We’ve been none too shy about our fondness for Against Me!’s major label debut. As if dating Claire Danes for a bunch of years wasn’t enough, Ben Lee went and one-upped our AM! love by ably covering New Wave start to finish — on top of that, he’s graciously offering it as a free download over at his blog. Why the homage to a record that’s only been out a month? Lee explains:
A couple of weeks ago I downloaded the new Against Me! album New Wave. I didn’t really know too much about this band but had been reading lots of good things about it, and my friend Tegan sings on it (ed’s note: She sings on “Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart” ? and yup, it’s Tegan of & Sara fame). I like to keep myself up to date with what’s 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.
We’re hosting “New Wave” because it’s the first song, a sorta intro, and Lee does a great job stuffing the original’s anthemic upswing into strummed, still anthemic acoustic pop.
By the way, Ben’s onto something ? Against Me!’s releasing unplugged versions of “New Wave” and “Animal” via iTunes on 9/4, along with that goofy, wine-soaked “Thrash Unreal” video. Ah, what the heck: Here’s Lee’s truly excellent version of “Thrash Unreal,” too.
Grab the rest over at Ben’s blog. When not covering Against Me!, Lee’s dropping multi-colored, water-balloon smashing videos, like this one for “Love Me Like The World Is Ending.” (Pretty slick suit!)
And when Against Me! isn’t being covered by Ben Lee, they’re being Captain Perfect-baiting, hat-grabbing jokesters on Pancake Mountain.
We’re glad to see everyone’s multi-tasking.
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I just listened to “New Wave” for the first time this morning. Way to be coincidental Stereogum! Lee is right, it’s a masterpiece. I can’t wait to get home today and check out the rest of their stuff.
This is trash. They’re absolute shite. I mean, laughably bad and horrifically devoid of even the slightest likable quality. This is a dog shit band and don’t pretend otherwise.
I don’t like against me! but i am a fan of ben lee so i am downloading it, i couldn’t resist. also i heard his new album leaked is that true?
Being that they’re the latest music mag fodder, I imagine they could be either the first comment or the second. Either way, I’m now intrigued enough to find out if they are indeed the second coming of Black Danzig Fear Minutemen.
How in the hell can people like this shit?! Read the lyrics people! “Protest songs/In response to military agression” – perhaps the stiffest, most haphazardly written chorus ever.
And even if you can look past the lyrics, can’t you see how fucking formulaic this bullshit is? There is no soul in this music whatsoever. The only way a self-respecting music fan could enjoy a second of this shit is if they had never heard any of this band amazing back-catalogue.
I feel personally insulted as a longtime fan of this band to see people calling this absolute bullshit a masterpiece and even, most laughably, their best album to date.
Stereogum, I’ve lost a great amount of respect for you. I suggest you put in Reinventing Axl Rose or As The Eternal Cowboy and then re-assss your opinion, just to save a little face.
I love the fact that you guys are willing to give praise to this album. It’s a catchy pop album, and although some may cry sell out, if you’re a band really trying to get a message across, why continue to preach to the choir? The mainstream needs a little more of this kind of thing to balance out the Lil Mama’s of the world.
Let me put this in terms the average Stereogum reader should understand: How would you like it if Neutral Milk Hotel reunited and started making lyrically weak, generic (though catchy and fun) pop music?
against me sucks!
Well, it would probably sound better, frankly.
But I don’t get it. Against Me! is all anarchist and shit. I remember some anarchists I knew once. They never washed their hair and they sold coffee for a while. That was about the extent of that whole deal.
“How would you like it if Neutral Milk Hotel reunited and started making lyrically weak, generic (though catchy and fun) pop music?”
Hmmmm…probably the same way I feel about you being insulted because people (including me) call “New Wave” a masterpiece. I really don’t/wouldn’t give a shit.
I know it’s the indie rock way to instinctively turn on any band that makes more than three albums. I personally don’t see the point. Bands change, bands evolve, it’s a fact of life. If a band or artist cranks out the same album five times in a row, they catch hell for it. If a band or artist makes a different album each time, they get accused of selling out or not sounding like themselves and they catch hell for it. It’s a no win situation. What always amuses me is that this inability to accept change is most prevalent amongst “open minded” indie rock fans. It’s downright comedic. I think the comments on the Rilo Kiley post from last week amount to the funniest shit I’ve read all month. A bunch of musically clueless morons trying to top each other’s bitter, change hating, comments. Get a life. There has to be a better way to improve your self esteem than taking the indie rock highroad in the “should Rilo Kiley use backup singers” debate. The same applies here. Fucking relax. People are going to listen to what they want to listen to. Your “Reinventing the Axl Rose” pity party isn’t going change that.
Check out the big brain on Adam.
the freegans of the world are PISSED at against me.
I much prefer Against Me!’s As the Eternal Cowboy. The new record is pretty much not very good, but if you enjoy it then enjoy it.
“Stereogum, I’ve lost a great amount of respect for you. I suggest you put in Reinventing Axl Rose or As The Eternal Cowboy and then re-assess your opinion, just to save a little face.”
Summed up my opinion.
You know, there are those of us who actually like Against Me! and it annoys me that you start hating something/something simply because it goes against you in one aspect. As for Bryan, please don’t be a jerk, let him have his opinion. When you said
“Stereogum, I’ve lost a great amount of respect for you. I suggest you put in Reinventing Axl Rose or As The Eternal Cowboy and then re-assss your opinion, just to save a little face,” It seriously pissed me off. Guess what? We have opinions too; their not the same as yours. DEAL WITH IT.