I have a wardrobe problem. Most of what I have consists of jeans, gym socks, sneakers, and lots and lots and lots of T-shirts. Of those T-shirts, at least 90% of them are music-related in some way.
A few have goofy pictures. Some are souvenirs from places like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas. The rest are band T-shirts, swag that I’ve either picked up at a gig or in a store somewhere.
As I was contemplating how I was going to dress for a formal thing my wife insisted we attend. Do I go with a Sum 41 shirt? Or would something classic from The Clash or Nirvana be better?—it occurred to me that band T-shirts have been with us for a very, very long time.
But how long? Who came up with the idea in the first place? And why are so many of these shirts selling for hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars today?
It seemed like there was a good story here—and there was. This is a look at the origins and lore behind all that gear you have in your drawers and closets. It’s a comprehensive history of the band T-shirt.
Songs heard on this show:
- Oasis, Acquiesce (Live)
- Nine Inch Nails, Head Like a Hole (Live)
- Elvis Costello, This Year’s Girl
- Nirvana, Heart-Shaped Box
- U2, Vertigo (Live in Milan)
- Joy Division, Shadowplay
- Danzig, Mother
Here’s Eric Wilhite’s playlist.
The Ongoing History of New Music can be heard on these stations:
- 102.1 The Edge/Toronto – Sunday night at 7pm
- Q107/Toronto – Sunday night at 9pm
- Live 88-5/Ottawa – Saturdays at 9am and Sundays at 6pm
- 107.5 Dave-FM/Kitchener – Sunday nights at 11pm
- FM96/London – Sunday nights at 8pm
- Power 97/Winnipeg – Sunday nights at 10am and 10pm
- 107-3 The Edge/Calgary – Sundays at 10am and 10pm
- Sonic 102.9/Edmonton – Sunday at 8am and 8pm
- The Zone/Victoria – Sunday at 9am and 9pm
- The Fox/Vancouver – Sundays at 10am and 10pm
- The Goat Network/Interior BC
- WAPS/WKTL The Summit/Arkon, Canton, Cleveland, Youngstown – Mon-Fri at 9pm
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