Laura Phillips Anderson was born June 5, 1947, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, United States. She attended Mills College in California, and eventually graduated from Barnard College magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, studying art history. In 1972, she obtained an MFA in sculpture from Columbia University.
She performed in New York through the 1970s. Two early pieces, "New York Social Life" and "Time to Go," were included in the 1977 compilation New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media, along with works by Pauline Oliveros and others.
She became more widely known in 1982 with the single "O Superman," originally released in a limited quantity by One Ten Records; a sudden influx of orders from the U.K. (prompted by British DJ John Peel playing the record) led to Anderson signing with the Warner Brothers label, which re-released the single. "O Superman" reached number two on the national pop charts in Britain.
"O Superman" was part of a larger stage work entitled United States and was included on her following album, Big Science. Her more recent stage work includes a multimedia presentation inspired by Moby Dick. She starred in and directed the 1986 concert film, Home of the Brave, and also composed the soundtracks for the Spalding Gray films Swimming to Cambodia and Monster in a Box. All of Anderson's albums from the 1980s sold very well despite being labeled "avant garde". Her varied career has even included voice-acting in the animated film The Rugrats Movie. In 1994 she created a CD-ROM entitled Puppet Motel.
She wrote a supplemental article on the cultural character of New York City for the Encyclopædia Britannica and in the late 1980s hosted the PBS series, Alive from Off Center, for which she produced the short film, What You Mean We?.
One of the central themes in Anderson's work is exploring the effects of technology on human interrelationships and communication.
Anderson has collaborated with William Burroughs, Mitchell Froom, Arto Lindsay, Peter Gabriel, Perry Hoberman, David Sylvian, Jean Michel Jarre, Hector Zazou, Nona Hendryx, David Van Tieghem, and husband Lou Reed. She also worked with comedian Andy Kaufman in the late 1970s (with a romantic involvement hinted at in some of her spoken word performances about him).
Anderson, who rarely revisits older work (though themes and lyrics occasionally reappear) went on tour performing a selection of her best-known musical pieces in 2001. One of these performances was recorded in New York City only a week after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and included a performance of "O Superman". This concert was released in early 2002 as the double CD, Live in New York, which remains her most recent album release.
In 2003, Anderson became NASA's first and so far only artist-in-residence, which inspired her most recent performance piece, The End of the Moon.
Rumors emerged of a possible new album release in the fall of 2004, but this turned out to be false as Anderson seems too busy mounting a succession of themed shows, as well as composing a piece for Expo 2005 in Japan.
In February 2010, Laurie Anderson premiered a new theatrical work, entitled Delusion, at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. This piece was commissioned by the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad and the Barbican Centre, London.
In May/June 2010, Anderson curated the Vivid Sydney festival in Sydney, Australia together with Lou Reed
In late June 2010, with the production assistance of husband Lou Reed, as well as Roma Baran. Laurie Anderson released her first full length studio album in near a decade with that of: "Homeland" on Nonesuch Records. Receiving much critical acclaim, "Homeland" has been lauded by many as Anderson's crowning auditory achievement. A conglomerated assimilation of her many persona's, characters and decades work exploring and experimenting in a multitude of artistic mediums.
Also featured on the "Homeland" album are a number of famed collaborators, including John Zorn (saxophone on tracks 8 & 11), Kieran Hebden of "Four Tet" fame (keyboards on track 5), Antony Hegarty (vocals on track 4), Husband Lou Reed himself on some guitar, and Tuvan throat singers. At 66 minutes, it is also Anderson's longest studio album.
Sites: Wikipedia
Dark Angel
Laurie Anderson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He says: Oh, I've been looking for a certain white clown
Doesn't look like you're it
But you're the only one around
So I guess you'll have to do, He says
So anyway...how are you doin'?
I say, Actually, I can't stand all the new machines
It's supposed to be all brand new but it just looks the same"
Why don't you get yourself an old beret
And why don't you find an old cafe?
And sit at a time and write something new
That's never been heard before
Or write your own manifesto.
That would do
Just make sure you use a pencil
So you can always get it, you know, right
Look at all the things I've bought
I can't believe what they cost
Just a lot of plastic and numbers on my credit card
I'm feeling kind of lost
The world that used to seem so small
I could wrap my arms around it
Now it seems so big.
And he said: Oh
From your pictures I guessed that you were tall
But actually, I gotta go now
It's a small world full of light
It's a small world full of light
But I wouldn't want to have to paint it
Laurie Anderson’s song Dark Angel is a blend of surrealist imagery, political commentary and experimental music. The opening lines describe a dark angel parachuting down into an abandoned town in search of a certain white clown, but he settles for the singer. The dark angel’s advice to her is to find an old café and write a manifesto with a pencil, something new that has never been heard before. This offers a stark contrast to the new machines and numeric credit cards that dominate the world.
Anderson’s lyrics are critical of modern society and its obsession with consumerism and technology. She suggests that people need to reconnect with the world and create something new instead of just going with the flow. The dark angel in the song might represent a voice of wisdom, urging the singer and the audience to think critically about their lives and their environment.
Overall, Laurie Anderson’s Dark Angel is a powerful critique of modern society, urging us to seek deeper meaning in a world dominated by technology and materialism. The surrealistic imagery and offbeat music add to the song’s unsettling atmosphere and compel the listener to consider the underlying message.
Line by Line Meaning
A dark angel parachutes down into an abandoned town
A supernatural being descends into a deserted settlement from the sky.
He says: Oh, I've been looking for a certain white clown
The entity is in search of a specific figure with distinct qualities.
Doesn't look like you're it
But you're the only one around
So I guess you'll have to do, He says
So anyway...how are you doin'?
Although the singer does not meet the specifications, the supernatural entity engages them in conversation.
I say, Actually, I can't stand all the new machines
It's supposed to be all brand new but it just looks the same"
The artist expresses their dislike for modern technology which they believe is merely recycled designs.
He says: Oh, it looks like you're bored. So try this he says to me:
Why don't you get yourself an old beret
And why don't you find an old cafe?
And sit at a time and write something new
That's never been heard before
Or write your own manifesto.
That would do
Just make sure you use a pencil
So you can always get it, you know, right
The supernatural figure offers a solution to the artist's ennui by suggesting they create something original in a setting with antiquated trappings.
Look at all the things I've bought
I can't believe what they cost
Just a lot of plastic and numbers on my credit card
I'm feeling kind of lost
The singer bemoans the acquisition of material possessions which only serve to deplete their financial resources and leave them feeling disoriented.
The world that used to seem so small
I could wrap my arms around it
Now it seems so big.
And he said: Oh
The singer notes the magnification of the world and the diminishment of their ability to comprehend it.
From your pictures I guessed that you were tall
But actually, I gotta go now
It's a small world full of light
It's a small world full of light
But I wouldn't want to have to paint it
The supernatural figure departs after divulging the inaccurate assumptions they had made about the artist. They remark on the compact nature of the world but express a disinclination for having to illustrate it.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: LAURIE ANDERSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind