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
Telephone Song
Laurie Anderson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The lyrics to Laurie Anderson's song Telephone Song are a conversation between two people over the phone. The singer on the other end is trying to convince the person on the line to come over to their party. The singer is insistent that the person would have a good time, despite the noise and the fact that the person is asleep. The singer even offers to help the person get a cab and insists that the cost of the ride is negligible.
Through this conversation, Anderson hints at themes of disconnection and loneliness. The person on the line seems hesitant to join the party, perhaps indicating a lack of social fulfillment in their life. Additionally, Anderson touches upon the idea of locality and community by referencing Brooklyn as the location of the party. Overall, Telephone Song reveals itself to be a commentary on the struggle for human connection and fulfillment in a noisy and chaotic world.
Line by Line Meaning
Hi. How are you?
Anderson greets the person on the other end of the line and initiates a conversation.
What are you doing?
Anderson inquires about the other person's activities at the moment.
Yeah, I know, it's kind of noisy here. There's kind of a party going on.
Anderson admits that it's loud where she is because of a party taking place.
Why don't you just come over. Just put on your coat and call a cab and come over.
Anderson invites the other person to join the party by suggesting that they come over to her location and have fun.
Yeah, I know you're asleep--but it's really fun--you'd have a really good time. Just put on your shoes and call a cab and come over.
Anderson acknowledges that the other person may be sleeping but assures them that coming to the party would be enjoyable and worthwhile.
No, he's not here. Well, maybe he's here--maybe he's not here. What's the difference?
Anderson responds to an inquiry about someone's whereabouts by stating uncertainty and asking a rhetorical question to downplay the importance of their presence.
Yeah, I know it's Brooklyn. Yeah, well, what's thirty bucks? It's two nights. OK. OK.
Anderson acknowledges that coming to Brooklyn may require spending money but argues that the experience of the party is worth it and gives consent to the other person's attendance.
Listen, I'm sure I could get you in.
Anderson assures the other person that they will not have trouble entering the party if they decide to come.
Contributed by Colin F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.