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+date = 2021-03-28
+title = "Vaporwave vs Outrun"
+description = "Learn the differences between the vaporwave and Outrun aesthetics."
++++
+
+## Overview
+
+When it comes to an aesthetic that originated primarily online, there
+tends to be a lot of confusion around what falls into each specific
+genre. This post discusses Vaporwave and Outrun, which have become
+almost synonymous in the minds of those online who aren't hardcore into
+these genres of media. More specifically, Outrun is largely an unknown
+term while all aesthetics in these two genres are usually attributed to
+Vaporwave. For example, take a look at the image search results for
+Vaporwave: the results include **a lot** of Outrun-themed images.
+You'll find a similar trend almost everywhere.
+
+![](https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20210328-vaporwave-vs-outrun/vaporwave-search-results.png)
+
+## Vaporwave
+
+![](https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20210328-vaporwave-vs-outrun/macintosh-plus.png)
+
+Okay, so what is Vaporwave? I'm going to just copy-and-paste some
+general info from the Wikipedia article on
+[Vaporwave](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporwave), so that I'm not
+repeating everything you can already search for online:
+
+> Vaporwave is a microgenre of electronic music, a visual art style, and
+> an Internet meme that emerged in the early 2010s. It is defined partly
+> by its slowed-down, chopped and screwed samples of smooth jazz,
+> elevator, R&B, and lounge music from the 1980s and 1990s. The
+> surrounding subculture is sometimes associated with an ambiguous or
+> satirical take on consumer capitalism and pop culture, and tends to be
+> characterized by a nostalgic or surrealist engagement with the popular
+> entertainment, technology and advertising of previous decades.
+> Visually, it incorporates early Internet imagery, late 1990s web
+> design, glitch art, anime, 3D-rendered objects, and cyberpunk tropes
+> in its cover artwork and music videos.
+
+This is an excellent summary, and it helps address my point here: there
+are specific aspects that make Vaporwave unique:
+
+### Time Frame
+
+The time frame for references, logos, etc. focuses mostly on the 1990s
+in Vaporwave. You'll see old school Pepsi logos, Microsoft 95 screens,
+tropical plants, classic marble sculptures, and many references from
+Japan's influence in the 90s.
+
+### Art
+
+The color scheme is generally a soft, light palette that uses pastel
+colors. The backdrop will often be in a light-pink or teal blue.
+
+### Music
+
+The musical genre of Vaporwave incorporates soft tunes, lounge music,
+and sound effects that will make the listener reminisce of the 90s. The
+sounds of the genre are generally slower-paced and calming. The major
+breakthrough artist for Vaporwave was [Macintosh
+Plus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vektroid), who released the album
+[Floral
+Shoppe](https://archive.org/details/MACINTOSHPLUS-FLORALSHOPPE_complete)
+in 2011. Another more recent example is the artist
+[sadbert](https://sadbert.bandcamp.com/), whose latest album
+incorporates the upbeat tones of the 1999 Dilbert TV series.
+
+Notice that Vaporwave doesn't include things like racing cars,
+futuristic technology, chrome, or the deep orange/purple color scheme.
+Vaporwave is a focus on the idyllic state of the world when technology
+was becoming common in households, a reality that we have already
+experienced. Focus on the most aesthetically-pleasing parts of that past
+is a large part of Vaporwave.
+
+## Outrun
+
+![Outrun](https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20210328-vaporwave-vs-outrun/outrun.png)
+
+Now, let's get to Outrun. This one is a little trickier since the genre
+has largely been lumped under the Vaporwave title for so long. However,
+it stems from the [Synthwave](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthwave)
+music genre and is likely named after the 1986 racer game, [Out
+Run](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_Run).
+
+### Time Frame
+
+Outrun can be thought of as a retro-futuristic aesthetic born from the
+1980s.
+
+### Art
+
+The color scheme uses a very dark color palette with the main colors
+being deep oranges, blues, and purples. Red edges are common around
+objects in Outrun art. The background of the Outrun aesthetic is almost
+always a neon grid like you'd expect to see in Tron or a 1980s arcade
+machine.
+
+Classic sports cars, chrome robots, computer generated graphics and
+fonts, and the occasional use of rain or palm trees can be found in
+Outrun art.
+
+### Music
+
+This aesthetic has a more aggressive and fast-paced style of music,
+which tends to match the subject of the art in this aesthetic.
+
+Outrun enthusiasts love what people in the 1980s thought the future
+would look like. Take a look at a common video game discussed in Outrun
+circles, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon:
+
+![Fry Cry 3: Blood
+Dragon](https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20210328-vaporwave-vs-outrun/far-cry.png)
+
+Another example that doesn't force the color scheme as hard as some
+online art does is Kung Fury:
+
+![Kung
+Fury](https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20210328-vaporwave-vs-outrun/kung-fury.png)
+
+![Kung Fury Hacker
+Scene](https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20210328-vaporwave-vs-outrun/kung-fury-hacker.png)
+
+## Conclusion
+
+While Vaporwave and Outrun share similarities, they are two distinct
+aesthetics with many important distinctions. Someone who enjoys one may
+not necessarily enjoy the other, so it's important to make sure we
+properly describe the aesthetic we're looking for.