On the writer’s need for a garish Rippingtons T-shirt

20 May 2015 by Davide Mana Leave a comment

Last week someone I hardly know added me to a facebook group dedicated to I can’t remember what heavy metal band.
The rationale – I read (and write) fantasy, therefore I am obviously a heavy metal fan.

Sorry no.
I do have rather varied musical tastes (or lack thereof)… just two nights back I discovered Kazakh pop music, for instance¹.
But I do not listen to a certain genre because I read/write a certain genre, or vice-versa.
And if subscribing me to any group without asking is the sort of aggressive, bounder’s act that’s granted to make me get out of said group just for the pleasure of being contrarian, this bit about heavy metal is really getting on my nerves.
Not to the point of losing any sleep, but…

Because you see, it’s a stupid cliché.
It’s like the black T-shirt that seems to be the standard issue uniform for horror and fantasy writers.
Like Celtic music, Elven poetry and Wicca for fantasists, black magic for horror writers, Star Trek references for science fictioneers, and mystery writers smoking a pipe (cozy/traditional) or a cigar (hard-boiled). We discussed such silliness before.
Clichés.
And for writers, clichés are bad, and are useful only if you can subvert them.
And I do subvert them.
As often as I can.

I do listen to music when I write – I already mentioned it.
But if it’s a matter of music and T-shirts, then I think I should get me a Rippingtons T-shirt.
Because that’s what is usually playing in the background when I’m writing.

I like the sound, and it gives me a rhythm, a tempo for my typing.
And it’s good music – or at least is music I like.
And I don’t think it does delegitimize in any way my writing – because what I do while I’m writing is basically my business alone. I can share quirks, interests and personal choices, as a conversation item with my readers, but if you evaluate the quality of a text on the basis of the music the author listened to while writing, or the tees he wears normally, you are in trouble².

And indeed I found the Rippingtons do have a shop with T-shirts of their record covers.
Garish, with big grinning blue cats in sunglasses.

Maybe it’s because of that, that I normally am invisible to colleagues at conventions, book fairs and assorted do’s.
Because of my aloha shirts and Rippingtons tees.
Go figure.

and I also discovered Kazakh women used to wrestle men in wrestling competitions. Which is the sort of thing writers cherish and note down for future reference. ↩
incidentally, I normally wear plain gray, heavy duty, bulk-purchased tees fron Decathlon. ↩

Author: Davide Mana

Paleontologist. By day, researcher, teacher and ecological statistics guru. By night, pulp fantasy author-publisher, translator and blogger. In the spare time, Orientalist Anonymous, guerilla cook.