Against Me! - New Wave

should i watch the birdcage btw

that makes it more of a big deal that it occurred in a bubble as tight as this woman's.

yes, hoos!

Shakey, I don't think anyone here is commenting on the article because they find the notion of being transgendered strange, I think people are commenting because they recognise the social and institutional discrimination that transgendered people face, and are heartened by the fact that someone prominent in music has been able to go through this and find support from their fans.

I get all that. would be strange to me if she DIDN'T get support from her fans tbh.

trying to recall the last time someone's music career was damaged by coming out of the closet, much less transgender (admittedly the instances of the latter that I'm familiar with involved local acts and OutpunK/Oly-scene folks)

by the way, fuck tom breihan:

http://stereogum.com/1026761/against-me-frontman-to-change-genders/news/

Well, here’s something I don’t think anyone saw coming. Tom Gabel is the frontman and founder of Against Me!, one of the best punk bands currently in existence. But he isn’t going to be Tom Gabel much longer. He’s currently planning to begin living as a woman, and he’s changing his name to Laura Jane Grace. This is apparently a real thing. More below.

Rolling Stone reports that Gabel is planning to start taking hormones and undergoing electrolysis soon. He says he’s been living with gender dysphoria for years and that he (she, I guess?) feels the need to talk openly about it, since no major rock figures have done this before. Gabel’s wife is apparently entirely cool with this: “For me, the most terrifying thing about this was how she would accept the news. But she’s been super-amazing and understanding.”

So: Good for her? I guess? My main takeaway from this, beyond the obvious surprise, is that I’m hoping Gabel’s hormone treatments won’t change her inimitable bleat of a voice.

well that is quite the reaction isn't it

doing a lot of guessing there lol

jesus fn christ

Not sure how much his follow-up comment makes a difference:

After 20 minutes of reflection, I feel sort of bad that my tone in this post is more “WHUT?” than “YAY,” especially considering how much I like this person. But then again, “WHUT” is, I think, a perfectly understandable instant reaction.

IF ONLY THE ENTIRE WORLD WAS AS ENLIGHTENED AND LITERATE AS ILM

So: Good for her? I guess?

this comes off as pretty shitty, regardless of if your first reaction is being surprised

"WHUT" is a perfectly understandable instant reaction for straight white dudes with little tg experience who barely dug to the Against Me albums they loved so much (hell, I'm basically one). Posting your instant reaction on a semi-professional news website is less so.

Yeah, I think that's my main problem with that post - even if your reaction is "WHUT" it isn't an appropriate way of writing about it.

yeah i mean i shared the link with just a "!" because i was surprised by the news but didn't want to try expressing that surprise in words bcz i knew there was no way to do it well

i guess breihan didn't have that compunction

bcz i knew there was no way

do it well

How nice that selling out enables her to afford such an elaborate operation.

My excuse for missing the heads-up in "The Ocean" is that, the way New Wave is paced, I'm done by "Americans Abroad."

if you save up long enough, maybe you can get an operation that allows you to go fuck yourself

xp

Also "Born On The FM Waves" is one of the awesomest songs of the 2000's.

xp I meant that in the most supportive way possible while still frustrated at my own uninsured situation..

her inimitable bleat of a voice.
her inimitable bleat of a voice.
her inimitable bleat of a voice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_0mDkN-TB4

people are apparently really having trouble expressing their support without coming off as total d-bags!

Stereogum dude is more of a d-bag than me. I'm happy for Tom Gabel and I'm not sure why I immediately thought of health insurance.

esp when you presumably don't know what his situation is, aside from being an ex-sire recording artist

How nice that selling out enables her to afford such an elaborate operation.

There wasn't any mention of surgery. Just female hormones and electrolysis.

my mistake! i take it back.

i def hear the uninsured concern

health insurance rarely pays for sex change operations

my city's health plan started paying for those a decade ago for city employees

but you live in San Francisco. That's not typical at all.

i'm curious whether they pay for cosmetic surgeries as well (which many might argue this is)

what's up poliopolice

Ah shit, yeah, I didn't even think of the American thing. Over here you can get operations on the NHS if you've lived as the other gender for about three years. Though apparently the process can be incredibly frustrating.

unfamiliar w/ band, but looks like he was a cute boy so pourin' one out.

inimitable bleat of a voice

she was, sorry

xp

this is the first cool thing about against me, that's for sure

good for her!

oh m@tt when will you know the joys of Reinventing Axl Rose

I think this is awesome.

Over here you can get operations on the NHS if you've lived as the other gender for about three years.

honest question: how do you prove this?

you show your paystubs

I would recommend reading the columns A Transgender Journey by Juliet Jacques - it's a personal account, and obviously people have different experiences, but it's very well written and covers a lot of the bases of what you need to go through.

trying to recall the last time someone's music career was damaged by coming out of the closet

How's Ricky Martin these days?

Clay Aiken doing OK? I think so, right?

Martin came out in 2010 (way later than he should have imho) well after his career had peaked and he'd basically retired.

Aiken's on Broadway iirc, where they don't tolerate homosexuals

Martin's coming out so late into his career slough is precisely what was wrong.

how about the village people?

what about them?