The first two tracks from his EP (Random Hearts and Conceptual Paths) anger me like no other. They sound like Shwayze, no fucking lie. There's an 808 drum machine over his acoustic guitar and this saddens me. Whatever happened to screaming your lungs out about how much Starbucks sucks?
What happened to the unintelligible lyrics and the soulful input that everyone could feel even through a CD that set them apart from everyone else? What happened to the songs that could cause a riot as well as cause everyone to break down and fall apart on the dancefloor?
As Tom's EP continues, it DOES get better... but it all sounds like Billy Bragg meets Against Me! not just Against Me!'s lead singer doing his solo shit. Anna is a Stoolpigeon is probably the best track on here and the live bootleg (obviously found online) is probably than this album version.
I'm still a huge fan of Tom Gabel as well as Against Me!, but it bothers me how much they've shifted. I even enjoy their record "New Wave" but I hardly view it as an Against Me! record when you compare it to anything from "Reinventing Axl Rose". I don't know maybe I'm just being nuts, so I'll ask you. Listen to both of these songs (In video form) and you tell me what YOU think.
1. We Laugh At Danger (And Break All The Rules) from "Reinventing Axl Rose"
2. Stop! from "New Wave"
Anyone else see what I mean? They don't even sound the same at all. It's almost exactly what Greenday did and they were fucking SHUNNED by their old fans. I'm still a fan of Against Me! and I will continue to be... but I just wanna hear something unintelligible for a while.
Any opinion on this matter?
4 comments:
Well..
I agree. I've never really been a fan of Against Me!, but that's probably because I never really gave them a chance. Even so, I still think that Reinventing Axl Rose was a MUCH better album. The vocals have pretty much changed like night and day, and you can tell that the spirit in all the members has gone corporate. They don't seem to enjoy playing like they once did..
And that wraps it up, as you have sparked some anger in me that will most likely lead to a blog about how much sell-outs and the corporation suck.
-Brittany
I have to disagree with brittany, their spirit is 100% NOT gone. I have saw them live back when they only had reinventing axl rose, i saw them during As the Eternal Cowboy, during Searching for a former clarity annnd new wave. and I can positively say that one thing they haven't lost is there spirit. When they are on stage you can tell that there is no were they would rather be. They put just as much heart into what they are doing now, as they did the first time I saw them back in '02.
Yes, their music has gone in a totally new direction, (and i haven't even heard toms solo shit,) but that is totally inevitable i think. very few bands stay consistent in every CD they released. (althought I can say right now the only two bands I can think of that stayed pretty damn close to their roots would be NOFX and the Vandals.)
I mean look at Anti-Flag. their sound has changed COMPLETELY. and a lot say they sold the fuck out. buttt. their message is still there. what they are sining for hasn't changed at all.
same with against me! they are still singing about the same shit. (for the most part, thrash unreal kinda pisses me off, i know a lot of slutty girls that are like ohhh that songs about me! ugh) just not quite to the same "lets throw bricks through the starbucks windows" extent, but to more of an extent where they dumb down their message and cover it with a poppy beat so more people will listen to them.
but it brings me to the question of how can you tell when a band "sells out" or just plain gets tired of making the same fucking music all the time? if I were NOFX I would have gotten bored a loonnnggg fucking time ago making cds that all sound the same. and I feel like that is almost more selling out then changing your sound because you are sticking with what you KNOW people like. you're not venturing out to try something new. you know that what you are doing will sell records so thats what you do.
idk.
im rambling.
half asleep.
and so pissed that there is snow outside.
=]
I agree slightly with both points here. I think that Against Me! has a record for every mood.
I can see both points here, but I still dig them but I just view their material with opinion even though I don't want to.
I see what you're talking about Monica, and It's very true for any bad. The Beatles even started releasing psychedlia for a while when the whole "Hey Jude" bullshit died down.
"You know, when you gotta eat- you'll sign to a major label, man. and these kids can't see that." - Lars from RANCID on them signing to Warner to release Indesutrictible.
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