News
Life Ain't Peaches & Cream For Against Me's Gabel
Posted by Eddie Cash on Tuesday, October 2, 2007 at 8:16 AM
Bands are always called sell outs when they sign to major labels (sometimes even indies). So why, according to a very interesting article, does Against Me's Tom Gabel seem to have it rougher than the others? Click here to read about it. Please comments also. We're interested to hear your thoughts on this.
User Comments
you can't bring the clash into this as the whole 'selling out' ideal wasn't in play back then due to there being less of an underground music label network.
but think about AM, if they had released an album that sounded like RAR they wouldnt have got half the shit they have Oct 4, 2007
The Clash had a sound the was constantly progressing, and they were on a major, but they never soldout.
When you spend the first half of your career, which Against Me! most certainly did, talking about the evils of capitalism, major labels, and doing music for the money and then turn around and do those things yourself you will get a backlash.
To put it in non-musical terms, it would be like George Steinbrenner becoming a Red Sox fan.
The problem, lies in the fact that not everyone has heard any of the older material Against Me! has released. And thus aren't familiar with the lyrics. So, a sampling.
"But first the destruction and abandonment of everything sacred. Anything with any real meaning, any real chance of evolution. Yet they say I'm the one who's blind, cursed with this fucking insanity. When all this time we could have been free, in the name of Anarchy. "
- From Once Pure
"Lives and cultures matter more than capitalist interest.
It's the FBI; it's the CIA; it's the ATM, the IMF, NBC, CBS. Fuck you."
- From The Politics Of Starving
"And it's so much less confusing
when lines are drawn like that,
When people are either consumers or revolutionaries,
Enemies or friends hanging on the fringes
Of the cogs in the system,
It's just about knowing where everyone stands."
- From Those Anarcho Punks Are Mysterious
Seeing these lyrics, knowing some of the folks at Plan-It-X, and knowing some people who saw Tom Gabel play basement shows back in the day I can attest with a fair amount of honesty they weren't bullshitting anyone back then. In my personal opinion, the band's new album is a great album, I can see why people would call them sellouts. It's not like Blink 182 signing to a major, Against Me! had a long history of speaking out against bands and businesses like the one they're in now. The sellout isn't musical, it's ideological ... the music is still good. It just seems like to many people, myself included, that Tom's personal politics got bought out.
Oct 3, 2007
that said, I really could care less what against me and anti-flag do with themselves, but I do applaud them for using their soapbox for reasons that mean something, even if their message may come across a bit convoluted. Oct 2, 2007
pennywise and anti flag come too mind. say shit different day! boring.
selling out? what the fuck? aint we all sell outs? we're all doing shit everyday just for money....
Oct 2, 2007
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