against me!: transgender dysphoria blues

I don't really know Against Me! that well, but I wanted to share this local story that I thought was a really nice thing the band did.

on their last tour they took Venus De Mars as an opening act. Venus is a local Minneapolis legend of sorts, she's 55 now, the article says didn't come out as transgender until her 30s, but was known for years locally as the frontwomen for All The Pretty Horses, a sort of punk/glam/metal band that played locally here for many years. Anyway the state audited her for filing as a musician and came after her for back taxes, resulting in a lengthy legal battle (which she eventually won but after a lot of expenses)

anyway i guess Against Me! took her out as an opening act recently which i dunno struck me as a really nice gesture, certainly bigger shows & presumably bigger paydays than Venus has ever seen in doing music for a few decades.

here's the story:

http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/298162101.html?page=1&c=y

The auditors essentially said that the $20,000 or so that Venus averaged per year in her music career — her only source of income — was not enough for her to call herself a professional musician.

(raises middle finger)

yeah a couple years ago the state auditors really seemed to go after the arts community, a recording studio a friend worked at was forced out of business because they suddenly reclassified the type of service that recording studios were and went after them for back sales taxes. of course, faced with fighting it legally...or losing and having to pay the back taxes...given the small tough margins that studios are under these days anyway they just folded :(

meanwhile we dish out zillions to local sports teams for stadiums! assholes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TaRnUKgr9g

http://substreammagazine.com/2015/05/watch-laura-jane-grace-joan-jett-and-miley-cyrus-cover-the-replacements-androgynous/

!

LJG on Orlando:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzL0bD0_r6Y

Update, now that I've seen the whole thing: only the first couple of minutes are about Orlando. The rest is about trans issues, the N. Carolina bathroom idiocy, etc but still a really good interview.

New album streaming, seeing LJG tonight in a small club:

https://www.npr.org/2018/11/01/661158897/first-listen-laura-jane-grace-the-devouring-mothers-bought-to-rot

Good one played with the band at last night's show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC08TfB0fxg

wow, four years since this album

almost five now!

literally a life-changing record for me

oh shit, you're right!

For a lot of people, I imagine.

xp

FUCKMYLIFE666 still the best fuckin' rock song ever

literally a life-changing record for me

― princess of hell (BradNelson), Friday, November 9, 2018 11:28 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah yeah me too

“Is your mother proud of your eyelashes?” rips me apart

yeah yeah me too

― Get Me Bodied (Extended Mix), Saturday, November 10, 2018 4:21 AM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

<3

Best album.

yes just a great record

I like this one from the new album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ0__vF3bUk

this album kinda rules!

oh it very much rules

this album def rules

here's Ezra Furman playing "Black Me Out" btw

https://www.facebook.com/ezrafurmanmusic/videos/1139327736411316/

sorry 4 facebook

New LJG album produced by Albini

https://pitchfork.com/news/laura-jane-grace-surprise-releases-new-album-stay-alive-listen/

Went to see Austin Lucas play a couple of weeks ago, he said his next album will be an Against Me! covers LP.