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Underground > Radio & Music >

Band T-Shirts

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All Acting Regiment

20:34 / 11.01.05

Do you wear T-shirts or other merchandise of bands you like? Or do you find this stupid? If so, why?

Do you feel that a band has sold out the minute they start selling t-shirts?

(this in the music fora for now- that's the angle I'm looking at, but some people might feel it goes better in the Fashion art a nd design forum)

Brigade du jour

21:04 / 11.01.05

I'm wearing a Clash long-sleeved t-shirt urban-style fashion item, and I like it. I also hope that someone might see it, wonder to themselves why people go on about this band The Clash and go listen to their stuff. But the altruistic intention is admittedly ancillary to the desire to dress like a fifteen-year-old.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

23:58 / 11.01.05

My wardrobe consists largely of band t-shirts, I'm ashamed to say. (Yet strangely not ashamed to wear them in public. Hmm.) I own hundreds of the damn things.

lonely as a cloud...

08:27 / 12.01.05

One of my favourite t-shirts is a band t-shirt - Manic Street Preachers "All Rock And Roll Is Homosexual". Their "If I Can Shoot Rabbits Then I Can Shoot Fascists" t-shirt from a coupla years ago was pretty cool, too. I guess it makes a band seem better if you see their name on cool shirts.

11:32 / 12.01.05

I have a Public Enemy t-shirt I got at a gig that I like, though I generally wear it after work or when slobbing around in private.
In general though I am not a big fan of band t-shirts, though someone does pull them off well it can look really cool. Done badly however and you definitely run the risk of looking a bit shit.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

12:36 / 12.01.05

There're also the "classic" band t-shirts- the ones that are so iconic, or possibly just so commonplace, that you almost don't even assume that the person wearing them LIKES the band in question... I'm thinking Motorhead, the Ramones... (both of which I wear, and both of which bands I love, incidentally)

I also have a couple of homemade band T-shirts- a Throbbing Gristle one with a big white TG on the front, and a Psychic TV one, that's basically just a big white Psychic Cross on black (with, unfortunately, "Healter Skelter"- Manson Family spelling, y'see... and yes, the "K" in "Skelter" IS backwards...- look, I was young and impressionable) on the back, done with bleach and a sponge. Personally, I think the PTV one, though amateurishly done, is better than any of the 3 genuine PTV shirts I own.

Scrambled Password Bogus Email

14:10 / 12.01.05

Do you feel that a band has sold out the minute they start selling t-shirts?

Huh? Sold out of t-shirts, maybe.

Merchandise is the strongest negotiating point actually weighted in the artist's favour of just about every record deal ever, so if you like a band, and want to pledge your support, they'll earn a fuck site more wedge from you buying their t-shirt/lunchbox/wallpaper than 15 track album.

All Acting Regiment

19:44 / 12.01.05

Those homemade T-shirts sound ace. I think they embody the good side of wearing a t-shirt to show like a band, as opposed to the little cunts in slipknot hoodies who yada yada hater rant.

20:26 / 12.01.05

I became properly obsessed with finding an El-P t-shirt last year. I was pretty into badges for a while, but now there's a ton of bands I'd like to wear on my front and back.

A

06:50 / 13.01.05

I started a "What Band Shirts Do You Own?" thread back when Dinosaurs roamed the Earth. There's some interesting stuff in there....

Rollo Kim, on location

07:28 / 13.01.05

Well on the classic / iconic front, I bought myself a PiL [that's 'Public Image Limited'] T-shirt for christ mouse! Woo!

at the scarwash

08:01 / 13.01.05

the only band t-shirt that I've ever really cared about was a Morissey Your Arsenal shirt that I picked up for $0.75 at a garage sale featuring a long photo of the mozz similar to the cover of that record that declard on the back, "We look at danger and we laugh our heads off."

Haus of Mystery

11:23 / 13.01.05

Generally I think they can be naff, but as with most clothes it's all about how good they look. Fact is, most band T's are either ugly, cheap or XXXXL. A friend of mine owned the most hideous Oasis longsleeve with full Uglies on the front, logo on the back and Definitely Maybe written up either arm. You know that bit in 'Big Trouble in Little China' when Jack looks at Lopan's eyes and is temporarily blinded. Same thing with me and that monstrosity.

For my sins I have one band T-shirt, a rather nice yellow Themselves one with a sexy black logo on the front and a warning sign on the back of a baby climbing into a dustbin. the reasons I wear it are
a) i put the gig on, so it has fond associations
b) it looks fucking cool
c) it fits me just so

I'm more of a poster man, myself.

16:08 / 13.01.05

ahh but macgyver have you ever owned band t- shirts in the past, I bet theres a James sit Down t-shirt in a wardrobe at mummys?

i only have the one band-esque t-shirt that i sometimes where which is a 'studio 1' t-shirt (does it count?) although in the past i have owned a pixies shirt, a vile long sleeved wonderstuff t shirt, a nirvana t shirt, an Iron Maiden T-shirt, a black sabbath t shirt a chilli peppers t-shirt and a farkin horrible Living Colour T shirt (all of which were concert t shirts- with the exception of pixies).

I don't think i'd ever make a concious effort to wear one again unless the shirt was cool in design as they tend to be badly made and can be a bit naff.

Haus of Mystery

17:09 / 13.01.05

Previously owned:
-Frank Black
-Charlatans
-Blur

But not a James T-Shirt. Not that ancient I'm afraid old son.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

22:05 / 13.01.05

Not that ancient I'm afraid old son.

Jesus. Some of us think of that phase in James's less than star-studded career as the late dregs, years after the early promise of "Strip-Mine", and the bit when they went all shit and radio-friendly.

Is it time for my cocoa yet?

NURSE!!!

lord nuneaton savage

10:23 / 14.01.05

I've got a (non-ironic) Hawkwind T-shirt that just THROBS with rock, as well as a Neu! T-shirt that I had printed myself.
That Neu! logo makes for a great tee, actually. I don't know why there's never been official ones made.

10:31 / 14.01.05

oh dear. been trying to pretend this thread isn't here for ages, but

sbeen a long time since one touched my skin, but going back in time and being honest as my memory will allow:

de la soul (x2 first-band obsession c. 1989, cheap and hippyish)
public enemy (particularly nasty longsleeve jobbo, worn for YEARS, ripped and all)

then a break of a few years til the blinding britpop renaissance:

heavy stereo (bright purple, nice one gambo, the gig was shit and all, why exactly did you do that then?)
oasis (-gulp- x2 - one black, xxl with the boring rectangular logo. the other, not so bad actually, kind of a mock-sixties england footie-shirt affair with red white n blue cording on the sleeves and v-neck. nice clingy fit, me being so thin at age sixten as to be practically invisible. it was probably meant to be a girl's shirt, thinking about it. in my defence, no-one else in backwaterland had even heard of them by this point, and both tees were retired before their second album come out when, tragically, other people did hear about them and i decided i was a blur man. didn't buy one of their t-shirts though.)

and actually that's it. i thought there'd be more, but that's really it.

band shirts i've never owned, so fuck you:
carter usm
sleeper

band shirt i wouldn't mind maybe having now, thinking about it: those inspiral carpets ones with the cow having a toke saying 'cool as fuck' (inspiral carpets are my revival band for '05 by the way, ugly men with surprisingly good songs, not too proud to record an original track for bbc1's going live summer replacement saturday morning show)

it was a bit painful, but i feel better for having done that.

lord nuneaton savage

10:55 / 14.01.05

THE 8.15 FROM MANCHESTER!
THE 8.15 FROM MANCHESTER!
THE 8.15 FROM MANCHESTER!
BAA BA BA BA BA!
BAA BA BA BA BA!

No, you're right, that's genius.

lonely as a cloud...

11:10 / 14.01.05

Hey Gumbitch - I too was swept away by Oasis back in the day, and had one of those cligy-fit t-shirts with the three-colour piping...as I recall, they were available by mail order thanks to a little leaflet in one of the CDs...and I think they were meant to be unisex, just to spare your blushes. You might recall that the New Wave Of New Wave was happening at the time, so skinny-fit t-shirts on boys was the new black.

11:18 / 14.01.05

Hang on a minute MacGyver, you used to have loads of band t-shirts. Loads of power rock band t's. Ha ha & you had that obsession with Tom Cruise, i've got the picture of you trying to get an autograph here. Sorry mate by the public need to see the real you.

MacGyver is the one with the glasses on the right. My God i remember that tash!

11:31 / 14.01.05

i didn't know macgyver and dave sim were such dead ringers...

11:37 / 14.01.05

cloudstrife - ah yes, NWONW as it was sometimes abbreviated(by twats), the post-punk to britpop's new romantic. i still have my red skinnyfit adidas t that was these-animal-men as fuck. doesn't count as yr actual band t though.

Haus of Mystery

14:48 / 14.01.05

Yeah but I got the cunt's autograph didn't I? Anyway don't fuck with me 'Mummy' or the Scientologists will be all over your ass.

Consider this your only warning

16:09 / 14.01.05

I drink my coffee out of a Mercury Rev mug

I'm terrible for this - Pogues' Rum Sodomy and the Lash, SFA's Mwng goatskull Tshirt, and a very nice DJ Shadow/Earl Palmer T are all regular wear, plus I've got several old T's which I sleep in/ wear around the house - System 7, Stone Roses, really bad Manics bootleg, really bad Orb bootleg...

The list is endless. Though the mug remains my favourite thing ever...

Brigade du jour

21:48 / 14.01.05

A cautionary tale for y'all:

I used to have a Pulp t-shirt with just the word 'Pulp' on it about ten years ago. Simple, classic. I threw a party and this girl came to it. She was the friend of a friend, about sixteen years old and very very very very very very drunk (and I found there were few things more annoying than a drunk sixteen-year-old) and all night she couldn't be bothered to remember my name so she just kept calling me 'Pulp'.

"Pulp, can I have another drink?"
"Pulp, where's the toilet?"
"Pulp, why don't you like me? I like you!"

Ever since that night I've kept my band t-shirt-wearing habits under better control.

23:38 / 14.01.05

And yes, the "K" in "Skelter" IS backwards

And after everything that might have been said about Bluff Prince Hals recent party outfit as well...

Goodness Gracious Meme

13:20 / 15.01.05

I love how this has become more of a 'confessions' thread than anything else.

Don't currently have any band t-shirts, as I generally think they're a bit shit. I'd buy one for a band I really liked if it was a good piece of clothing in itself, but that's rarely the case.

But back in the day, ahhh.

I had an 'unofficial' 'Violator' t-shirt that was my pride and joy, and if I still had it, could probably be customised nicely: black with a large red rose and grey 'D' and 'M' either side. That rocked.

I bought, carried away by my Pulplust an 'I'm Common' one, which just had that on the front in Pulpy typeface. That would actually be pretty good, were it not for the fact that the tee was green and orange, orange writing, sleeves(in that diagonoal-panel Britpop 'special' way.) and cuffs. Even I couldn't carry that off.

Still wear my Sugar/Copper Blue one in bed/for sports - grey 'marl'/pic of the album cover. It's comfy, and gives me a warm glow.

I did have, and would still wear, a (probably fake) red 'Taking Drugs to Make Music to Take Drugs To'.

*Never* had a James t-shirt or a 'Levellers' one. But did have several million Poppies ones: the 'burger', the 'fake cokr' one, the Def Com One etc etc.

Goodness Gracious Meme

13:22 / 15.01.05

Were the Poppies the ultimate 'more t-shirt than band' band?

Oh, and a friend had a very cool smiths one; we went to see la Moz in about '94/'95, and she wore a Meat is Murder t-shirt that her dad had bought at a Smiths gig. Nice

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

23:12 / 15.01.05

And after everything that might have been said about Bluff Prince Hals recent party outfit as well...

Fortunately my plans to be third in line to the throne were scuppered.

Brigade du jour

23:58 / 15.01.05

I bought, carried away by my Pulplust an 'I'm Common' one, which just had that on the front in Pulpy typeface. That would actually be pretty good, were it not for the fact that the tee was green and orange, orange writing, sleeves(in that diagonoal-panel Britpop 'special' way.) and cuffs. Even I couldn't carry that off.

I remember that one! My friend had it and I tried to steal it off her but, um ... it didn't quite, you know um ... fit.

That story sounds kind of kinky now I read it back ...

14:12 / 16.01.05

Fortunately my plans to be third in line for the throne were scuppered

Well not necessarily. I gather that Zara Philips is still available, so with some judicious use of charm and arsenic, you could be... well not exactly on the throne, certainly, but the next best thing. You could be Prince Phil for the Twenty First century !

ONLY NICE THINGS

16:19 / 16.01.05

I bought, carried away by my Pulplust an 'I'm Common' one, which just had that on the front in Pulpy typeface. That would actually be pretty good, were it not for the fact that the tee was green and orange, orange writing, sleeves(in that diagonoal-panel Britpop 'special' way.) and cuffs. Even I couldn't carry that off.

Oh, God. Yes, I had that one as well - purchased in a blind desire to express my love for Pulp, then almost immediately discarded on the grounds that the colours were not only awful in combination, but that the orange clashed with my then-titian hair something chronic.

I think the only band T-shirt I have now in a wearable state is a Magnetic Fields one, purchased in a similar flush of love. Since my wardrobe doesn't really have much space for T-shirts as outerwear, it's a bit academic. I also have an old Curve T-shirt and old Half Man Half Biscuit tour T-shirt, both at about car-cleaning level of wear.

I used to have... hmm. Therapy? (I hate everyone but you, sometimes I even hate you too), Oasis (White polo shirt w/ blue and red detailing... surprisingly subtle, not very me), a couple of NIN T-shirts, again from gigs, and a Ned's Atomic Dustbin "Kill Your Television" longsleeve, which appeared among my washing at University...

I remember buying my first band T-shirt with the proceeds of my first paycheque...

18:09 / 16.01.05

I used to have a Pogues t-shirt, 'If I Should Fall From Gace With God' if memory serves, and a Pastels one, but that's pretty much it.

Who'd have guessed that Haus* was a Neds fan though ?

* I'm not entirely sure if anyone's going to buy the whole washing machine scenario...

Rollo Kim, on location

19:30 / 16.01.05

Oh how could I forget, I've got three 'The Cocteau Twins' T-shirts too.

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