Laurie Anderson

[Greg]

Got hot sauce in my bag, swag.

[Drunk Monk]

Hey!
Are you talking to me?
Or are you just practicing for one of those performances of yours?
Huh?

[Greg]

Obvs you are not a Queen Bae Stan.

[Drunk Monk]

More on Big Science. I should give that a re-listen. I think I only have it on vinyl...

Laurie Anderson – Big Science

Distilled from multimedia shows, the performance artist’s influential 1982 album resonates anew

By Laura Barton

19th April 2021

 
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Credit: Paul Natkin/Getty Images

[b]United States[/b], an eight-hour orchestral and multimedia performance piece by the artist [b]Laurie Anderson[/b], was first performed in its entirety over two nights at Brooklyn Academy Of Music, in the February of 1983. It was an examination of the American Utopia, a collage of spoken word, technology, music and film, divided into four sections: transportation, politics, money and love, and 78 separately titled segments. There were shadow puppets, a miniature speaker she placed in her mouth, a drum solo performed on her own skull; the Statue Of Liberty and the Stars And Stripes.
The show that February was not entirely new material. For some while, Anderson had been performing segments of United States at smaller venues, including at the Nova Convention, held in New York City in 1978, where the audience had included [b]William S Burroughs, Patti Smith, Allen Ginsberg[/b] and [b]Frank Zappa[/b].
Anderson had also distilled and studio-recorded several sections of the work for her 1982 album [b]Big Science[/b], released in haste after the unexpected success of her 1981 single “O Superman”, which reached No 2 in the UK charts (having been championed by [b]John Peel[/b]) and led to a seven-album deal with Warner Brothers.
If Anderson seemed to land at that moment out of nowhere, it’s worth remembering that in 1979 the New York Times called her “the best and most popular performance artist of her age”. That she was already the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the San Francisco Art Institute, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Above all, that the 10 songs of [b]Big Science[/b] (including the bonus B-side “Walk The Dog”) are intricately linked to an artistic movement and an era, to the time of the Iran hostage crisis, the emergence of Reaganism, the burgeoning technological age. That Anderson was more, much more, than just a novelty hit or a quirk.
But it’s also worth considering how readily [b]Big Science[/b] stands alone, untethered from time and place. And how, over the course of its near-40-year existence, it has been a record that has come to acquire new resonance with each generation, now standing as one of the most influential albums of the past four decades – its effect tangible in recent work by the likes of [b]Cassandra Jenkins, St Vincent, Perfume Genius[/b] and more.
Still suffering the effects of the 9/11 attacks, listeners duly pointed to the record’s eerie prescience, to its talk of buildings on fire, the tale of a pilotless aeroplane crash-landing in its opening track, “From The Air”, and “O Superman”’s calm advisory: “Here come the planes/They’re American planes/Made in America…” Beneath Anderson’s mellifluously disembodied voice, a saxophone jabbed and juddered. Listening again, it was hard not to recall a description from the New York Times review of the United States performance, painting Anderson as “a mad empress overlooking a radioactive cityscape, her music evoking the whines of sirens and the sobs of the people”.
And it seemed right to remember in that moment that “O Superman”’s full title included the tribute “For Massenet” – a thank you to the French composer whose 1885 opera Le Cid included the aria “O Souverain”, which inspired Anderson’s song, and which served as something of a prayer to a higher power.
This latest reissue comes at a time of new crisis, when science has never seemed bigger or more urgent, and the American Utopia more tarnished. Today, in an age of near-Trump, and civil rights uprisings, and riots at the US Capitol, the lyrics to “O Superman”, that oddity of sublimely  vocodered voice and electronic tenderness, have acquired new weight: “’Cause when love is gone there’s always justice”, Anderson notes. “And when justice is gone, there’s always force”.
This year, [b]Big Science’s[/b] emotional heart seems to lie towards the close of the record, in the sweet medley of “Let X=X” and “It Tango”. In the first, warm synths and xylophone carry Anderson’s jumbled world of hat check guys and burning buildings, sky-blue skies and Swiss Army knives, of writing a book “thick enough to stun an ox”. In the latter, there is brass, electronic huffs and handclaps, hiccoughs of Dylan lyrics, trails of associated meaning, a song that bobs and weaves and pushes forward. Together, they suit these strange days of disorientation, false starts and momentum.
Anderson’s early studies were in violin and sculpture, and often her artworks have combined sound and temporary structure – [b]Automotive[/b], for instance, which conducted car horns at a drive-in bandshell in Rochester, Vermont, or [b]Duets On Ice[/b], in which she wore ice skates to stand atop blocks of ice and perform cowboy songs on a “self-playing violin” until the blocks of ice melted.
To listen to the songs of [b]Big Science[/b] is to feel something of this state of perpetual transience, as if it is not quite the same album you listened to 10 years ago, nor even this morning. This is testament to both its sense of free-floating disembodiment and its sheer variation of sound – the steady drip of “Walking And Falling”; the bagpiped punkish discomfort of “Sweaters”; the joyously unexpected twists and turns of “Example #22”, in which snippets of German, a telephone, a saxophone, a sultry chorus, a pitter-pattering drumline, synths and vocal distortion gather and gather, growing ever more frenzied and zig-zagged. It is also a tribute to Anderson’s manipulation of language – a phrase that might seem harmless one moment, can easily glower the next. So the lyrics of, say, “Born, Never Asked”, about a room full of people all arriving at the same time, all free, and all wondering what’s behind the curtain, quickly feels like a curdled portrait of America.
Despite the juggernauting eight minutes of “O Superman”, this is a strikingly short album, made up of mostly short songs. And yet [b]Big Science[/b] carries the sense that what you are listening to holds great breadth and depth. As if it contains not only 9 songs, and one chart hit, but something more profound: ideas of America, thoughts on transportation, politics, money and love. As if, should you listen hard enough, you might just hear 78 separately named segments, shadow puppets, and the Stars And Stripes; all the richness and wonder of an eight-hour performance spread out over 44 minutes.

[King Bob]

I could send you the CD if you want. I just recently bought it, partly because I keep reading about it and I hadn't heard it in 20+ years - although I suppose I could have heard about half of it on United States (which I also haven't listened to in years). I've got the 2007 Nonsuch reissue. It's one of those two-layer discs, but I haven't watched the video.

[thatguy]

New tiny desk concert

https://www.npr.org/2021/05/20/997557623...me-concert

—tg

[Drunk Monk]

Cool. I saw a clip on her social media and meant to track this down. Thanks tg!

[King Bob]

She also did this performance in NYC recently. I meant to post this earlier but forgot.

DM - still have that Big Science disc if you want it. I also have Bright Red. Despite the fame of the former, I think the latter is a bit better - Eno is a good collaborator.

[Drunk Monk]

AWAKEN PODCAST
HOSTED BY LAURIE ANDERSON

The Rubin Museum presents, AWAKEN, a podcast hosted by acclaimed musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson about the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to “wake up.” In 10 episodes we dive into the personal stories of guests who share how they’ve experienced a shift in their awareness, and as a result, their perspective on life. From deep introspection to curious life-changing moments, awakening can take many forms, from the mundane to the sacred. Taking inspiration from the exhibition Awaken: a Tibetan Buddhist Journey Towards Enlightenment, we use artworks as a jumping off point and hear from authors, artists, wisdom bearers, and Buddhist teachers, because every journey is different.


AWAKEN guests include comedian [b]Aparna Nancherla[/b]; gender non-conforming writer, performer, and public speaker [b]Alok Vaid-Menon[/b]; psychologist, author and teacher of meditation, emotional healing and spiritual awakening, [b]Tara Brach[/b]; master birth doula and world renowned wellness leader [b]Latham Thomas[/b]; musician, songwriter, and best-selling author [b]Amanda Palmer[/b]; artist [b]Tsherin Sherpa[/b]; best-selling author, activist, and Buddhist Teacher [b]Lama Rod Owens[/b]; hospice and palliative medicine physician and author, [b]BJ Miller[/b]; Medicine Woman of Seminole heritage and traditional Cheyenne training, [b]Patricia James[/b]; and Tibetan Buddhist master [b]Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche[/b].

[King Bob]

Good piece about her in the New York Times Magazine

[thatguy]

https://boingboing.net/2021/12/05/a-coll...s-90s.html

A collection of Laurie Anderson videos from the 80s-90s
[color=var(--body-font-color)]Popkin [/color]
2:32 pm Sun Dec 5, 2021 
On Ubuweb, you can watch this hour-long collection of videos and music videos featuring the amazing artist and musician Laurie Anderson. I could watch her perform and talk about things all day. Anderson's originality and inventiveness is apparent in literally everything she does. What a woman!
From Ubuweb: 

• Beautiful Red Dress (1990)
  
  
• Language Is A Virus (1986)
  
  
• Sharkey's Day (1984)
  
  
• O Superman (1981)
  
  
• Personal Service Announcements (1990)
  
  
• Excerpts from:
  
  
• Empty Places, What You Mean We? (1986) Home of the Brave (1986)
  
  
• Alive from Off Cener
  
  
• The Eleventh Hour (1989)
  
  
• Headknock (1981)
  
  
• Tour of Laurie's Home
  
  
• Strange Angels
  

https://www.ubu.com/film/anderson_collected.html

—tg

[thatguy]

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

Damn. I totally missed this and have made other plans for this Saturday. A friend offered me a ticket but I’m committed elsewhere (and if the storm is howling I might just bail completely because travel is so difficult in and out of the Cruz).

SFJAZZ 10th Anniversary Celebration
SFJAZZ RESIDENT ARTISTIC DIRECTORS REUNION CONCERT
W/ LAURIE ANDERSON, BILL FRISELL, MARCUS SHELBY, TERRI LYNE CARRINGTON & EDWARD SIMON
JAN 12-15 | SFJAZZ CENTER 10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
JAN 14, 2023
Miner Auditorium
SATJAN 14

7:30 PM
$40 | $60 | $85 | $105
Almost Sold Out

BUY TICKETS

Our 10th Anniversary week concludes with two nights of music featuring an incredible array of artists who have served as Resident Artistic Directors at SFJAZZ over the last decade. At this time, confirmed artists for Saturday, January 14 include drummer, composer, and 2021 NEA Jazz Master [b]Terri Lyne Carrington[/b], guitar giant [b]Bill Frisell[/b], SFJAZZ Collective pianist [b]Edward Simon[/b], bass master [b]Marcus Shelby[/b], and legendary composer, musician, and multi-media artist [b]Laurie Anderson[/b].

[b]SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director Program[/b]
Every two years, SFJAZZ selects a new group of forward-thinking musicians to participate in the program where they are invited to present new and unique works, collaborate with other world-class artists in exclusive performances, and use the Miner Auditorium stage as a space to let their creativity run wild. During the opening week of the SFJAZZ Center in January 2013, the first group of Resident Artistic Directors performed in various collaborative settings (duos, trios, quartets), and that same approach will take place for both Saturday and Sunday’s reunion concerts. 


SFJAZZ 10th Anniversary Celebration
SFJAZZ RESIDENT ARTISTIC DIRECTORS REUNION CONCERT
W/ LAURIE ANDERSON, BILL FRISELL, MARCUS SHELBY, TERRI LYNE CARRINGTON & EDWARD SIMON

JAN 12-15 | SFJAZZ CENTER 10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
JAN 14, 2023
Miner Auditorium

SATJAN 14

7:30 PM
$40 | $60 | $85 | $105
Almost Sold Out

BUY TICKETS

Our 10th Anniversary week concludes with two nights of music featuring an incredible array of artists who have served as Resident Artistic Directors at SFJAZZ over the last decade. At this time, confirmed artists for Saturday, January 14 include drummer, composer, and 2021 NEA Jazz Master [b]Terri Lyne Carrington[/b], guitar giant [b]Bill Frisell[/b], SFJAZZ Collective pianist [b]Edward Simon[/b], bass master [b]Marcus Shelby[/b], and legendary composer, musician, and multi-media artist [b]Laurie Anderson[/b].

[b]SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director Program[/b]
Every two years, SFJAZZ selects a new group of forward-thinking musicians to participate in the program where they are invited to present new and unique works, collaborate with other world-class artists in exclusive performances, and use the Miner Auditorium stage as a space to let their creativity run wild. During the opening week of the SFJAZZ Center in January 2013, the first group of Resident Artistic Directors performed in various collaborative settings (duos, trios, quartets), and that same approach will take place for both Saturday and Sunday’s reunion concerts. 

[b]› READ: SFJAZZ Center At 10, Looking Back & Looking Forward [/b][i](By Richard Scheinin)[/i]
Our 10th Anniversary week continues with the first of two concerts featuring artists who have served as Resident Artistic Directors at SFJAZZ over the last decade, performing in duos, trios, as a full ensemble and more!



PERSONNEL

[b]Laurie Anderson[/b] vocals
[b]Bill Frisell[/b] guitar
[b]Marcus Shelby[/b] bass
[b]Edward Simon[/b] piano
[b]Terri Lyne Carrington[/b] drums
What's so amazing about [SFJAZZ]: it gives me the chance to just do s

JANrancisco Jazz Organization

[Greg]

Your bestie Laurie didn't call and invite you up?

[Drunk Monk]

Sadly no. But I just reached out because we have stuff to discuss about Lou's Tai Chi book.