I've spent the past couple of weeks exploring the
different examples of Steampunk Music that exist out there in the universe –
and on the internet – only to draw some interesting conclusions about Steampunk
music in general, and how they relate to Steampunk as a fandom. Music is a subset of the Steampunk genre where I feel diehards would tend to get a bit nuts about what makes a band or a song "Steampunk" and what disqualifies something from belonging as an example of Steampunk music.
Before I started this course, with regards how to differentiate Steampunk music from other genres of music, I thought that there was only one real requirement, and that was whether the artist/band created this music with the intention of calling it Steampunk, and that any artists that consistently deny the Steampunk status of their music must know better than anybody else. Here is a sample of the songs I listened to in order to further develop my definition.
Before I started this course, with regards how to differentiate Steampunk music from other genres of music, I thought that there was only one real requirement, and that was whether the artist/band created this music with the intention of calling it Steampunk, and that any artists that consistently deny the Steampunk status of their music must know better than anybody else. Here is a sample of the songs I listened to in order to further develop my definition.
The "Definition"
Abney Park has constantly been defined as a Steampunk band, by prescriptive fans and descriptive fans alike. This song in particular is one that outwardly addresses the Steampunk movement, not just including the odd instruments and the costume aesthetics of the genre but creating a commentary on the fandom when they show shots of a Steampunk fashion shoot among other images in this music video. I would describe this song and this video as a love letter to the fandom.
Here's a sample of the lyrics I'd like to call attention to: "We've darted back to 1886 / Don't ask us why, that's how we get our kicks / Out with the old, In with the new." This song isn't just Steampunk in the sense of the instruments used and the Victorian sense of the sound and lyrics, but it speaks to the fandom directly, which is why I chose to refer to it as a love letter. While this song is beautiful and does a great job at addressing Steampunkers directly, there are other song that take a very different approach.
The Bizarre
I just happened across this video from the Toronto Steampunk Society Facebook group, where somebody had posting it as the Steampunk song of the day on April 9th. This song is silly and farcical, plus it's actually pretty catchy once you get to listening to it a couple of times. Plus, y'know, Steampuk Fett. 'nuff said.
A lot of the background images in this music video involve blimps and gears and other aged images to give this video an industrial aesthetic. and it too directly references some of the specific qualities that belong to the Steampunk fandom. Of course, this video is meant to be silly, and not to make fun of the fandom as much as to have fun with the fandom. Would diehard Steampunk fans include this music as part of their definition of Steampunk music? Probably not, but does that mean that it doesn't deserve a place in the world of a fandom? It's my opinion that there's a place for everything, as long as it's not intentionally making fun of the genre in a negative way.
My Favorite
This video is my main motivation for asking in class after another classmate's presentation about Steampunk music that didn't necessarily contain lyrics. This is a song that I was a fan of before it was given this Steampunk-Wild West music video. Before this video came a song where the lyrics and the additional noises and mixing created a Steampunk sound, and when Shatter Me was given a music video it naturally was given even more of a Steampunk vibe.
The music from Lindsey Stirling's newest album was included in my original definition of Steampunk music, and I would still include it now. It certainly fits my original definition, where the artist is purposefully aiming to achieve"Steampunk status" with her music.
Truly, there is a place for everything. Music is a fluid art form, and much like visual art where people have fought in the past whether something is or isn't art (a particular Urinal comes to mind here), it's difficult to argue what is and isn't music, and that also includes what is and isn't Steampunk. Of course, there are some rules - music should be at least a little bit melodic, in my opinion - and the same goes for how some rules should be followed within the Steampunk fandom, but not nearly as many as prescriptivist thinkers have tried to assign to the genre.
The music from Lindsey Stirling's newest album was included in my original definition of Steampunk music, and I would still include it now. It certainly fits my original definition, where the artist is purposefully aiming to achieve"Steampunk status" with her music.
Truly, there is a place for everything. Music is a fluid art form, and much like visual art where people have fought in the past whether something is or isn't art (a particular Urinal comes to mind here), it's difficult to argue what is and isn't music, and that also includes what is and isn't Steampunk. Of course, there are some rules - music should be at least a little bit melodic, in my opinion - and the same goes for how some rules should be followed within the Steampunk fandom, but not nearly as many as prescriptivist thinkers have tried to assign to the genre.
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