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"Oh you're wearing Levi's?!? Name 3 brands of pickaxes available during the California Gold Rush in the 1850s. I'll wait...."

This is the polar opposite of the Napster issue 20-odd years ago. Back then we debated the ethics of enjoying a band’s music without paying for it. Now we’re debating the ethics of paying a band without enjoying their music.

I met a girl working the register at Dollar General a few weeks back. She was wearing a Cannibal Corpse shirt and I was like "hey! cool shirt. 😎" and she IMMEDIATELY was like "YES My favorite song is "Evisceration Plague" and I am going to the show at the Diamond next month." and I was like "sheesh!" and she said, "oh, sorry. I get so tired of people saying "Name one song." I felt bad for her! we now talk about music every time I'm in the store. 😎

I wore a slayer shirt to a grateful dead show back in 95. A guy called me an iconoclast of individuality in a sea of conformity.

I once saw a guy wearing a "The Flames" shirt at an "In Flames" concert. Chad.

I'm in a band. I don't give a F*ck who wears our shirts. Any shirts I sell is a win for me.

I personally don’t mind what people wear, but there is that part of me that would roll their eyes seeing like Justin Bieber for example wearing a Slayer shirt. I think the reason why some metal heads get precious about it is because a lot of us have spent most of our lives having the piss taken out of us by the “cool crowd” for liking metal/wearing metal clothing and to see someone from that supposed crowd wearing a shirt that’s from the metal scene comes across as hypocritical and being posers. They’ve not suffered the sufficient ridicule that the rest of us had to suffer to wear those shirts!! But yeah like I said I don’t care, but I do sort of understand the people who do get annoyed by it

I always research everything I wear. Nike? Know all about it. H&M? You bet. Random German hiking shirt I got from my girlfriends dad? Did a deep-dive on that. I of course started watching baseball despite being from Sweden because someone once gave me a Red Sox hat.

the only real issue i have with “non metal” people wearing band shirts is that a lot of the time its people who made fun of alternative culture for years now trying to capitalize on something trendy. like you dont know how many times i got picked on in high school only to find out that those kids who picked on me now dress emo on tiktok for views lmaoo im more annoyed by the hypocrisy than the poserness but ultimately it doesn’t matter

When I was a kid I bought shirts and CDs based off the artwork then got into the bands afterwards.

The main reason I get annoyed at people wearing rock/metal shirts is that it’s the same people who make fun of me for actually listening to the music.

Absolutely hilarious, like you pointed out, that the We Came As Romans dude was the basically the biggest gatekeeper in the video.

The only time I’ve ever been like “do you even know who is on your shirt?” Was when my girlfriend’s little sister came into the living room wearing a Blood on the Dance Floor shirt. A teenage girl wearing a BOTDF t shirt is fucking terrifying.

I literally discovered Trivium by seeing a cute stranger wearing a Trivium t-shirt. Whether they were an actual fan or not is irrelevant now I like Trivium

I feel old. I bought that same Kittie shirt Alicia Taylor is wearing when it originally came out in the early 2000’s. 😅

I think the worst gatekeeper heckling moments I’ve ever had were when I got a Mohawk in 8th grade. Someone came up to me and said “I was punk first” in a super butt hurt voice. Then the older punk guy at the school of course called me a poser and bullied me regularly until I cut it off because it wasn’t worth it to get harassed constantly. I was getting into playing punk/ metal guitar and heavier music, but they never asked me about the music. It was more some skinny feminine guy with a Mohawk who didn’t give off street punk af alpha vibes so I was a poser 🤷‍♂️ I remember not feeling welcomed into any alternative scene really over the years. why make someone feel stupid/ lame/ or alienated over anything you supposedly like or embody more fiercely than them? It’s so childish like the physical manifestation of “I played with this toY fIrsT So It’S a Mine”.

Blue jeans were originally made as work clothes for American Farmers in the 1800s, and yet, most people who wear them can't name their three favorite irrigation methods. SMH.

I like to imagine Jose Mangin renting out a storage unit in 2007 with the sole purpose of filling it floor to ceiling with boxes of Affliction shirts. Every event day, he swings by the unit to pull a new, perfectly plastic wrapped tee. He burns the shirt after he's done with it. The shirt burns easily, thanks to the heavy coating of Acqua di Gio.

I remember a specific situation a year or two ago. A young adult (20 or so) came into my store. As I chequed him out I noticed the SWEET Aaliyah shirt. Clearly vintage from when she was big. Asked him where he got it and said he thrifted it. He was like " oh she's a singer? Just thought it was a sick shirt, I'll have to check her out". I was like, your about to go down a rabbit whole and a half son lmao. At first I felt a little bommerish or gate keepy about it. Then I realized he's going to go discover something all because of this silly shirt. Actually, pretty cool way to find music if you ask me. (P.s. I'm a punk amd metal guy but I'm into music in general, hence the respect for aaliyah)

"My culture is your costume"" You woke-stamped the the whole communtity of metal gatekeepers with that statement!

The only people who care are a small population of actual metal fans. No one else cares. Also, if a non metal fan wears a metal shirt, they most likely won’t even be around any actual metal fans.

In today's media landscape, its not uncommon for people to develop wildly varied tastes in music, I have no doubt that GaGa is actually into metal. I feel like the cliques are dissolving but old guard are oblivious to it. It occurred to me that life is more or less cosplay anyhow, lol.

As a fan of stopper knots that can easily be undone by pulling one end, I resent that you assume I wear this shirt because of a band. Lol.

Personally I think if anything just tell them that it's a sick shirt. 👍🏼 And if you're going to say anything else about it, politely tell them that the band is one of your favorites and leave it at that, if they want to know more they'll ask or they'll go find out for themself.

I honestly can’t believe people say the word poser unironically

As a vintage t-shirt collector from Norway, I wear a lot of metal tees! And honestly, some of them I buy for the aesthetic, they look amazing - and I always end up listening to the artist, it's like another incentive to check out music you wouldn't know to look for.

DUDE Gleaming the Cube is like one of my FAVORITE MOVIES lol I'm 48 I wear Whatever the hell I want to wear! Trip pants, Emo clothes, Metal, Hard Rock, etc... But I'd never be caught dead in a Cardi B or Kanye or anything of that type! People tell me I'm too old to wear that.... Ummm 70s and 80s CREATED Metal and Emo and Hard Rock!!! I love Music BVB, FIR, ETF, Motionless in White, SLIPKNOT, Fame on Fire, Volbeat, Asking Alexandria, LifeHouse, Rob Zombie, 30 seconds of Summer, lol Guitars, Drums, and Bass, with Awesome Beats and Lyrics What Could Be Better??

Lol well I'm a woman and listen to Metal lol my friend and I enjoyed the hell out of seeing Slayer live. It's funny but I love wearing my band shirts and I get a shout in the street. Especially being a African American..most won't look at me and say she's blasting rock or metal in her headphones. I rock my favorite bands proudly and love the looks because I get into a whole conversation about the music and band. I found We Came As Romans and love them lol they tried to out keep the gate keepers lol

Finn, I've been following your channel for years and I love the recognized view of Gatekeepers and the subculture inside of many sides of music and the punishing side of being on a single side of said culture and why you're there? I'm so excited about the way you're examining it! We need more of these examinations to see it come full on!?

Do I have to know 10 things about Van Gogh because I love Starry Night? Or can I just love the art?

I love metal and I don't think I have any metal shirts other than local bands. I also love alternative country, jam bands, etc and I definitely have way more shirts from those genres. It used to bug me seeing people wearing steal your face T-shirts and have no clue who the grateful dead is. Then I have to remember my 6 year old has a steal your face shirt and she has no idea who the grateful dead is.

A band is being promoted. End of story. How that is a bad thing I will never understand

I'm torn. haha Whereas I do think that it shouldn't matter (more recognition and financial support for the bands), part of me gets annoyed. lol I've tried to figure out why...maybe bc the person seems to be ingenuine at first impression (and honesty is a big deal to me).... Maybe it is the perception of them being something that they aren't. Kind of like the Ghost phenomenon. You expect certain music due to their appearance, and many people are confused af, (or even pissed) when they hear their music for the first time.... bc they feel like they were tricked. 😆😂 Either way, I do still like Ghost--even with the "trickery", and it doesn't bother me in that. Guess the bottom line is that we should be very careful stereotyping, as we can become to attached to our perceptions of which "categories" someone should be in.

I prefer when people know the band on their shirts. It kinda let's me know if i can start a conversation.

I personally think Infant Annihilator shirts should be marketed towards school age children who have never heard the band, and handed out at school fairs.

I honestly feel that if normies are wearing band shirts they don't listen to, that it is a sign the band is doing something right with the design of their shirts. If the designs are killing it, then people will want to wear it because it just looks cool. (excluding Metallica, cause they're not really a band anymore, they're just a brand at this point).

Oh, you wear Nike? Name three sweatshops!

metalheads be like Why do not more people appreciate this music and then when someone does they just start showing what they are actually like

I mean, even if somebody buys a band tee from a thrift store just because it looks cool, who cares? Whether they decide to listen to or even like the music or not, what does it matter? It's just a damn shirt.

Honestly, I don’t care. If I point it out and ask someone “hey you like x band?” And they’re like “no but the shirts cool” I’m just like “oh cool” and MOVE ON because what someone wears has literally no effect on my life.

18:32 Finn talks about how We Came as Romans aren't the most credible band to talk about Gatekeeping. (Finn and his sarcasm) Random Twitch comment "We Came as Posers" 🤣😂🤣😆

Jose Mangin is the ambassador. I feel like I have bene seeing him at shows for at least 20 years.

It's time to talk about Meteora and Linkin Park's new song...

Everytime I see someone wearing sneakers I ask them to name three sports.

I remember the first time I wore a slayer shirt to middle school (2006-07ish) and I was attacked and interrogated over it. It was hilarious then and still is now. Hell, my friend around the same time bought a Dimmu Borgir shirt because he thought it was cool and listened to them when he got back home and loved them. He was shit on it constantly for it. Like seriously, who gives a fuck. Wear whatever you want. BE A TRUE ROCKER!!!

After seeing Gabbie Hannah cut up a Leviathan shirt she found at a thrift store while commenting on how she has no idea what the shirt says, celebrities wearing metal shirts don't even faze me now 😅

I find it hard to find a compatible date because of this problem. It is HARD to find a partner at my age ,(and being a female), who really LOVES METAL music as much as I do. I sang in a Black Sabbath cover band (OZZY) for 13 years. I find 1/2 the guys I meet sporting metal t-shirts (MAYHEM etc...), don't have a clue who's on their t-shirt. I assume they do. When I get anybody back to my place for coffee etc...I PUT ON THE BAND ON THEIR SHIRT, (DEATH this time),..and that's when the ear plugging, eye rolling, cringing crawling away etc starts, usually followed by AHEM "I'm really sorry, but I can't HANDLE that type of music"..just to have to tell the dude, "Oh, well you're wearing them on your t-shirt" THAT IS BEYOND FRUSTRATING!

I got my first pay from my first job in 1984...and bought a VENOM t-shirt with it. I wore THAT T-SHIRT on the VIA going to Montreal for Canada Day last year. A 14ish year old kid *stomped lol directly up to me in my seat, and told me his t-shirt was a REAL metal t-shirt (DOKKEN)..so I asked him if I could "be ALONE AGAIN'' without him..lol..in my face. He had not a bloody clue- he was a hair metal poser. I'm proud to have grown with the metal movement, and I consider a band t-shirt an important part of music history. I think if you value artwork..cool too, wear what you want. But I also think IF YOU CLAIM LOVE of the BAND you're wearing, I think you should be able to have a convo about it, at least know a song to talk about. I LOVE METAL at 52 years old, and I wear band t-s I know the history on. I have about 40 metal band t-shirts. What I don't like, is you look like a boarder, but you listen to death metal AND DON'T WEAR THE BAND SHIRT...

the true conclusion is that metalheads should also not wear metal shirts

I kinda wonder who buys band shirts (knowing it is merch of a band / musician whatever) and is not the least bit curious as to what the music actually sounds like. I'd say most people will check it out anyway. Or they just bought it for the looks which is perfectly fine.

One rule for me is when going to a show I don't wear a shirt of the band I'm goin to see. I will buy merch and rep at another show. I wore a Body Count shirt at an Iron Maiden show and people were like "F yeahh! Body count!!"

If you’re older than 15 and still care about this kind of thing… I’m really sorry about how little you have going on in your life. I respect how you will advertise literally anything

Finn: most metal merch is awful. no one wants to be caught in public wearing it. me: *80% of my shirts are band shirts* phew, good thing i'm a fuckin hermit

I think it's great that this style and band merch is becoming more popularised and only furthers the metal/alt music scene as a whole, however I'm sorry if this comes across as ignorant, I deeply do not enjoy seeing people who used to beat me up for liking slayer back in the day now dawning slayer shirts etc...I dunno, I used to get called a devil worshiper, grease monkey and all of my sense of dress got mocked by these people and I can't help it, seeing them wearing my sense of style now is a bit insulting after all the shit I used to get for it..but I'll always fight for people to wear and express themselves however they want! Just a weird time for all this but it's a bit of a fad and like all fads it'll go back to normal I'm sure and all these celebrities could genuinely be fans of these metal bands and I think that's great!

As a life long nascar fan I'm seeing a trend of 90s nascar shirts popping up I'm fashion with gen z and even with some bands. Idk if they know the driver or what they accomplished or even if they like the sport, I'm stoked to see it and those shirts coming back and blending with alt culture in some ways. Who gives a shittt Also wondering if WCAR are serious or just doing a Grade A class in trolling 😅😅. They've been known to troll and joke around and their comments are aggressively too serious about this to be real 😅😅

At the end of the day it's a free billboard for the artist or the band. Even if the person is fan or not.

"Feel free to pose" that's what I'm talking about. Lotta sigma energy in this video except for the We Came As Romans guy.

Metal fan here I personally don’t own any shirts, clothes are for posers.

Why do people insist on gatekeeping the most basic bands?

"Most metal mech is awful" FUCKING PREACH FINN.

For the sake of peace among mankind I will suggest two courses of action: 1. The 12 yo girl who gets asked by the grown-up butthurt metal guy whether she likes the band could say, "no, but could you recommend me your three favourite songs? Where should I start?" Then the metal guy feels like his feelings are respected and will thus become a little less butthurt. OR 2. The girl says no, I haven't listened to them, and then the actually grown up metal guy says: "That's okay, but may I suggest you my three favourite songs by the band? Because this is a band that I am very passionate about, listening to their music brings me so much joy, and maybe you get something out of it, too, or at least acknowledge it. I'd be stoked if you checked them out!" and proceeds to recommend her three songs, if possible catered to here taste of music that he has inquired about (e.g. if the band also has some softer songs in their repertoire). Wouldn't that be a nice world to live in? 😁

As always, such underrated comedy from you Finn.

People put time in for those t-shirts and that scene. Got beaten up bullied and ridiculed for wearing that stuff, then , all of a sudden those same bullies, normies whatever you want to call them are wearing those same t-shirts. It shows how trend driven and non-genuine mainstream culture is. Many people who belong to subcultures deliberately stay away from the mainstream, sobwhen it comes knocking at your door of course your going to be pissed.

I always thought it was cool when somebody who doesn’t listen to metal wears a shirt. Hell yeah get that into the main stream. Don’t get me wrong I get that part of me that thinks “you probably can’t name a song” but I don’t make it public cause in the end I just don’t care that much.

Almost my entire selection of shirts in middle school and early high school were Fox shirts. I’ve never ridden a dirt bike in my life, let alone give a shit about motocross

My favorite metal bands/bands merch aren’t generally sold at Hot Topic, Spencer’s, and Walmart. But if some people are only wearing them for a trend, it’s all good if those bands I like are getting some kind of return, monetary or in the least free advertisement exposure. It’s not my band I would have no right to Gatekeep.

People don't talk about sports gatekeeping... I stopped wearing sports clothes because of needless conversations about how the "sports team" was doing in said "sports league".

I'm 60 and have 2 large totes of band tees. I think one of my first band tees I got in the 70's at an Iron Maiden concert with the singer before Bruce. I've been rocking them ever since. Hell I've got a Ramones tee who I actually saw. I love metal, rock, punk, emo. I love it all. Also most of my tees I actually bought at the concerts. Gotta support the artists that I love. I've seen anywhere from 450-500 different bands since the late 70's(haha back when tickets were $7.95). Used to go to concerts every 2 weeks. I still go although not as often. My last concert was Rockzilla.

"NAME THREE SONGS!" That annoys the shit out of me, I grew up in the era of CDs. So all I know is I like, "Track 3."

Metalheads will argue metal isn't about fashion and then cry when a celebrity wears a Metallica shirt or when a kid shops at Hot Topic. Which is it guys?

I always confuse Chris Garza for Dave grohl idk if it's they sound similar or what

I feel like if someone wears something they don't like, it's like deception, it's disappointing to be let down that a person you found isn't actually into the thing you're into. I ranted about the band t shirt thing years ago.

you should read Dick Hebdige "subculture: the meaning of style" or at least the wikipedia page or some youtube video about it

You must be able to name at least 3 punk rock mba videos featuring Chunk! No captain chunk before you’re allowed to wear a pop punk with breakdowns shirt though

My sister bought a Ramones shirt and didn’t even know what they were. Gotta admit kinda annoyed me but they are cool looking shirts so I get it

YESSSSSS I love to see the homies from Tetrarch. Played many shows with them back in 2014 ❤️

This issue has been around forever…I had a friend accused of being a poser in high school and he handled that be taking a piece of metal in shop class, hearing it up on a grinder and then attempting to brand the dude with it

If I may ask you this... What is wrong with getting an education about a band and/or artist, finding out you and the band share the same values before you buy their shirt or other merch? It will be like me wearing an Ice T or an Ice Cube piece of merch only because I know them from the TV and Movies without wanting to get deep involved with their music careers, I am surely not a fan of their music so why would I wear anything of them in that relational merch? I'd wear a XXX 2 shirt as Ice Cube started in that movie and I enjoyied that movie and/or I'd wear an Law & Order: SVU shirt as I am a fan of the show and a fan of the Ice T character. Also I respect 2Pac and know of 2 of his songs but still will never wear his merch out of respect. My beef with anyone who is NOT!!! a fan or educated of that artist/band nor wanting to get that education, I do believe in asking someone what song of that artist/band they are wearing as it proves they are educated and are willing to chat about the atrist/band they are wear as shirts a more often than not a conversation starter or ice breaker between two or more people. It is only an educational and respect thing in my books.

Lol, I was wearing a We Came as Romans shirt today. Bought the shirt in 2012. I Loved their music back then. I Still do, but haven't really listened to their music lately. Tbh, I can only name one or two songs off the top of my head even though I listened to their music religiously back in the day. Does that make me a poser?

I wore a Live shirt for a couple years, because the blue-on-black design was sick, tho i never listened to them

Also this reminds me of when I was like 11 or 12 & I was wearing a Grateful Dead shirt because I thought it looked cool & I was in a drugstore & this like 40 year old man started grilling me saying “I bet you don’t even know any of their music” lol I was fucking 11 🤦🏻‍♀️

One upside to counter culture aesthetics becoming trends is that once the trend passes, there’s lots of cool shit available secondhand:)

I’ve liked metal and rock since I was a kid in the 80s and I could care less who wears band shirts. My wife has a couple shirts from bands she doesn’t really know and it doesn’t matter.

I can’t believe a guy from GWAR doesn’t care what people wear

Maybe it's just because I'm from the Midwest but I never see metal shirts anyway. They're usually just classic rock like Metallica or AcDc. Not much to gatekeep. The one thing I'll disagree with on Finn is the idea that it is goes back into the band's pocket. I can't really think of a scenario where someone who doesn't listen to a band supports them directly

I mean I guess it's okay to wear a shirt. But I hate when you see someone wearing a shirt of a band you love. Than you ask about them, and the person wearing the shirt looks at you like you are insane. And then they look down and they are like "oh yeah I have no clue wtf this shirt was it just looks cool" like oh okay. Well are you gonna listen to that band? "Nah" like why? If you gonna wear the shirt you might as well at least listen to a song

We Came as Roman's are only famous because they covered pop song's, and I don't know any of their songs out of Punk Goes Pop. Therefore to me, they're a pop cover band. 10 years ago I owned a Carnifex hoodie, and I still don't know any of their songs. However, that hoodie looked so damn cool.

you can probably thank some celebrities wearing merch for helping to bring back the buzz around alternative culture. everyone gets into it from somewhere, who cares where it came from

I love WCAR, but that hurt my hurt knowing where they stand on this issue.

I do find it strange how some people wear band or artists shirts they don’t listen to. If you don’t know who they are then that’s a different story, like that chick who didn’t know who Metallica was or that dude who didn’t know who Slayer was, if you don’t know you don’t know. But if you know who the band or artists are but still wear their merch but don’t listen to them I do find that strange.

I agree with the fingerless glove rollerblader guy... Yeah do whatever you want, but as one of those curious assholes who likes to break into conversations with small little facts and details that nobody cares about, I like to know a little bit of everything, so my response to questions won't be always an ''I don't know'' haha

my first band shirt was Ministry's Rio Grande Blood and I haven't listened to Ministry until years later, I just thought having a t-shirt of George W. Bush as the brazilian Jesus statue to be pretty cool. my mom would keep buying me colourful stuff and I would just settle on any metal shirt that's black back in the day to be finally able to express my music taste atleast to some degree.

I was 13 and i wore a misfits shirt before I knew I liked them. some homeless dude on Haight street in SF called me out and asked me what my favorite song was and ignored him. he kept shouting wile i walked away, "WHATS YOUR FAVORITE SONG!!!"....Never again.

I remember buying my then fiance a guns and roses tee shirt. On the first occasion she put it on, I gatekept her asking what are the names of guns albums. She couldn't name one. Nah just kidding

The Rollerblader has everything at his fingertips because fingerless gloves!

I rock my bad brains, converge, deathspell omega, full of hell, Wormrot , insect warefare , Gorguts shirts all the time rarely does anyone even know wtf I’m wearing and here and there I get a “nice shirt man” at the gym. 99% of people don’t give a shit.

remembering missy elliot wearing a code 13 shirt in a music video or something, the reaction was hilarious

The one time you need to know something about the band whose shirt your wearing is when you’re going through immigration in a foreign country. I was wearing a shirt in Italy and the person asked me about it. I had only seen the band once, and wasn’t able to name a song. Smoothed it over by saying they opened for Gogol Bordello. The lady knew them.

I buy t-shirts to support my favorite pieces of entertainment. some people go specifically for the design... I suppose it's fine in either case. people wear jerseys all the time to support their team... I think of mine like that. I don't know much about sports teams