Against Me! - Reinventing Axl Rose (2002)

Against Me! are my favorite band. They epitomize punk music as I know and love it. There’s a monumental feeling to their music. Tom Gabel’s vocals are powerful and contribute immensely to the intensity of this music and have really come to define the band. “Reinventing Axl Rose” is their first album as a full band and their best full-length in my opinion. It has a folky sing-along style to the vocals that disappeared on their later albums, which are still great by the way. As a result, this is not only very raw, but also has something friendly and inviting about it. A lot of these are very good fast punk songs, such as “Walking is Still Honest” and “Pints of Guinness,” but Against Me! are special because of how well they can pull of protest songs like “Those Anarcho Punks” (my personal favorite), “Baby, I’m an Anarchist!” and “8 Full Hours of Sleep.” It’s easy to get a bit worn out by Gabel’s wailing vocals and left-wing rants, but what makes this music so meaningful to me is that I agree with every word they say. The volume and urgency to the music further cements their messages; it’s the way these things need to be said. Also, some of the lyrics are very clever. I cannot recommend this album enough. Recommended tracks: all except "The Politics of Starving" and "Scream it Until You're Coughing up Blood" which are merely ok. rapidshare

1. Pints of Guinness Make You Strong (2:40)
2. The Politics of Starving (3:06)
3. We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules) (3:17)
4. I Still Love You Julie (3:12 )
5. Scream It Until You're Coughing Up Blood (2:29)
6. Jordan's 1st Choice (2:08)
7. Those Anarcho Punks Are Mysterious... (2:24)
8. Reinventing Axl Rose (2:25)
9. Baby, I'm an Anarchist! (2:40)
10. Walking Is Still Honest (2:37)
11. 8 Full Hours of Sleep (4:00)

Sorry to use rapidshare. I much prefer mediafire, but I don't want to upload all the albums so I'll use what's available.