Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues

I read an interesting article on Vice magazine's website a while ago written by that guy who does all their music stuff . The short version was that he was a fan of Against Me! early on and really loved what they were doing, then the music kinda drifted away and he felt less attached to them. Then Tom Gabel became Laura Jane Grace, the band released this album and they started meaning something again, but now to a different crowd - they were an icon for an LGBT crowd rather than just a punk crowd. The writer felt pleased that they meant something to people again, even if it wasn't the same thing they meant to him back in the day.

I was introduced to Against Me! on their first album and loved it. I got different amounts of enjoyment out of the albums that followed, but the trajectory was a negative one and I feel very little attachment to White Crosses. I still enjoyed seeing the band live but wished I enjoyed their newer stuff as much as their first two albums. When I heard the news about Tom becoming Laura I wondered what effect it would have on the band; despite my indifference to their last album at the time, I was hoping they'd continue.

I didn't buy Transgender Dysphoria Blues when it came out - song titles like Osama Bin Laden as the Crucified Devil and Fuckmylife666 definitely put me off; I couldn't help but think they weren't the titles of Against Me! songs I'd enjoy. Early in 2015 I met up with my friend Sarah in Kingston and we went to Banquet (because I can't go to Kingston during the day and not visit Banquet). I mentioned that I still didn't have a copy and she insisted on buying me one as a belated Christmas present; I obliged.

I enjoyed the album much more than I thought I would. By far the most striking thing about it is how intense and raw the lyrics are. I can only imagine these were songs that Laura Jane Grace had been wanting to write and sing for a long time. The opening duo are amongst the highlights for me, Drinking With the Jocks is one of the heaviest songs they've released and Black Me Out is an unexpected anthem. Even the two songs I mentioned above are far better than their dubious titles imply.

Throughout the whole album you're reminded just how honest the songs are and it's a wonderful thing to listen to. I never thought I'd say these words, but I agree with that writer in Vice magazine - Against Me! may not be the band they once were to me, but I love that they now mean so much to other people. I love that they can hold these songs as close to their hearts as I do with the first album.

Format: 12", gatefold sleeve
Tracks: 10
Cost: £0 new
Bought: Gift
When: 01/03/15
Colour: Blue and white splatter
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

Against Me! - Against Me! as the Eternal Cowboy

I've been playing this record a lot over the last few days. Usually when I'm after a fix of Against Me! I put on Reinventing Axl Rose because it's an incredible record and I know that I'm going to spend the next half an hour singing along to some great songs. The same can be said for this record, but I've only really realised that the last few days.

A friend of mine is a huge fan of Against Me! and put a picture up on Facebook the other day of his iTunes most played songs. These 11 songs made up the top 11 places (each with 80+ plays), with some other Against Me! songs taking up a further seven places of the top 20. I was surprised that there were no Reinventing Axl Rose songs in there, but Matt has been listening to Against Me! for almost as long as I've known him, so he probably played that album to death in 2002. Anyway, it made me think about this record, so I pulled it out of the racks and it's been on the turntable quite a lot since.

I bought this album in Generation Records in New York on my second visit (the first had only been two days before, but I decided I'd seen enough sights and wanted to buy more vinyl). I'd bought the first album about nine months earlier and loved it, so figured it was worth trying another one. I liked it from the start, but somehow I didn't connect with the songs as well as I did with those on Axl Rose, which is probably why I always put that album on instead. For me, the highlights are all on the A-side: T.S.R., Sink, Florida, Sink and Slurring the Rhythms, although Turn Those Clapping Hands... is a good tune too.

So, all in all, another record that I've under-appreciated but hopefully won't any more.


Format: 12", gatefold sleeve
Tracks: 11
Cost: £5.42 new
Bought: Generation Records, New York
When: 13/04/08
Colour: Black
Etching: Side B: "I think ya'll might be accessorizing your lifestyle a little too uniformly"
mp3s: no

Against Me! - White People for Peace

This is a strange 7" for me, in that I like the b-side way more than the a-side. White People for Peace was the lead single to Against Me!'s fourth album New Wave (on white vinyl, naturally). I didn't end up buying New Wave in the end; I heard it a few times (my housemate Nicky was a huge fan) and it didn't do a great deal for me. I still love the Axl Rose and Eternal Cowboy albums, and the fifth album has its moments, but I just wasn't keen on New Wave. It probably didn't help that I wasn't blown away by the single from it.

The b-side Full Sesh, however, is a great song. I can't put my finger on what it is about it that I enjoy so much, but every time I play this single I come away with Full Sesh in my head, regardless of the order I played the songs. The verse are nicely sparse which makes the simple chorus soar even higher. Definitely worth a listen.


Format: 7"
Tracks: 2
Cost: £2 new
Bought: HMV Winchester
When: 02/07/07
Colour: White
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Against Me! - Against Me! is Reinventing Axl Rose

This album pretty much went straight into my favourite albums ever when I bought it. Not top 10, but top 50 probably. I'd known the name for years because a friend had been into them from the start but I'd never checked them out. When he passed his driving test I finally had the pleasure of hearing some Against Me! in his car and I was amazed. I'd written it off and very wrongfully. At some point that summer I picked up their new single (White People for Peace) but heard the first two albums were where it was at. A month or so later I was at the end of a holiday in Europe that had ended up in Prague and I had a few hours to myself so I went off in search of a record shop. Somehow I found this incredible shop that I'd certainly never be able to find again (shortly after some guy saw my record bag and asked where the shop was. I couldn't tell him, but did assure him it was awesome and if he found it he was in for a treat). They had some awesome records but I was low on cash and confused by the exchange rate, so I only picked up this one. I could've spent a fortune in there (the plastic sleeve still has the price on - 329 Czech-whatevers. About £8.50).

I couldn't listen to it until a few days later but couldn't get enough of it then, and still can't now. The opener is incredible with a perfect beat and Tom's screaming vocals. We Laugh at Danger and Break All the Rules is my favourite (I'm a sucker for group vocals). The whole first half is unrelenting, and that carries over onto side two. Baby I'm an Anarchist and 8 Full Hours of Sleep then stand out, but are still great. A bit of variety is good.

I picked up other Against Me! albums but none please me as much as this one. I've seen them live a bunch of times since and everytime they play something from this record I can't stop myself from going crazy down the front. At ten songs and half an hour long, its pretty much a perfect punk record (as far as I'm concerned). The moral of this one is that if a friend is raving about a band, it might be worth checking them out (depending on the friend's music taste I guess). I could've been listening to this album for many years more already.


Format: 12", poster inner
Tracks: 10
Cost: £8.50 new
Bought: Prague
When: 21/08/07
Colour: Gray splatter
Etching: Side A: "You can make the border smaller, but you cannot take away my nipple" Side B: "If you can read this, take a bath"
mp3s: no