For some reason, aliens and UFO designs have been a thematic constant when it comes to the punk and pop-punk aesthetic. Maybe it's the idea of being an outsider or the questioning of authority/conventions, or maybe it's just biting more off of 1990s pop culture.
There's been bands from other genres as well that have adopted alien imagery, but it seems to be the most prevalent in the Warped Tour generation. If the youth thinks aliens are cool, well, let's get them reading and believing.
Here's some of the best designs that have recently been made into merch:
Sum-41
This design by pop-punk artist extraordinaire Cassie Podish originally had a larger Area-51 prescense in the background until the band simplified it for this tour shirt, It's simple, slick and just looks cool.
Seaway
A surfing alien with a simple color palette goes with the band's laid-back style.
Candy Hearts (now Best Ex)
A play off the song "Bad Idea",this shirt features an alien throwing up a peace sign on a tie-dye shirt. It's a great hippie-style summer design that is really a rad idea (pun intended).
State Champs
A safe, ringer style shirt shows an alien chilling on the moon. It's bro-y enough for the band's fanbase for sure.
Neck Deep
"Citizens Of Earth" (hey, this glows in the dark too) is a simple UFO over city design, which while isn't original, looks good here.
New Found Glory
NFG has gotten into the alien game with a tie-dye alien "anti-social shirt," and this cool patch. The band's latest may be the best one yet from them, as it has the cliched abduction artwork, but the UFO is sucking up symbols from the band's latest album cover that perfectly ties into the "Makes Me Sick " marketing.
blink-182
This Brandon Heart concert poster inspired by the Tom DeLonge-penned "Aliens Exist" is the perfect physical representation of the pop-punk alien song, and also made a rad shirt. The design also sits tattooed on this author's leg.
-MIKE DAMANTE