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+#+title: Vaporwave vs Outrun
+#+date: 2021-03-28
+#+description: Learn the differences between the vaporwave and Outrun aesthetics.
+#+filetags: :personal:
+
+* 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.
+
+#+caption: Vaporwave Search Results
+[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20210328-vaporwave-vs-outrun/vaporwave-search-results.png]]
+
+* Vaporwave
+#+caption: Macintosh Plus Album Cover
+[[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
+[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporwave][Vaporwave]], so that I'm not
+repeating everything you can already search for online:
+
+#+begin_quote
+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.
+#+end_quote
+
+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
+[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vektroid][Macintosh Plus]], who released
+the album
+[[https://archive.org/details/MACINTOSHPLUS-FLORALSHOPPE_complete][Floral
+Shoppe]] in 2011. Another more recent example is the artist
+[[https://sadbert.bandcamp.com/][sadbert]], 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
+#+caption: 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 [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthwave][Synthwave]]
+music genre and is likely named after the 1986 racer game,
+[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_Run][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:
+
+#+caption: 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:
+
+#+caption: Kung Fury
+[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20210328-vaporwave-vs-outrun/kung-fury.png]]
+
+#+caption: 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.