"Puttin' on the Ritz" by Irving Berlin (as performed by Shiny Toy Guns)

Shiny Toy Guns is a synth-pop band from California. As a rule, the most retro they get is their heavy 80s influence but they have some really great covers of older songs. Most notably, they did a really brilliant version of David Bowie's "Major Tom" that had me wanting a Lincoln MKZ for the longest time. In fact, I'm pretty sure that commercial was my first introduction to Shiny Toy Guns and, not-so-coincidentally, they started getting fairly well-known after it aired during that year's Superbowl.

The original song, "Puttin' on the Ritz" was written by Irving Berlin for the classic Fred Astaire film of the same name. Although the movie came out in 1930, Berlin wrote it in 1927. After the movie came out, this song quickly became the number one song on the radio. It's emblematic of an era. The title and lyrics are derived from 1920s slang meaning "dressing fashionably," as if you were dining at The Ritz Hotel in London, a popular establishment for the jet set of the 20s and 30s. And here is where we meet a particular branch of dieselpunk, known as Decopunk.

Have you seen the well-to-do?

Up and down Park Avenue

On that famous thoroughfare

With their noses in the air

High hats and arrow collars

White spats and lots of dollars

Spending every dime for a wonderful time

Decopunk derives its name from the Art Deco style that was popular during the 20s and 30s. Although during the same time frame as regular Dieselpunk, Decopunk tends to be cleaner and shinier. It tends to focus on the wealthier, freewheeling times of the 1920s. Everything has a sleeker, more glamorous look to it. Like all retro-futurist genres, it's highly influenced by the fashions of this time period. Flappers in fringe and gentlemen wearing top hats and tails are the hallmarks of the style. This time period also encompasses the Jazz age and prohibition, so stories based in this era tend to revolve around lavish parties and bootlegging operations.

The 1920s is one of my favorite eras, along with the French Revolution and La Belle Epoque. Also not-so-coincidentally, French culture is a heavy influence in all three of these time periods. The French had an insatiable appetite for importing Jazz music from the United States and, in return, they provided us the simplified fashion and the foundations of Art Deco. Art Deco heavily influenced American architecture - the clean lines and rounded arches that are indicative of the style can be seen in everything from the Empire State Building (and pretty much the whole New York skyline) to high schools in California. It eventually evolved into the softer, more understated Streamline Moderne of the 1920s.

So, you're intrigued by Decopunk and would like to absorb it into your aesthetic? You have plenty of examples to choose from. My favorites are definitely the first two Bioshock videos games, which are fun to play and beautiful to look at (if you're a gamer). You can enjoy some electro-swing, courtesy of artists like Caravan Palace, Parov Stelar, and Caro Emerald. There's plenty of films you can enjoy from the 1920s (all of which are pre-Code) like "Metropolis" or modern films with a heavy decopunk influence like "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," the Batman movies directed by Tim Burton (and, honestly, Batman in general is on the darker side of decopunk), and the "Fantastic Beasts" films (if you're a Harry Potter fan, like myself). I always recommend "The Great Gatsby" to read, because I love F. Scott Fitzgerald (who doesn't?). I haven't seen the Baz Luhrmann film starring Leonardo DiCaprio but it looks pretty good and has that glamorous-ness Luhrmann injects into all his work. If you really want to get into it, you can spend the better part of a month watching the last three seasons of "Downton Abbey" and "Boardwalk Empire." Or, you can just sit back in tuxedo and enjoy a classic Gin & Tonic. As it is my favorite drink, I've hunted down a recipe to share.

Classic Gin & Tonic

2 oz gin

4 oz tonic water

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 lime wedge (for garnish)

Place ice cubes in a tall, narrow glass with the ice coming near the top. Pour gin, tonic water, and lime juice over the ice. Stir well with a long-necked spoon. Garnish with lime wedge, and serve immediately.

Honestly, as with every retro-futurist aesthetic, the point is to have fun. And there's a lot about decopunk to enjoy. However, you will have to do some digging - as a subgenre, decopunk is relatively new so there's not a whole lot of information out there compiled into a single place for folks to discover. But maybe that's a good thing - it just means you'll have to do some exploring to find out what you like. Happy flapping!

"Puttin' on the Ritz" Video

"Fighting Trousers" by Professor Elemental

Today, I'm going to introduce you to the delightful genre affectionately known as "chap hop." It's exactly what it sounds like - hip hop from the point of view of an early 20th century gentleman. Very much in the same vein of those fictional rap battles on YouTube that feature everything from Disney princesses to historical figures. Chap hop has grown to be a beloved part of the retro-futurist music scene, as its playful sound adds a little light-heartedness to the gritty atmosphere portrayed in most steampunk. Chap hop originated in England and focuses on stereotypical English pastimes, like tea, cricket, and proper etiquette in social settings. Looking at the artists in this genre, most of their names are plays on the old-timey version of the idea of the 19th century gentleman, ranging from pretty tame Professor Elemental to the downright punny Poplock Holmes. Regardless, it's British humor at it's finest - self-deprecating, full of dry wit, and hilarious....as long as you understand the cultural footnotes.

I've got super producers and fans that play me

You've got a granddad's mustache and a ukulele

Don't look around sir, I'm speaking to you

Roll up your shirt sleeves, Queensbury rules

Never test professors with the cleverest wits

Let's settle this like gentlemen: armed with heavy sticks

In "Fighting Trousers," Professor Elemental is essentially challenging Mr. B The Gentleman Rapper to a round of fisticuffs. Some of the fun references that the average layperson may not be familiar with (especially if they haven't delved to deeply into British culture and Steampunk) are the insistence that they follow Queensbury rules, which are the generally accepted rules of boxing. Also to be noted in the world of chap hop is the extensive use of the instrument affectionately known as a "banjolele," which is ukulele-sized banjo. To be honest, I didn't know such a thing existed until just now, but it also helped me understand the reference to George Formby. Formby was an early 20th century comedian who told jokes through song, using a banjolele to accompany his verses. Anyway, the "rivalry" between Professor Elemental and Mr. B provides some entertaining fodder for the genre, with Mr. B putting out his own diss track, "Just Like a Chap," in response to "Fighting Trousers."

"Fighting Trousers" Video

"Black Swamp Village" by The Speakeasies' Swing Band

"Black Swamp Village" epitomizes my favorite elements of old school jazz. There's a dark sadness behind the music and the words, but it builds into a frenetic pitch, subverting expectations. A perfect back drop for today's topic - occult influence in dieselpunk.

Steampunk, as a genre, is highly focused on how technological developments would play out during that era. Dieselpunk has that focus on science, to a similar extent, but there's always a supernatural element to dieselpunk, too. There is this duality that is featured very heavily in dieselpunk - light vs dark, good vs evil-type stuff - which plays well with both these elements. In the genre, science and magic are both tools that can be used interchangeably - or often side-by-side - within this greater fight for the soul of humanity. One of the comics I like to read, "The Adventures of the 19XX," features both heavily, with science often enabling or enhancing the inherent power of magic. Magic - and by extension, the occult - is perceived as ancient and natural. As such, the effects are chaotic and cannot be controlled, only harnessed - in the right context, of course.

I went to the black swamp village

Where strange people live

I saw a scrawny drunk old man

Who gave me a flask to drink

He started speakin' unusually

Sounded kinda 'of' scared

He said listen to me carefully 'cause

I'll tell you something I never tell

I went to the cemetery

Where lies my dead wife

And believe me the graves were opened

And skulls and bones raised

To understand the occult in the context of The Great War Era, you have to consider where the genre falls historically. It is encompasses the space between two of the most violent wars in human history and, during it's core years, there's a both the height of economic prosperity and depths of economic devastation. Add onto it the rising influence of organized crime and the even darker ideology of Nazism, the populace looked to ancient knowledge and intuition for solace. To be honest, the period was not unlike what the world has been like since 2001. But I digress. There are many occult influences that converged during this time period to create a veritable smorgasbord of supernatural plots within the dieselpunk genre.

During the late 1800s, Spiritualism, a movement based on the belief that the spirits of the dead exist and have the capacity to speak to the living, had gained a level of popularity across both the United States and Europe. However, during the 1920s, three distinct branches of spiritualist beliefs began to emerge. Syncretism, which involves individual practitioners being loosely organized around a central figure (usually a medium), but without a set hierarchy or set of beliefs. Some adopted elements of theosophy - such as elements of Eastern religions, astrology, and ritual - whereas others combined their spiritualist beliefs with those of their Christian faith. The Spiritualist Church also evolved during this time. The Spiritualist Church sought to put a formal structure around spiritualist practices and provided education on their methods. The third branch evolved into the early foundations of parapsychology. The Society for Psychical Research (SPR, which still exists today) sought to investigate the claims of spiritualists. Through their research, they debunked many fraudulent mediums, which were rampant during a time when people wanted to know what had happened to their loved ones in the war.

During the 1920s, there was also a growing interest in the traditions of Ancient Egypt. In 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of the pharoah Tutankhamun and "Tut-mania" took hold of the Western world. Fashion of the 1920s heavily featured scarab beetles, gold accents, and even hieroglyphics printed or embroidered onto various accessories and garments. Along with this interest in "desert garb" came rumors of curses and cursed objects. Tales of unfortunate endings for those who visited Tut's tomb swirled around parties. The Curse of the Pharaohs is believed to fall on anyone who disturbs the mummy of an Egyptian high-born person (especially pharaohs) and it does so indiscriminately, regardless of whether the intent was research or thievery. Several members of Carter's team died shortly after Tut's tomb was opened, adding fuel to the fire.

Finally, the first half of the 20th century saw the rise and fall of various occult and esoteric organizations, and the birth of many neo-pagan religions that still exist today. During the 1910s, Aleister Crowley began laying out the structure for Thelema and was a leader within the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), which I was very intrigued to find out has a group here in San Antonio. The Law of Thelema was formally documented in "The Book of the Law," which was published in 1904. Gerald Gardner, considered the "Father of Wicca," began formulating the foundations of his new religion in the late 1930s and through the 1940s. And Victor Anderson, founder of the Feri tradition, was also initiated into witchcraft practice during this time. It should also be noted that Rosicrucianism was very popular during this time period and several well-known writers and poets were members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, to include Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and William Butler Yeats. Like the Mafia, secret societies like The Order of the Golden Dawn feature heavily as the big baddies in dieselpunk fiction that take on a more magical bent.

That's all for today. Some suggestions for dieselpunk media that encapsulates the use of occult influence within the genre are the Indiana Jones movies (because cursed objects belong in a museum!), "The Adventures of the 19XX" series by Paul Roman Martinez, "Small Town Witch: Love & Wonder" by Alex Singer and Jayd Ait-Kaci, and the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

"Black Swamp Village" Video

June Theme: Retro-Futurism for the Win!

As I said before, the last month has been rough on me. Not just because of all the shadow work, but also all sorts of chaos being unleashed in both my personal and professional life. But we're getting close to Summer now, which I've always considered to be "my season." As far as I'm considered, June and July are mine, because my Sun is in Cancer and my Rising is in Gemini. Also, I was born in California and all California girls are perpetually awaiting summertime. Since June is the start of my season - and Gemini placements have diverse and varied interests - I've decided to focus on one of my passions that I don't really take the opportunity to showcase. Retro-Futurism.

For the uninitiated, retro-futurism is the creative movement that places modern and futuristic elements within a past era. My preferred aesthetic is Dieselpunk, which takes place during the Great War Era. This falls between World War I and World War II, roughly from 1920 through 1945. However, because of this placement, it naturally blends with the earlier period that comprises Steampunk and the post-war era that becomes Atompunk. Although my primary focus this month will be on the elements that make up Dieselpunk, I may dip into other retro-futuristic aesthetics as the mood strikes me.

So what does that mean for June? Well, be prepared for a lot of electro-swing, big band, some chap hop, rockabilly, horrorbilly (basically all the "billys"), and a healthy dose of my favorite band for vintage re-imagining, Postmodern Jukebox. Additionally, I plan to explore different elements of retro-futurism and how they are used in their respective aesthetic. Naturally, this will include sharing some of my favorite retro-futurist artwork and resources, as well as other Dieselpunk things I've collected over the years.