Online retailer Insound, has announced a collaboration with designer Mike Perry, called “Insound 10 Classic.” A collection of posters, t-shirts, and tote bags, it’s the sequel to Insound 20, which debuted last summer. Insound 20 was a collaboration with designer Jason Munn, who designed merchandise for the creme de la creme of indie rock, including Grizzly Bear, the Hold Steady, and the National, among others.

This time, however, Insound and Perry have chosen to focus on “iconic bands from indie rock’s great history,” including 10 bands that span a 20 year period, and will use the project to “create a visual narrative and revisit great older or defunct bands’ visual identity through new designs.” Many of the bands featured have had no new merchandise on the market for a decade or more. The “narrative” begins in 1977’s punk scene and winds through new wave and 80s “college rock” before arriving at the current world of indie rock. The artists are as follows:

Richard Hell & The Voidoids
The Feelies
Beat Happening
Galaxie 500
The Magnetic Fields
Sunny Day Real Estate
The Olivia Tremor Control
Apples in Stereo
Sleater-Kinney
The Promise Ring

Pre-order Insound 10 merchandise here. Products will be available in September.

Notes From Middle America is contributor Danny R. Phillips’ monthly column. You can read past installments here.
 
I have to ask.  What happened to rock? Has it become passé or uncool for a band to struggle, tour, play shows night after night to build a fan base without the help of excessive internet buzz or douche bags in the “hip” magazines who supposedly have their fingers on the pulse of the American youth culture? If a band has to work hard to get what they have, is that far less important than the mandatory polo shirts they wear on stage?
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