A Life Through Headphones: The Mynabirds

(Hair. Fierce)

I listen to the title track of The Mynabirds second LP Generals (Saddle Creek) and I feel like a badass. Like listening to Chan Marshall (Cat Power), Merrill Nisker (Peaches), Annie Clark (St. Vincent), and on and on. Laura Burhenn can be added to the list of 'hell yes my ladies, lets be BFFs'. Her voice, her hair, and most importantly, what this latest album currently represents for her.

In a recent interview she talks about her upbringing in Washington, D.C:

"I was raised in a fundamentalist Christian church. I quit going to church when i was 13 because the pastor got up and said that some gay people had been at our church the week before, and he wanted to make it clear that they were not welcome...There's also a pretty serious presence of the KKK in the town where I grew up. I had a bumper sticker on my car that said 'Fight Racism,' and some kid took it off and cut it in half so it just said 'Racism' and stuck it next to his Confederate flag sticker on the truck."

The album in essence is a protest album, "The point of this record is to show a transition, to show movement from anger and frustration to actually doing something and creating good around you." And if you're paying attention even in the slightest to what is happening you know we could all use a little less anger and a little more positive creativity.

Sing it sista...