Against Me! B-sides!

Against Me! is quite possibly my favorite band. I have a tendency to name other bands first when asked who some of my top favorites are... Screeching Weasel, Streetlight Manifesto, Minor Threat and so on, but when I take a look at which band I listen to the most via last.fm, Against Me! is always at the top.

Against Me! has, and always will have, a special place in my heart. I was introduced to them during the summer of 2003 by my friend Sabina. She was playing a song called "Baby, I'm an Anarchist" on her guitar, and I loved it. The music was simple, the lyrics were great and the chorus could be sung-along to (actually, that entire song is pretty sing-songy).

Eventually I ended getting all their commercially available albums (at that time, two LPs, 3 EPs), loving each one. There's been a lot of controversy surrounding their more recent albums in the punk community, either because it's singles were getting airplay on Fuse (Don't Lose Touch and From Her Lips to God's Ears from Searching for a Former Clarity) or because they were not only getting airplay, but also released on a major label (anything from New Wave) and being praised by a number of publications (New Wave was named by Spin as the best album of 2007).

I'm not going to spent much time arguing why I think Against Me! is still great. I will say that I think it's stupid that people still care so much about them "selling out" because of two reasons:
1. people have been making that claim since 2001, when Tom enlisted a full band and they got a full electric line up
2. the sound on New Wave is really just an expansion on the sound they started experimenting with on Searching and, to a lesser extent, As the Eternal Cowboy.

in short... Against Me! haters: bite me. if you don't like it, don't listen. If you think they peaked with the Acoustic EP, then don't bother with anything else (that said, the Acoustic EP is still my favorite release by them)

NOW on to the B-sides......

there are two collections here. The first one is mostly stuff that appeared on singles, such as the Sink Florida Sink 7" or Tribute albums. None of it dates prior to 2003, and a majority of the songs are either from As the Eternal Cowboy-era or New Wave-era (though the two SFAFC singles are there). There's no definitive tracklist, but here's a list of songs in the download:

Cavalier Eternal (Alternate)
You Look Like I Need a Drink (Acoustic)
Don't Lose Touch (Mouse On Mars Remix)
Don't Lose Touch (Live)
Don't Lose Touch (Acoustic)
From Her Lips to God's Ears (Energize-O-Tron Remix by Adrock)
Wagon Wheel (Old Crow Medicine Show cover)
Sink Florida Sink (Electric)
Unsubstantiated Rumors Are Good Enough for Me (to Base My Life Upon) (Electric)
Gypsy Panther*
You Must Be Willing*
Bastards of Young (Replacements cover)
White People for Peace (Butch Vig Remix)
Full Sesh*

*I hear these are on the French version of New Wave.

Against Me! B-sides 1: http://www.mediafire.com/?yzlmnwhmlmw


The second collection is a bit different. This one sports songs way back from when Against Me! was just Tom Gabel and his acoustic guitar, to alternate versions of New Wave songs. This one is more varied, although the sound quality in the first three or four songs is glaringly different than the rest of the songs. Actually, when I think about it, pretty much all these songs from pre-Reinventing Axl Rose or New Wave, so there's a huge difference here. One of the tracks is the "Untitled" taken directly from the legendary (amongst AM! fans anyhow) "Live at C.O.R.E." performance and given the new name "This Song Never Had a Name." Another "Untitled" song, the one that appears on the French version of New Wave, is also here with a new name, "Rock and Rollers," while it's acoustic version has a different title completely. I don't know why, but that's how it goes.
When I first got one of these songs, the album is came from was called "Heart Burns." Now, I don't know if that's a side project or anything, but there is no Against Me! album titled that, and I decided to put this grouping of songs into a rarities collection aptly titled "Heart Burns: Rare and Unreleased" even though these songs are obviously available or else I wouldn't have been able to get them.

EDIT: Heart Burns is Tom's solo EP title. Oops.

tracklist:
01. One Pound of Flesh
02. Untitled at Emo's
03. This Song Never Had a Name (aka "Untitled 2" from Live at C.O.R.E.)
04. Harsh Realm
05. Nuclear Cowboys in an Age of Drift
06. Amputations
07. So Much More*
08. Rock and Rollers* (aka Untitled)
09. Graceful Concessions
10. Miami (Acoustic)
11. Up the Cuts (Acoustic)
12. New Wave (Acoustic)
13. Animal (demo)

*these also appear on the French version of New Wave

B-sides Collection 2: http://www.mediafire.com/?gzecmqjxzpo