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.
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Muddy River
Laurie Anderson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
E towns and cities and signs are underwater now. they're gone. we're going down my the muddy river we're walking down by the muddy river somebody tell me please: what happened here? mud is every
. fish are swimming in the fields. everybody's running arund, they're yelling is this the end of the known world? men and women in their boats try to save what they've lost. they're yelling, it'
Gone now. we're never gonna find it again. but when the muddy river starts to rise it covers us all. and when I look into your eyes two tiny clocks two crystal balls we begin again. we try we be
Again. down by we're going down by down by the muddy river. we begin again down by the muddy river we're walking down by down by the muddy river. we're going down by down by the muddy river.
"Muddy River" by Laurie Anderson is an apocalyptic song that describes a catastrophic flood that destroys entire towns and cities. The lyrics are haunting and vivid, painting a picture of a world where everything has been lost to the muddy river. The rain keeps pouring down, and houses are cracking, people are drowning, and cars are rusting. The image of a church floating by, washed in the blood of the lamb, adds to the sense of despair and loss.
Anderson describes how all the superhighways have disappeared, and towns, cities, and signs are now underwater. Fishes were swimming in the fields, and people were running around yelling, wondering if this was the end of the world. Men and women in their boats tried to save what they had lost, but everything was gone, and they were never going to find it again.
Despite the bleakness of the song, there is a sense of hope in the final lines. When the muddy river starts to rise and cover everything, Anderson looks into someone's eyes and sees "two tiny clocks, two crystal balls." It is the beginning, the start of something new, an opportunity to try again. The song is a reflection on the impermanence of things and how, despite all that we lose, we can start again.
Line by Line Meaning
Rain keeps pouring down houses are cracking. people drown. cars are rusting here.
The heavy rain is causing destruction and loss of life. Houses are breaking, and people are drowning. The rain is causing cars to rust.
a church floats by washed in the blood of the lamb.
A church is seen floating, covered in religious symbolism.
and all the superhighways have disappeared one by one. and E towns and cities and signs are underwater now. they're gone.
The flood caused by the muddy river has destroyed infrastructure like highways, towns, cities, and signs. Everything is now underwater and gone.
we're going down by the muddy river we're walking down by the muddy river somebody tell me please: what happened here?
The artist is walking down by the muddy river, and they're curious about what caused the destruction and flooding.
mud is every. fish are swimming in the fields. everybody's running around, they're yelling is this the end of the known world?
Mud is everywhere, and even fish are swimming in unlikely places. People are panicking, wondering if this is the end of the world as they know it.
men and women in their boats try to save what they've lost. they're yelling, it's gone now. we're never gonna find it again.
People are trying to salvage what they can in boats. They're realizing that they've lost things forever and that some things will never be found again.
but when the muddy river starts to rise it covers us all.
The river continues to rise and cover everything, including people.
and when I look into your eyes two tiny clocks two crystal balls we begin again.
The artist finds hope and renewal when they look into someone's eyes.
we try we be again. down by we're going down by down by the muddy river. we begin again down by the muddy river we're walking down by down by the muddy river. we're going down by down by the muddy river.
The chorus repeats the idea that people are trying to start again, despite the destruction caused by the muddy river. They are moving down by the river and beginning anew.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BRIAN PETER GEORGE ENO, LAURIE ANDERSON, Brian Eno
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind