Recently, some of the most major musicians of the moment have started rethinking what merch means today. Kanye West recruited LA art weirdo Cali Thornhill Dewitt to design his infrared The Life of Pablo line; though he initially sold it at Madison Square Garden during his Yeezy Season 3 extravaganza, the ever-enterprising rapper realized the explosive potential of capitalizing on his fans’ penchant for conspicuous consumption and thirst for you-had-to-be-there experiences. Boom! The Life of Pablo pop-up was born. And according to West, it raked in a cool million in just three days.
Unsurprisingly, other stars quickly followed suit: before VFILES played host to Justin Bieber’s satellite merch table, there was Drake’s Views pop-up. And Beyoncé hasn’t yet erected a pop-up for her Beyhive to buzz over her full range of Lemonade merch, but would it surprise you if she announced one later today?
As fashion moves from a tight-knit, closed-door industry into a massive pop cultural phenomenon, it’s only logical that stylish and savvy musicians will not only elevate the design of their merch, but also seek blockbuster means of distributing it. But before Bieber’s tees started taking cues from Paris’ hottest runway, a few other crazy creative musicians were doing merch a little differently. Here, we take a look back at some of the most inventive, unbelievable stuff to have ever graced a flimsy folding table tucked in the back of a venue.
Morrissey pillowcase. pic.twitter.com/XSHV9wRibi
— justJENN (@justjenn) March 2, 2013
Morrissey’s pillowcases: In 2014, the former Smiths frontman launched an online store, selling branded boxing gloves, ever-charming slogan tees (“Be Kind to Animals or I’ll Kill You,” one read), and pillowcases printed with a black-and-white illustration of his face. But this wasn’t Mozzer’s first foray into nocturnal merch: during his 1999 Oye Esteban Tour, he sold pillowcases screenprinted with a huge, full color photo of himself — chest hair exposed as he coyly nibbles on a finger — with Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me‘s titular lyric printed alongside it. While the pillowcase originally went for $15, it’s become a seriously hot commodity for hardcore fans since; there aren’t any active eBay listings, but based on some forum threads, the chance to sleep with Moz will set you back a predictably pretty penny.
Emmylou Harris’ Puzzle: The 70s folk icon might not be the first person who springs to mind when you think of out-of-the-box promotional fare, but Emmylou Harris has some surprises. The singer-songwriter’s 1975 album Pieces of the Sky arrived at radio stations and record shops as an LP-sized jigsaw puzzle — one you can purchase for $55 right now.
The Spice Girls’ well, everything: What didn’t the Spice Girls brand? Bikes, deodorant, candy, Polaroid cameras, sneakers modeled on their own sky-high stacked Buffalo platforms, Pepsi’s entire production in the year 1997. You remember; your first concert experience probably involved your mom elbowing her way through Spice World’s merch line to get you tee #40 in an XS (you got triple XL; they sold out of child sizes back in Houston). But if it has those iconic five letters on it, Liz West owns it. Revisit the super fan’s Guinness World Record holding collection of everything Spice in i-D’s Obsessed series.
Alice Cooper’s cosmetics: Long before releasing his 2001 compilation album Mascara and Monsters, pioneering shock rocker Alice Cooper got into the beauty game with his own midnight goop. “Liberate your eyes with Alice’s own unisex mascara,” reads an amazing 1973 ad for Whiplash. Though Alice precipitated binary-busting beauty for just $2.95 a whack, extremely rare tubes presently fetch insane sums. One lemon-lime colored Whiplash prototype listed on eBay three years ago by a seller claiming to be related to Cooper’s longtime lighting designer sold for a whopping $1,825.
Grimes’ anatomical jewelry: Back in 2012, when Grimes was touring her knockout album Visions, the Canadian vegan synthpop warrior ran out of t-shirts. So what did she do? She teamed up with artist and sculptor Morgan Black to design a series of vagina-shaped brass knuckles and sold them instead. “It was either print more shitty T-shirts or work with an artist,” Boucher explained to Jessica Hopper when asked to comment on the most controversial item at her table. “The more they became a thing on the Internet, the more I was like, ‘This justifies the pussy ring.’ The fact that people can’t deal with vaginas, it’s like, ‘Still? In this day and age, they’re scary imagery?’ It’s ridiculous.”
Snoop Dogg’s doll: Before a plastic fantastic version of Travi$ Scott appeared on the cover of the Houston rapper’s debut album Rodeo last year, Snoop Dogg received the doll treatment, right down to teeny tiny bling. In 2002, the rapper debuted two fully functional action figures in his likeness: the dapper “Snoopafly” — which comes complete with a yellow and black suit and matching Oxford laceups (although, sadly, sans 1996 VMA Awards perm) — and the laidback “Little Junior,” who rocks Snoop’s requisite Dickies and braids. eBay listings range from $7.99 for a model that looks like Toy Story sociopath Sid got to it, to $599.99 for one signed by the Doggfather himself.
The White Stripes’ sewing kit: The White Stripes’ approach to merch is a little bit Spice Girls, a little bit Terence Koh, and a little bit Nightmare Before Christmas. Jack White has done it all: a liquid-filled vinyl record, special edition Lomography film cameras, kilts, and an insanely rare custom Japanese turntable that only plays 3″ vinyl — all of these items typically produced in the band’s signature black, white, and red color scheme. i-D’s favorite piece of White Stripes merch is perhaps the band’s most modest, though: the sewing kit the Stripes began selling at shows in 2007, complete with black and red thread and peppermint swirl buttons. Finally, something to replace The Hardest Button to Button on your White Stripes kilt.
The Rolling Stones’ phone: The Rolling Stones’ Hot Lips logo has taken many forms over the iconic British band’s 50-year-lifespan, from its humble beginnings as a 1969 gig pin designed by a Royal College of Art student for 50 quid, to a terrible tattoo on The Sopranos. Somewhere in the middle — 1984, to be exact — it became a novelty telephone.
Weezer’s Snuggie: Personally, my favorite music infomercial crossover has to be this supercut rather appropriately set to The Smiths’ Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want. But Weezer one upped everyone when the band traded tour tees for custom snuggies, sold on its website back in 2009. “It’s hard to understand the appeal of this product,” frontman Rivers Cuomo told MTV News. Nevertheless, his geek rock outfit produced its very own amorphous blue fleece cocoons to promote its single Raditude.
This Day in Music: 2001 – Kiss added another product to their ever-growing merchandising universe: the “Kiss Kasket.” pic.twitter.com/YEP48Kmvqs
— VintageVinylJournals (@vinyljournals) July 18, 2013
KISS’ Coffin: Leave it to KISS — purveyors of fine wine, table lamps, cologne, nesting dolls, wall fountains, and inexplicable home decoration Mount Kissmore — to create the most insane piece of merch we could find: a coffin, first sold in 2001. An expanded range of Kiss Kasket items — including caskets, cremation urns, bronze memorials, memorial prayer cards, registry books, memorial candles, and pet cremation urns — debuted on the band’s website a decade later in 2011. Essentially, they’re the monster trucks of caskets: big, badass, and airbrushed like crazy. Founding Pantera member Dimebag Darrell was buried in one. KISS frontman Gene Simmons — shown here demonstrating how well they double as coolers — said: “I love livin’, but this makes the alternative look pretty damn good.”
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Text Emily Manning