O Superwoman A brief guide to Laurie Anderson -
Photo by Alan Tannenbaum	On the Web | Quotes | Vital statistics On the Web Homepage of the Brave is the ultimate source of information about Anderson, on or off the Web. Diehard fan Jim Davies has created a good-looking, well-organized page, with a complete discography, lyrics, photos, lists of articles, Web links, and lots of lively opinions. On The Nerve Bible tour earlier this year, Anderson printed T-shirts with a list of favorite Web sites. The complete list has been posted by fan Alan Laskey for your surfing enjoyment. Attention, trivia buffs: You can learn about the 11 Anderson song lyrics that describe falling, the famous people mentioned in her lyrics (Kafka, Melville, Edison, William F. Buckley), and the secret message in the song "Example #22." Check out John Gluck's list of 21 frequently asked questions. "Make people laugh, and don't be obscure, and use your whole self." That's the advice Anderson gave for aspiring performance artists in her 18 July 1995 live chat with Susanna Camp in HotWired's Club Wired. Don't bother downloading the useless video promos for the CD-ROM Puppet Motel on Anderson's official Voyager site. But her essay about a planned Barcelona theme park and an annotated map of the Nerve Bible stage are worth a look. To download sound clips from "Strange Angels" and "O Superman," go to Phil Trubey's tribute page. But beware! The clips range in size from 400Kbytes to 1.5Mbytes. If your modem is slow, you'll be a strange angel before they arrive. -
Photo © Shooting Star Photo by Laurie Anderson	On the Web | Quotes | Vital statistics Quotes You know what I really like about cyberspace? The rumors. Such as the recent so-called fact that the Vatican had been bought out by Microsoft.... One world, one operating system! - Laurie Anderson, The Nerve Bible performance, 1996 Talking to America's preeminent performance artist is kinda like dropping acid: Her largely autobiographic stories are often funny, taking you on a wild rollercoaster ride of intonation and imagery right up to the brink, and then when you think you've hit the point of no return, she brings you back home safely with a sense of revelation. - Rolling Stone, 1995 Interactive to me means reading something that changes my life, not just pushing buttons. - Laurie Anderson, in The Boston Phoenix, 1995 Laurie is the most astonishing musician. Not to mention her knowledge of effects, not to mention that she can also engineer the track. - Lou Reed, in The New York Times, 1995 If you were a little bit appreciative and a little bit cynical, you might say her act is stand-up comedy for people who would never dream of going to the Comedy Store, accompanied by trippy film loops and sound effects for people who would never dream of indulging in a Pink Floyd concert. - the Los Angeles Times, 1995 I was never terrified of death. I was lucky to see how beautiful it is. The whole time I thought, this is so fabulous. This is such an incredibly beautiful, freeing, fabulous thing to be able to see. - Laurie Anderson, about nearly dying of altitude sickness in Tibet, 1993 Laurie is conceptually generous. Her ideas are based on a kind feeling toward people, a sense of delight and affection for them. That feeling runs through everything she does; none of her work is based on humiliation or sneering, even when it's being angry or critical." - Brian Eno, in Wired 3.05, 1994 There is something gorgeous about destruction, and liberating too. Unless you're the one being destroyed. - Laurie Anderson, in the Los Angeles Times, 1994 'Cause when love is gone There's always justice, And when justice is gone There's always force And when force is gone, There's always Mom. Hi Mom! So hold me Mom In your long arms... So hold me Mom, in your long arms, In your automatic arms, Your electronic arms, In your arms ... - Laurie Anderson, "O Superman" -
Photo by Annie Leibovitz	On the Web | Quotes | Vital statistics Vital statistics Born: 5 June 1947, Chicago, Illinois Family: The second-oldest of eight children (four brothers, three sisters). Education: Mills College, Oakland, CA, 1965-66 Barnard College, New York City, 1966-69, art history major, BA, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa Columbia University, 1970-72, MFA in sculpture Early career highlights: Taught art history at City College, New York; Staten Island College; and Pace University, early '70s Co-designed a violin with a bow made of recording tape, 1976 Made the Handphone Table for New York's Museum of Modern Art, 1978 "O Superman" becomes a No. 2 hit in England, 1981 United States performed in its eight-hour entirety in Brooklyn, London, and Zurich, 1983 Shot the concert film Home of the Brave, 1985 Co-hosted the PBS series Alive from Off-Center, 1986 Little-known achievements: Was on the National Honor Society and cheerleading squad in high school Spent two weeks in silence at a Buddhist retreat, 1977 Worked as a migrant cotton picker in Kentucky, 1978 Worked as a straight man for Andy Kaufman in comedy clubs, 1978 Wrote the score for Spaulding Gray's film Swimming to Cambodia, 1987 Taught story-writing to first graders, 1991 Covered the presidential campaign for NPR, 1992 Trekked the Tibetan Himalayas with 27 yaks, 8 sherpas, and 10 hikers, 1993 Recent achievements: Published Stories from the Nerve Bible, a 20-year retrospective of her work (HarperCollins, 1994) World tour of The Nerve Bible, 1995 Released her first CD-ROM, Puppet Motel (Voyager, 1996) Future plans: A theme park in Barcelona, with Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno
Intro to event | Spike Lee | Brian Eno | Laurie Anderson

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