I feel close to you people, so it's confession time: I'm a whore for t-shirts (that's size XL if you're wondering).
It started in college, while writing for my school paper. I was sent a package from some PR firm hired by MTV to promote the winner of a Battle of the Bands-type contest. Along with a press release and cassette (yup, I'm that old), there was a black t-shirt. I think they got to play at the MTV Beach House all summer (remember the MTV Beach House?). I was still in J-school at the time, and had already taken my ethics courses, so naturally filled to the brim with smugness. I wasn't going to be swayed by a T-shirt... But, man this was a cool shirt. It was for the winning band (if you consider playing at the MTV Beach House winning); a crappy alt/grunge group from Maryland: Bovox Clown (still remember 'em, that's how cool their logo was. It was this creepy grinning clown face on a black background).
A week later, I was wearing the shirt, so after much internally struggle, I felt compelled to write about this sub-par, paint-by-numbers grunge band... and I did. You never forget your first time. For the record, it was a very matter-of-fact article free of any superlatives or gushing accolades.
Flash forward about a decade and I now have two dresser drawers jammed so tightly with short-sleeved band T's that they don't quite shut all the way.
I get a slew of CDs send to my door each week and try to listen to every single one, at least once, but sometimes it takes a month or so to get through the rotation. And sadly, I still manage to get swayed by a band t-shirt. I'm pathetic. I can admit it. 100% cotton is pretty much all it takes for your record to move to the top of the pile - no matter how lame I think it's going to sound. Trust me, I'm not proud of it, but it's true... Don't judge me! I get paid on average 0 dollars and 0 cents for my reviews and articles, so let me keep my spoils.
Have I ever given a band a shitty review despite receiving graft? Sure. Ever given a shitty band a good review because of a shirt? Nah (it's a shirt, people, not bars of gold).
But, I've also gotten swag from some very cool bands (for those keeping track, I'm wearing a Mental Records T right now, home to some killer bands like Automatic 7 and Chesterfield), so I think it all evens out in the end.
Imagine what I'd write for a hoodie...
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2 comments:
I am also a whore for band t-shirts (and I have to say that I also use the phrase "I am a whore for..." way too often). As I write my first comment on JMo's blog site, I am wearing a long-sleeved black tee with a really cool stick-figure dude waving a wand that points to a star. It is for a band called Hum, whom I LOVED when I was in college...only three full-length albums and they're, of course, no longer together. But, this comment goes back to the first JMo blog I read that I was going to reply to re: obscure (or not-so-obscure) bands in commercials these days...Ironically, the band Hum is featured in the 2008 Cadillac CTS commercial (no I do not "know" cars, I wrote it down so I would remember). Alas, maybe people in advertising are cooler than I thought???
Interesting idea for a post (songs in car commercials). I think I'll write about it soon.
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