Sneakers, Centennials, and Rock ‘N Roll!!!

It seems that Converse (#1 choice of 1920s b-ball stars and indie rock hipsters alike) is celebrating 100 years of being in the sneaker business by releasing a line of limited edition kicks that pay homage to rock greats The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, The Doors, and Kurt Cobain. The designs, which are printed on both the classic Chuck Taylor and Jack Purcell high tops, feature iconic images associated with the groups, such as the Dead skull and Cobain’s sketches from him journals. (On a side note, you almost have to admire Courtney Love’s complete and utter lack of shame.)

While the collection will no doubt incite rage-filled, hEavI!Ly? PunCtu.ATeD!!! posts on message boards across the Internet, condemning the sneaks as selling out of the highest order, I myself think they’re kind of fly. Sure, they reek of corporate gimickiness and maybe they’re not very rock-and-roll in the pissing-on-audience-members-while-smoking-crack sense, but, a) Converse shoes do have kind of a history with the music industry, b) the shoes wouldn’t exist if the people that have legal control over the bands’ images didn’t approve, and c) there’s a lot of merch out there associated with these musicians that is a lot more shitty than these sneakers are. Plus, they’re pretty rad-lookin’.

Will I be purchasing them? Hell no. But they’re not so terrible that I’ll judge people I see wearing them at the bar. At least, I won’t judge them on their footwear.  Their flat-ironed hair and guyliner is still fair game.