Top 7 of 2007 (December 31, 2007)

As I type this, I sit in the Atlanta airport on New Year’s Eve – trapped, actually – with the flu and an increasingly-delayed flight home. It is in this sorry state that I look forward to 2008 with longing and high hope for better days ahead. To pass the time, I have compiled my Top 7s of 2007 – by no means comprehensive, and especially given the fact that I listen to an embarrassingly small amount of music, and I see an even smaller amount of movies. I guess as a songwriter I’m in the business of listening to the silence, but in the new year I would like to make an effort to listen to more music, and especially contemporary music. Therefore I hope you’ll feel welcome and inspired to post your own favorites. Here are some of mine…

Favorite Songs:

“Little Cream Soda” – The White Stripes
“Hey There Delilah” – Plain White T’s (This song is so beautiful it could’ve been written by Paul McCartney).
“Ah Mary” – Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
“Killing Him” – Amy Lavere
“While You Were Sleeping” – Elvis Perkins
“What Goes Around” – Justin Timberlake
“Imitosis” – Andrew Bird

Favorite Albums:

Live at Massey Hall 1971 – Neil Young
Icky Thump – The White Stripes
Shine – Joni Mitchell
Into the Wild – Eddie Vedder
Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace – Foo Fighters
August & Everything After Deluxe Edition – Counting Crows
Armchair Apocrypha – Andrew Bird

Favorite Music Videos:

“Conquest” – The White Stripes. I was a little horrified at first, but I should’ve known Jack is a lover; not a fighter.

“Read My Mind” – The Killers. One of the most beautiful singers – er, songs – of all time. There’s something about it that makes it sound almost like a prayer… the earnestness; gentle desperation. This one stopped me in my tracks the first time I saw/heard it and I don’t think I breathed or blinked for four minutes.

“Runaway Love” – Ludacris featuring Mary J. Blige. I love these two, and I was very moved by this video.

“How Far We’ve Come” – Matchbox 20. This is a great song. It’s difficult to make one of these historical montage-type videos without being really cliché or contrived, and I think this one works.

“1 2 3 4″ – Feist. I want to be in this video. The song definitely belongs on my favorites list, but I was trying to stick to the 7 of 07, you know?

And, of course, the Foo Fighters always have the best videos. Embedding is disabled so I can’t post them, but I love The Pretender and I think Long Road to Ruin is hilarious.

Favorite Movies:

Into the Wild
Ratatouille
Enchanted
I’m Not There
Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix
3:10 to Yuma
The Assassination of Jesse James

Favorite Books:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – JK Rowling
Blood and Thunder – Hampton Sides
Here, There & Everywhere – Geoff Emerick
Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews – Jonathan Cott
(Ok, I have to cheat because most of the books I read in 2007 were published in years prior – here are two older books I read this year that I really enjoyed)
Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement – John Lewis
The People, Yes – Carl Sandburg

Favorite TV Shows:

Flight of the Conchords
The Daily Show
Flight of the Conchords
The Colbert Report
Flight of the Conchords
Real Time with Bill Maher
Flight of the Conchords

As a holiday bonus, here are two seasonal videos – one which endears and one which horrifies. The first, “‘Tis the Season” is a wonderful short film by Bob Giovanelli. It’s only a few minutes long, so after you love it please vote for my buddy Bob here. Once you’re feeling all warm and fuzzy click here to see what happens to people who have too much money, and perhaps too much eggnog. I think we should tell this guy about climate conservation… starving children… ah, he means well…

Ok, I still have three hours to go, but thanks for killing time with me. Such an awful expression – killing time – but when it feels like an alien is taking a vegetable peeler to the inside of one’s stomach and one is stuck in a airport, well, a girl feels like killing time. Thank goodness for technology. It really does make one disassociate oneself from one’s body, and I forgot about my little alien friend for these minutes of typing, however long it’s been.

Happy New Year! More info on the new album (hopefully finishing recording this week!) is coming soon.

Top 7 of 2007 (December 31, 2007)

As I type this, I sit in the Atlanta airport on New Year’s Eve – trapped, actually – with the flu and an increasingly-delayed flight home. It is in this sorry state that I look forward to 2008 with longing and high hope for better days ahead. To pass the time, I have compiled my Top 7s of 2007 – by no means comprehensive, and especially given the fact that I listen to an embarrassingly small amount of music, and I see an even smaller amount of movies. I guess as a songwriter I’m in the business of listening to the silence, but in the new year I would like to make an effort to listen to more music, and especially contemporary music. Therefore I hope you’ll feel welcome and inspired to post your own favorites. Here are some of mine…

Favorite Songs:

“Little Cream Soda” – The White Stripes
“Hey There Delilah” – Plain White T’s (This song is so beautiful it could’ve been written by Paul McCartney).
“Ah Mary” – Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
“Killing Him” – Amy Lavere
“While You Were Sleeping” – Elvis Perkins
“What Goes Around” – Justin Timberlake
“Imitosis” – Andrew Bird

Favorite Albums:

Live at Massey Hall 1971 – Neil Young
Icky Thump – The White Stripes
Shine – Joni Mitchell
Into the Wild – Eddie Vedder
Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace – Foo Fighters
August & Everything After Deluxe Edition – Counting Crows
Armchair Apocrypha – Andrew Bird

Favorite Music Videos:

“Conquest” – The White Stripes. I was a little horrified at first, but I should’ve known Jack is a lover; not a fighter.

“Read My Mind” – The Killers. One of the most beautiful singers – er, songs – of all time. There’s something about it that makes it sound almost like a prayer… the earnestness; gentle desperation. This one stopped me in my tracks the first time I saw/heard it and I don’t think I breathed or blinked for four minutes.

“Runaway Love” – Ludacris featuring Mary J. Blige. I love these two, and I was very moved by this video.

“How Far We’ve Come” – Matchbox 20. This is a great song. It’s difficult to make one of these historical montage-type videos without being really cliché or contrived, and I think this one works.

“1 2 3 4″ – Feist. I want to be in this video. The song definitely belongs on my favorites list, but I was trying to stick to the 7 of 07, you know?

And, of course, the Foo Fighters always have the best videos. Embedding is disabled so I can’t post them, but I love The Pretender and I think Long Road to Ruin is hilarious.

Favorite Movies:

Into the Wild
Ratatouille
Enchanted
I’m Not There
Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix
3:10 to Yuma
The Assassination of Jesse James

Favorite Books:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – JK Rowling
Blood and Thunder – Hampton Sides
Here, There & Everywhere – Geoff Emerick
Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews – Jonathan Cott
(Ok, I have to cheat because most of the books I read in 2007 were published in years prior – here are two older books I read this year that I really enjoyed)
Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement – John Lewis
The People, Yes – Carl Sandburg

Favorite TV Shows:

Flight of the Conchords
The Daily Show
Flight of the Conchords
The Colbert Report
Flight of the Conchords
Real Time with Bill Maher
Flight of the Conchords

As a holiday bonus, here are two seasonal videos – one which endears and one which horrifies. The first, “‘Tis the Season” is a wonderful short film by Bob Giovanelli. It’s only a few minutes long, so after you love it please vote for my buddy Bob here. Once you’re feeling all warm and fuzzy click here to see what happens to people who have too much money, and perhaps too much eggnog. I think we should tell this guy about climate conservation… starving children… ah, he means well…

Ok, I still have three hours to go, but thanks for killing time with me. Such an awful expression – killing time – but when it feels like an alien is taking a vegetable peeler to the inside of one’s stomach and one is stuck in a airport, well, a girl feels like killing time. Thank goodness for technology. It really does make one disassociate oneself from one’s body, and I forgot about my little alien friend for these minutes of typing, however long it’s been.

Happy New Year! More info on the new album (hopefully finishing recording this week!) is coming soon.

Top 7 of 2007 (December 31, 2007)

As I type this, I sit in the Atlanta airport on New Year’s Eve – trapped, actually – with the flu and an increasingly-delayed flight home. It is in this sorry state that I look forward to 2008 with longing and high hope for better days ahead. To pass the time, I have compiled my Top 7s of 2007 – by no means comprehensive, and especially given the fact that I listen to an embarrassingly small amount of music, and I see an even smaller amount of movies. I guess as a songwriter I’m in the business of listening to the silence, but in the new year I would like to make an effort to listen to more music, and especially contemporary music. Therefore I hope you’ll feel welcome and inspired to post your own favorites. Here are some of mine…Favorite Songs:”Little Cream Soda” – The White Stripes”Hey There Delilah” – Plain White T’s (This song is so beautiful it could’ve been written by Paul McCartney).”Ah Mary” – Grace Potter and the Nocturnals”Killing Him” – Amy Lavere”While You Were Sleeping” – Elvis Perkins”What Goes Around” – Justin Timberlake”Imitosis” – Andrew BirdFavorite Albums:Live at Massey Hall 1971 – Neil YoungIcky Thump – The White StripesShine – Joni MitchellInto the Wild – Eddie VedderEchoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace – Foo FightersAugust & Everything After Deluxe Edition – Counting CrowsArmchair Apocrypha – Andrew BirdFavorite Music Videos:”Conquest” – The White Stripes. I was a little horrified at first, but I should’ve known Jack is a lover; not a fighter.”Read My Mind” – The Killers. One of the most beautiful singers – er, songs – of all time. There’s something about it that makes it sound almost like a prayer… the earnestness; gentle desperation. This one stopped me in my tracks the first time I saw/heard it and I don’t think I breathed or blinked for four minutes.”Runaway Love” – Ludacris featuring Mary J. Blige. I love these two, and I was very moved by this video.”How Far We’ve Come” – Matchbox 20. This is a great song. It’s difficult to make one of these historical montage-type videos without being really cliché or contrived, and I think this one works.”1 2 3 4″ – Feist. I want to be in this video. The song definitely belongs on my favorites list, but I was trying to stick to the 7 of 07, you know?And, of course, the Foo Fighters always have the best videos. Embedding is disabled so I can’t post them, but I love The Pretender and I think Long Road to Ruin is hilarious.Favorite Movies:Into the WildRatatouilleEnchantedI’m Not ThereHarry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix3:10 to YumaThe Assassination of Jesse JamesFavorite Books:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – JK RowlingBlood and Thunder – Hampton SidesHere, There & Everywhere – Geoff EmerickBob Dylan: The Essential Interviews – Jonathan Cott(Ok, I have to cheat because most of the books I read in 2007 were published in years prior – here are two older books I read this year that I really enjoyed)Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement – John LewisThe People, Yes – Carl SandburgFavorite TV Shows:Flight of the ConchordsThe Daily ShowFlight of the ConchordsThe Colbert ReportFlight of the ConchordsReal Time with Bill MaherFlight of the ConchordsAs a holiday bonus, here are two seasonal videos – one which endears and one which horrifies. The first, “‘Tis the Season” is a wonderful short film by Bob Giovanelli. It’s only a few minutes long, so after you love it please vote for my buddy Bob here. Once you’re feeling all warm and fuzzy click here to see what happens to people who have too much money, and perhaps too much eggnog. I think we should tell this guy about climate conservation… starving children… ah, he means well…Ok, I still have three hours to go, but thanks for killing time with me. Such an awful expression – killing time – but when it feels like an alien is taking a vegetable peeler to the inside of one’s stomach and one is stuck in a airport, well, a girl feels like killing time. Thank goodness for technology. It really does make one disassociate oneself from one’s body, and I forgot about my little alien friend for these minutes of typing, however long it’s been.Happy New Year! More info on the new album (hopefully finishing recording this week!) is coming soon.

NEW SONG! (December 17, 2008)

Hey folks,

I finally posted one of the new songs! Eric Lichter and I recorded “Just A Thumb Blues” last Wednesday at Dirt Floor Studios, which you can hear on my Myspace profile. I provided dirty guitar and vocals and Eric worked magic on the rest of the track – bass, drums, Wurlitzer, and organ. Many more to come! Check out a cool picture Eric took here.

Happy The-Days-Are-Almost-Getting-Longer-Again!

Laura

NEW SONG! (December 17, 2008)

Hey folks,

I finally posted one of the new songs! Eric Lichter and I recorded “Just A Thumb Blues” last Wednesday at Dirt Floor Studios, which you can hear on my Myspace profile. I provided dirty guitar and vocals and Eric worked magic on the rest of the track – bass, drums, Wurlitzer, and organ. Many more to come! Check out a cool picture Eric took here.

Happy The-Days-Are-Almost-Getting-Longer-Again!

Laura

NEW SONG! (December 17, 2008)

Hey folks,I finally posted one of the new songs! Eric Lichter and I recorded “Just A Thumb Blues” last Wednesday at Dirt Floor Studios, which you can hear on my Myspace profile. I provided dirty guitar and vocals and Eric worked magic on the rest of the track – bass, drums, Wurlitzer, and organ. Many more to come! Check out a cool picture Eric took here.Happy The-Days-Are-Almost-Getting-Longer-Again!Laura

Hi (December 14, 2007)

It’s beginning to feel a lot like… coldness! Yes, the hot water bottle accompanied me to bed last night (makes all the difference – highly recommended) and I am beginning to look forward to my holiday travel to warmer climes. The snow is awfully pretty…. I forgot what driving in this stuff is like, though, and so I am re-routing my winter tour a bit. I am afraid I’m going to have to skip the Rocky cities until spring. My car is a little trooper, but he’s not so good in the snow/ice. Last weekend we had a crazy ice storm in CT which prevented me from seeing Neil Young!!! (sniffle). We tried – it took over two hours to get from my house to the highway on-ramp, which is only seven or eight miles away! Fortunately, Tim Reynolds happened to be in the area and I was able to go see him instead. RIDICULOUS! Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever longed for my guitar so badly… what an inspiration.

SPEAKING OF WHICH – I have been recording with Eric Lichter at Dirt Floor Studios the past couple days and it’s blowing my mind. I’ll write more about it later because I don’t want to get sucked into the computer and I have a feeling if I begin to write about this man’s genius I might never stop. So I will hold off until I post the new songs… which are sick. You’re going to flip out.

Coming up – Dan Herman is once again going to feature my tunes on Radio Crystal Blue this Sunday! Here’s the info:

LIVE 365: To hear the live show, fans need to go to www.radiocrystalblue.com and find the mic graphic that links to the Live365 station. This will lead you to the official station at http://www.live365.com/stations/142950
Click the yellow ‘mic’ button on the station page. If the button is greyed out, it will NOT play. However if it’s lit up and clickable, it will open the listening window. Kindly ignore the ‘this station is not available” statement on this page. Next show is Sunday 12/16 from 7PM till 1AM or so ET. In the listening window, adjust for your connection speed and audio program.
Turn off any pop-up blockers you may have; that step is essential for listening live.

Hi (December 14, 2007)

It’s beginning to feel a lot like… coldness! Yes, the hot water bottle accompanied me to bed last night (makes all the difference – highly recommended) and I am beginning to look forward to my holiday travel to warmer climes. The snow is awfully pretty…. I forgot what driving in this stuff is like, though, and so I am re-routing my winter tour a bit. I am afraid I’m going to have to skip the Rocky cities until spring. My car is a little trooper, but he’s not so good in the snow/ice. Last weekend we had a crazy ice storm in CT which prevented me from seeing Neil Young!!! (sniffle). We tried – it took over two hours to get from my house to the highway on-ramp, which is only seven or eight miles away! Fortunately, Tim Reynolds happened to be in the area and I was able to go see him instead. RIDICULOUS! Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever longed for my guitar so badly… what an inspiration.

SPEAKING OF WHICH – I have been recording with Eric Lichter at Dirt Floor Studios the past couple days and it’s blowing my mind. I’ll write more about it later because I don’t want to get sucked into the computer and I have a feeling if I begin to write about this man’s genius I might never stop. So I will hold off until I post the new songs… which are sick. You’re going to flip out.

Coming up – Dan Herman is once again going to feature my tunes on Radio Crystal Blue this Sunday! Here’s the info:

LIVE 365: To hear the live show, fans need to go to www.radiocrystalblue.com and find the mic graphic that links to the Live365 station. This will lead you to the official station at http://www.live365.com/stations/142950
Click the yellow ‘mic’ button on the station page. If the button is greyed out, it will NOT play. However if it’s lit up and clickable, it will open the listening window. Kindly ignore the ‘this station is not available” statement on this page. Next show is Sunday 12/16 from 7PM till 1AM or so ET. In the listening window, adjust for your connection speed and audio program.
Turn off any pop-up blockers you may have; that step is essential for listening live.

Hi (December 14, 2007)

It’s beginning to feel a lot like… coldness! Yes, the hot water bottle accompanied me to bed last night (makes all the difference – highly recommended) and I am beginning to look forward to my holiday travel to warmer climes. The snow is awfully pretty…. I forgot what driving in this stuff is like, though, and so I am re-routing my winter tour a bit. I am afraid I’m going to have to skip the Rocky cities until spring. My car is a little trooper, but he’s not so good in the snow/ice. Last weekend we had a crazy ice storm in CT which prevented me from seeing Neil Young!!! (sniffle). We tried – it took over two hours to get from my house to the highway on-ramp, which is only seven or eight miles away! Fortunately, Tim Reynolds happened to be in the area and I was able to go see him instead. RIDICULOUS! Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever longed for my guitar so badly… what an inspiration.SPEAKING OF WHICH – I have been recording with Eric Lichter at Dirt Floor Studios the past couple days and it’s blowing my mind. I’ll write more about it later because I don’t want to get sucked into the computer and I have a feeling if I begin to write about this man’s genius I might never stop. So I will hold off until I post the new songs… which are sick. You’re going to flip out.Coming up – Dan Herman is once again going to feature my tunes on Radio Crystal Blue this Sunday! Here’s the info:LIVE 365: To hear the live show, fans need to go to www.radiocrystalblue.com and find the mic graphic that links to the Live365 station. This will lead you to the official station at http://www.live365.com/stations/142950Click the yellow ‘mic’ button on the station page. If the button is greyed out, it will NOT play. However if it’s lit up and clickable, it will open the listening window. Kindly ignore the ‘this station is not available” statement on this page. Next show is Sunday 12/16 from 7PM till 1AM or so ET. In the listening window, adjust for your connection speed and audio program.Turn off any pop-up blockers you may have; that step is essential for listening live.

Coming Home (December 4, 2007)

Here’s a little holiday cheer, courtesy of the Dublin Airport. I was especially nervous about flying home because it was storming really badly in NYC – and flying is just terrifying, period. I nearly had a fit when security wouldn’t let me board the plane with the champagne I bought in Paris (even though it was purchased duty-free!). And yet my wire cutters made it through security in my guitar case…. After an hour of chaos, I was able to work it out, so my sister can rest assured that we will be having a very merry Christmas. The whole experience rattled my nerves greatly as, in the process, the lady at Aer Lingus discovered that there were two bags checked under my name and I had only checked one, etc. etc. My imagination is always over-active when flying anyway, and I could imagine myself arriving at customs with a huge sack of cocaine on my hands or something. Haha. All was well, though, and once through security I came across a woman handing out free shots of Jameson and very happily partook. It helped considerably. When I got to the gate I saw that the plane was one of those enormous airbuses. Another cause of panic. Everything is a cause of panic when it involves Laura hurtling through air at 30,000 feet. Over an ocean. However, all that changed when I saw a familar face in line to board – Andrew Bird! Yes, with guitar and violin cases at his feet, he was looking quite panicky himself. After all, he’s the man who brought us, “Fiery Crash.” I said hello and then quickly scampered off as he is far cuter in person and the cause of my nerves quickly shifted to one of more immediacy. Actually, once I knew I’d be flying with Mr. Bird I eased on the prospect of my fate – I felt like there was no way the plane would be going down with him on it. And, alas, it didn’t. Because the plane took off at 4PM the sunset lasted a few hours, which was really cool! I also got to see the moon rise out of the ocean:

Now home, I have a tremendous amount to look forward to in the immediate future – a new album, new shows, a new year! Yes, I am very busy working on Paris-inspired love songs to be released in honor of Valentine’s Day! Also, I am getting ready for my US tour, which kicks off in early January. I’ve added some new dates (and will continue to do so), which you can check out here:

January 5, 2008
Googie’s Lounge @ The Living Room
New York, NY
Homecoming Show! AND Send-off Show!
(Either way you look at it, it’s a celebration).

January 12, 2008
Uncommon Ground
Chicago, IL

January 13, 2008
TBC
Des Moines, IA

January 15, 2008
Mick’s Music Bar
Omaha, NE

January 17, 2008
The Brick
Kansas City, MO

January 25, 2008
The Blue Pepper
Salem, OR

January 26, 2008
It’s A Beautiful Pizza
Portland, OR

January 31, 2008
Green Frog Cafe Acoustic Tavern
Bellingham, WA

February 2, 2008
Cozmic Cafe
Placerville, CA

February 3, 2008
Brain Wash
San Francisco, CA

February 5, 2008
TBC
Los Angeles, CA

February 8, 2008
Lestat’s
San Diego, CA

February 9, 2008
The Blue Room
Long Beach, CA

February 15, 2008
TBC
Phoenix, AZ

February 19, 2008
The Adobe Bar
Taos, NM

February 21, 2008
Art Six
Denton, TX

Canadian dates will come once the groundhog has declared the end of winter. All of my travel is offset by Native Energy! Please see www.nativeenergy.com for information on how you can reduce your impact on the environment.

I posted a ton of pictures on my website, so please feel free to check those out. Thank you again to all the wonderful people who made my trip so fulfilling! Especially those folks on the 10th floor It’s going to be difficult to leave Paris behind… I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a meal without bread, cheese, and champagne. Or Beaujolais. There’s a lot to be said for the European way. In retrospect, here are some favorites from the trip:

Favorite Museum: Louvre, Paris
Favorite Modern Art Museum: Tate Modern, London tied with Centre Pompidou, Paris
Favorite Non-Louvre and Non-Modern Art Museem: Orsay
Favorite Non-Museum Museum: Wallace Collection, London
Favorite Spot to Take a Picture So They Know I Really Came: View of Eiffel Tower at Trocadero
Favorite Tourist Moment: Hall of Mirrors, Versailles
Favorite Non-Tourist Moment: Buying produce at Place d’Aligre
Favorite Stage: The Spirit Store
Favorite Show: The Ruby Sessions
Favorite Restaurant: Cornucopia, Dublin (No competition. This spot rocks)
Favorite Waiter: Minim’s, Paris
Favorite Food in the Whole World: M’semen with honey from Tesnime, Paris
Favorite Invention of Humankind: Baguette
2nd Favorite Invention of Humankind: Toasters designed specifically for baguettes
Favorite “Wow, I’m Really Far From Home” Excursion: Carlingford
Favorite “I’d Like to Spend the Night Here” Place: Giverny
Favorite “I’m Really Glad I’m NOT Spending the Night Here” Place: Catacombs
Favorite Purchase: “Cozy Socks”, Penney’s of Dundalk
Favorite Cause for Celebration: Beaujolais Nouveau!

Happy December!