It really pissed me off when Kohls started carrying Pearl Jam, Nirvana and AC/DC shirts back in high school. At the time, I was blowing $30-40 bucks/shirt at real live rock concerts, and the sales rack special just gave posers another avenue to try to appear cool. Nothing says rock and roll like “My mom bought this for me at Kohls.”

A couple years ago JC Penney and Target starting carrying faded Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and The Doors shirts — made to look vintage, but really still just discount big box store hackery. It all still just pisses me off.

Now this…

Macy’s and Rolling Stone magazine have announced the exclusive launch of a series of collectors’ edition t-shirts featuring famous Rolling Stone covers to honor the legendary music magazine’s strong cultural influence throughout its 40-year history. Now available at select Macy’s and on macys.com, the collectors’ edition shirts will feature a selection of individual covers from the Rolling Stone archives, including world-famous artists like THE BEATLES (Issue 46, November 15, 1969) and Jimi Hendrix (Issue 809, April 1, 1999).

“Rolling Stone magazine is an iconic and revolutionary brand, and its covers are among some of the country’s most memorable and culturally-charged images,” said Jerry Balest, Macy’s vice president of Men’s Fashion. “The new collection of Rolling Stone tees appeals to today’s cross-channel lifestyle, bringing together the influences of fashion, music, celebrity and entertainment. Macy’s is honored to be exclusively bringing back these covers in a new, wearable way.”…

Other covers featured include METALLICA (Issue 617, November 14, 1991), KID ROCK (Issue 843, June 22, 2000), Jim Morrison (Issue 88, August 5, 1971), Johnny Cash (Issue 933, October 16, 2003), Ozzy Osbourne (Issue 901, July 25, 2002), Kurt Cobain (Issue 683, June 2, 1994), Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg (Issue 666 September 30, 1993), THE BEASTIE BOYS (Issue 804, January 21, 1999) and Jerry Garcia (Issue 740, August 8, 1996). There will also be a selection of other tees that will feature the Rolling Stone name and graphic designs. All the Rolling Stone shirts will retail for $36. All collectors’ tees will come with a redemption certificate to receive a one-year subscription to Rolling Stone.

Wow, thirty-six bucks PLUS a subscription to Rolling Stone? I’m buying all 12!

Via Taylor, who sums it all up so very very well: “The concept of “rock” has never been more dead.”