It seems to be common place that things can just be ingested into the mainstream. It would seem we live in a paradoxical society which embraces nostalgia yet has no respect for legacy, that the origins of something is beyond inconsequential all in the name of being ‘cutting edge’. Its all fair and well trying to be educated and diplomatic about this issue, but the brass tax of it is simply people couldn’t give a fuck about anything, they’re just interested in looking good and being a cut above the rest.
When I was growing up, I suffered for my cause. I took on the ridicule of my peers and my superiors all in the name of exploration, searching beyond was presented to me as ‘normal’. Wearing a band t shirt was once considered at threat to society punishable by being branded a social outcast, a viewpoint rooted in the simple human idiosyncrasy that we fear what we don't know, fuelled by unwanted and unfounded mass media attention. Now not only is is socially acceptable but the nature of expressing your tastes through fashion has become diluted beyond the point of recognition. This is a difficult issue to tackle without treading into the realms of snobbery, but I think you should defend something you are passionate about when some choose to abuse it.
The example I always find myself using as a 'go to' is The Misfits.
The Misfits have the unique accolade of becoming something much greater than its initial components. It wouldn't be unfair to brand The Misfits ascetically as a gimmick in any musical context. But consider the notion that they cut their musical teeth being fully embezzled in the Hardcore Punk movement of the early 1980s, responsible for some of the most vocally and physically opinionated and hard to please fans music will ever see. No one in the world would be considered foolish to think that The Misfits wouldn't have lasted too long in such a high standard environment, but amongst their compatriots and the millions of people around the world who have embraced them they are considered one of the most influential bands alternative music has ever produced.
Tell all this to the girl in Topshop wearing the famous Skull logo T shirt, or that faceless neanderthal on T4 with a 'Walk Among Us' shirt on during some equally faceless 'music festival'. Not to judge above my pay bracket but I bet dollars to donuts they look at you like paint drying.
I am perfectly aware that some of the responsibility lies with the bands, they don't necessarily have to shill their merchandise. But these bands have spent years scraping together every available penny they could muster all in the name of making music, so I think you'd have to be pretty unsavoury to deny them the opportunity of the pay cheque. Plus, if they can take advantage of the morons willing to shell out hard cash for one of these shirts (or various other pieces of merchandise) all in the name of social politics then more power to them. The availability isn't the issue, if anything we fully embrace the idea that you can walk through the hight street and pick up such items, the problem is when they are used as tools of ignorance and arrogance.
The toughest pill to swallow amides this generation of vapid hipster types is their inane arrogance to try and shun away the people true to the cause. The idea that a chosen few dictate what is and what isn't. The same people that a meer ten years ago looked at you from their nose for being what they are trying oh so hard to be now. You need only look at the legion of Converse, Vans and TUK you see in every day 2012 to understand my position on this.
We obviously don't expect everyone to understand the inner workings of alternative culture, our cause isn't one of didactically claiming this is something only for the initiated, we openly embrace anyone to get into the bands, fashion and lifestyles that comes with the endeavours we put our name to. We simply ask that instead of using it as a crutch, you actually embrace the culture and the history that brought it to your doorstep.
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