I am a magazine writer who reviews local rock and roll shows for a living. The mere fact that I'm able to do something I love and make money at it astounds me every single day. I have spent all my life admiring the art form of rock, and I have been to more shows than I care to count. Through the years I have seen fads come and go, so I have a special insight to rock and roll fashion...and without a doubt, the cool t-shirts are what's hot.
One of the major taboos of going to a rock show is wearing a band shirt of the band you're going to see. Nothing shouts "lame" like being a complete fan boy. It's a contradictory statement, because almost everyone there is a fan of the band. You want to be cooler than the typical fan boy, but you can't show up naked. That's where the cool t-shirts come into play.
An unspoken competition has erupted amongst scene kids to have the coolest of the cool t-shirts. When I go to shows these days, I can see how the young people are sizing each other up and judging themselves based on what the other people are wearing. In my humble opinion, it really goes against all of the things that rock and roll stand for. How can you be rebellious and be your own person if you're constantly trying to conform?
Of course, I was just as guilty at that age of using clothes to fit in at these shows. I would sometimes go to two or three rock shows a week, and I would dress according to whatever music I was going to see. Leather at the metal shows, hemp at the jam band shows, and boots at the punk shows. If there had been somewhere demanding cool t-shirts to fit in, I would have been there too.
Now that I think back to those days of desperate acceptance in my youth, I wonder if these kids with their cool t-shirts will mature and feel the same as I do now. There will be some completely different kind of trend when they're adults. I wonder if they will have the wisdom to let the kids be kids and to not be too judgmental. Much to my shame, I don't thank that is wisdom that I possess.
One of the major taboos of going to a rock show is wearing a band shirt of the band you're going to see. Nothing shouts "lame" like being a complete fan boy. It's a contradictory statement, because almost everyone there is a fan of the band. You want to be cooler than the typical fan boy, but you can't show up naked. That's where the cool t-shirts come into play.
An unspoken competition has erupted amongst scene kids to have the coolest of the cool t-shirts. When I go to shows these days, I can see how the young people are sizing each other up and judging themselves based on what the other people are wearing. In my humble opinion, it really goes against all of the things that rock and roll stand for. How can you be rebellious and be your own person if you're constantly trying to conform?
Of course, I was just as guilty at that age of using clothes to fit in at these shows. I would sometimes go to two or three rock shows a week, and I would dress according to whatever music I was going to see. Leather at the metal shows, hemp at the jam band shows, and boots at the punk shows. If there had been somewhere demanding cool t-shirts to fit in, I would have been there too.
Now that I think back to those days of desperate acceptance in my youth, I wonder if these kids with their cool t-shirts will mature and feel the same as I do now. There will be some completely different kind of trend when they're adults. I wonder if they will have the wisdom to let the kids be kids and to not be too judgmental. Much to my shame, I don't thank that is wisdom that I possess.
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For more information about cool t-shirts check out Matt's pick for the best cool t-shirts on the web.
