MTV declares “New Wave” as best punk album of the year

While the very involvement of MTV is unlikely to convince people of the validity of the statement, the popular network has named Against Me!‘s polarizing major label debut, New Wave, the best punk album of the year.

The article is the latest from frequent provocateur James Montgomery who this week demonstrates he has some carrots to go with his sticks.

He notes:

See, Against Me! have some of the dumbest “fans” out there — the kind of crusty, DIY gutter punx who hold nothing to be more verboten than the concept of “selling out,” which is something they’ve pretty much accused AM! of doing for almost a decade now. [As] the band leapt from indie to indie and tinkered with its sound, the catcalls only got louder, until — in late 2005, when AM! signed with Sire Records — they became a full-blown wail, one that manifested itself in blatantly stupid and juvenile acts like hate-filled message board screeds and vandalism.

It’s a blazing 33-odd minutes packed full of protest songs about music videos and file-sharing (“Up the Cuts,”) and protest songs about the ineffectiveness of protest songs (“White People for Peace”); open-hearted duets with slightly embarrassing titles (the truly excellent “Borne On the FM Waves of the Heart,” featuring Tegan Quin of Tegan & Sara); and roiling numbers in which Gabel declares his desire to have been born a woman named Laura (“The Ocean”). It’s bold and ballsy and really excellent, and for a punk record, it’s surprisingly free of the genre’s less-than-desirable aspects — the exclusion, the pissy attitude, the inherent sexism — so, if that’s selling out, well, then I’m buying.

The record has received considerable acclaim from critics overall.
Source While the very involvement of MTV is unlikely to convince people of the validity of the statement, the popular network has named Against Me!‘s polarizing major label debut, New Wave, the best punk album of the year.

The article is the latest from frequent provocateur James Montgomery who this week demonstrates he has some carrots to go with his sticks.

He notes:

See, Against Me! have some of the dumbest “fans” out there — the kind of crusty, DIY gutter punx who hold nothing to be more verboten than the concept of “selling out,” which is something they’ve pretty much accused AM! of doing for almost a decade now. [As] the band leapt from indie to indie and tinkered with its sound, the catcalls only got louder, until — in late 2005, when AM! signed with Sire Records — they became a full-blown wail, one that manifested itself in blatantly stupid and juvenile acts like hate-filled message board screeds and vandalism.

It’s a blazing 33-odd minutes packed full of protest songs about music videos and file-sharing (“Up the Cuts,”) and protest songs about the ineffectiveness of protest songs (“White People for Peace”); open-hearted duets with slightly embarrassing titles (the truly excellent “Borne On the FM Waves of the Heart,” featuring Tegan Quin of Tegan & Sara); and roiling numbers in which Gabel declares his desire to have been born a woman named Laura (“The Ocean”). It’s bold and ballsy and really excellent, and for a punk record, it’s surprisingly free of the genre’s less-than-desirable aspects — the exclusion, the pissy attitude, the inherent sexism — so, if that’s selling out, well, then I’m buying.

The record has received considerable acclaim from critics overall.
Source

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