First Listen: Against Me!, 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues'

[JustEmily]

First Listen: Against Me!, 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues'

http://www.npr.org/2014/01/12/261095666/first-listen-against-me-transgender-dysphoria-blues
   
    Article by:  Stephen Thompson
    January 12, 2014
    NPR Music

_________________________________
       
"It's right there in Transgender Dysphoria Blues' title that Against Me! intends to address Grace's new identity upfront: This is a coming-out record first and foremost, from its opening line — "Your tells are so obvious / shoulders too broad for a girl" — through songs that channel her fears and characteristic defiance. At times joltingly profane, Transgender Dysphoria Blues doesn't let up for 29 brisk minutes, but real tenderness and vulnerability surfaces in the melee."

I have been listening to this almost non-stop during my waking hours.  Now, I have been a fan of this group for a while already, and I enjoy hardcore and all of it's current mutations, but it goes beyond that:  to me this album grabs hold of the anger that I feel and lets me yell along with the singer.  I am encouraged by her courage.

Just wanted to share.

[ativan]

Thanks for sharing!

[Jill F]

Just ordered.

[BunnyBee]

Amazing!  Some of these song are just magnificent.  I think this whole album may become an anthem for a lot of peeps on this site, myself included .   Totally love it!

[Miss_Bungle1991]

Meh, Trans or not, I found it to be boring. *Goes back to Minor Threat and Reagan Youth*

[Jill F]

Meh, Trans or not, I found it to be boring. *Goes back to Minor Threat and Reagan Youth*

Currently listening to:

Minor Threat- Complete Discography

[Miss_Bungle1991]

Currently listening to:

Minor Threat- Complete Discography

Yeah, I own that. It's good. Right now I am listening to..pretty much nothing, except for the fan on the computer. Some days I prefer silence.

[BunnyBee]

I think publicly transitioning must be the hardest thing ever, and to lay yourself bare about it on top of that at such an early stage in transition like she did in this album?  That is the thing that gets me.  I do love the music, but putting myself in her shoes is just emotional for me.

It is def awe-inspiriing, but I really hope she isn't making things too hard for herself.

[Emmaline]

I predict the next album will not focus on trans issues so the band does not get sidelined as 'that trans group'.  I am not so keen on the music but Laura Jane Grace is absolutely kick ass- I love her mtv fashion vid on youtube.

[BunnyBee]

I predict the next album will not focus on trans issues so the band does not get sidelined as 'that trans group'.  I am not so keen on the music but Laura Jane Grace is absolutely kick ass- I love her mtv fashion vid on youtube.

I bet she has always been writing about  trans issues, just not overtly.  The trans experience aligns very well after all with the punk rock ethos of alienation and finding acceptance and liberty in defiance of social norms.  Not that we all have an attitude of defiance, but we do go against the norm in spite of ourselves.

[Shana A]

Laura Jane Grace did a solo acoustic tour last summer, I saw her show in Boston. She was awesome!!!

Shana

[skin]

I bet she has always been writing about  trans issues, just not overtly.  The trans experience aligns very well after all with the punk rock ethos of alienation and finding acceptance and liberty in defiance of social norms.  Not that we all have an attitude of defiance, but we do go against the norm in spite of ourselves.

There been a couple songs where it was rather blatant.  "Searching for a Former Clarity" and "The Ocean" both are rather clear.  However, even though I identified with aspects of those songs, I never suspected her to be trans at all.  They weren't the first punkish band to have songs relating to blurring gender lines, but after she came out the line, "If I could have chosen, I would have been born a woman. My mother once told me, she would have named me Laura," seemed pretty overtly obvious.

[BunnyBee]

That is pretty blatant, isn't it?

[Ltl89]

I've never heard any of the band's material, but I do want to check them out.  Hell, I love punk and there are so few trans celebrities out there.  Hopefully I will enjoy the album; in any case, I like how the singer carries herself and appreciate her honesty. 

There been a couple songs where it was rather blatant.  "Searching for a Former Clarity" and "The Ocean" both are rather clear.  However, even though I identified with aspects of those songs, I never suspected her to be trans at all.  They weren't the first punkish band to have songs relating to blurring gender lines, but after she came out the line, "If I could have chosen, I would have been born a woman. My mother once told me, she would have named me Laura," seemed pretty overtly obvious.

It does seem like an obvious line, but I've seen stuff like that fly over people's heads millions of times.  I've openly told people in the past that I wish I was born a girl and no one ever batted an eye.  It was just taken as a normal statement.   Odd how people fail to pick up some of the biggest signs.

[skin]

I've never heard any of the band's material, but I do want to check them out.

"Searching for a Former Clarity" from their 2005 album of the same name:


"The Ocean" from the 2007 album, New Wave:


And the entire album, Transgender Dysphoria Blues, out Tuesday:


Also, here is a high quality live set from 2012 that Arietta Roselyn first posted in the music forum:

[Ltl89]

They're okay.  I checked out the new album and enjoyed it.  However, I was shocked that she hasn't really changed her voice (not that there is anything wrong with that).  I suppose it's harder to make that change when you are the singer of a popular band.   

[Miss_Bungle1991]

They're okay.  I checked out the new album and enjoyed it.  However, I was shocked that she hasn't really changed her voice (not that there is anything wrong with that).  I suppose it's harder to make that change when you are the singer of a popular band.

Actually, I don't think it's an issue of them being a "popular" band. I think it may just be more difficult for her to change her vocal style to sound "feminine". I look at a band like Cretin to be a good example of that. Sure, their Grindcore style of music isn't the same as the Punk stuff that Against Me is doing, but Marissa Martinez's vocals still sound like a copy of Scott Carlson from Repulsion (one of Cretin's primary influences), even though her speaking voice is most certainly female.

[BunnyBee]

They're okay.  I checked out the new album and enjoyed it.  However, I was shocked that she hasn't really changed her voice (not that there is anything wrong with that).  I suppose it's harder to make that change when you are the singer of a popular band.

Yeah I mean it is her livelyhood.  She is also in the first year of her transition so I am sure a lot of ideas she has about how she will handle it all are subject to change.  But if she changed her singing voice she would probably lose a lot of fans that liked their sound before.