Recommendation for the week, 9/5-9/11

Recently, I posted the lyrics to the chorus of the new Against Me! single, "I Was a Teenage Anarchist," as my Facebook. Nothing out of the ordinary so far, as I tend to post lyrics that are stuck in my head or strike me on any particular day. What I didn't expect, however, was the debate that sparked between a few friends of mine about the idea that the band had "sold out." It's a word that's thrown around a lot these days, and most of the time, it's not entirely deserved or correct. However, with the new AM! record White Crosses, it's evident that Tom Gabel and Co. have abandoned their pure-punk ways for catchier, bigger songs in an attempt to spread their band across a wider fanbase. This is obviously a huge risk for any band, as it could create a rift between new and old fans, and those arguments never benefit anyone.


Don't get me wrong, I'm all about debate. In fact, the argument that ensued actually inspired this week's recommendation/theme: selling out. Like I said before, it gets tossed around about as much as autotune these days, and its gotten to a point where I'm not even really sure if I can classify any band as "sellouts" anymore. It seems to be such a relative term, with any music fan having their own definition for it. To me, selling out is (loosely) defined as abandoning the "signature sound" of your band in order to make a glossed-over, watered-down version of what your band used to be. There are many bands who jump to a major label, get a monster single, and run with it all the way to the top, making a slew of new fans while abandoning the more loyal ones along the way. But that doesn't mean it has to be bad. Sometimes a band can shock you by coming off of a commercially successful album to create their best work to date, showing fans that they refuse to change in the face of the dollar sign. It's a tangled web, this music business, and below are a few bands who have attempted to escape its clutches while keeping their message intact (some, unfortunately, had more success with this than the others):


Against Me!- "I Was a Teenage Anarchist"- It wouldn't feel right not starting this series of songs off without the one that sparked the idea in my head. As mentioned, White Crosses is a vast departure from the folk-punk sound that AM! built their reputation, as it plays more like a radio-rock album than a punk album (if it's considered a punk album at all). This is made all the more difficult due to the fact that "Teenage Anarchist" is a really good song. Had a new up-and-coming act used this as their debut single, we may be telling a different story; but because it was made by the band who also wrote "Baby, I'm an Anarchist," it's easy to see why AM! created a crater in the sand between new fans and old, rather than just a simple line, with White Crosses.


Motion City Soundtrack- "Disappear"- After Even if it Kills Me failed to connect in the mainstream as many had anticipated, MCS were left with the cold truth that it had also deeply disappointed fans as well. After I am the Movie and Commit This to Memory had placed the band into the limelight thanks to their catchy-yet-dark songs, Even if it Kills Me was a more poppy release that led the "Boombox Generation," the band's fan club, to believe they were selling out. MCS thankfully answered this with My Dinosaur Life, which contains Justin Pierre's darkest lyrics yet. "Disappear" is one of the standout tracks of My Dinosaur Life, as the song contains that signature irresistible chorus, and when paired with arguably Pierre's best vocal performance of the band's career, we may be looking at one of the best songs in Motion City's catalog, which is certainly saying a lot.


Fall Out Boy-"Of All the Gin Joints in All the World"- We get it: you hate Fall Out Boy. You hate Pete Wentz's skills as a businessmen, you hate that they're your little sister's favorite band, and you probably hate that they're mentioned in this post. But for those of us who look deeper than the mainstream success of the band after "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" was vastly overplayed on the radio will recall the band's classic Take This to Your Grave, which will likely go down as one of the better pop-punk releases in the last decade, and maybe of all-time. "Of All the Gin Joints..." is the best glimpse FOB gave us of their TTTYG-era songwriting; it's stinging, self-loathing undertones and the best one-liners you can find help the song feel more like a song that was left off of the final tracklisting for TTTYG rather than one of the more overlooked and under appreciated songs on their Top 40 breakthrough From Under the Cork Tree. Since Cork Tree took off, FOB have been around the world on tour numerous times, and have made two releases that not only alienate older fans, but make those fans question if this was the same Fall Out Boy they loved.


Cartel- "27 Steps"- After Cartel's debacle in the "Bubble" (which could possibly the worst career move ever by a band that seemed like a sure-shot superstar in the making), the band was forced to, for lack of a better term, shit out their self-titled release without giving it that signature Cartel catchiness; and from the band who gave us "Honestly," this was a huge problem. But whatever emotion was sacrificed on their self-titled effort was put too good use on Cycles, one of the better bounce-back releases in some time. This is never more obvious than on "27 Steps," the stinging break-up song Cartel was waiting to write. Sure, there are other gems on this album ("Deep South" and "Faster Ride" were considered for suggestion as well), but its "27 Steps" where the band shows their true songwriting ability, as evidenced by the emotional live performances of this song all over Youtube. What's more, Will Pugh continues to build up his resume as one of the premiere vocalists in the game right now, building up from a mellowed sound in the beginning of the song to absolutely dominating the end of the track. It's a shame Cartel's self-titled was so disappointing, because had they made an album up to par with Chroma, Cycles may have thrusted the band into stardom.


Green Day- "Jesus of Suburbia"- Over the course of their illustrious, ground-breaking career, Green Day has become the one band whose debate of selling out has seen the most discussion. Some argue that it all started with "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)," others say that the band's selling out was seen through the release of American Idiot. This may sound dumb, but I'm not sold on Green Day selling out at all, and I'll use "Jesus of Suburbia" as my key peice of evidence. Throughout their careers, Green Day was labeled as a punk band, and that means something to their fans: punk music has always been used to make a statement about the ideals of the world around you, usually on a smaller scale. But that's where "Jesus of Suburbia" begins to challenge the views of punk music in my mind. Over nine minutes, Billie Joe Armstrong takes the listener through the muck he sees in America, making a statement about the state of the nation. Isn't make a statement what punk rock is all about? If so, why is Green Day being nailed to the cross for abiding by the basic laws of punk rock? This is simply because Green Day fans are longing for the days of "Basket Case," "Longview" or "When I Come Around," and that's simply unfair to ask of the band; they've grown up, but in an attempt to keep their punk roots intact, they've taken their aim on larger-scale issues in hopes of carrying the banner for other punk bands that may make it into the spotlight.

So now, let the discussion begin: Who did I miss? Did I get it completely wrong with the bands mentioned? Who do you think has become a victim of "selling out"? More importantly, what's your definition of a band selling out? Leave it in the replies, and let's get heated!