Laurie Anderson: O Superman

This is week two of a new song of the day concept in which I provide songs by an artist whose career spans over 40 years. This week’s artist is Laurie Anderson. Anderson has been trailblazing the fields of avant-garde composition, experimental musicianship, and performance art since the early ’70s. After almost a decade of work as a performance artist, along with an occasional experimental musical track, Anderson released her debut album Big Science in 1982. Her musical works prior to Big Science consisted of many pieces that were as much visual as audial, and few of them are available in an official capacity other than a handful of limited release compositions on compilations from the late ’70s and early ’80s. This makes Big Science the start of her discography. Even so, it is not a complete composition. Instead, it pulls together pieces from her 8-hour live performance piece United States Live. A 5-LP version of United States Live would be released in 1984 as a more complete collection of that performance. The truth is that no one would have expected Anderson to become popular as a musical artist, but the success of the single “O Superman” from Big Science launched her decades-long career as a recording artist, giving her a source of income that most avant-garde artists never realize.

To learn more about Laurie Anderson (and I think everyone should do so with vigor), check out her Wikipedia page. The depth and breadth of her importance and success goes far beyond her musical discography.

To listen to all of the songs of the day, check out the Radio Faux Show Song of the Day playlist.

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