it's going to be cold there that day.

If I have nothing better to do I might go just to have somthing to do.

There is also a large flea market the next day in VA I want to go too.

Yay. I love Fleas

[Vernian Process]

I recently put together a 2 disc collection of music that I consider to be either straight up Steampunk influenced or at least Steampunk inspired/friendly.

(URL should go here, but apparently I don't have the rights to post links?? WTF is that about?)

So if you are interested go to google or where ever and search for: An Age Remembered Steampunk

The first disc is all instrumentals, while the second is vocal tracks

It features all of the most commonly referred to artists as well as newer underground ones and classics that no one knows about. Of course I had to include my project too... lol.

To address the topic at hand, I personally can't stand the whole Steampunk "trend". Steampunk is something I've been into since the mid 80's (about 12 years longer than I even knew what Goth was).

On the one hand I love that my favorite sci-fi genre is getting attention, but on the other most people don't get it and just embarrass themselves by dressing like a bunch of Cosplayers in public.

Brass Goggles is without a doubt the best place on the web to find out about Steampunk, and the users in their forums are almost all really cool down to earth people, but outside of that crowd I can't relate to many of the current crop of "Steampunks".

When I started this project (Vernian Process) in 2003 Steampunk was still relegated to the obscure section of the internet, and it was fun because I had free reign with how I conducted my music, however now their are so many things expected from the genre that it becomes a pain to try and even keep up. At least a lot of the new bands and composers have been taking interesting liberties with the genre to keep it fresh and unique from project to project.

[Steppenwolf]

thanks .................

[Catch]

I'm confused. Isn't steamgoth the same as industrial goth?

Seems like that has already happened.

[Solumina]

No, it really isn't the same at all

[dieselpunks]

Rather than thinking about the power source as a literal element, consider the following.

The Steampunk aesthetic archs several well known eras that lacked a cohesive title, but shared a similar technology level; hence "Steam" punk. The "punk" aspect of the aesthetic has less to do with the Ramones and more to do with the DIY, "don't like it, then change it yourself" mentality of punk.

It has also become a "punk" subculture in itself, in that fashioning a steampunk outfit is not something that you can just run out to Hot Topic and buy. Instead, due to the impracticality of mass producing and the skill needed to make such garments, a steampunk will usually wear outlandish and one-of-a-kind outfits that even the "punk rock" kids would not normally have access to.

So, in a world where Misfits shirts, pink hair, and spikes has become the norm in the younger generation, the guy wearing a vest, tie, and bowler cap on the streets is now a "punk" in the truest sense of the word, much like the "aritocratic" subgenre of goth.

Pushing this era up to post World War I and continuing into the Technology age gives us Dieselpunk, which collects the eras in our history where diesel power was the basis of modern civilization.

For more info, I've built a fairly comprehensive website at www.dieselpunks.org that you can use to decide for yourselves.

-Tome

[Zabijej]

I like PRACTICAL steampunk, not what people dress in to go to conventions or to LARP.

Top hats are lovely, goggles are sometimes pushing it a bit, copper armor is a no-go.

I'm going to invent a style XD

IRONPUNK - if today's technology was way backbackbackback in the iron age.

[dieselpunks]

I agree. Some do take the fashion too far, not to mention the adoption of personas. But how is it different from the person that shows up on club night in a period authentic Victorian dress with bustle, or the kid at the bar calling herself Nyt-raven Deathstalker?

All I'm saying is, every culture has its otaku, and its the freaks that end up in the press.

As for Ironpunk, wouldn't that just be a Ren Faire?

-Tome

[Malice In Wonderland]

Originally Posted by dieselpunks

But how is it different from the person that shows up on club night in a period authentic Victorian dress with bustle, or the kid at the bar calling herself Nyt-raven Deathstalker?

It's no different, they're fucking idiots too.

[Stabby]

It's something I find cool, because it reminds me of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore. (also 20k leagues under the sea but I personally hate the writing style of Jules Verne). It's on the same level as the high fashion clothes. Although it looks cool its not the kind of thing that is meant to be worn frequently.

[Malice In Wonderland]

It looks bollocks.
I'm sick to death of people claiming it's a subculture now.
It's become the new popular thing around here recently.

It's not a fucking subculture and all it does is make you look like a prick.
Norwich is suddenly full of morons in tailcoats and goggles claiming they're some form of punk.

[honeythorn]

They aren't claiming to be punks in the musical sense. NEVER HAVE. For the most part the punk bit is ingnored though no doubt a fair few do like punk music and some do blend the clothing styles as well.

I don't wear goggles for the most part. Unless I actually need to protect my eyes from something, or it's very sunny ( my lenses are from a pair of sunglasses so they are actually useful ) .

Also, it's amusing and fun to see what you can make. And some of the more professional makers have done some amazing stuff. Datamancer's laptops and his desktop which actually turns on with a wind up clockwork key for example.

I'm going to be doing a casemod for a 3 gallon aquarium at some point in the future. Not because I think it's "punk", but because I fucking feel like it and I'm interested in it.

If you don't like it, don't look at it.

[Zabijej]

Originally Posted by Malice In Wonderland

It's no different, they're fucking idiots too.

The "Nyt-raven Deathstalker" people annoy me.

IF YOUR NAME IS SUZY, JUST SAY YOU'RE SUZY. THAT NAME ISN'T AS BAD AS A TOOL-RIFFIC "GOTH" NAME.