i-want-more

I love a band in uniform

Because I have nothing much to report in my life at present, I thought I'd chuck in a random blog post that's not really about anything just for amusement and to keep my mind and keyboard active.

I love it when a band wear matching outfits. I really do. I don't know why this should be the case...

My first ever band crush when I was a kid was The Monkees. I dug them primarily for the burgundy shirts with the buttons on. You know the ones. Now, I love late-period Monkees as much as anyone with a bent for the psychedelic does, but the early days is a pinnacle for me. Some of the greatest pop music ever performed in matching shirts and jeans. Yes.

In the mid-90s, I fell in love with The Make Up. They were an insanely stylish bunch, and vastly talented, with the genius Ian Svenonious (a man once described as part PG Tips chimp, part James Brown) at the helm. They liked to wear fitted suits with nehru collars in block colours like grey, canary yellow or white, or satin shirts and ties, as pictured.

In the mid-late 90s I became briefly obsessed with Dexy's Midnight Runners in their bobble hats/donkey jackets phase. This was maybe as much to do with the songs as the look. [I didn't enjoy the raggle-taggle gypsy dungarees look from Too-Rye-Aye quite as much, though.]

I still appreciate a band who make a bit of an effort with the way they dress, like MGMT.

However, having said all of the above about uniforms and matching up, some of the best bands and artists are unreconstructed scruffs. I'm thinking, of course, of the peerless Kim Deal, who makes dressing like a mechanic look downright wonderful, which is why I've been straining to emulate her for almost half my adult life. 'Making a bit of an effort', which is code for "for god's sake, can you ditch the thrift store t-shirts for once in your life?" is monumentally hard work for me. I've never got the dressing like a grown-up thing right.

This post went nowhere, eh. Never mind.

What does March bring? A 40th birthday party, a trip to Devon, the final show in the Horne Section run, and last but not least, the world premiere of Piccard in Space. it's gonna be a good month, I can feel it in me waters.

Labels: non-sequiteurs

posted by deafdisco @ 2:23 pm