I recently got a cd anthology of Laurie Anderson's work... a retrospective. I was realizing that it's been just short of 20 years since I owned Big Science. I used to be completely ga-ga over her stuff. I remember how freaky she first seemed - watching her on NightFlight (when it was really avant guard and had whole programs on cutting edge artists -- and New Wave Theater premiered right after...) -- they played the video for O' Superman, my preteen friends and I looked at each other in affixed puzzlement - what was she doing? Who was it that was calling her answering machine? Whose long arms? Whose Petrochemical arms? What's wrong with her hair? Was this New WAVE!?!? A year or 2 later, I buy Big Science, thinking it avant gaurde pop as opposed to Po-Mo art recorded for the masses. It was the kind of album you would play and lie back on your bed and look at the ceiling... Sometimes in the dark.
Of course, I remember the Rollingstone review of "Life in these United States" - 5 stars! It was 4 CD/LP set. Damned if I could ever afford anything that lavish then ($50 seemed really expensive for Vinyl back then)...
The year after, Mister Heartbreak seemed to be the ultimate. It was exotic, had strange bird noises and textures. (In Speech class, I embarassingly try to deliver her "Lang'da mour" in my most monotone delivery. Went over like a lead balloon in conservative state competitions, but the college judges liked it.) A few years later - Strange Angels tour in Portland, I finally got to see her live... and remember being floored how minimal, yet grand her tour was. She stripped it even further down 3 years later when she toured campuses shortly after the gulf war. It was mostly an oration, a few numbers, but less exploring, more opinion... even a political rant at one point. After Bright Red came out... I kind of lost touch, occassionally seeing her on a special or hearing a great film score she did (Fallen Angels uses 'Speak my language' very well)...
Then after 9/11, I rememered O' Superman and even worse, 'Into the Air' - the lyrics about aircraft, losing control, military, American identity, safety... and immediately wondered how she would piece all this together. I went to her website and found nothing new or updated, however I could almost hear her words talking about people, Americans... identity. Alienation was never her message - but more of optimism, sensing a need to connect with everyone... She seems to be able to speak with a compassion about our wreckless ways, and forgiving about our inevitable lack of hindsight.
Unfortunately, I was out of town for her last show -- but I bet it would be poignant as always...