"Boring conversation anyway" I mumbled to myself as I was preparing to shout to my wife “we’re gonna have company!” – Perhaps that obscure reference would be lost on T Shirt Girl as well – but anyway – at that point it dawned on my … historically I had always had a slight admiration for teenagers who wore classic bands on their chests. MC5, The Sex Pistols, The Damned, and perhaps most of all the New York Dolls. (there are others - I am just ranting about Punk and Metal at the moment!)
However I realise, increasingly, this is no longer a statement of musical taste but more a fashion statement! Vivienne Westwood beat Malcolm in the end!
No longer is the T Shirt a badge of honour for the foot soldiers of oft exploited rock n roll bands. It could say Nike or Swoosh or Tommy Golddigger on it – the nearest these kids get to the music is when Justin Bieber or Michael Bubble cover a song! Actually that I would love to hear – Justin Bieber singing a song about abortion “Fuck This, Fuck that, fuck it all and fuck the brat, she don’t want a baby that looks like that” Or ‘Next up Buble with his signature tune ‘Smash It Up’'. 'Everybodies smashing things down.....' Although i had better not joke - Paul Anka and a whole host of others have done similar things.
Anyway - I could go on (I generally do). I accost poor people wearing Stax or CBGBs T shirts all the time. Sometimes I even scare them! But hopefully they will go away and find out about these important pieces of musical history!
The Stones lips is another one – where the wearer generally doesn’t know anything beyond a greatest hits – but maybe, just maybe I am becoming a bit to dictatorial there – do they really need to be made to listen to the 4 minute version of Wild Horses featuring Gram Parsons, or Voodoo Stew’s residue sessions? Perhaps I need to take a step back!