monday wake up call

Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! performs acoustic versions of "True Trans Soul Rebel" and "Dead Friend" live at Greenpoint Tattoo Co. in Brooklyn, NY.

saturday wake up call

Against Me! performing "True Trans Soul Rebel" on CBC's Q with Jian Ghomeshi.

saturday wake up call

New Against Me! video for "Drinking With The Jocks", from one of my favourite records of the year so far, Transgender Dysphoria Blues.

tuesday wake up call

Unartig has posted a full set of Against Me! playing live at Saint Vitus in Brooklyn, New York.

thursday wake up call

Against Me! performed two songs for the Nervous Energies session during the band's soundcheck @ The Neptune in Seattle, Washington:

"Borne On The FM Waves Of The Heart" (featuring Laura Stevenson)




"Shivers" (Rowland S. Howard cover)

tuesday wake up call

Laura Jane Grace played two live acoustic Against Me! tracks for Folk-O-Rama in in downtown Columbia, Missouri.

"True Trans Soul Rebel"




"Fuckmylife666"

saturday wake up call

"Black Me Out" by Against Me!, my favourite track from Transgender Dysphoria Blues, one of my favourite records of the year so far!

saturday wake up call

Lyric video for "FUCKMYLIFE666" by Against Me!



"FUCKMYLIFE666" is taken from Against Me!'s awesome new record, Transgender Dysphoria Blues, out now through Total Treble.

thursday wake up call

Against Me! performed "FUCKMYLIFE666" on Late Show With David Letterman last night!



"FUCKMYLIFE666" is from the awesome new AM! record, Transgender Dysphoria Blues, out now on Total Treble.

tuesday wake up call

My most anticipated album of the year, Transgender Dysphoria Blues by Against Me! is out today! Watch Laura Jane Grace & James Bowman perform acoustic versions of "FuckMyLife666" and "True Trans Soul Rebel" at Red Bull Sound Space at KROQ.

Post by Against Me!

Post by Against Me!

tuesday wake up call

Great video by Light & Noise of Against Me!'s set from this year's Fuck Yeah Fest in LA.

wednesday wake up call

"If I could have chosen, I would have been born a woman. My mother once told me she would have named me Laura."

Against Me! singer Tom Gabel reveals plans to begin living as a woman in the new issue of Rolling Stone. Read the whole story here.

Here's a video of the band performing "The Ocean" on The Interface.




"Let's make everybody sing that they are the beginning and the ending of everything. That we all are stronger than everything they taught us that we should fear."




"Confessing childhood secrets of dressing up in women's clothes. compulsion you never knew the reasons to. Will everyone you ever meet or love be just relationship based on a false presumption?"




Hey Tom/Laura, thank you for being so incredibly brave, you are a true role model and my hero!

wednesday wake up call

Tom Gabel performs new Against Me! song entitled "Black Me Out" via Nervous Energies Session:

ben lee sings against me!

I was on Punknews.org yesterday and saw an album cover under reviews that looked awfully like the new Against Me! record, New Wave. I closely examined it and to my shocking surprise, the caption said: Ben Lee Sings Against Me! New Wave. Yes, it’s true, Ben Lee covered the entire Against Me! record. Here’s Lee’s blog entry on why he did the cover:

A couple of weeks ago I downloaded the new "Against Me!" album "New Wave". I didnt really know too much about this band but had been reading lots of good things about it, and my friend Tegan sings on it. I like to keep myself up to date with whats going on musically in the world, so I checked it out. I fell in love with the album. Really. Like, couldn't stop listening to it. As heavy and gnarly as it sounds at times, it is unmistakably a pop masterpiece. Listening to it on the way to Australia, I wondered to myself how these songs would sound acoustically.

A couple of days later I was on a flight from Sydney to Melbourne and had the thought "I'd love to cover this album." The whole thing. Beginning to end. So I did.

Anyway, here are the results. If you already know the original album, I hope these recordings shed a different light on it. If you don't know "Against Me!" and like what you hear, go check them out.

Nic Johns is the unspoken hero of this tale. He recorded, produced and mixed it and basically made my dream a reality. Hats off to him.

Hope you guys dig it.

Enjoy!

Ben

You can download the entire cover album by Ben Lee here!!!

buy New Wave (Against Me!) here

out this week

Spoon: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Yet another ultra indie pop masterpiece by Spoon! Spoon perfectly executed ten ultimate indie pop rock tracks, making Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga the most solid effort by the band to date.

You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb [wicked-cool song]
The Underdog [wicked-cool song]

read my review of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga here
buy Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga here



St. Vincent: Marry Me

I cannot seem to get enough of Marry Me, St. Vincent is indeed one of the best new artists of the year.

Your Lips Are Red [wicked-cool song]
Marry Me [wicked-cool song]

read my review of Marry Me here
buy Marry Me here



Against Me!: New Wave

New Wave features the classic Against Me! sound: loud energetic punk rock music with brutally honest and in-your-face lyrics; it is possibly the best punk record of the year!

New Wave [wicked-cool song]
Americans Abroad [wicked-cool song]

read my review of New Wave here
buy New Wave here

***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

no mother ever dreams that her daughters gonna grow up to be a junkie

Against Me! is one of the most consistent bands in the past decade. From their innovative debut full-length, Reinventing Axl Rose back in 2002 to their outstanding last record, Searching For A Former Clarity... oh, and not to mention all the in-betweens EPs, Singles, and a live album, Against Me! has over and over again spoiled their fans with top quality music. On July 10, the band will release a brand new record called New Wave. Once again, fans of the band, as well as punk music lovers from around the world will be treated with another incredible record. Possibly the best punk album of the year so far, New Wave features the classic Against Me! sound: loud energetic punk rock music with brutally honest and in-your-face lyrics. Without a doubt, the standout song will most likely be "Borne On The FM Waves" as it features Tegan Quin from the band Tegan And Sara... seriously, only Against Me! can make a relationship song sounds so political! Other highlights include "Americans Abroad", a song about commercialization... or more precisely, the problem of Americanization in none-US countries. Further, an Against Me! album would not be completed without songs like "Up The Cuts" and "Piss And Vinegar", which are both the band’s commentary on the music industry today. With New Wave, Against Me! has grown even further away from Reinventing Axl Rose, they continue to explore with new sounds; even so, the new record is unquestionably thought-provoking, it still carries many classic Against Me! characteristics, and that should keep old fans overjoyed for a long long time!

Up The Cuts [wicked-cool song]
White People For Peace [wicked-cool song]
Borne On The FM Waves (feat. Tegan Quin) [wicked-cool song]
Americans Abroad [wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

New Wave outs out on July 10, you can pre-order it here

cmw march 9, 2007: photo diary

Bands seen:
Against Me!
Fake Problems
Harmonica
Modernboys Moderngirls
Riverboat Gamblers
These Electric Lives

Fake Problems and Against Me! @ The Phoenix




Harmonica @ Sneaky Dee's




These Electric Lives @ Sneaky Dee's




Modernboys Moderngirls @ Sneaky Dee's

finally... cursive in toronto!

New Against Me! and Cursive tour dates!!!!!

Tue-5-1-07 -- Los Angeles, CA -- Wiltern LG
Wed-5-2-07 -- San Francisco, CA -- Warfield
Fri-5-4-07 -- Portland, OR -- Roseland Ballroom
Sat-5-5-07 -- Seattle, WA -- The Fenix
Sun-5-6-07 -- Boise, ID -- Big Easy
Mon-5-7-07 -- Salt Lake City, UT -- In The Venue
Tue-5-8-07 -- Denver, CO -- Fillmore Auditorium
Fri-5-11-07 -- Minneapolis, MN -- The Myth
Sat-5-12-07 -- Chicago, IL -- Riviera Theatre
Sun-5-13-07 -- Detroit, MI -- State Theatre
Mon-5-14-07 -- Cleveland, OH -- House Of Blues
Tue-5-15-07 -- Toronto, ON -- Kool Haus
Thu-5-17-07 -- New York, NY -- Roseland Ballroom
Fri-5-18-07 -- Philadelphia, PA -- Electric Factory
Sat-5-19-07 -- Boston, MA -- Avalon

Plus even more Bright Eyes dates:

03-07 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
03-08 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
03-09 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
03-10 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
03-11 Seattle, WA - Showbox
03-16 London, England - Koko
03-18 Oxford, England - Brookes University Student Union
03-22 Oslo, Norway - Cosmopolite
03-24 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser
03-26 Berlin, Germany - Columbia Club
03-27 Cologne, Germany - Gloria
03-30 Paris, France - Cafe de la Danse
03-31 Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Melkweg
04-22 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre
04-23 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
04-24 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
04-25 Minneapolis, MN - State Theatre
04-26 Omaha, NE - Holland Performing Arts Center
04-28 Denver, CO - Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre
04-29 Salt Lake City, UT - Kingsbury Hall
05-01 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
05-02 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
05-04 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
05-05 Santa Barbara, CA - Arlington Theatre
05-06 Los Angeles, CA - Walt Disney Concert Hall
05-08 San Diego, CA - SOMA
05-09 Tempe, AZ - Mesa Amphitheatre
05-11 Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom
05-12 Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom
05-13 Austin, TX - Bass Concert Hall
05-14 New Orleans, LA - Republic
05-16 Tampa, FL - Tampa Theatre
05-17 Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
05-18 Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
05-19 Nashville, TN - Ryman Audiotorium
05-20 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center for the Arts
05-21 Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
05-22 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
05-24 Boston, MA - Wang Center for the Performing Arts
05-25 New York, NY - Town Hall
05-26 New York, NY - Town Hall
05-28 New York, NY - Town Hall
05-29 New York, NY - Town Hall
05-30 New York, NY - Town Hall
05-31 New York, NY - Town Hall
06-01 New York, NY - Town Hall