Singin the (Transgender Dysphoria) Blues

A good record is a good record.

Sometimes I feel obligated to buy a band's record simply because I really liked their previous record or records. That can get a bit expensive and start to occupy a lot of real estate. The four crates full of CDs that cannot fit into my lone remaining CD rack are testament to that. With Spotify I have become more discriminating in what I actually buy. And since I only buy vinyl now, (NERD!) which is more costly than CDs, I need to be even more vigilant.

Against Me! are a sort of punk band that I was sort-of aware of.  I was never really into that scene or style, though a few songs I heard through RockBand I thought catchy enough to download for the video game. Their current claim to fame is that band leader Tom Gabel is now Laura Jane Grace. Her gender dysphoria has been a source of pain for her. She's in the process of fixing that. Good for her. I admit I don't understand it but it isn't for me to understand. She is still a person and she needs to do what she thinks is best for her.

That gender dysphoria and Grace's struggle with it is also the inspiration for Against Me!'s new record Transgender Dysphoria Blues. Emotional turmoil makes for great art, and Against Me!, a band I never really thought too much about, have gone and made one of the best records of 2014 (so far). It's a short record, around 30 minutes. It gets in, it kicks ass, it leaves. No hanging around beyond the prescribed time. Ten well-written, well-played songs. Mostly fast, mid-tempo in the middle, a slow-burner acoustic track near the end before going out with a bang.

It doesn't make me want to go back and get their other records. What I recognize here is the growth of the band. I know those other records and they are what they are. Real fans of Against Me!, of which I do not claim to be, appear to be not as enamored with the new record as with older ones. How much of that is due to Miss Grace and her struggles? Probably some. Musically though, the record is a step away from previous records. Less punk, much more power-poppy, but still with a snarl.

The anthemic title track opens things like a call to arms, followed by the rocking and catchy as hell "The Trans Soul Rebel." "Unconditional Love" has a fantastic sing-along bridge. Song title of the year may start and end with "Osama Bin Laden As The Crucified Christ." It also happens to be a nifty track with a cool little Cars-esque guitar run weaving in the depths. Side two opens with a great, straight-forward guitar riff in the song title of the year runner-up "fuckmylife666." Outrage gives way turmoil. Look at the song titles. Those are followed by "Dead Friend" and "Two Coffins." Resignation seems imminent. The album ends with "Paralytic States" and "Black Me Out." These final tracks do not represent giving up, nor are they a final howl on the way down. It's recognition of who Laura Jane Grace is. It is acceptance of that. Maybe the most difficult thing she ever had to do was accept who she really was; why does it need to be difficult for us to accept who she is?

Here they are doing "fuckmylife666" on Letterman. Not surprisingly, Dave does not say the name of the song.