I grew up with this as a kid, long before I knew of or understood what the whole steampunk movement was, and I sure didn't know that it was steampunk which I was such a fan of until I came back here and noticed you guys talking about games like Bioshock and stuff.
Check out these vids, the artist is a real throwback but he kinda pioneered this steampunk 'image' as far back as the early 80s. I love the music, and the vids are killer to boot. Thomas Dolby not only pioneered Synth music, but made it part of his early-20th century mad-scientist persona, working in the (at the time) previously unheard synthesizer sounds with ancient radio and broadcast technology.
Now, I want badly to embed these, but EMI won't let me do it. Check the links.
"Radio Silence"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj_yFpL6uoE
Dolby says the song is 'equating a lost love to a dead radio frequency' 'Caroline 452' in the song refers to the name of a popular pirate radio station known as 'Caroline' which was operated off the coast of Britain which was shut down by the British government about the time Dolby wrote this.
"Windpower"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YunBffFnSLs
"One of Our Submarines is Missing"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3atTP6hqlg
This is an interesting one. Dolby says this was written as a tribute song to a family member who died while in the service when their submarine ran aground. Thing is, he's known for writing double meaning into his music. To me, this sounds like he's trying to nab a submarine and travel back to his "home" at the bottom of the ocean... you know the one? "Bye bye, empire, bye bye."
Hope you enjoy!
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