I don’t mean to sound like a champion of Steampunk, although, maybe I do. It’s just that it’s the first subculture genre in a long time that is predominately positive. You have to go back a half dozen Rock & Roll sub genres to find something fun, happy and creative. Punk was, well, punk. It was angry and aggressive and even its dancing, in the mosh pit, was violent and aggressive. Heavy Metal certainly had violent tendencies, smashing instruments and degrading women in the videos. Even the more benign metal genres that dealt with fantasy elements like wizards and dragons still had swords and medieval style battle and were melodramatic. Hard Core was aggressive and certainly not exactly “fun”, either were Speed Metal, Straight Edge, Surf Punk and all the Metal / Punk hybrids that considered themselves as serious as a heart attack. Of course Rap became super serious, even threatening and Grunge had depression as its prime emotion. The figure head of all things Grunge even blew his brains out with a shotgun no least. Alternative had angst and Goth is creepy as hell. Pop is pop and we’re talking about Rock here. You have to go back to New Wave in the early Eighties to find Rock & Roll with any real sense of fun, let alone humor.
Now, I have yet to hear any examples of music that capture the feel of Steampunk the fashion. I would imagine that music would have an “old timey” element to yet, yet a modern, somewhat “mechanical” aspect as well. The bands of which I am aware that could capture this vibe would be The Decemberists and perhaps Mumford & Son. One other thing I really appreciate about Steampunk, other than the obvious kinship to the Sixties Hippie, is that it’s a fashion style that seems to be able to include all age groups. I’ve seen some old guys in Steampunk garb and they just look more authentic, like old cowboys look more authentic. Perhaps what I’m seeing is the movement I’ve been expecting and hoping for, what I call “Last Wave”.
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