M.I.A.’s celebrity profile has been burning white hot of late. The U.K.-based rapper-cum-record producer-cum-visual artist, whose real name is Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam (she’s of Sri Lankan descent), is a staple on mainstream, alt. rock and r&b radio, riding the avalanche of buzz generated by her seemingly ubiquitous, sound-of-now smash, “Paper Planes.” (It didn’t hurt that the song was also featured prominently in this summer’s reefer comedy Pineapple Express, giving it even wider mainstream exposure and a secondary bump on playlists and sales charts.)

The video treatment (embedded below) isn’t particularly inspired from a conceptual perspective — she, more or less, just mugs for the camera, toasting raps and costume-changing her way through a series of loud, blinged-out get-ups — but it’s an fun, entertaining clip nonetheless. Shot against a gritty, multicultural urban backdrop, Arulpragasam’s confident swagger, fresh street style and musical talents are in full bloom here, a welcome reminder (a) that larger-than-life rock stars still walk among us and (b) that rumors of their demise have been greatly overstated. The next wave of female superstars — Karen O, Santogold, the girls from Ladytron, Goldfrapp — is here. Now.

Focus closely on M.I.A.’s wardrobe changes and you’ll see that she is sporting a Ride the Lighting-era Metallica tee at intervals clustered towards the video’s conclusion. It makes its first appearance at 2:15 and again at 2:18, 2:27, 2:34, 2:40, 2:54 and 3:04. It’s tricky to determine the shirt’s vintage — it could be original or just as easily a recent repro. I suppose there’s nothing particularly newsworthy about any of this, but it’s a fine example of the t-spotting we try to do here at It Goes to 11.

We aim to please here at It Goes to 11, so let us know if you’re feeling us. Kudos? Complaints? Both? Forward them to the following address: travis@founditemclothing.com

The baseball season is winding to a climatic end, with several of MLB’s divisional races still to be determined. Last night, my team, the venerable Boston Red Sox, clinched a playoff berth on their home field, by virtue of a 5-4, come-from-behind victory over the Cleveland Indians (that’s 5 postseason appearances in the last 6 years, for those keeping score). At 92-65 and with 5 games to play, no other team, including the rival New York Yankees, who were eliminated Tuesday night from playoff contention for the first time since 1993, can match the team’s win-loss record for the so-called “Wildcard” spot.

The BoSox, who as most sports fans are aware, have had something of a star-crossed existence — Curse of the Bambino, anyone? — until winning the world championship in 2004, and again in 2007. This, arguably, makes them the team of the decade (to date), largely in part to superior scouting, player development and resource management. Between the brainy baseball engineers in the front office and a bevy on young, talented, homegrown players on the diamond, the franchise expects to compete for multiple titles in the next 10 years (at least).

In any case, the victory set off a raucous celebration at Fenway Park that saw the players showering each other (and themselves) with champagne and beer (pictured below), as is baseball custom.

The Big Bopper, David Ortiz.

“Wild Thing,” a.k.a. Jonathan Papelbon shares a moment with proud members of Red Sox Nation.

In the course of the festivities, I noticed that several members of the team were wearing motivational t-shirts. Naturally, this caught my attention and prompted me to do a little online digging.

Peep out the front of this tee, featuring the classic “Socks” logo adorned with dumbbells on the side:

A bit tricky to make out, the text on the back reads: “The Only Talent is Drive.”

As with a coin or a story, there are two sides to every tee. And while I’m not feeling the slogan on the back (it seems a bit forced, nor does it roll off the tongue in a poetic manner), the graphic on the front is simple, clean and easy to grasp (pun intended). All in all, the shirt speaks to the player’s overall sense of commitment to the team (read: diligent, self-improvement is both a collective responsibility and cohesive bond), as well as the take-no-prisoners, get-pumped mind-set that they want to project throughout the season.

Naturally, I’m a bit curious: what do the readers out there think about this tee? Cool design or clumsy execution? Hit me up with an e-mail at travis@founditemclothing.com and let me know how you really feel.

Of course, we don’t sell MLB apparel on our site and I don’t even know if the shirt in question is even available for purchase. I will say that now seems like an appropriate time to remind the hardball fans out there that we do feature a baseball-themed tee at founditemclothing.com. This t-shirt, worn by the Dude in the cult classic, The Big Lebowski, commemorates the career of Karou Betto, one of the premiere Japanese baseball players of his generation. It retails for $21.95, fyi, and it comes printed on a comfy, 3/4-length American Apparel garment.

Sadly, you’ve seen it before: the young, sultry, Hollywood actress, positioned on the threshold of untold celebrity and riches, risks it all by dating a washed-up has-been old enough to be her father (almost). What, we can only ponder, was she thinking? (Answer: she wasn’t.) And, conversely, how did HE pull that off? (Answer: trinkets, baubles, and stupid fresh dance moves.)

The latest pin-up to fall prey to this trap is 22-year old Megan Fox, who starred opposite Shia LaBeouf (LaBOOF!) in last summer’s live-action Transformers flick (true to the property, but a tad tiresome, btw). Fox, a former model that parlayed her good looks — the discriminating body snobs over at FHM magazine selected her as 2008’s “Sexiest Woman in the World” — into bit roles on television before landing her big robo-movie break, is, according to media accounts, engaged to none other than Brian Austin Green, a d-list footnote that achieved a modest level of notoriety in the early ’90s for his role as David on the original production of Beverly Hills, 90210.

An embarrassing reminder, for those that need it.

When that show ground to a mercifully end, Green disappeared from the spotlight, never to be heard from again. Or, so it was thought. In 2007, he emerged from whatever cave he was hiding in and scored a choice, recurring role on The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a Terminator-themed, made-for-TV spin-off that has garnered mostly favorable, if somewhat lukewarm, reviews, all of which made news of the pair’s relationship even more confounding.

Given that the age gap is more than 10 years, one wonders if the duo will even make it to the altar; on the other hand, they look quite happy together in this clip I found on Youtube. Spoiler alert: video contains stomach-turning PDA’s.

Regardless of how or why this tragedy came to pass, there’s no doubt that Fox looks stunning in a tight, form-fitting tee. Take the fine examples below, purloined from the Web for your perusal.

Nothing makes a geek hornier than a hottie in vintage Star Wars apparel, although, this particular shirt, it should be noted, looks like one of the Junk Food reproductions that are so popular these days.

This pic definitely speaks to Megan’s “edgier” look. Between the ratty, aged rock tee, the tats on her arms and wrists, and the double, devil’s horn hand gestures, she looks like she’s ready to jump onto the stage at Ozzfest or onto the back of some dude’s motorcycle. More than meets the eye, indeed.

So, in conclusion, Ms. Fox knows how to pick her tees; as for men…

Tina Fey, a writer and actress acclaimed for her leading roles on Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock, is among the most bodacious and accomplished woman on television today. Among other attributes, she’s hilarious, stylish, contemporary, whip-smart, eminently likable and yes, attractive in a girl-next-door-cum-naughty librarian kind of way—in short, exactly the type of role model you’d want for the daughter, sister, girlfriend or empowered female in your life.

Fey made serious waves last weekend with her spot-on impersonation of Sarah Palin, the much maligned Republican nominee for Vice-President, in a clever and side-splitting SNL skit that simultaneously touched upon nerves of gender, class and popular (mis)perception. If you haven’t watched it yet (and apparently, more than 5 million Americans have), you can do so here:

Political pundits, bloggers, other celebs, everyday folk—all have been weighing in on her appearance over the last week, and I’m not sure I really have anything of substance to add to this dialogue. I will say that in the process of researching this post, I came across an interesting but largely unrelated photo gallery on Entertainment Weekly’s website that caught my eye. It features an assortment of famous entertainers wearing their favorite t-shirts, and Mrs. Fey’s contribution — sorry fellas, she’s taken — is a vintage Who tee that she cribbed from her brother’s closet a long time ago.

It seems fitting, I suppose, that Fey would identify with a rebellious and groundbreaking act like The Who, a band that was unafraid to challenge the prevalent norms and attitudes of its day. Tell me readers, am I stretching things here? Or, is there a correlation? Drop me a line at the following e-mail address (I dare you):

travis@founditemclothing.com

…and I have the photographic evidence to prove it.

Peeped this week somewhere deep in the 30 Mile Zone: 2/3 of Disney jailbait, the taunt, muscular and nubile Jonas Bros. Note that the Jonai on the left is sporting Urban Outfitters-like, hipster-approved wayfarer sunglasses…on his chest.

You’d think that if Joe Jonas — he of the purity ring and chastity vow — was going to stare at that chick’s ass like Kayne mugs for the cameras, he might want a pair of real specs to disguise his intentions. Or not. Tell us readers: thumbs-up or thumbs-down? Fashion-forward or fashion faux-pas? Player or played out?

We’ll tabulate the responses sometime next week, btw.