Transgender Dysphoria Blues

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Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Studio album by
Against Me!
ReleasedJanuary 21, 2014[1]
RecordedTotal Treble Studios, Elkton, Florida
Studio 606, Los Angeles, California
Earthsound Recording, Valdosta, GA
Motor Studios, San Francisco, CA
Genre
Length28:43
LabelTotal Treble, Xtra Mile
ProducerLaura Jane Grace
Against Me! chronology
Black Crosses
(2011) 		Transgender Dysphoria Blues
(2014) 		23 Live Sex Acts
(2015)
Singles from Transgender Dysphoria Blues
  1. "True Trans"
    Released: July 12, 2013
  2. "Unconditional Love"
    Released: May 26, 2014
  3. "Osama bin Laden as the Crucified Christ"
    Released: April 18, 2015
Alternate cover
Censored version

Transgender Dysphoria Blues is the sixth studio album by American punk rock band Against Me!, released on January 21, 2014 by Total Treble Music and Xtra Mile Recordings. The album deals with gender dysphoria, following Laura Jane Grace's gender transition and coming out.[7][8]

Recording and production[edit]

The band first announced work on a new album in November 2011.[9] The first sessions for the album were a false start, where the band started recording some basic tracks and then went on tour, and decided to scrap and start over when they got back from tour. Then, the record was completely recorded except for vocals when drummer Jay Weinberg quit the band. The band first tried to have fill-in drummer Atom Willard record drum tracks to match the previously recorded tracks, but it wasn't working.[10] Starting from scratch, the band began recording the album a final time at Studio 606 in February 2013.[11] In May 2013, long-time bassist Andrew Seward also left the band.[12] A month later, Fat Mike of NOFX joined the band in the studio,[13] playing on three songs, two of which appear on the album. That same month, tracking for the album was completed.[14]

Commercial performance[edit]

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 23, their highest debut yet on the chart.[15] It also debuted at No. 6 on Top Rock Albums,[16] with 10,000 copies sold in its first week. It has sold 45,000 copies in the United States as of August 2016.[17]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[18]
Metacritic82/100[19]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The A.V. ClubB+[20]
Chicago Tribune[21]
Entertainment WeeklyB[22]
The Guardian[23]
NME7/10[24]
Pitchfork7.5/10[6]
Q[25]
Rolling Stone[2]
Spin8/10[26]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Transgender Dysphoria Blues received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 82 out of 100 from 28 critic scores.[19] In his review for Now Magazine, Joshua Kloke described the record as having "career-defining clarity" and "increased confidence," writing that "Grace looks inward and employs conviction unheard since their 2002 debut, Reinventing Axl Rose."[27] Will Hermes of Rolling Stone rated the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, and called it "A series of bracing songs about a self-destructive girl in a boy's body, it's a thematic offspring of Lou Reed (see Berlin, etc.)", and noted how "it takes balls to come out this way, in this genre" wishing Laura "God-speed, sister."[2] Also, Hermes said that the album musically "sticks to the band's established brand of warrior-cry punk metal", and this "limits the range of what might be an ever braver new world, one glimpsed on the softer acoustic 'Two Coffins.'"[2] Dan Weiss of Spin called the album "one of the most fascinating records of the year," rating it eight out of ten.[28]

In 2019, Loudwire ranked the album 23 in their "66 best rock albums of the decade."[29]

Accolades[edit]

Publication Rank List
American Songwriter 20 Top 50 Albums of 2014[30]
Consequence of Sound 6 Top 50 Albums of 2014[31]
Noisey 2 Top 25 Albums of 2014[32]
PopMatters 6 The 80 Best Albums of 2014[33]
Rolling Stone 15 50 Best Albums of 2014[34]
Spin 14 50 Best Albums of 2014[35]
Stereogum 14 The 50 Best Albums of 2014[36]
TIME 7 Top 10 Best Albums of 2014[37]
The Village Voice 10 Pazz+Jop Albums of 2014[38]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Laura Jane Grace

No.TitleLength
1."Transgender Dysphoria Blues" (often erroneously titled "Talking Transgender Dysphoria Blues")3:16
2."True Trans Soul Rebel"3:12
3."Unconditional Love"2:51
4."Drinking with the Jocks"1:48
5."Osama bin Laden as the Crucified Christ"2:57
6."FUCKMYLIFE666"2:56
7."Dead Friend"3:02
8."Two Coffins"2:20
9."Paralytic States" (also known as "Paralytic States of Dependency"[39])3:12
10."Black Me Out"3:09
Total length:28:43

Personnel[edit]

Band[edit]

Additional musicians[edit]

Production and design[edit]

Charts[edit]

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[40] 89
US Billboard 200[41] 23
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[42] 2
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[43] 6
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[44] 2

References[edit]

  1. ^ Grow, Kory (24 October 2013). "Against Me!'s 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues' Gets a Release Date". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d Hermes, Will (January 21, 2014). "Transgender Dysphoria Blues". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  3. ^ Pratt, Gregg (January 17, 2014). "Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blus". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  4. ^ Iluvatar. "Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues". Sputnik. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Transgender Dysphoria Blues – Against Me!". AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 24, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  6. ^ a b Larson, Jeremy D. (January 24, 2014). "Against Me!: Transgender Dysphoria Blues". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 20, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  7. ^ Ehrlich, Brenna (2 July 2013). "Against Me! Frontwoman Laura Jane Grace Announces Solo Shows". MTV. Archived from the original on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  8. ^ Martins, Chris (5 November 2012). "Against Me! Promise 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues' Will 'Absolutely Destroy'". Spin. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  9. ^ "Against Me! beginning work on next album". Punknews.org. November 29, 2011. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  10. ^ Tedder, Michael (January 16, 2014). "Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! on the Tortured Path to 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues'". Spin. Archived from the original on 2015-04-11. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  11. ^ "Against Me! Begin Record New LP; Atom Willard Tracking Drums". Property of Zach. February 4, 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  12. ^ Blistein, Jon (May 2, 2013). "Against Me! Bassist Andrew Seward Quits Band". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2014-02-28. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  13. ^ "Fat Mike (NOFX) and Atom Willard (The Hell) to record on new Against Me! record". Punknews.org. June 3, 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  14. ^ Obenschain, Philip (June 24, 2013). "Against Me! finish tracking new album, 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues'". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on 2014-02-04. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  15. ^ Keith Caulfield (January 31, 2014). "Chart Moves: Against Me!'s Highest Charting Album, Sara Bareilles' Grammy Gain". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  16. ^ "Top Rock Albums: February 8, 2014". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2019-06-22. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  17. ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016.
  18. ^ "Transgender Dysphoria Blues by Against Me! reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  19. ^ a b "Reviews for Transgender Dysphoria Blues by Against Me!". Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  20. ^ Heller, Jason (January 21, 2014). "On its new album, Against Me! examines the fluidity of identity". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on January 23, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  21. ^ Kot, Greg (February 10, 2014). "Review: Against Me! singer chronicles her transgender blues". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  22. ^ Smith, Grady; Catucci, Nick; Anderson, Kyle (January 30, 2014). "Albums: Jan. 31/Feb. 7, 2014". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  23. ^ Hanson, John (January 16, 2014). "Against Me!: Transgender Dysphoria Blues – review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 25, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  24. ^ Cooper, Leonie (January 17, 2014). "Against Me! – 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues'". NME. Archived from the original on January 23, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  25. ^ "Against Me!: Transgender Dysphoria Blues". Q (332): 107. March 2014.
  26. ^ Weiss, Dan (January 17, 2014). "Against Me! Challenge Old Fans and Mint New Ones With 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues'". Spin. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  27. ^ Kloke, Joshua (16 January 2014). "Against Me! Transgender Dysphoria Blues (Total Treble)". Now Magazine. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  28. ^ Ewiss, Dan (17 January 2014). "Against Me! Challenge Old Fans And Mint New Ones With 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues'". Spin. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  29. ^ Childers, Chad (14 November 2019). "The 66 Best Rock Albums of the Decade: 2010-2019". Loudwire. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  30. ^ American Songwriter (November 24, 2014). "American Songwriter's Top 50 Albums of 2014". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  31. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2014". Consequence of Sound. 12 December 2014. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  32. ^ "Noisey's Top 25 Albums of 2014: 10 to 1 | NOISEY". NOISEY. 19 December 2014. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  33. ^ PopMatters (January 18, 2016). "The 80 Best Albums of 2014". PopMatters. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  34. ^ Rolling Stone Staff (December 1, 2014). "50 Best Albums of 2014". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  35. ^ SPIN Staff (December 9, 2014). "Spin's 50 Best Albums of 2014". SPIN. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  36. ^ Stereogum (December 2, 2014). "The 50 Best Albums of 2014". Stereogum. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  37. ^ TIME (December 3, 2014). "TIME's Top 10 Best Albums of 2014". TIME. Archived from the original on January 23, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  38. ^ "New York News, Food, Culture and Events | Village Voice". Village Voice. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  39. ^ "Songview: Paralytic States of Dependency". Broadcast Music, Inc. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  40. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 3 February 2014" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Australian Web Archive. February 3, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-05. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  41. ^ "Against Me! Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  42. ^ "Against Me! Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
  43. ^ "Against Me! Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  44. ^ "Against Me! Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.
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