My Top Five Albums of 2009!

It's the end of a decade and man do people love lists at the end of a decade. I haven't written in awhile [work, life, arm sawed it two, you know?] I think 2009 was a pretty decent year. Musically and otherwise. I chose 5 because 10 was becoming a challenge. I loved a lot of smaller artists/bands this year. I decided to keep this list on a more mainstream level. So, here it goes...

#5. Yeah Yeah Yeah's - It's Blitz!

'The cinders, they splinter and light the path,
of these strange steps trace us back, trace us back...'

Loved this album. It was in my car for weeks. It's great for a drive, a dance, a cry. Karen O's voice is fantastic and sweet. Stand out songs: Hysteric, Skeletons, Soft Shock.

#4. Silversun Pickups - Swoon

'There's a vulture perching right off screen
and it's bitter and whispers chaotic things...'

Swoon? Indeed I did. [I couldn't help myself] I've been partial to this band since the song Lazy Eye came out. I bought this album in April and listened to it on a road trip to PI. Then again and again. They are a specific sound and it's not something I'm usually attracted to but I do really love this album. Stand out songs: There Are No Secrets This Year, Panic Switch, Substitution.

#3. Tegan and Sara - Sainthood

'Standing back against my building's back door, you're hoping for a ride.
I know the world's been mean to you, I've got a cure, hold tight.'

I really started listening to T&S when they released So Jealous and really started liking them when they released The Con. This new album is so smart and fun to listen to. This is the first time the sisters have collaborated on song writing and I say it is working quite well. Definitely give this a listen. Stand out songs: On Directing, Someday, Hell.

#2. An Horse - Rearrange Beds

'I have seen this before and you wanna camp out
and I wanna fuck around...'

Ironically, An Horse [Kate Cooper and Damon Cox] are frequent tour mates with Tegan and Sara but I didn't realize that until after I started listening to An Horse. This album has a very new feeling. The feeling of a first release but a fucking great one. The duo has a very fun sound, witty yet thoughtful lyrics. I still listen to this weekly. Check them out. I hear they're great live, as well. Stand out songs: Camp Out, Little Lungs, Rearrange Beds.

#1. Florence & The Machine - Lungs

'I must become a lion hearted girl,
ready for a fight.'

Brilliant. Period. Buy this album. Stand out songs: every single one.

Honorable mention: Sea Wolf, Devendra Banhart, Bon Iver, John Frusciante, Erin McKeown, and Company of Thieves.

1975/2009.

'we met as soul mates on Parris Island,
we left as inmates from an asylum...'

"The democratic franchise turns from one of humanity's most noble inventions to one of its most odious when the rights of a minority are submitted to the brute electoral power of the majority. It is democratic vigilantism, an electoral lynching mob, a psychological pogrom that replaces the torch and the noose with the wounding and terrifying language of hate, prejudice and bigotry. "

Frances Russell

Come on, Maine!

"Hope is never silent." - Harvey Milk

little brother.

I watched our mother try for years,
unable to keep you long enough to grow
but there you were, built from bottom up,
somehow nineteen years of struggle could not fill the holes of light peak
I stitch up my voice, through the static I tell you to stay,
to find some other way to will yourself a different kind of person,
I hear the knot in your nervous baby belly and the receiver is silent
your childlike feet are stretched onto yellow foot prints,
you have become a man uniformed,
straight lines and perfected pleats,
strangers will tell you that you are brave
because tiny fingers are now the hand of a man resting on the cold metal,
the truth is it could kill us all,
break us up into tiny pieces of heart and bone,
it could take us hostage, caged
I lock myself inside of this hotel room with the cry from deep in my gut,
my rattling chest, my breathlessness
with a gasp, a "holy fuck,"
this is the beginning of waiting,
inhaling thick South Carolina air that smells of sweat,
the salt fills my lungs, the sting of having no other choice,
I wipe the mosquitos from your face, adjust your pockets,
and send you on your way.

Incredible.

Programming note: I did not try to kill myself.

I finally have some time to blog but not the hands for it [one week out from the radial shortening surgery, things are good]. The chill is in the air! So much great music to discuss. I'll be back!

<3

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Gay After Tomorrow
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

I'm going to need to find myself a Jim...

It was for freedom...

Sufjan Stevens - The Transfiguration from Abby McLaughlin on Vimeo.

Port City Music Hall - Portland, ME - October 3, 2009.

As you can hear...there were other people I just could fit them into my shot. There was a trombone, trumpet, french horn, drums, another guitar player, and a female singer/keyboardist. It was awesome.

Jeep's US Marine Corps Graduation.

Someone took my little brother and dressed him up in a man uniform.



It is all very bittersweet.

I'm going to say it...

Florence + The Machine's 'Lungs' is this year's best album. I realize it's not even September so this may be premature. I'm willing to risk it because this is all sorts of awesome. I've listened to it my car for 2+ weeks straight. I thought An Horse's 'Rearrange Beds' couldn't be knocked down on my list but there is something about this album that just wins. Hands down. Buy it. Please.

Interesting.

amateur night in Abbyville.

A Girl of Twenty-four.

This one time in the 80's, some tiny red-headed woman birthed me. I was round. Always round. Fed my mother's milk to the age of two. She tells me stories of how I would hold my breath, just waiting for her to react. The slant of a concerned eye, the rise of a brow, only then would I inhale.

When I was four, we lived in low-income housing. The air now smells like absent fathers and cheap beer. I have learned to keep holding my breath. Sitting on a tire swing in my lilac colored sweat-shirt that showed my belly button. Rainbow colored sandals and all. The watchman.

Then I was ten, just a boy with a bowl cut. I watched a lot of football with my father. I was just waiting for someone to remind me of my hips and breasts. The hidden me behind the oversized t-shirts and Nikes. And they did. I learned the sting of being made to feel less than, small, too big, not enough.

I found them myself. Those breasts, those hips. I am unmistakable. I became a nearly six foot fifteen-year-old with body to spare. I had yet to figure out how to know it, how to own it. I was just trying to stay afloat.

I was 18 when my grandmother died. She told me I was beautiful and left me. The ovaries that created my father only to have created me, they had failed her. They had failed me. I want to know women. I want to be mothered. I locked myself in a room with Ani, Sylvia, Kathleen...I was almost there. I was...learning to be it.

I am it. I am a girl of twenty-four. I am tasting it. I am swinging, belly out. I am a boy with a bowl cut. I am thighs and long limbs and brains. I am my grandmother. I am breathing in.

August 2, 2009

Theme-less playlist.

Hello, all! By all, I mean the 3 of you. I'm just going to give you five songs that I've enjoyed this week. :)

Tegan and Sara - Relief Next to Me


'I should have told you then , the thunder moves
Like damn drawers slamming in my frame
Slamming in my framework
I can't untangle, I can't untangle
What I know and what should matter most'

I've been listening to a lot of T&S this week. I'm learning to really enjoy their last album 'The Con.' I was always a more 'So Jealous' girl but I'm switching, I think. They're really funny. Their banter reminds me of the way I am with my sister. We just don't have the whole "musically inclined Canadian twin lesbian" thing going for us.

Hello Saferide - High School Stalker


'I was talking to your best friend
I checked out your high school yearbook
I was driving round your Mum’s house
she makes great coffee, you know
I spoke to your former girlfriend
so now, I know what I’ve got to expect
And yesterday, you passed me by
I swear, you nearly said Hi
I could have died
I swear to God I started crying'

This music is just fun and quirky and Swedish! [but in English!]

Gossip - Heavy Cross


'it's a cruel, cruel world to face on your own,
such a heavy cross to carry alone'

How can you not love Beth Ditto? How can you not be hot for Hannah? This is a new song off their new album. So good!

City and Colour - The Girl


'But you don't ask for no diamond rings,
No delicate string of pearls,
That's why I wrote this song to sing,
My beautiful girl '

Adorable. I love Dallas. He's Canadian, too! Let's all move to Canada! They've got it figured out.

T. Cyr - Bag of Rain


'we're all gonna be alright."

I believe him. Travis is actually a friend of mine. This is a new song of his. He's incredibly talented and a great guy. Support local music, for sure. Portland people, he often does shows in the area. Check him out if you can.

There it is. Time for sleep, work, sleep, work, and then some days off.

We all get antsy at work in the summer.

Here is to you Portland, Maine...

I moved to Portland one year ago today. It is hard for me to think about who I am now without giving some credit to this fine city. Good people, good food, ocean, music, etc. I'm truly happy here. I've waited years to find a home for the person I am. Portland has been a very comfortable fit.















It has been a lovely year!

Happy Mama's Day!

Yes, I did that to my mother.



Happy Mother's Day!

'so here's to the joys and trials of living
here's to feeling our share of pain
yes, all the way from childbirth to dying
here's to staying connected to everything
here's to being connected to everything.
- Ani D.'

Today, the State of Maine become the 5th state in the United States to legalize same-sex marriage. This moment is beautiful. Continue to fight for it. It is legal but they will try to fight it and we must stand up for ourselves.



Love is love.

'show us we are not separate from everything,
show us we are connected to everything...'

Oh, mercy!

I don't know if I'm excited or offended. I know that in all honestly I've had some of the moments they've shown in the preview. Maybe I'll relate to it. I'm just happy it is a show about nurses. Smart nurses! I love that we have a Mercy Hospital in Portland, too. Homegirl can't get a job there but still!

On another note, this month is my one year anniversary of graduate nursing school. I cannot believe it.

AbbyTunes - Gay version!

In honor of all of LGBTQ-ness [RSTUV...] that is the last couple of weeks [Maine/NH/VT, etc. progressing with the gay marriage movement, national poll shows that gay marriage approval is up 10% this month, etc.] Also, in honor of all of my vacation shows or as I affectionally called them: the trifecta of queer. I give you some good music by some good bands with some good LGBTQ members.


An Horse - Postcards


This is a fun tune. I'm loving Australian bands lately. This duo is talented and also adorable. [Note to my sister Melissa - her name is Kate Cooper. I didn't even have to make it up this time.]

MEN - Credit Card Babie$


You know how I like most of what Kathleen Hanna does? I also love pretty much everything JD Samson does. This is pure dance. I don't pretend to know the lyrics, I just want to dance in my car to it at a stop light. That is reason enough for me.

Rufus Wainwright - California


It is warm and sunny in Portland. It makes me feel like summer, even in April. This song makes me feel like that, as well. I love Rufus. I also love the name Rufus.

Erin Mckeown - James


This song is adorable and sad. Here is a video of her explaining the story of the song [live in Portland, ME! - The video includes my wife Allison Miller!] I'm learning to like Erin recently.

R.E.M. - New Orleans Instrumental No. 1


Nothing soothes me the way this does. I cry when I hear it and it has no lyrics. It's just a two minute mental break for me. I think it is absolutely beautiful. Automatic For The People saved a teenage Abby from a world of shitty pop music. True story.

Don't forget to write you states elected official and encourage their support of gay marriage. If you're in Maine, visit Equality Maine, and fill out their e-mail or write your own.

Have a fantastic week/weekend! Love is love.

Marry me, Allison Miller.

Dear Allison Miller, you amaze me. You're talented and attractive on an inappropriate level. *sigh* I love the rest of the band but you make my heart flutter. :) haha



I was going to make a comment about how hot she looks drumming away on that box but there is NO way for that not to sound really dirty.

ANYWAY...

NOW THAT WAS AN ANI SHOW! Holy fucking shit. Who would have thought Skowhegan would bring THAT! It was insane! It was put on by Hardy Girls, Healthy Women's "Girls Rock Weekend." Very cool, feminist happenings. Met great people! Every one was on their feet, Ani's energy was great. Very, very, very nice. The show was at the opera house. It took me about an hour and 45 minutes to get there from Portland. The floor was GA seats. First come, first serve. I ended up there at 6:30-ish. I ended up lucking out with my 5th row center seats. Seriously!

She played: Alla This, Shameless [AHHH!], Your Next Bold Move [OMG!], November 4th, 3 or 4 new songs, Evolve, God's Country, Present/Infant, As Is, Half Assed, Paradigm, Pulse, a Woody Guthrie cover, and some I probably can't remember at this hour of the night/morning.

It was a very different set list than her Portland shows [not a lot of oldies] but it worked so well. They were two totally separate shows.







I love this...even in all of it's blurry glory.


& I got a video tonight. A few minutes of 'Your Next Bold Move.'

Don't Forget to Have a Good Time.

Oh, Ani. My third show of her's at the same auditorium. It is interesting the way a certain crowd can form the vibe of a performance. Tonight's show was brilliant, as always. Better than the first show, and dare I say, not as good as the last one. I don't know if it was being in a unfamiliar city, her first show here in five years, the heat of the Bush angst [pre-Obama] but there was a certain spark in the last show that wasn't there Friday night. There was sporadic dancing and a lot of debby downers tonight. Not all of the seats were filled. There was nobody in the top balcony. Strange, right? I guess it is because we're all scared of being homeless. No money for Ani.

She's incredible. The woman is genius. She is strong, smart, and unwavering in that special way the makes other people feel empowered. My seats were insane...I felt a part of it.

She played: Both Hands, You Had Time [kill me dead, gah!], Present/Infant, Emancipated Minor, Little Plastic Castle, 32 Flavors, Rain Check, Fire Door, SWANDIVE!!, The Atom, Red Letter Year, Studying Stones, Angry Anymore, Fuel, Sunday Morning, November 4th 2008, a few really new ones [one of them was AWESOME] and possibly a few more I can't remember.

Ani!


Mike & yes, that is a xylophone & yes, it is insanely amazing.


Todd!


Ani & my girlfriend Allison!

Amazing.

Check out my band 'Imma Goose!'

Music! I'm an overworked nurse, who spends a lot of time being tired. So...I have a moment before I go off to sleep again to make a list of music that I feel is worth a listen. Girl version!

Julie Ruin - I Wanna Know What Love Is

'so i'll stay awake almost every night
a pen in my hand and in the other a knife
because i'd rather be scared and fight back
than be some dick's maid, babe or wife
i don't care how we get it but we'll get it someday...'

Kathleen Hanna gone hip-hop-ish? I love her.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Hysteric

'the cinders, the cinders
they light the path
of these strange steps
take us back, take us back
flow sweetly, hang heavy
you suddenly complete me
you suddenly complete me.'

I always listened to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs here and there but the new album is fantastic. Turn it on and dance around.

PJ Harvey - This Mess We're In

'I don't think we will meet again
and you must leave now
before the sunrise
above skyscrapers
the sin and
this mess we're in and
the city sun sets over me.'

Come on, it's PJ mf-ing Harvey.

Rilo Kiley - Close call

'She was born on a brightened pier
to a gypsy mother and a bucket of tears
her good looks coulda sailed a ship
but her will alone coulda sunk it
funny thing about money for sex
you might get rich
but you die by it
it's gonna be a close call
gonna be a close call...'

Jenny is going to be my life partner [or wife if we live in Mass, Connecticut, and now Iowa!] Sigh. Her voice is perfect on this album.

The Be Good Tanyas - When Doves Cry (cover)

'Touch if u will my stomach
feel how it trembles inside
you've got the butterflies all tied up
Don't make me chase you
Even doves have pride...'

I think this cover is all sorts of amazing.

Until next time! Tell girls to play music!

Turn off your TV & watch this.

Love?

Happy Valentine's Day!



'Joel: Valentine's Day is a holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap.'

A long overdue 'weekly' playlist.

Hello, again. I'm a terrible blogger. Clearly. I was sick for awhile. Then I was exhausted. Then I was preoccupied. You know, you know? I was also bogged down by crappy music. I've found my way through and here I am again. Songs you should hear this week! ::insert crowd cheers here::: Helpful hint: Click the song name for the artist/band Myspace page.

Silversun Pickups - Three Seed

'Cool like the ocean
Burned like a summer home
Fooled by the notion
That the sums don't add up at all...'

I first heard the LA band Silversun Pickups about a year or so ago. They released a semi-popular song called 'Lazy Eye.' Another one of my favorites. I will admit that I'm biased because I used to have a lazy eye. The song is great, too. There is a part towards the end where all of the sudden there is a lot of yelling. This song 'Three Seed' is mellow and still very rocking...rockin'? Whatever. It's awesome. Give them a listen.

Sea Wolf - The Garden That You Planted

'Good Morning Dear
I hope I didn’t wake you too soon
Because my mind is growing tired
Too much thinking what I should do
I picture you out there
It must be beautiful this time of year
All those East Coast leaves
Floating round like embers from burning trees
Well the weather out here is just the same
But the garden that you planted remains.'

Did your heart flutter at those lyrics? Gah. So sweet. Sea Wolf is a very Brooklyn-esque LA indie singer/songwriter. I love him. This song is very cute. It's easy listening. Yeah, I brought back "easy listening." Check it out. He's great.

Bon Iver - Blood Bank

'Well I met you at the blood bank
We were looking at the bags
Wondering if any of the colors
Matched any of the names we knew on the tags
You said "see look thats yours!
Stacked on top with your brother's
See how the resemble one another
Even in their plastic little covers"
And I said I know it well.'

Wisconsin represent!? Yeah, this band is amazing. Love their song. This song is lyrically unique and I appreciate that. The band name means "good winter" in French and that's really beautiful. It songs like something my sister would embroider onto something.

Leona Naess - On My Toes

'Gotta keep me on my toes
Don’t let the other half know
That you are in for the long haul
The long haul has a high wall for me'

Leona is NYC via London. She's got "Abby eyebrows" but I like her for more than that. She has a beautiful voice and catchy tunes. I just started listening to her again. Another good song is "Leave Our Boyfriends." It's a little more "peppy."

Band of Horses - Great Salt Lake

'Well if you find yourself falling apart
Well I am sure I could steer
The great salt lake'

Band of Horses are genius. They're a Seattle/Sup Pop band that was introduced to me in 2006 by a friend. Musically and lyrically talented. Give as many songs as you want a listen. It's worth it.

And there you are. I realize I used to do 10 songs but my hands are tired and if the intention is to do more of these, more often, I'll need songs.

Happy listening.