Ian MacKaye has spoken about the new range of Minor Threat t-shirts which have appeared in Urban Outfitters.
Minor Threat are perhaps the most iconic group to emerge from the first wave of American hardcore. A band whose principles seemed to ripple through every chord, every drum crack and every scream, their slim output remains an incendiary listen.
Which is why a recent clothing range from Urban Outfitters seemed so strange. In amongst their new range of t-shirts, fans can find a design based on Minor Threat's seminal visuals – check it out below.
In a new interview with the Washington City Paper (via Pitchfork), Ian MacKaye explained that the decision was not taken by him. Due to the volume of requests and problems with bootlegs, the one time Minor Threat frontman handed all related issues to an external company named Tsurt.
"Dischord doesn't make T-shirts" the frontman said, referring to his long running label. "It's fucking absurd the amount of bootlegs are out there," he continued, before adding "my time is better spent doing other things."
Seemingly, the bootleg issue along soaked up enormous amounts of energy. "They get in your face… or they deny it," he argued. "It's a complete waste of time."
Urban Outfitters often divide opinion, but the frontman views the issue in far simpler terms. "It's not a political thing for me," MacKaye insisted. "I just don't give a fuck about T-shirts."
So there. Here's a full Minor Threat live set from the 9:30 Club in 1983.
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