Sunday, 18 May 2014

Don’t wear the shirt if you don’t listen to the band


Recently, many people have been choosing to wear band shirts and merchandise for artists that they don’t listen to. It’s a strange phenomenon, and it needs to stop.

Wearing a band shirt used to be something that expressed your love for a specific artist: it displayed that you enjoy a band so much that you choose to inform the world about it. Band merchandise is one of the best ways to support an artist, as most of the profit goes towards them if you purchase it from their own website or a concert. However, most of the time people are choosing to buy band shirts for bands that they don’t listen to, from shops such as Urban Outfitters and Primark.

Conforming to a specific trend or look does not make you cool, it only makes you look like a poser. Seeing so many teenage girls in Ramones shirts isn’t vintage, it’s confusing. The Ramones were not overly popular in their time as a band, but for some reason Primark is selling their shirts in every colour, and people keep buying them.

Personally, I have made lots of friends from talking to people about the bands they like from the merchandise they wear. Band shirts are a great conversation starter, and they always help people to find a common interest. It is awkward being asked about a band that you know nothing about, and pretending to like them because you like a shirt is embarrassing.

People need to be more confident with what music they like, life is too short to pretend to like something to fit in. Be true to yourself and support the bands that you personally like. 

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