I Bear The Scars

I want to get a tattoo of myself on my entire body, only two inches taller. ~Steven Wright

I’ve never been a big fan of tattoos. It’s even mentioned in My biography. So, I always get a kick out of the fact that Me or a some image symbolizing Me are the most common things tattooed on a human body. Either people haven’t read My book, or they think that it’s okay because they are advertising for Me… like I “need” marketing.

I’m also not too big a fan of people worshiping pretty much anything that isn’t Me. I get a little jealous about that kind of stuff. I know that music can be powerful and fulfilling, but there is a fine line that is easy to cross when it comes to loving a band and worshiping a band… or even more awkward, loving the image of what you think the band represents. Oh, you cute little image based society!

That being said, I am a big fan of you. I love you very much, and if you seem fit to go against My better judgment and ink yourself all up, I’ll still love you if you ask. While bouncing around on the net, I found some pictures of tattoos that seem to highlight that struggle I was talking about regarding walking that fine line between loving a band vs. worshipping a band. You think any of these go above and beyond the call of music enjoyment? I sure hate to think that, for some of you, Jeff Mangum is your Baal. And as far as false idols go, I guess you could do a lot worse, but I don’t count the degree of the blunder, just the fact that you blundered at all. Anyway, I love you, Mangum tattoo or not. Enjoy these fascinating tattoos that I spent way too much time searching for… and for the record, DO NOT search for tattoos for the band Hot Hot Heat if you have your Google Search Engine filter turned off. Same goes for New Pornographers. You can try searching for The Pixies, but mostly all you get back are tattoos of pixies and not too many of Black Frances… which kind of sounds like something that would eat pixies, which would be a really cool photoshop idea I might try one day. Rambling, sorry. On to the tattoos…

First up, we have some Neutral Milk Hotel lovin'...




Now how about some Sigur Ros tattoos?





Maybe a Bright Eyes tattoo is more up your alley?





What about some Elliott Smith tattoos?


Or how about the lyrics to Bjork's "Bachelorette" in brail?



How willing are you to show off your love for Ween?


Or Green Day?



How about a Death Cab tattoo?


Or Guided by Voices?



Weezer?


Here's some love for Tom Waits...


Depeche Mode!


Here's a common Chili Pepper tattoo...


And here's a not too common Strokes tattoo...


Not too many Elvis Costello tattoos out there...


But there is a surprising amount of U2 tattoos, including this first one with is the chords for the chorus of "One".



How about a cool Godspeed tattoo?


Or a not quite as cool Hanson one?


How about a tattoo to show your love for the guy who did that amazing Loenard Cohen cover and also recorded one half of a perfect first album?


How cool would you feel with the autographs of the two Johns from They Might Be Giants tattooed on your ankels?


Smashing Pumpkins tattoos are neat!


And Nine Ince Nails tattoos, even neater!


Ramones tattoos are a dime a dozen, but this one stood out.



Not quite as many Radiohead tattoos online as I would have thought. In fact, I found double the amount of Ween tattoos than of the cute little Radiohead bear...


The Pixies!


Okkerville River!??


Next up, we have some Peal Jam tattoos which may or not be on Heather of I Am Fuel We Are Friends Fame. It kind of looks like her, but so did those They Might Be Giants ankles...


Here's a Modest Mouse tattoo...


Muse...


There are a crazy amount of Morrissey/The Smiths tattoos out there...



And finally, saving the best for last... two Counting Crows tattoos that I know can not be real, but are worth posting just to make you smile.


Got any tattoos of a band you like? Then you're unique! I once was at a R.E.M. concert back in 1999 in Atlanta, and I met a woman who had, no lie, a tattoo of R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills above her left breast. I have searched online for a picture of her to no avail. If you know anything about this woman, and maybe have access to an image of her tattoo, PLEASE send it My way. I know that I am the Son of God and I can do anything, so I don't really need your help with this... I just thought it might be fun for you. Happy hunting! I love you. Stay away from tattoos... unless they are of Husker Du. Those tattoos don't really bother Me for some reason. Really, anything from 1980's Minneapolis excluding Prince is pretty cool in My book.