The Paramedic's guitarist comments lyric t-shirt debate
Our pals at Alternative Press posted a poll on Tuesday, asking for readers' opinions on a particular t-shirt from recent Bluetooth Records signing, The Paramedic. The controversy stems from the portion of the song "Clarissa Didn't Explain This" which is quoted on the shirt and reads: "Bitch, say one more word I'll rip your fucking throat out!"
Of course, rather as nice as a poll may me, we figured it'd be easier to go to the source and ask the band about it, so we got in touch with the band's guitairist, Jake Nolan, who had this to say on the matter:
When did metal become politically correct? We are not a happy band. We connect with our fans, and sometimes we have to say things that everyone thinks but could never say in real life. Rock 'n' Roll is about being young, hating everything, and having a fucking blast. That is exactly what we do and we're not sorry. Our fans love the shirt, it's now on it's second pressing and is a top seller on MerchNow for the second time. As long as our fans love what we're doing, nothing else matters.
Responses from commenters over on AP cover quite a range. Some argue that the word 'bitch', particularly in this context, is misogynistic, while several focus on 'the f-word', and debate it's relative merits.
We'd like to know what our readership makes of this particular shirt, and others like it. Are shirts like this provocative for the sake of being such, and if so, is there anything inherently wrong with that? Given that the shirt quotes directly from the band's lyrics, should the design be considered on it's own, or in the context of the lyrics? For said lyrical context, we've included the band's own lyric video for the song in question. Do let us know what you make of it. You can click Read More for the video and a picture of the shirt.