April
19th marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Laurie Anderson’s
debut LP, Big Science, which was issued on this date in 1982. Featuring
the surprise hit single, O Superman, it took Anderson out of the
obscure corners of the performance art world and made her into a “new
wave” pop star.
Big Science was not Anderson’s first appearance
on vinyl. Anderson had previously recorded one side of a 2-LP set
titled You're the Guy I Want to Share My Money With, a collaboration
released on Giorno Poetry Systems with William S. Burroughs and John
Giorno. She had also contributed two pieces to a 1977 compilation of
electronic music. But this was her first album all on her own and it
was a showcase for material which had been part of a massive 8 hour
stage production, United States Live, which was a multimedia experience
where music was only part of the show. The success of this album helped
to put Laurie’s musical efforts into a far more prominent position in
her career.
A key distinguishing factor for this album was that
it put to use a number of technological innovations which were only
starting to become known in the world of popular music. Digital
samplers and effects processors allowed her to work with a palette of
sounds unlike anything else familiar to the record buying public at the
time. The few people who were using samplers back then were mostly
employing them for special effects and augmentation of more traditional
instruments. Anderson put those tools front and center and took
specific advantage of their potential for performance techniques beyond
the scope of conventional instrumentation. That’s not to say that
regular instruments weren’t used, but that they were seamlessly balanced
with the digital and electronic tools to create a combined sound that
was fresh and alien. Even the use of pitch shifting was novel at the
time and made her songs stand out as she modulated between her normal
voice, a deep baritone and a high pitched childlike patter. The fact
she could replicate this live was also something new for most audiences
and gave her a kind of magical presence, like an illusionist performing a
slight of hand or a space age version of ventriloquism where she became
her own puppet.
All these strange sounds were further
emphasized by her arrangements, which were kept to minimalist essentials
so that every nuance was highlighted in a way that brought focus and
attention to the austerity of each composition. O Superman is a
singular example of this approach as it rests upon a starkly simple
vocal pulse with little more than vocoder enhanced spoken word
accompaniment. Careful accents highlight the shifts in the extended
arrangement of the piece until, near the end, it starts to open up and
bloom before it finishes in a flutter of synth arpeggios.
Conceptually,
the album uses the same kind of dispassionate observational disposition
as David Byrne was doing with Talking Heads. Anderson offers
commentary on life and culture and human nature while weaving in a
subtle, but omnipresent sense of humor throughout each piece. Yet she
also manages to place in those perfectly poignant moments along the way,
like her heart warming “hi mom” in the middle of O Superman. Although
she sounds emotionally distant on the surface, it always feels like her
finger is still lightly touching a pulse of empathy and feeling
throughout.
I bought the album when it came out on the strength
of seeing the O Superman video on late night TV. The video for the song
is just as innovative as the music and just as minimal and stark. The
hook for the whole thing is the use of a small light which Anderson had
inside her mouth, creating the strangest dehumanizing effect. It made
her seem like some kind of android automaton in performance as she kept
her motions slow, mechanical and deliberate, though with a dancer-like
sense of grace and precision. It was enough to bring her to my
attention and get her album in my collection.
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