ThinkGeek’s two new Rock Shirts look pretty cool.  But they’re not just t-shirts with a picture of a guitar or drum on it, oh no, those are soooooo passé my friend.  These shirts are actual, real, working musical instruments!  Excellent.  They take the whole Rock Band idea to another level, making it mobile and the t-shirts actually play music, so instead of just pushing buttons, you can play chords and songs.

To be honest, I’d happily wear one and pretend to be a rock star, probably just around the house though – not likely that you’ll find me rocking out in public.  And, given my lack of musical ability, this is good news for the rest of the world.  You can all continue on with uncovered ears safe in the knowledge that I’ll not be attempting to play a t-shirt (or any other piece of clothing or instrument) in public any time soon. 

My musical inabilities aside, I’ve been a 12 year old kid.  What reaction would one expect from many 12 year old kids do when their friend says ‘Look at my new Rock Shirt – you really can play the drums on it!’. First reaction – jealousy, of course.  Second reaction – hit your friend in the chest to see if it does work. As drums tend to make louder, and sometimes better noises when hit harder, this just seems to encourage more hitting which will either lead to a broken friend or a broken t-shirt, and neither is a good thing. Okay, I admit it, I haven’t tested the shirt and so I don’t know if it does work that much like a real drum, but kids don’t always think things like that through – most are the try first then worry about the consequences types. And what about the guitar shirt? Yes, once again a great idea which I like. But, I bet it makes some really cool noises if you strum all the strings at once, or push all the buttons at once. I’m cynical and sceptical, I admit it – but something in me can’t get past the feeling that this shirt is just going to end up as one more cool, but broken, toy for many kids who are lucky enough to own one. 

I could be wrong – I hope I am.  As I said at the start, I’d love a musical t-shirt, and welcome any opportunity to pretend I’ve got some sort of musical ability, but maybe a ‘handle with care’ label is necessary to keep the dream alive for more than one wear.