wfi@unc.UUCP (William F. Ingogly) (05/27/85)
Here's another recommendation for Laurie Anderson's United States Live
album. It's a sometimes appalling but almost always funny look at
alienation and communication in our whacked-out society. The overlap
with the Big Science album is small enough that owners of both albums
won't feel ripped off for buying both. The unfortunate thing is that
the visual aspects of the performance are missing; I'd sure like to
see this thing on stage! Here's a sample spoken text from side two
that gives the flavor of the performance:
There was an old couple that decided to drive across
country in their car; both of them were almost legally
deaf. About 10 miles away from home, the burglar alarm
for their car door got stuck in the 'on' position. They
drove all the way to San Francisco like this. You could
hear them coming for miles. The alarm didn't seem to
bother the old woman at all; she thought it was -- sort
of -- pleasant. Near Chicago, she said to her husband,
"It sounds like far away bees on a summer day." Her
husband said, "What?"
Note: this is my own transcription, so I apologize for any errors in
it. The interesting thing here (besides the obvious humor and
poignancy in this little tale) is what it has to say about
relationships and communication. The intention of the burglar alarm's
constructors, which is subverted by it's always being on and the old
couple's inability to hear it except as a possibly pleasant background
noise carrying with it associations from their own past (summers,
picnics, a nearly forgotten lover, perhaps); the effect of the
couple's near-deafness on communication in their relationship, which
is only hinted at here. And there's the couple's unintentional
communication with the inhabitants of the landscape they're passing
through as their burglar alarm blazes away, its sound devoid of its
original meaning. This is very skillful and compact writing.
If you haven't heard Laurie Anderson, I suggest buying Big Science
before you plunk down $25 or $30 for this album, or listening to it at
a friend's house. Those of you who already like her stuff won't be
disappointed by this album, I think. Here's a list of pieces on the
album for those of you who are thinking about buying it:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
(PART ONE)
Side 1: Say Hello
Walk The Dog
Violin Solo
Closed Circuits (for voice and amplified mic stand)
For A Large And Changing Room
Pictures of It (for acoustic tape bow)
The Language of the Future
Side 2: Cartoon Song
Small Voice (for speaker-in-mouth)
Three Walking Songs (for tape bow violin)
The Healing Horn
New Jersey Turnpike
Side 3: So Happy Birthday
EngliSH
Dance of Electricity
Three Songs for Paper, Film and Video
Sax Solo (for tape bow violin)
Sax Duet
Born, Never Asked
(PART TWO)
Side 4: From the Air
Beginning French
O Superman
Talkshow
Side 5: Frames for the Pictures
Democratic Way
Looking For You; Walking And Falling
Private Property
Neon Duet (for violin and neon bow)
Let X = X
The Mailman's Nightmare
Different Listening Hour
Side 6: Language Is A Virus From Outer Space (by Bill Burroughs)
Reverb
If You Can't Talk About It, Point To It (for Ludwig
Wittgenstein and Reverend Ike)
Violin Walk
City Song
Finnish Farmers
(PART THREE)
Side 7: Red Map
Hey Ah
Bagpipe Solo
Steven Weed
Time And A Half
Voices On A Tape
Example #22
Strike
False Documents
New York Social Life
A Curious Phenomenon
Yankee See
Side 8: I Dreamed I Had To Take A Test ...
Running Dogs
Four, Three, Two, One
The Big Top
It Was Up In The Mountains
Odd Objects (for light-in-mouth)
Dr. Miller
Big Science
Big Science Reprise
(PART FOUR)
Side 9: Cello Solo
It Tango
Blue Lagoon
Hothead (La Langue D'Amour)
Stiff Neck
Telephone Song
Sweaters
We've Got Four Big Clocks (And They're All Ticking)
Side 10: Song For Two Jims
Over The River
Mach 20
Rising Sun
The Visitors
The Stranger
Classified
Going Somewhere
Fireworks
Dog Show
Lighting Out For The Territories
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Hope I haven't misspelled too many song titles.
-- Cheers, Bill Ingoglyjad@hpfclo.UUCP (jad) (06/18/85)
I'll put in my plug for USLive, too. If you like pop music, though,
forget it. This is DiFfEreNT! Not like other music. And yeah,
I too wish I had the visuals with it instead of just the album.
I saw her in concert and it was an art event, not a music show.
She is not just a musician, she's an artist.
And if you have Big Science, I do too, and USLive is still worth
it if you liked Big Science. Many of the tracks on the Live
album are vert different from the studio version; you're not
wasting the money. So get into it!
"This is not a paid advertisement"
-- jad --
UUCP: {ihnp4}! hpfcla!jad
ARPA: terrapin@purdue