The Savage Animal 10.21.09: Top 25 Band T-Shirts Ever

Posted by Mikey MiGo on 10.21.2009

50% Cotton. 100% Bad Ass. In this week’s Savage Animal, 411’s Mikey MiGo takes a look at the all time top 25 band t-shirts EVER. Plus, the new Tech N9ne video and more!


This week should be a pretty good one. One of my best friends is getting married this weekend and the reception is like three minutes from my house. Add the fact that a few people I've not seen in awhile will be attending, I plan to devour my liver. A good time shall be had by all… even if that means waking up in a pool of my own drool the next day.

Last week I was contacted by a pretty prominent regional newspaper for an interview about independent filmmaking. After writing for 411 for three and a "half-ish" years, being on that side of the media is pretty interesting. This is pretty exciting stuff. I appreciate the personal attention, but what I'm hoping is that this garners more attention for the entire Digital Lizard family. For all their hard work and talents, THEY are the ones who deserve the exposure. I'll keep you all posted on this, like it or not.

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50% COTTON. 100% BAD ASS.
All Time Top 25 Band Shirts… EVER!
Since the dawn of man, band t-shirts have been a popular form of showing support for the band and a very crucial marketing tool. From the fan's perspective you're showing support for the artist while telling the world "I am a fan of THIS". For a band this another part of their expression, a chance to make more money, and a great opportunity to turn their fans into walking billboards.

For a band shirt to be effective, the image on it must be memorable and stylish enough for someone to want to wear. A pink Metallica shirt with puppy dogs and melting ice cream would not be something ANY would want to wear. Okay, maybe a few people, but the point I'm trying to make is that the appeal and image of the band wouldn't be a proper representation of the band.

Over the years there have been tons of great memorable tee shirts. I've had my share and I wear one as I type this. I'm sure I'm not alone. Today I'm going to take a look at what I consider to be "the best" shirts of all time. By best I go with what's "iconic", "well designed", and basically just shirts that I've seen all over either on myself, friends, or strangers. I feel it's redundant and silly to say this, but please don't get all worked up over this list. I'm sure I missed a million shirts that are "better" than what I have below. If you disagree with something, that's your prerogative and right. Here's my top twenty five shirts of ALL TIME… EV-VER!

25.) Mindless Self Indulgence

Shirt: "MSI SUX" Tuxedo Shirt
The 411: Let's get this one out of the way. Here is where I toot my own horn. At one point in time, I was a HUGE MSI fan. I was a fan to the point that after nine concerts, many CDs, and much giddy fandom that I held them as high as number TWO of my "All Time Favorite Bands". In the midst of my obsession, the band held a shirt design contest. While I didn't win, I did receive the honor of "runner up". The band put my design into production and you can still get it on their website today. I'm not claiming greatness or anything. It's obviously a "borrowed idea" that I just "MSI-ied up". The first Chicago show they had this on sale at was surreal for me. You don't know how awesome it feels to see something you created at a merch booth and on the backs of tons of people.


24.) Eazy E

Shirt: Memorial
The 411: This is one of the few shirts on this list that I actually own myself. Eazy E should not be forgotten. Before there was 50 Cent and all the recent lame as shit rappers, Eazy E owned gangsta rap. It's almost been 15 years now, which is hard to believe, since his passing.


23.) Alice In Chains

Shirt: Logo
The 411: I love Alice In Chains, but their shirts have never been something that comes to mind when thinking about them. This stood out to me in my search because of the logo. The sun logo is the shit. So much that someone I know recently got it tattooed on her skin.


22.) Johnny Cash

Shirt: "CASH"
The 411: I keep seeing this shirt more and more. Hell, "Big Ben" even wore it on RAW a few weeks ago.


21.) The Strokes

Shirt: Logo
The 411: This one might have been a passing fad, but it's huge exposure in the short time frame gets it on this list. Hopefully, The Strokes take a break from their solo stuff and put out a new album someday soon. So many solo albums from the band members. C'mon, you're not the garage band version of Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Make a new Strokes album, PLEASE.


20.) The Velvet Underground

Shirt: "Andy Warhol Banana"
The 411: It's sad to think that more of today's youth probably know this shirt more than they even know the band's music. While I do like The Velvet Underground's music, this is my sneaky way of including Warhol into this column.


19.) The Beatles

Shirt: Logo
The 411: Maybe I'm missing something, but there's really no "iconic" Beatles shirts that come to mind. Their text logo has always been part of pop culture so this shirt just makes sense to post.


18.) Smashing Pumpkins

Shirt: "ZERO"
The 411: When I'm told to think of a "grunge" shirt, this is the first one that comes to mind. The "Zero" Smashing Pumpkins shirt more specifically. I'm pretty sure this shirt was seen on the "Hullapalooza" episode of The Simpsons so #18 is the least I could do for it.


17.) Nine Inch Nails

Shirt: "The Downward Spiral" Shirt
The 411: Being a huge fan, all of the NIN shirts are cataloged in my mind. So narrowing it down to one specific one was a bit rough. "The Downward Spiral" shirt gets the nod. It's nothing graphically amazing, but it's still well done. The design makes the shirt look not distressed like an Abercrombie shirt, but emotionally tortured. Well, as emotionally tortured as a shirt could be.


16.) The Ramones

Shirt: Logo
The 411: Rebelling with patriotic imagery never looked so cool.


15.) Slayer

Shirt: Variety
The 411: SLAAAAAAAYER!!! You can put any Slayer shirt in this slot and be fine with it. As long as the Slayer is red and the shirt invokes violence you're set.


14.) Rage Against The Machine

Shirt: "Evil Empire" Shirt
The 411: The "Evil Empire" shirt is pretty known, but I was looking for the old red square with simply "RAGE" inside of it. I remember vividly when this shirt was everywhere. I can pretty much guarantee that if you went to a populated teenage destination during the mid 90's, you'd see this shirt more than once.


13.) Led Zeppelin

Shirt: US Tour Shirt
The 411: If it's good enough for Matt Troutman, its good enough for me. You probably don't know who Matt Troutman is, but like many Zeppelin fans this shirt is part of his wardrobe.


12.) CBGBs

Shirt: Logo
The 411: This is the only shirt on this list that's not of an actual artist. This club was responsible for giving tons of great artists a platform to develop. I've never been to CBGBs, but I don't feel too bad because most of the people I've seen wear this shirt in my area haven't been their either.


11.) Nirvana

Shirt: Smiley Face logo
The 411: When thinking of iconic shirts you have to first think of the iconic bands. The white "Teen Spirit" shirt stands out as memorable, but the dazed smiley face is much more memorable to me.


10.) RUN DMC

Shirt: Logo
The 411: Outside of the oodles of bootleg Biggie and Pac shirts I used to see in Gary, Indiana in the 90's, there's three hip hop related shirts that stand out to me. The second one is this classic RUN DMC shirt. It's nothing special, just a bold letters with a red bar on top and bottom. Sometimes a great shirt doesn't have to do a lot outside of saying a group's name.


9.) The Rolling Stones

Shirt: Lips and Tongue Logo
The 411: When thinking about it, I've not seen this shirt as much as I thought I have. The tongue logo is timeless though. The humorous part is that I'd be curious of someone's reaction to this shirt if they were unaware of the representation.


8.) Marilyn Manson

Shirt: "Smells Like Children"
The 411: First, let's ignore that this is a toddler shirt. Really, it is. I searched, but couldn't find the normal version of this shirt online. Manson's shirts are normally hit or miss. The hits include a lot from the Mechanical Animals era and before. This was the first Manson shirt that caught my eyes back in the 90s. The whole "Manson is going to play an evil Willy Wonka" rumors from back in the day make sense because of images like this.


7.) Guns N' Roses

Shirt: Logo
The 411: A band with "guns" and "roses" in their name were bold enough to make a logo that features guns AND roses. Amazing. My smart ass comments aside, this is another timeless logo. Whether you think Rose is a douche and that Slash made the band, this logo and shirt is embedded into music history.


6.) The Doors

Shirt: Logo/Variety
The 411: This is probably higher on my list than most others would have it. The Doors have always been a favorite band of mine so their imagery is always on the cusp of my brain. I've seen a few forgettable Morrison shirts, but the album cover shirts are always cool.


5.) Wu Tang Clan

Shirt: Logo
The 411: I know some people might not have the same thought process, but when I think of "hip hop shirt" I automatically think of the Wu. The "W" emblem is almost like the hip hop version of the Superman or Batman logo.


4.) The Misfits

Shirt: Logo
The 411: What I know about The Misfits that WCW wrestling didn't teach me could fill a thimble. The skeletal face is still memorable. It's bold, it's kind of creepy, and it's a shirt that I've seen many times on many different people.


3.) AC/DC

Shirt: "Back In Black"/Logo
The 411: I wanted to display the plain black and white shirt, but this was what I came up with. The AC/DC logo is iconic. The typography mixed with the classic lightning bolt is symbolic to many. While most won't be cranking up AC/DC as much as they used to it, to me their logo represents "rock" in general. Of course I'd be remiss to not mention that this is the very shirt that one Butthead wore in "Beavis and Butthead". Which brings us up to the next one…


2.) Metallica

Shirt: Old School Variety
The 411: If it's good enough for Beavis, it's good enough for me. Outside of maybe a half dozen older tracks, I've never been a huge fan of Metallica. Their old shirts were pretty bad ass though. The example I used above is the "Ride The Lightning" shirt, but I could of easily plugged the "Master of Puppets" in there as well. When I think of "metal shirts", this is the first band that comes to mind.


1.) Pink Floyd

Shirt: "Dark Side of the Moon"
The 411: I have to go with this classic Pink Floyd shirt. I like the music as much as anyone who has experimented with marijuana, but that's not why this is number one. It's a common shirt that can you sadly probably buy at places like Target now, but that doesn't change the fact that the imagery on it is awesome. Even my father owned a "Dark Side of the Moon" shirt back in the day. It's a simple design, but done in a very artistic way. It catches your eye as art and you automatically know what the shirt represents.

What band shirt do YOU consider the most iconic/best?

Even more so, what band do YOU think has the best "shirtography"?

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RANDOM VIDEO OF THE WEEK
I didn't even know this was out there...
"Show Me A God" by Tech N9ne

The 411: I knew KOD was on it's way, but I didn't know there was a video out there. I'm a big fan of Tech. I'm not as big on his recent stuff as Everready and back, but I'm still a supporter and am always curious about his new shit. The video is very simple, but is well done. The awkward church setting kind of bothers me. It's like someone tagged Sesame Street with black light pant. This song isn't that bad, but for my first listen I'm not blown away. Lyrically it's one of Tech's most mature tracks in recent memory, but musically it lacks that bump to it that made me fall in love with his music in the past. I wish the man success and happiness, but his recent stuff comes off tame and more mainstream than his older stuff. The beats and music are "tight" as the kids would say, but if you'd say they're as imaginative as the older shit then you're pretty naive. It's part of his artistic evolution, sure, but if is this was the first Tech N9ne track I heard then I'd not have a very enthusiastic first impression. The live experience of a Tech show is what makes his music so special in my opinion. I know there are live DVDs, but why not some live concert stuff going out as the "official video" sometimes? That's where Tech, Kutt, and Kaliko shine the most.

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RANDOM MOVIE REVIEW IN 411 WORDS OR LESS
"WHATEVER WORKS"
STARRING LARRY DAVID & EVAN RACHEL WOOD

The 411: I am a huge fan of Woody Allen's work. I've binged and taken the time to see most of his filmography over the past couple of years. There's some I like more than others and some I can easily praise as some of the best movies I've ever seen. Over the past few years, Mr. Allen has been filming in other countries and pretty much focusing on more dramatic works. Sure there's normally the signature charming humor mixed in, but the themes are rather dark in these recent films. This one not only brings us back to New York, but is probably the funniest Woody Allen movie in AT LEAST half a decade. For most filmmakers that wouldn't mean a lot, but Allen cranks out a movie a year. This movie is about a genius New Yorker, played by Larry David, who is a know-it-all snob of despair. He meets a naive young southern girl played brilliantly by Evan Rachel Wood. These two form an odd dependency on each other that turns to a relationship. All is well for them until her separated and chaotic parents, Patrica Clarkson and Ed Begley Jr. show up and everything just goes off the deep end. The grumpiness of David and the innocence of Wood make a great combination. There's a lot of charm, a lot of laughs, and it doesn't disappoint. My only gripe is the third act. The movie builds on the relationship for most of the movie and then once Begley Jr. shows up the movie feels really rushed. I'd give this one a solid B, but it has potential to be a classic and increase in value like a baseball card.

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RANDOM STUFF ON MY TV IN 411 WORDS OR LESS
"SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (Air Date: October 17th, 2009)"
Gerard Butler on SNL? Yeah, that announcement didn't exactly make me excited for this week's show. Then I saw him earlier in the week on Fallon and he was very down to earth and entertaining. I don't know why, but I imagined the guy to be less charismatic and more of a prude. After his rocking performance of "Roadhouse Blues" with The Roots my curiosity in what he'd do on SNL was sparked. I was hesitant when it was announced, but I gleefully admit that Gerard Butler delivered. This episode of SNL was easily the best of the season so far and to be honest it was probably the best in quite some time. The opening with "The Rock Obama" was funny and well done. My only complaint was that it appeared that Jenny Slate was "pulling a Fallon" and was all giggly during the lines that weren't hers. She can drop all the f-bombs she wants, but my biggest SNL pet peeve is when a performer laughs when the rest of the cast is keeping it straight. There were a few "eh" sketches, but the good outweighed the bad by far. "Beauty & The Beast" was great just for the line about liking big asses, "Daveheart" was funny, and I don't know what the hell was going on during the Keenan sketch with James Franco but it was shockingly funny. No one seemed to notice that Andy Samberg wasn't there, but dammit… I did! I hope he just had the week off for some personal stuff and not sick, or even worse… didn't get a sketch AT ALL on the show. I really have no desire to see Taylor Swift host and perform on the show. I'll put money on them bringing up the "Kanye incident", but that's pretty obvious. I was reluctant about Butler so I'll keep an open mind… but still, it's Taylor Swift. She might be the nicest girl in the world, but this is SNL. Despite what haters will say, SNL still hold high standards with me.

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WRESTLING WITH PILLOWS
Looking Out From the Inside.
True Story: In my one and only professional wrestling match (thank GOD!), I wore a Snoop Dogg shirt.

Wow was RAW good this week. Snoop was a good host. We've seen him around plenty over the years to know he's not there to JUST promote his new album but rather because he's a huge fan of the company. Santino showing up in a Charlie Brown costume was perfect. It might have been my favorite host/Santino moment yet. The teased segment that ended with candles was entertaining and fun. Like a good SNL host, Snoop didn't distract from the show but added his own contributions. I enjoyed the "Someone might lose their spot" 5 on 5 match. I sorta wished Swagger would of taken the pin from MVP. Bourne would have been cool too just as payback for all the jobs he has done to Swag (and just about everyone else on RAW) in the past few months. The Orton/"Teddy" segment was pretty damn good. I read that the crowd was "begging" for DiBiase to fight back, but it wasn't NEARLY on the level the crowd cheered for Cody when Orton RKO'd Dusty. Not even close. In fact, as much as I support DiBiase, I'd think the company would be a little nervous now with his supposed upcoming face turn. I admit to not seeing a good 5 minute chunk of the Triple H/Cena match, but it seems to be overrated already. It was solid, but nothing different than any other "face vs. face" Main Event style match up. The basic routine seems to be back and forth, back and forth, sell like you're dying, kick out of each other's finishers, lots of near falls, and then shake hands at the end. Good match, maybe even great for RAW but if that was a PPV Main Event the IWC would be shitting all over it. Miz got the short end of the stick tonight being forced to work an embarrassing Marty Jannetty. Seriously, Marty looked BAD. I've always been a supporter of the guy, but his work on RAW felt like I was watching local 40+ year old independent wrestling in front of 75 people. While a small indy show can be fun, that's not the indy show I'm talking about here. Yeeesh, that was bad. The final segment of the show was a bait and switch HBK/Y2J match. That's a pretty cruel joke to pull on someone, but once you realized how little time was left and that Jericho wasn't putting the mic down it became obvious. That said, the segment was well done. I'm not thrilled that they're making Cryme Tyme come off as heels, but whatever… it was fun. If they build Survivor Series the same way then we're in for a good home stretch leading to the normally eventful "Survivor Series to Mania" time frame.

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That's all for this week. I am always a fan of taking a little time to appreciate the graphical/art work side of music. There's been plenty album covers, logos, and promotional stuff that could easily be considered when thinking of some of my favorite art. I'll have to attack "favorite band logos" in the near future. After today's column that sounds like a lot of fun. I've had an idea for next week's column now for about a month. Of course it'll be a "seasonal" column with Halloween approaching, but with some luck it'll be a bit different than the dozens of others that'll be coming around as well. After that I think it's time for a new "First Impressions". I'm not sure what band to listen to for it. If YOU can think of any bands with 3 to 5(maaaybe 6) albums in their discography that I should give a listen to then please share! Until next time… Have a Great Week!