Killer Boots Man!

Tom Gabel Comes Out As Transgender: Thoughts and Opinions

If there is any Against Me! fan out there who doesn’t live under a rock, probably heard the news last night that Tom Gabel, frontman and founder of Florida’s punk band, Against Me! is about to start living her life as a women under the name of Laura Jane Grace.

My personal reaction was…..”WHAT THE F**K?” Not out of disgust or anything; just sheer shock. I listened to Against Me! on and off since I was 16-years-old and really got into them when they released “New Wave” in 2007. Most “true AM fans” will hate me when I say I think their last two releases, including “White Crosses” is some of the best music ever put out.

So after ignoring some of the obvious lyrics in their song “The Ocean” and lacking knowledge that Laura was suffering from gender dysphoria, forgive me for being a bit on the shocked side.

The band has a very rough sound, primarily the vocals, and the few times I’ve seen them live, it’s been a very in-your-face performance. This person was not on my top list of being transgender.

That being said, she’s got some serious balls. (pun intended). Against Me! has often been accused of selling out with the past two releases and this transition for the frontman(woman) is fucking punk rock as hell. Acknowledging that there will always be negative repercussions from this decision, she goes out and does what is best for her and people really should just leave it at that. I’m a fan of doing what makes yourself find ultimate happiness, as long as it doesn’t hurt others.

There will always be the debate about the couple’s daughter and her possibly being affected negatively, but she’s 2-years-old. I personally don’t remember shit at that age and it’s a young age that tends to be more loving and resilient than people that have reached adulthood. Gabel’s household, I can imagine, is very open minded and their daughter will be raised in that environment and that will only lead to one less asshole.

In a very strange fashion, I will miss “Tom Gabel.” While this decision does not concern me in any way, it feels like someone is gone forever. The only thing I care about is the music though. If good music keeps coming out, then I’m a happy camper. The writing ability and talents aren’t going away. So more power to Gabel for this decision if it maker her happy. So…….can Against Me! put out another album already?

Courtesy of Rolling Stone

What’s In My Ear-Anti-Flag

Anti-Flag-The General Strike

Three years since their release, The People or the Gun in 2009, Anti-Flag releases their ninth studio album and sound more pissed off than ever. I was really pumped for this album as they were one of my first “favorite bands” and I always look forward to their releases.

Each album has some sort of theme relevant to what is going on in the world.The People or the Gun criticized US bailouts for banks that got us into the financial mess we are in right now.

The General Strike is, at least to me, the concept album for the occupy movements and protests that have been taking place this past year. It captures the anger and frustration of the middle working class in 12 simple tracks barely breaching 27 minutes making it their shortest album to date.

Now, on their music. The opening track,Controlled Opposition,has to be one of their shortest songs at 22 songs and it is a great opener. Short, fast, sweet, aggressive, and I want to punch someone.

The album has consistent catchy melodies and fucking awesome guitar riffs. With this being their second album they recorded at their home made studio, it still has a raw sound with very melodic guitars. The position as lead vocalists is a little bit more dominated by guitarist, Justin Sane, but Chris #2’s time on the mic is not wasted. With the third track,1915,which in my opinion is their best song since I first heard The Press Corpse,has such a great grabbing pre-chorus. By far, the best track on the album.

Now, I do have some gripes with this album. While each track has great hooks of their own and it has an intensity and aggression that can trace back to their earlier releases such as Die For the Government, it feels like another version of The People or the Gun, but faster.

Anti-Flag got a ton of shit when they signed a two record deal with RCA which produced the releases of For Blood and Empire and The Bright Lights of America.I’m a huge fan of these albums. Mainly because it stepped over some boundaries and broke new ground for them. They had string quartets, a child choir, and trumpets in these albums and it was something fresh. Each album is unique in its own way and I appreciate that just by itself.

I don’t want this band to be like a Bad Religion and just release re hashes of their previous albums. With that being said, The General Strike is great and stands out in its own way, but doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. It won’t disappoint fans and I personally won’t stop listening to it for this next week.

Rating: 3.9/5 ears

Other Eargasms

Authority Zero-Andiamo 4/5 ears

The Black Pacific-The Black Pacific 3/5 ears

The Flatliners- The Great Awake 5/5 ears

What’s In My Ear-The Menzingers

The Menzingers-On The Impossible Past

Releasing their third album, admittedly, this is my first purchase by this band. I’ve heard some of their other songs such as “I Was Born” and have seen their name on tours with bands like The Bouncing Souls and Anti-Flag so naturally, I was interested.

With the beginning of the album starting out with a stick count, a cross stick beat and a soft guitar strum accompanied by the opening vocals, “I’ve been having a horrible time…” It took me for a surprise. I was expecting some heavy guitar riff with the typical fast punk beat. Quite the opposite. Not too many songs on this album are fast and their “punk rock” label might easily have been lost with this record.

That being said, each track includes catchy guitar riffs, verses, bridges, and even catchier choruses at a mid-tempo. Each track contains something that sticks out about it whether it’s the lyrics or the way they are played.

The theme is a consistent feeling of being in your late teens and being at that oblivious stage. It’s not a concept album where it tells a story but has a young demeanor atmosphere. My favorite set of lyrics comes from the fourth track, “Gates” which reminded me of hanging at various concerts with my buddies trying to score booze.

“That summer they took us in
Like every other American
For getting drunk around back of the Lion’s Club
Waiting for the shitty bands to finish up
And some kids played hacky sack
while the others just got high”

I hate(d) opening bands. Trying to wrap up this review, all in all, this album is great. A great purchase from a great band. I can see “On The Impossible Past” being The Menzinger’s “Dookie.” It can easily be that album that loses the initial group of fans while gaining new ones and some much deserved publicity.

Rating-4.5/5 ears

Other eargasms

Smoke or Fire-The Speakeasy 3.8/5 ears

Bon Iver- Bon Iver 3.5/5 ears

Star Wars: Episode I In 3D

Ok, so as every fanboy knows, George Lucas has released Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace this month as the beginning of releasing all six films in chronological order (releasing one a year).

For starters, I have not and will not see this film while it’s in theaters, so if you’re looking for a review of the film, wrong place laddy.

I don’t where to start. I could begin with the basics and how there is no apparent main character, coherent plot, flat dialogue from high name actors, and let’s not forget the racist stereotypes of Jar Jar and the trade federation.

But I won’t go off on that. It’s been said a hundred times and I would just be repeating old information. These are just my thoughts responding to the recent reviews I’ve seen about this film.

First off, I don’t understand why people are dishing out cash to see the SAME MOVIE that they hate. Nothing has changed and it’s still the mega disappointment it was over a decade ago. The 3D aspect will not make you forget about the dreadful mess at hand.

In a post-conversion film, it does not assist your film. With a film like this, which relies heavily on CGI to tell its story, (or lack there of), it makes the effects worst and the green screen usage is more obvious. I own the Blu-Rays of all six films and watching it on an HD tv did have it’s neat moments. The sound is great and the film does achieve a different feel.

However, unlike the original films on Blu-Ray, the HD makes the film feel more real, (probably because the effects are all live action instead of CGI), the HD is detrimental to the prequels and the effects look more like a video game. It was very obvious, primarily in Episode II, when the actors were in front of a green screen. The post-conversion 3D will only bring that out more.

The 3D will not increase the quality of this film. You are just paying to see an effect. The effect should be an added bonus to a great film, not the film itself. I am excited for the original trilogy to be in 3D, despite the fact that they will be the special editions. Aside from the mind boggling changes, the original trilogy looks and feels awesome in HD and that alone made the Blu-Ray purchase not a let down. The special features are awesome too.

But the OG trilogy has a consistent plot, character development throughout the trilogy, and in my opinion, just great pieces of art. That’s why the HD and 3D to me, with these films, are worth the extra purchase. It would be a fun addition to a story I enjoy.

The prequels have great visual effects and I’m sure it looks all spiffy in 3D, but Episode I is just crap and I would just be watching a movie I’m not remotely involved in with glasses on my face.

It’s the same reason I hated Avatar. Really cool visually, but I thought the dialogue, acting, and story were ridiculous so I didn’t buy into the 3D gimmick.

By going to see this film, you are only feeding George Lucas who gets too much credit as it is for the original trilogy. In a way, he is bit of genius. All he has done for the past 20 years is re-release these films, with minor tweaks here and there, and everyone buys them. He hasn’t had to do a damn original thing to make money.

I personally hate Attack of the Clones way more than this film and would watch Phantom Menace before that shit storm. I’ll be surprised if people go and see Episode II in 3D. If anyone remembers, nothing worthwhile happens until the end. The other 1 hour and 45 minutes are spent with a forced love story and even shittier dialogue.

If you really want to see this film in 3D, I suggest just watching it on Blu-Ray at home and save your money. The 3D isn’t going to change anything.

2012

I have barely touched my blog, particularly during my fall semester. Maybe I’ll try harder this new year. So to the 18 people that have followed me, thanks!