Sturgill Simpson’s “So F-cking Outlaw” Unicorn Rainbow T-Shirt
It’s pretty rare that a piece of an artist’s merchandise accoutrement is worthy of a broad discussion or deep analysis into its intrinsic meaning. But leave it to Sturgill Simpson to stupefy some, intrigue others, and leaving something so open to interpretation as he’s done with a T-Shirt he’s been hawking at recent shows emblazoned with “So Fucking Outlaw” and a unicorn leaping over a rainbow. It’s frying some people’s brains, while others are waiting 20 minutes in the merch line to buy 3 of them.
Look, if you think that Sturgill is so lacking in self-awareness that he’s trying to flatter himself by proclaiming himself “So Fucking Outlaw,” or even professing an allegiance to Outlaw country subgenre in any way, then likely large swaths of the singer’s music and actions recently have passed right over your head. Whether it’s irony, sarcasm, or whatever you want to call it, it appears Simpson is trying to contrast the often bellicose machismo of Outlaw country with effeminate imagery. He’s fucking with people here, or at least that’s my interpretation.
The T-shirt appeared recently as Sturgill Simpson hit the road as part of Willie Nelson’s traveling Outlaw Music Fest put together by Blackbird Presents. Like so many other recent endeavors in country music, Blackbird is using a very loose interpretation of what constitutes a country music “Outlaw” for marketing purposes. Though it’s incorrect to deduce that a country music Outlaw must be some hard edged, drug-induced Waylon impersonator when the term has more to do with fighting and winning creative control of your music, casting Outlaw Music Fest performers like Van Morrison and Edie Brickell with the term is pretty circumspect at best. Of course Sturgill Simpson once said the most Outlaw thing a man could do is give a good woman a ring in his song “Life Ain’t Fair and the World Is Mean.”
So perhaps Sturgill is making some playful jab here at the application of “Outlaw,” while also showing an underlying respect for the term, and simultaneously attempting to erode much of the bellicose machismo behind it. The shirt will go right beside the “Who The Fuck is Sturgill Simpson?” line that made an appearance on merch tables right after Sturg was nominated for Album of the Year with Beyonce, Adele, Justin Bieber, and Drake at the 2017 Grammy Awards. It’s a novelty, but it’s one that might give just as much insight into Sturgill Simpson’s attitudes and temperament as many of his songs, regardless of your personal interpretation.
– – – – – – – – – – –
Sturgill Simpson is currently appearing in the CBS All Access show One Dollar. And yes, you can buy the Sturgill Simpson leaping unicorn T shirt in his online store.
UPDATE: In 2014, Sturgill Simpson gave an interview to The Fader in which he said, “If you really want to be an outlaw today, you might as well print up T-shirts with unicorns and rainbows on them. The whole machismo bravado thing has to go away man. It’s so tired and postured. There’s a lot of bullshit.”
So there you go.
TxMusic
October 3, 2018 @ 11:09 am
I could be way off base but I’m taking it as a jab. From what Sturgill has said in the past he just wants to make music and doesn’t seem to care too much about labeling himself. Like Stapleton who doesn’t want to be called a country music savior. Just a guess.
thebugman10
October 3, 2018 @ 11:23 am
Yes, it’s supposed to be ironic. Outlaw doesn’t conflate with unicorns and rainbows. I smirked at it.
A.K.A. City
October 3, 2018 @ 11:23 am
I think it is a very hearty dose of self-depreciating humor. With the actual name of Outlaw Fest to constant comparisons to Waylon with his first two albums, Sturgill is aware that some lump him with “the new class of outlaws” but at the same time does not apply that label to himself. This is the same man who sang “the most outlaw thing I’ve ever done is give a good woman a ring.” It’s a great line, but also shows that he has put a lot of thought into the term.
But yeah, he is definitely fucking with us, and I kinda love it.
Desperado Destry
October 3, 2018 @ 11:25 am
And how is this BS helping country music??
MH
October 3, 2018 @ 11:35 am
LOL looks like you fell for it.
Trigger
October 3, 2018 @ 12:22 pm
Not much, it’s just an interesting discussion point. Though I will say, Sturgill has a point about some of the super machismo surrounding some “Outlaw” country music, and it’s something I’ve pointed out in the past as well.
Desperado Destry
October 3, 2018 @ 12:46 pm
I agree with the machismo point. I just don’t want the new generation of country listeners to think that outlaw country is about rainbows and unicorns and prissy things. I think you’ll all agree that Waylon and Johnny and Kris and Willie were a different kind of machismo. They could kick Sam Hunt’s ass while drinking a whiskey and getting some love all at the same time. Now that’s outlaw!
MH
October 3, 2018 @ 12:55 pm
“kick Sam Hunt’s ass while drinking a whiskey and getting some love all at the same time. Now that’s outlaw!”
No it’s not.
Desperado Destry
October 3, 2018 @ 1:19 pm
And friggin unicorns and rainbows are? Get real.
Benny Lee
October 3, 2018 @ 1:49 pm
FTFY:
“They could kick Sam Hunt’s ass while drinking a whiskey and getting some love all at the same time, while making profound music that touches your soul.”
They weren’t JUST badass jerks; they were all man enough to show their softer sides with pride.
TxMusic
October 3, 2018 @ 3:27 pm
The least manly thing in the world is to kick another man’s ass just because you don’t like the music he makes. It’s pathetic not manly or outlaw.
Ulysses McCaskill
October 3, 2018 @ 4:10 pm
Drinking whiskey and kicking someone’s ass for no reason is not “Outlaw”.
Desperado Destry
October 3, 2018 @ 4:31 pm
“Drinking whiskey and kicking someone’s ass for no reason is not ‘Outlaw'”. True. I agree 110%. But when you have con artists like Sam Hunt ripping off the great names of country music a fucking unicorn isn’t going to save the day… sorry it’s just not. The real “Outlaws”would have never stood for that bullshit. And if you actually listen to the Highwaymen… they sing about whiskey.
Ulysses McCaskill
October 3, 2018 @ 5:49 pm
You need to chill out.
Tex Hex
October 3, 2018 @ 8:20 pm
Dunno, man but I think Sturgill’s making fun of guys like you with this shirt.
Why you so mad about it?
Two Stepper
October 3, 2018 @ 9:04 pm
Beware, Desperado Destry. This thread isn’t outlaw or country, it’s PC hipster. Skinny jeans, t-shirts worn ironically (or in this case, an ironic t-shirt) and PBR with some virtue signaling. *I* get what you mean, though.
MH
October 3, 2018 @ 4:23 pm
https://www.nashvillescene.com/music/cover-story/article/21006008/country-music-hall-of-fames-new-exhibit-separates-fact-from-myth:
“For some reason that record sold shitloads,” (Bobby) Bare says of Wanted. “They got labeled outlaws, but they never did take it very seriously. It was a PR game. They weren’t outlaws — they were just creative people who loved music and hanging out.”
The hall of fame’s Cooper agrees. “This was about creative people taking ownership of their own creativity,” he tells the Scene. “Musicians writing and recording the things that they wanted to write and record, and then recording them for posterity, in the ways that they wanted. Being an outlaw was not about skirting the law. It was about working outside of accepted and mandated norms.”
At the time, those norms meant artists often didn’t have a say in which producer they’d get to work with or which song they could sing. Labels mandated certain producers or engineers, or even players. That didn’t sit well with Nelson. After his home in Tennessee caught fire in 1969, he rescued his guitar and a pound of weed, and he moved back to his home state. Long gone were the slick suits of Nashville: In came the sneakers, the bandana and a good ol’ slice of redneck psychedelia.
“Willie Nelson put those sneakers on because they were comfortable,” says Cooper. “To say, ‘I’m not here to play dress up, I’m here to sing songs.’ ” While enjoying that freedom, Nelson wrote one of the seminal albums of the outlaw period, 1975’s Red Headed Stranger. Like Wanted, the record sold millions of copies, even though his label, Columbia, thought it sounded like a bunch of demos. The “outlaws” weren’t just rebelling for the hell of it: They were following their creative gut, and the sales proved they were right.
Desperado Destry
October 3, 2018 @ 4:48 pm
Yeah… and that’s my point. They did what they wanted, stood for what they believed in, and didn’t care who liked it or not. They wouldn’t go for what country music is today. I can just see Waylon and Willie with image consultants…would never happen. Anyone who calls themselves “outlaws” today are still under the control of Music Row… that’s why we’ll never have true outlaws again.
Jon
October 3, 2018 @ 6:12 pm
Sounds a lot like what Sturgill is doing, eh?
Desperado Destry
October 3, 2018 @ 6:29 pm
Yeah… as he rides off into the sunset on a unicorn.
Jon
October 4, 2018 @ 5:59 pm
And continues not caring what you think about it. I mean, I’m not buying the shirt either. But the only difference is you think a unicorn is gay or whatever so it doesn’t count.
Benny Lee
October 3, 2018 @ 11:49 am
He’s trolling everyone, including himself. As the kids say, OMG LMAO WTF!
Stringbuzz
October 3, 2018 @ 11:50 am
My wife bought one, loves it.
The shirt was in huge demand at the concessions.
I think they were limiting the number sold per show so every date would have stock.
I think it is great.
Mick Mullin
October 3, 2018 @ 12:05 pm
Don’t you think this Rainbow Unicorn bit’s done got outta hand?
Ulysses McCaskill
October 3, 2018 @ 4:09 pm
What started out to be a joke, some folks here don’t understand.
Corncaster
October 3, 2018 @ 12:12 pm
So “outlaw” is relative.
Why didn’t he just print a shirt that says, “No, fuck YOU.”
Seems to be where we’re at these days, if you believe airport television.
Cosmic Cowboy
October 3, 2018 @ 12:37 pm
Shame on that boy! I Love his music but his head went up his ass on this one!
EW in DFW
October 3, 2018 @ 12:42 pm
Available on his website
https://store.sturgillsimpson.com/leaping-unicorn-t-shirt-5.html?___SID=U
scott
October 4, 2018 @ 7:07 am
Out of stock now.
Dirt Road Derek
October 3, 2018 @ 1:53 pm
I’ve had my eye on a Motley Crue 1983 Shout At The Devil Tour shirt, but I think that purchase is gonna have to wait a bit, because this shirt is fucking awesome.
Toby Lagneaux
October 3, 2018 @ 3:12 pm
Who’s Sam Hunt?
Whiskey_Pete
October 3, 2018 @ 3:57 pm
TxMusic is a pacifist.
TxMusic
October 3, 2018 @ 8:42 pm
I’ll take that any day over some internet loudmouth who gets triggered when somebody makes music he doesn’t like. Who knew outlaws had such thin skin.
Ulysses McCaskill
October 3, 2018 @ 4:06 pm
Some folks have conflated ideas about the definition of Outlaw. Outlaw is not heavy drinking, drug use or kicking people’s asses. In the music world, Outlaw means making your music the way you want to without selling out to the powers that be. Doesn’t matter if you’re wearing a unicorn shirt and new balance sneakers or sporting a Cowboy hat and have tattoos on every square inch of your body. If the music qualifies, you’re outlaw. Everything else is bullshit.
Whiskey_Pete
October 4, 2018 @ 9:52 am
I think there *has to be* some aspects of what you have described that are not requirements to be considered outlaw. I mean look up the definition of outlaw in a dictionary.
Have you seen tales from the tour bus? Those guys were a wild bunch. Not saints. They were not the clean cut country western singers like Ray Price or Hank Thompson.
Waylon or Johnny Rebel didn’t get dubbed outlaws for making stupid shirts or being progressive. They did illegal and wild shit and wrote country music that went against the grain.
Ulysses McCaskill
October 4, 2018 @ 10:04 am
My comment was more in response to the dude above ranting about the Highwaymen singing about whiskey and some other shit.
I do partly agree about non-musical issues contributing to the outlaw reputation. But the woman that coined the term Outlaw to describe Waylon and Willie did so entirely to describe the music they were making, not the cocaine or marijuana they were imbibing. She said so herself.
Amber
October 3, 2018 @ 4:11 pm
The 5 rings of the rainbow represent pop, rap, edm, R&B,and dance.
King Honky Of Crackershire
October 3, 2018 @ 4:16 pm
I just wish he’d hurry up and get 5 albums released, so I never have to be reminded again that he exists.
Corncaster
October 3, 2018 @ 4:30 pm
Lord Honk, who’s heaviest in Thy rotation these dayes?
King Honky Of Crackershire
October 3, 2018 @ 5:03 pm
I mostly listen to political podcasts or 650 AM WSM these days. I haven’t bought a new album since 2010.
ThinkinProblem
October 3, 2018 @ 9:23 pm
Don’t lie honky. You have all of the vocal trio Midland’s albums.
King Honky Of Crackershire
October 4, 2018 @ 7:58 am
Drum. Drum. Snare.
Seth of Lampasas
October 3, 2018 @ 4:47 pm
This one actually made me laugh, Honk.
Seth of Lampasas
October 3, 2018 @ 4:52 pm
But you and everyone else know that even if he never releases another record, or stops after 5, this site will be talking shop about Sturgill as long as this site is still running.
King Honky Of Crackershire
October 3, 2018 @ 5:05 pm
☹️
Seth of Lampasas
October 3, 2018 @ 6:48 pm
I completely understand the sentiment Mr. Crackershire. I’m just hoping and praying he brings it all back full circle, back home, back to his roots, back to the sounds that made a lot of us fall in love with his music; and before he throws away his tape recorder, so we don’t have to be sheepish about digging his music. But even if he doesn’t, high top and metamodern are more than enough contribution to country music.
Trigger
October 3, 2018 @ 9:42 pm
For the record, Saving Country Music doesn’t really post that much about Sturgill Simpson. It’s about one article a month. It’s just he’s become such a polarizing figure, everyone is drawn to these stories, especially the people that profess to hate them, and so these stories get extra attention. That said, I’ve been following him since the very beginning of his career, and no, I’m probably not going to stop. As a one man operation, I can’t cover everything. So instead of trying, I zoom in on specific artists and topics I have deep knowledge on, and focus on those. It’s not like Rolling Stone Country and Margo Price, where they write a story on her each time she mentions smoking pot on Twitter. They posted two stories on Margo just yesterday.
Seth of Lampasas
October 4, 2018 @ 1:17 am
I think the complaint is that he’s the most talked about artist on your site, or at least that’s the way it’s perceived, and the fact that he’s gotten farther and farther away from country sonically I would imagine has some people feeling he should get proportionally less copy, but he’s still an important part of country via Tyler, so I don’t have a problem with any mentions he receives. Someone is going to be the most talked about so why not Sturgill? Especially considering you’ve been covering him since before pretty much anyone else outside of Kentucky, seems like.
I just had a thought. What if a lot of this is performance art? Remember what he said in the busking video about each of his albums has a theme about life. He said he’s going to hell with the 4th record and the 5th would be about redemption. I hope redemption involves getting back to country music.
Seth of Lampasas
October 4, 2018 @ 1:31 am
And it’s kind of a Darth vader type arc that he’s going for, ya know? Darth Sturgill…
Trigger
October 4, 2018 @ 9:13 am
Cody Jinks is the most covered artist on Saving Country Music in 2018 by a long shot, with 17 articles featuring him. Sturgill Simpson has 11, which ties him with the Turnpike Troubadours. There’s the signal, and then there’s the noise. Whenever people complain I’m covering too much of the mainstream, covering too much negative stuff, not posting enough album reviews, or talking too much about Sturgill Simpson, I check myself, boil down the coverage to statistics, and see if the criticism is warranted. Often it’s not, but is more a symptom of certain artists and certain topics sucking attention away from everything else.
I agree the Sturgill’s flight from country has probably made him less relevant to country fans, but that is a story unto itself. He also is a dynamic force in the country music marketplace, from the 2017 Grammy Awards, the the 2017 CMA Awards and his busking maneuver, to taking something as simple as a merch shirt and making it a discussion point. He presents a very important dynamic to country music, good or bad, and it would be irresponsible to ignore him.
ScottG
October 3, 2018 @ 6:36 pm
Sorry Honky, but I have to call bullshit. If you didn’t want to hear about him, why do you frequent a website that posts about him pretty often? Why do you then, when you see his name in the title of a story / link, click said link. Why do you then take the time to post your usual grumpy opinion about him, then follow up on that opinion with further comments? And replies? Really, you don’t want to hear about him any more? How many words do you figure you’ve written about this person that you don’t want to hear about anymore? How much further conversation have you invited about this person you don’t want to hear about anymore?
Seth of Lampasas
October 3, 2018 @ 6:52 pm
Shut the fuck up Scott! This is the most sunny and bearable Honk has been in ages.
ScottG
October 3, 2018 @ 7:03 pm
Then maybe you can turn today into you own, personal, national crackershire holiday.
Seth of Lampasas
October 3, 2018 @ 7:24 pm
Yes, and we can invite all the crackers in the shire!
King Honky Of Crackershire
October 3, 2018 @ 7:03 pm
Let me be candid, Scott. I enjoy griping about things I don’t like. It relieves stress.
But you know what would be even better? Me never having to see or hear about things I don’t like.
I am eternally dumbfounded at the success this dude has achieved. I can’t stand anything about him, and it’s aggravating to click on my 2nd favorite website, and see yet another article about him.
Seth of Lampasas
October 3, 2018 @ 7:26 pm
Ok Honk, the Nazis didn’t want things they didn’t like around them too, and look how that ended up. See Scott, you fucking ruined it!
ScottG
October 3, 2018 @ 7:29 pm
Ok my bad, please forgive me, King’s Hand of Crackershire?
Seth of Lampasas
October 3, 2018 @ 7:34 pm
Lol good one. Speaking of that I have got to get caught up on GoT
Black Boots
October 4, 2018 @ 3:42 am
“But you know what would be even better? Me never having to see or hear about things I don’t like.”
Aw, snowflake.
King Honky Of Crackershire
October 4, 2018 @ 8:12 am
Maybe, but I doubt it. I have preferences, not demands that I want the government to enforce at gun point.
David
October 4, 2018 @ 3:06 am
Wow, for once I agree with Honk.
Zues
October 3, 2018 @ 4:29 pm
Brilliant marketing. I’d be curious to know how many “ironic” shirts he’s sold at $25 a pop. Well done sir. I’m not being sarcastic either. Good on him for making hay while demand is high…
Shastacatfish
October 3, 2018 @ 4:38 pm
This is going to be a long list of caveats to a fairly short comment:
*I think Simpson’s first two solo albums were fantastic. I even bought the two bastard children and they were great too.
*Yes, an artist should be free to pursue their vision. He’s not in it just to please country music fans.
*While not country, I thought Simpson’s song ‘Sugar Daddy’ for the show Vinyl rocked. It was far better than anything on his last album.
*Speaking of, Simpson’s last album was, while artistically interesting, underwhelming and not particularly country.
*I think the shirt is absolutely badass.
All that said, for all the not-country music Simpson has been putting out since Metamodern, he seems to be very close to getting way too sanctimonious for my blood.
Corncaster
October 3, 2018 @ 4:48 pm
I didn’t buy Sailor’s. I want country music, and I don’t think Sturgill is some kind of genius.
Seth of Lampasas
October 3, 2018 @ 6:39 pm
Breakers roar and sea stories are quality alt-country songs imo, but I think time will prove the album was a little overrated.
JJ
October 3, 2018 @ 7:58 pm
It’s grossly overrated IMO, and is an overproduced mess IMO; none of the songs are very strong, but Breaker’s Roar and Sea Stories are the two best, in that order. Damn shame he got rid of Lil Joe from his touring band too. I don’t expect the next album will restore my faith in his songwriting but we’ll have to see.
ScottG
October 3, 2018 @ 9:27 pm
I’d have to agree, and I’m a fan of his earlier stuff. I have all the respect in the world for him for doing what he wants to do. But me, personally, I probably won’t be listening if it’s more like Sailor’s. I’m glad Purgatory didn’t end up sounding like that.
Pauline Nelson
October 3, 2018 @ 7:48 pm
Sturgill is badass hell of show we seen if you don’t like him keep your opinion to yourself!!! My husband bought his unicorn shirt and it’s badass just saying!!!
ScottG
October 3, 2018 @ 9:59 pm
Well if husband bought it shirt well, then hell!!! Just saying!!! Know what saying? Did you put it on hell of a show it must have magic powers and sentences just flow rainbows!!!
GrantH
October 3, 2018 @ 5:43 pm
This definitely appears to be a jab at the “I LISTEN TO OUTLAW COUNTRY SINGERS LIKE BRANTLEY GILBERT AND JUSTIN MOORE” crowd. I’m not a fan of Sturgill but this is great.
JB-Chicago
October 5, 2018 @ 8:43 am
I’d still take either of those guys’ music over 99% of the shit radio plays, so there’s that.
Jim Bob
October 5, 2018 @ 9:15 pm
You’d listen to Brantley Gilbert?? I’d take 99% of the shit radio plays over Brantley fucking Gilbert.
JB-Chicago
October 6, 2018 @ 10:53 am
I like the Just As I Am album although I care for his last one. I don’t have my calculator out, to me anything off that or Justin Moore’s album is better than a LARGE percentage of current radio chodes Brett Young, Dylan Scott, Chris Lane, Devin Dawson, Russell Dickheadson, Christ Scott, Dylan Lane, Dan Does Shay, Kane,…………etc So yeah I would listen to Brantley over them. I don’t think either of us listen to the radio anyway so we’re arguing over nothing. I never considered them to be outlaws either. Everything, including what Lord Sturgill says is an opinion.
Travis
October 3, 2018 @ 7:07 pm
Someone needs to send one of these shirts to Eric Church. Maybe he can get the point and not be so image driven.
Chester
October 3, 2018 @ 9:26 pm
Good point. Someone should also send some non-crappy songs to Church. So his fans aren’t forced to sit through 4 hour concerts full of his current catalog.
White Cleats
October 3, 2018 @ 9:04 pm
It would have been even better if the shirt said “Outlaw AF”.
bret colsen
October 3, 2018 @ 9:09 pm
He’s making fun of Whitey Morgan & Cody Jinks crowd and any body else who call themselves outlaws and it’s very funny.
Lance
October 3, 2018 @ 9:23 pm
That is one gay looking shirt.
I’m sure it will sell plenty in our current culture.
Just imagine, rainbows & unicorns is now prob gonna be perceived as ” outlaw” lol
Mitch
October 3, 2018 @ 9:55 pm
The people that are mad about this shirt are the same reason I didn’t realize Wheeler Walker Jr. was satire the first time I heard him.
Bill
October 3, 2018 @ 11:20 pm
Sturgill has praised both Whitey Morgan and Cody Jinks
Bill
October 3, 2018 @ 11:21 pm
D’oh that was supposed to be a reply to bret colsen’s comment above ^
KT
October 4, 2018 @ 4:06 am
Didn’t you mention that Kacey Musgraves’ song “High Horse” was about Sturgill? If so, this t-shirt makes perfect sense in retaliation. Don’t even have to think any further if the answer to the first question is yes, but that’s just me.
Charlie
October 4, 2018 @ 4:10 am
Considering the meager ingredients he brought to the table, Sturgill should be proud of the meal he’s made out of them.
Marc
October 4, 2018 @ 4:20 am
Rainbows and unicorns?….“Not that there’s anything wrong with that”
Ken Barnes
October 4, 2018 @ 4:37 am
If Willie wants to call his tour ‘Outlaw’ and then invite Van Morrison to join him, that’s fine with me. And Sturgill’s earned the right to say and do whatever he likes as well.
Bill Weiler
October 4, 2018 @ 5:33 am
Twenty comments on Molly Tuttle. Fourteen comments on Kristina Murray. Seventy four comments and counting on a fuckin’ shirt..
MH
October 4, 2018 @ 9:18 am
Haven’t you heard? Trig spends way too much time NOT introducing us to artists worth listening to.
Kevin Ross
October 4, 2018 @ 6:04 am
I had a horrible case of poison ivy that required me to make a trip to the doctor earlier this summer. I’d wear that that poison ivy as underwear before I’d wear that shirt.
therhodeo
October 4, 2018 @ 7:23 am
I think plenty of comments right here show that this t-shirt landed exactly like he wanted it to.
Dennixx
October 4, 2018 @ 7:59 am
After seeing Sturgill my first time in a 250 capacity club that was half full, 2nd time in a 2500 cap. sold out venue, and the last time w 13,000 others opening for Merle and Kris his rise in popularity really is something to behold.
Shows that music fans of country music are open to something new and different.
And in my opinion his rise in popularity has not only snookered his fans but the media outlets also.
Why else would we be commenting on a SS shirt.
While I like nearly all he has released, I’m in the camp of those who hope he reaches his 5 LP self imposed limit sooner rather than later.
Tex Hex
October 4, 2018 @ 8:57 am
Trigger’s written about this before, but I think Sturgill fancies himself as a sort of Kurt Cobain figure (covering Nirvana on this last record was no trivial thing). An artist that had a breakout moment and helped attract a wider audience to a particular genre, but who has a bit of chip on his shoulder about what kind of crowd he’s attracting and how he fits into the whole equation.
Kurt had a way of messing with his fan base and pointing fingers at the macho assholes that (apparently) fucked with him growing up for acting too gay or too “artsy.” This shirt is clearly an ironic piss take meant to provoke a response, and clearly it has. I’m not sure Sturgill’s earned that status quite yet, but he can do as he pleases – and that’s what outlaw is about. Take it or leave it. I’m here for the music, and I think whatever Sturgill does next musically will make or break my opinion about him, not this t-shirt.
Frijoles Negros
October 5, 2018 @ 10:44 am
Kurt was also fiercely pro-gay/anti-homophobia. I’m pretty sure Sturgill’s an ally too.
Tex Hex
October 5, 2018 @ 4:02 pm
I mean, yeah, I thought I implied that.
Kurt was also an asshole who (according to his own admission) fucked a mentally disabled girl in high school, left people death threats on their answering machines, and put out a single called “Rape Me” heavily implying the press was “raping” him, which, isn’t only a bit offensive to actual rape victims but incredibly shallow and childish.
Simpson would do well to be careful how much he implies philosophical association with Cobain.
“Nevermind” is a desert island album for me but Kurt Cobain was a scum bag and junky for a lot of his life. Just saying.
Aaron
October 4, 2018 @ 12:38 pm
“Don’t You Think This Outlaw Bit’s Done Got Out Of Hand”
I’m for the law and order the way it should be
This song’s about the night they spent protecting you from me
Someone called us outlaws in some old magazine
And New York sent a posse down like I ain’t ever seen
Don’t you think this outlaw bit’s done got out of hand
What started out to be a joke the law don’t understand
Was it singing through my nose that got me busted by the man
Maybe this here outlaw bit’s done got out of hand out of hand
We were wrapped up in our music that’s why we never saw
The car pulls up the boys get out and the room fills up with law
They came boundin’ through the backdoor in the middle of a song
They got me for possession for something that was gone long gone
Don’t you think this outlaw…
Don’t you think this outlaw bit’s done got out of hand
Sam Cody
October 4, 2018 @ 2:29 pm
Congratulations on the nifty persona there, Stu. Now how ’bout either making another good COUNTRY album – or just shutting the fuck up?!?!
Billy Wayne Ruddick
October 5, 2018 @ 9:23 am
I’m sure Sturgill really takes advice from disgruntled internet commenters. Sturgill put out two of the best country albums of the past 5 years, and that was the very start of his solo career. What more do you want from the guy right now? Does he owe you an album that fits your narrow view of country every year?
Don Pelfrey
October 4, 2018 @ 3:30 pm
Y’all are taking this WAY too seriously. He really is an outlaw, compared to today’s pop country. He opened the set I saw in the Burgettstown, Pa Outlaw Festival with a 10+ minute version of Breaker’s Roar. It’s ALL about the music!
KentuckyPaul
October 6, 2018 @ 7:23 am
I can’t wear a T-shirt with the F bomb on it, but I laughed my head off when I saw this shirt a couple months ago. He gets it.
PS. I miss Sunday Valley.
Blockman
October 6, 2018 @ 8:05 am
The angry ironic hipster contrarian bit is getting way overdone. I guess that what happens when you are a Grammy nominated happily married family man signed to a major label and making appearances on the late night TV circuit but still want to be a rebel. Stuff like this comes across as a smokescreen for some major insecurities. A country record would be preferable to coming up with dumb T-shirt designs. I suppose we might get one when he is no longer the darling of the industry.
Dennixx
October 6, 2018 @ 8:20 am
Simply a extension of the ” who the f*ck is Sturgill Simpson ” shirt from a few years back.
Nothing new here.
G easy25
October 6, 2018 @ 5:18 pm
Ya’ll are fuckin stupid. It’s a bad ass shirt. Just leave it at that. Love ya Sturgil
SouthernRain86
October 7, 2018 @ 12:09 am
Seems like a great shirt for hipsters to wear as they pretend to like country music while only listening to a small handfull of “outlaw” singers. I wish these hipsters would just go the hell away. Country music was around a long time before them and didn’t need them then and doesn’t need them now. I can remember when I first came to the internet about 15 years ago and the people who cared about the preservation of country music and despised mainstream pop country were long time fans who had either grown up on country music or at least had been listening for a long time and knew the history of country music beyond just the gimmicky outlaw stuff. There were no hipsters that gave one damn about country music then, so why now?
Travis
October 7, 2018 @ 4:17 pm
Maybe because there were no hipsters at all 15 years ago? Also, why knock a group of people who support good music at all though?
Two Stepper
October 9, 2018 @ 6:25 pm
“Let’s see. Got my beard. Got my flannel shirt. Got my ironic can of Blue Ribbon, which I call ‘PBR.’ What music goes with this rustic look? Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers are totes so literally like basically 2012 af. What else can I get into? Ohh, I know! Psychedelic-outlaw-country with Stax horns! I’ll be right there, Virgil, eh, Sturgil! Wait for me!”
Corncaster
October 7, 2018 @ 7:06 pm
“The whole machismo bravado thing has to go away man. It’s so tired and postured.”
LOL
Fourth Blessed Gorge
October 8, 2018 @ 11:33 pm
I think it’s a pretty fucking awesome shirt and I can’t believe everyone doesn’t want one.
KGD
October 9, 2018 @ 10:40 pm
Well it certainly “melted the faces” of the folks on his Facebook fan page.
He could fart into a microphone and they’d drop $30 on the vinyl. I still love High Top Mountain and MSICM and listen to them a lot, but don’t find his current direction very interesting and wouldn’t wear this to do yard work. Which who cares because they can’t keep them in stock.
To each his own.