Laurie Anderson: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

[@JacksonBloomston]

We may not deserve Laurie, but the world sure needs her.

[@EastmanD]

isn't that the frickin' truth !!!

[@frankalfar]

I'm hoping she's working on the pandemic world as she sees it........it she sees all of the frailties....

[@lazysingledaisybronwyn8105]

Jackson, perfectly said.

[@drdalewisely]

As much as Laurie Anderson is appreciated, Laurie Anderson is under-appreciated.

[@lazysingledaisybronwyn8105]

@@drdalewisely always ahead of time, very primordial and perfect NOW. So, blossom ...

[@shannondudley3757]

Im a 56 year old man covered in battle scars from a life lived hard, . . .and i just cried for 18 minutes straight. Tears for the 16 boy that loved Laurie Anderson. Transcendent. ❤

[@ortem000]

💖💖💖

[@JacksonBloomston]

I’m in tears too

[@giovannitala4452]

I was there crying with you...literally

[@charlesfaggart8179]

Half your age and I’m crying with you. Hoping I have an opportunity to earn more battle scars along the way to age 56. An unscarred body is a sign of a boring life.

[@narq5099]

I have that same nostalgia. Not crying, but smiling widely- from my heart to my face.

[@markburman57]

I randomly throw in the line "He may have been a hat check clerk at an ice rink" in conversation, and while nobody ever knows what I am talking about, it makes me happy. Saw Laurie A in Princeton NJ sometime around '84

[@davidjordan84]

I do a lot of public speaking, and I constantly use that entire lyric to test the sound system. You're right: no one ever knows, and they often think it was written specifically for practicing enunciation or testing PA systems.

[@KimBLloyd1]

o mai. i must use this .

[@patrotten1284]

I saw her 4 times. Twice in Buenos Aires, 1992...Madrid 2007 playing with Lou Reed, and the last time, Buenos Aires 2015...And waiting for the next time🔥❤️❤️🎇🎇🎶

[@tarablue05]

my go to line is "thinking about the ham and cheese sandwiches in the other room." lol

[@duraosunda]

Try it again in a Beyonce discussion forum, you may have better chances.

[@hugobosscpt]

Oh my goodness. I just discovered Laurie and I'm OBSESSED! Wow!

[@LaurieCoco-t8z]

ENJOY!

[@christinehagen5454]

[@PassengerMX]

O Superman is the song that cracked my mind open to the beauty and power of music. My life was one before seeing this come up on MTV and another one after.

[@bernlin2000]

This woman is just working on a different level, what else can you say? True living artwork.

[@ToddPalmerVFC]

Well put.

[@arthurhermann9187]

I was incredibly fortunate to meet Laurie Anderson at UC Davis when I was an undergraduate there about 1978. She was brought in as a visiting guest artist. She was relatively Unknown at that point and those of us who were fortunate enough to hear her lecture and take part in an answer question session, we’re pretty blown away, just by what she said, and how she thought. Later that evening, she performed for us in a room which held about 150 people. We stumbled out of there, stunned by her amazing performance and more importantly, the concepts presented and the unique way she presented them. Probably the most exceptional artistic experience I have ever experienced, and I will forever be grateful for it.

[@BecauseSymbols]

Big Science was my mother’s house-cleaning album for most of my childhood.

[@yvettedouglass4642]

That is soooo cool!

[@dudleybarker2273]

Stan bless your mother :)

[@JF-kv1gm]

Would love to have lived in your house!

[@SpecialMutt14]

i think that i would have liked your mother

[@jojosfunkythreads]

Lucky you.

[@cameron4599]

The magic is still radiating from her eyes. Her facial expressions ALWAYS fascinated me. Oh, I do love this artist.

[@weareallstardust1859]

Laurie has a singular voice that is the personification of art in America. She is the epidome of innovation & authenticity, the true embodiment of love & compassion, while managing to remain totally unassuming. By my estimation, she sits at the apex of genuine humanness. I'm incredibly grateful that she exists, because she reminds me that the negativity & hate of our current paradigm is not our ultimate fate, but a bump in the road. Laurie Anderson is my North star, and I will follow her path to find my way home.

[@jmittell]

This was beautiful, and it's particularly poignant to hear Laurie singing "O Superman" in a duet with her own voice from 40 years ago.

[@anthonyhope2924]

To the people I loved, to the people I hurt, so many years ago, when we listened and conversed to Laurie Anderson. I am home now.

[@JF-kv1gm]

One of my regrets is not "getting" Laurie Anderson all those years ago. Still, better late than not at all. She was aeons ahead of the rest of the pack. Love this woman. 😍🙏🤗

[@dudleybarker2273]

you don't get Laurie... she gets you :)

[@tangowiwi]

We really don't realize how lucky we are to see this...

[@c.t5136]

I found Laurie on KZbin quite by accident and her music and words are life-effecting. Thank you Ms Anderson. Thank you, Tiny Desk.

[@tarrahassin3796]

Laurie Anderson was the soundtrack to living room dancing and laughing with my mom in the 80's. Smart, sardonic, irreverent-- such a seminal musical experience for a kid!

[@meggyblue3348]

Snapperoo! But swap the living room for holiday car journeys. Thanks for shaping our childhoods and subsequent adult openness and embrace of the weird and wonderful. Sending this to my mum and sister now 😊

[@65TossTrap]

Ya want to clear out a room? Put on a Laurie Anderson album in the eighties. Concert at Va Tech auditorium May 1981. After everyone ran out of the hall with their hands on their ears she let me read a weather report into her echo machine.

[@AnimeCatLady69]

Thank you so much for sharing this story I hope to share Laurie with my kids when I’m a mother :))

[@tarrahassin3796]

@@65TossTrap That's funny.

[@helenkusek2297]

Raised my kids on Laurie!

[@user-tx2ri3vv5t]

In 1981, my high school classmate Ted handed me an LP and said, "I think you'll like this." What an understatement. I put it on the turntable and was mesmerized as I listed to it four times straight. Laurie Anderson opened my eyes to storytelling, melody and harmony in ways I hadn't previously considered. I made a point of seeing her in concert every 5 years or so for decades. It's an absolute pleasure to see Roma Baran and Rubin Kodheli perform. Thank you for many years of beauty and joy.

[@johnquattrociocchi2639]

I’ve been on this earth for 40+ years. How am I now just discovering the musical genius which is Laurie Anderson?

[@MrDisasterboy]

This is gratifying in every way except instantly. Hilarious, trivial and playful yet profound, insightful and revelatory. Abstract but emotional, nonsensical but considered. She said it to no-one, but everyone listened.

[@af7748]

Excellent liner note 💕 MrDisasterboy

[@BailelaVida]

@@af7748 Fully agree with ashly!

[@improziv]

Great comment

[@fishbear999]

Wonderful

[@nternetrat]

mm

[@1saregare1]

I just saw her tonight, we had a 10 second audience scream session and the one encore song had everyone doing tai chi moves. Unforgettable concert for sure.

[@robertsnyder995]

I almost never comment on anything KZbin, but I cannot help but express my love and appreciation for Ms. Anderson, as a fellow musician, artist, and visionary. She is unique, truly one of a kind. By the way, I was not hinting that I am a visionary.

[@Del-Lebo]

Happy Tears from a 55 year old who was formed and inspired by Laurie. Such happy tears and strength!

[@makeperceive]

I think in decades to come the world will look back on Laurie Anderson with more appreciation than now. I know she's an icon, but I think she's underrated. She was way ahead of her time and I'm sure she fought against sexism and patriarchy her whole career. What a powerful woman. Superman

[@nope-z5y]

Well, that was an unexpected treat.

[@ablakadabla3902]

50 years later...: still love what u are doing.. big thanks

[@susie8799]

Laurie Anderson is one of the most brilliant minds ever. Truly a once in a lifetime artist.

[@imlxh7126]

i. can NOT get over how happy i am that laurie's still making music. if there is any force in the universe to bless anyone, may it bless her.

[@shahlaahy4372]

From first demo...now..goosebumps...oh Laurie...you!❤

[@popetones7400]

What an incredible suprise...unbelievably welcome

[@jameslawson9315]

2 of my Favorite Songs by Laurie Anderson!

[@garyrichardson475]

Two years after the fact, I just stumbled upon this. This trio is great and Laurie Anderson still has the same punch to her music as she had 45 years ago.

[@AustinTXSlasher]

Yep, I just stumbled upon this Tiny Desk performance myself, and I really loved it.

[@RenéAyalaGonzalez]

belleza total...vanguardia..muy profundo....un viaje al corazon...gracias Laurie

[@jimnotman6902]

Laurie Anderson has always been an enigmatic warm blanket for me. I have to listen with my peripheral vision, if I look at her art straight on it usually doesn’t make sense. But later on, after it seeps into my subconscious - I get it (clarity) as I pet the dog or taking out the trash…

[@umdesch4]

This makes a strange kind of sense. I've been listening to her works again recently. Somehow, across the 5 albums I have, like muscle memory, I know every word of every line, right before she says it. It just seeps into your brain, even though you can't pin down exactly what any of it means.

[@louisew6395]

Used to rock my son to sleep to X=X 34 years ago. He is expecting his own baby now and alerted me to this concert. Laurie's magic is vast and generational and divine and she makes me cry at her sheer genius. Thank you.

[@jcuk000]

Just astoundingly beautiful. O Superman is, if anything, more relevant today than when it was written over 40 years ago. A true visionary.

[@PentameronSV]

0:00 - *Let x=x* (6:20) 7:32 - *Violin Cello Improv* [8:41] - *O Superman* (17:40) [17:55 - Tiny Desk team]

[@yumenodaidokoro]

0:15 me 🥰

[@sloanlance]

Thanks! This needs to be added to the video description or NPR should pin it to the top of the comments.

[@chinesecrested9528]

Thank you

[@martinmaccauley]

I'm 62 and was gob smacked when I first saw Home Of The Brave back in the late 80's. I'd loved O Superman and still have my single but I'd not followed Laurie at all until giving in and watching this Tiny Desk Home Concert. As I watched I was taken at how Laurie still carries her youthfulness. I closed my eyes during O Superman and revelled in the wondrous aural soundscape. Thank you Laurie for opening up my mind.

[@Harborseal]

Laurie is a genius so far ahead of her time back then. I was pretty sure she was a visitor from the future. Her music was the rare thing I listened to over and over.

[@elysionfields121]

Her music and art knows no time...no dimension....thank you Laurie.

[@stephaneamar3669]

Watching and smiling with lou

[@ijustneedmyself]

🥺

[@robertochiang8057]

I've lived the last 40 years loving Laurie. (I have bought all her albums, but have seen her live just ONE time). She, Roma (and me) have white hair now, but that doesn't matter, the music (and the feeling) is always strong. Thanks for allowing me to see her today!!!

[@kcgilford518]

Laurie you are an international treasure. I just want to say thanks. So, thanks.

[@108grog]

Her delivery (timing) is impeccable. And the word rhythm, .... all of a piece, ... the aesthetic, the style, ... the pièce de résistance . Epic, iconic, laurie is a cosmic gift.

[@TheTiki1111]

The Cello guy REALLY CARRIES this performance 😳

[@islapanorama]

I can't believe the Tiny Desk story! So amazing Laurie is finally featured here, the most important artist of the last 100 years to me.

[@dm1787]

I remember hearing O Superman on my turntable for the first time sitting in my darkened room in mid 80s from my grad student days. It was other worldly. Even though I don't get to listen to her much these days it is one of those hauntingly beautiful precious experiences that surfaces in my memory time to time and takes me back trying to relive that first time feeling. Had a chance to see her live couple of times many years ago. Remember listening to Strange Angels, Girl in a Red Dress for so many times. Now I am seeing her for the first time in a very long time. Everybody I liked and knew has grown older. Very glad to see she is still performing.

[@jojosfunkythreads]

Oh. My. Heaven. Thanks for this. This song led me thru so much life. Let x = x.

[@TaliaSheaLevin]

O Superman was my top played song of 2020. Thank you, Laurie.

[@Diecastclassicist]

He said, Aw, isn’t it…. I saw Lou through Laurie’s eyes and heard him through her voice for an instant. Thank you, Laurie, this was wonderful.

[@olegbulyga303]

The magic of Laurie Anderson music is so gravitating and mysterious so i can't able to come away from live Laurier's performance.

[@sharonrussell7799]

so full right now.... beauty- full... I have no words ... except thank you, Laurie Anderson and collaborators, oh, thank you.

[@annabrac]

Oh, Ms. Anderson ❤ When I was a kid (16 or some, now 52), I was lucky to meet "Big Science" for the first time. And it opened some beautiful doors...

[@lewt525]

Thank you David Lynch, NPR, you, Laurie and collaborators.!

[@user-hj1mk7zy6t]

Laurie Anderson is a gift from the Universe - thank you Universe

[@magicjoeblack5761]

I've been listening in rapt awe to this amazing woman for almost four decades and she has just reminded why and left my jaw hanging. Again. Total love and respect to Ms Anderson and the mighty NPR, the life-affirming soundtrack to my lockdown.

[@JedKelestron]

i’ve seen laurie countless times across the decades but haven’t heard live performances of those 2 songs since their creation so fun to hear them live again

[@ralphmunn6689]

How can something so unlike anything else in the universe have me in tears by the one minute mark? THANK YOU, Ms. Anderson, for existing. 🙏

[@ejt321]

I had to laugh at myself because when she started to play a Superman I got all wide eyed because I love that song so much. I love her freedom and innovation. I would so love to meet her someday.

[@deeliciousplum]

Laurie Anderson?! Wonderful! About a week ago, I had listened to O Superman. Throughout the composition, I was covered in goosebumps. Timeless artists are timeless. 🌸

[@shirleysun7456]

Laurie Anderson is one of the my fav American singers. Can't believe that her first studio album BIG SCIENCE has been released for near four decades! So much wonderful memories for the first time when I heard her works, especially BIG SCIENCE at UW-Madison when I studied as a graduate student there. As a Taiwanese, I am so happy about her collaboration with a Taiwanese VR artist in recent years.

[@seanmontgomery836]

[great cry] thanks miss anderson. I heerd u on cassettee dubbed round 35 year ago n memorized nearly all of yer album. Really cried joyously when i discovered bowie’s cover. People tell me that i dont realize how big an affect i have on others. You cant realize how much you have soothed and comforted me. Thank you.

[@ortem000]

There will always be room on my list of badass women for Laurie Anderson. I was captivated as a kid watching her and joyful today. Keep on keeping on Laurie...

[@markmower6507]

Thank You, Laurie Anderson.

[@jbgreer]

Hearing Laurie Anderson still brings that same moment of frisson that it did so many years ago. Thank you for the concert. What a wonderful way to start a day.

[@alliehill-sutherland5121]

Gawd it's been over thirty years when I first listened to this album, and it made an impression. It makes my heart very heavy and light and free at the same time.

[@MikeKobb]

I'm so grateful to have had the chance to see Laurie perform at least a half-dozen times live. Her work is always musically enjoyable, but also the ideas in her lyrics are so intellectually interesting, and delivered with a beautiful subtle sense of humor. Now that the pandemic restrictions are beginning to wane, I hope to be able to see her perform live again.

[@qwertyu30]

I discovered Laurie in the 80s. So inspiring. I played the violin and later the experimental violin. But nothing like she did or is doing. She is a pioneer and and a genius.

[@jazzturtle2508]

Laure has been one of my greatest inspirations in art, life, work.

[@kelvinwilson9217]

Laurie took O Superman to a whole new level, and she is as good today as she was from the start.

[@ltdada]

I first saw Laurie in the 80s... I was astounded then by the subtlety and vision of her work, even when it was monumental in scale. It was as prescient then as it remains now.

[@Dieter_Smits]

Once in a while I need to come back here and enjoy this incredible performance. ''I feel like I am in a burning building and I gotta go....". Thank you, Laurie, Roma and Rubin.

[@cellistry]

Do you think she had a foreboding of 9/11/2001? A bunch of the lyrics seem to point to it.

[@jihyounkim4506]

Thank you Laurie, really amazing Superman ! 고맙습니다 :D

[@jollygrim07]

The picture behind them is how this made me feel. The part about when force is gone there's mom had me tearing up. I've missed so much. What all else might have passed me by. 😔

[@NatetheAceOfficial]

I appreciate Tiny Desk bringing these interesting artists right to my morning coffee. I may not know anything about these last few artists, but I have enjoyed every one of them in their own way. Thanks.

[@MarcialGalaxio]

Each era has its spirit. The '80s were an era unto themselves, and Laurie Anderson was the artist who captured its spirit like no one else. This statement can only be corroborated or denied by those people who in the 80s lived through the wave of creativity that flooded the world, in some way similar to the 70s, but also with a unique perfume. Others reached out, but Laurie brought her essence to us and continues to do so, every time she performs her magic until now.

[@kens9531]

i have my degree in art history, and recently discovered laurie through o superman, and i never thought i'd get to see her perform. this is a blessing

[@peterhooper3391]

As a very young man, I carried United States Parts One Through Four from Fairbanks, Alaska to Santo Tomas, Guatemala in the middle-late 1980s. Laurie Anderson has been one of my Main Women ever since. (And, when the Matrix came out -- including the latest, Resurrections, I've greatly enjoyed saying Ms. Anderson in my best Smith voice.) Her work is perhaps the best soundtrack for the end of things that we know, as the unraveling continues.

[@MRBCA500]

I only just now discovered Laurie via the 60 minutes piece from Anderson Cooper. Her work blows me away. Before you can even reach a conclusion of whether you like it or not her sound captures you and you almost have no choice but to simply listen to the whole thing. That's pretty amazing.

[@1laurelei1]

So grateful to NPR Tiny Desk for continuing to bring us amazing music, right through the lost years. 🤟 Love y'all!!

[@Nilzebub]

One of the most beloved artists of my life in two centuries and sure to delight and provoke contemplation in many more. Hey, she’s probably already popular intergalactically. If I were an interstellar cosmonaut, I’d be listening to her. Wouldn’t you?

[@Guilleprofeco]

No words, just love and admiration to the Great Laurie Anderson.

[@Carinas]

What an excellent surprise! It has just cheered up my morning. Thanks!

[@garyrichardson475]

I think this may be the best Tiny Desk Concert ever.

[@halichummel2918]

One of the greatest living artists.

[@POET444]

this free space for art to still exist is everything to me...... OMG this is the most important piece of lockdown work on KZbin ...after all these years the vision of 'big science' has been realised through an uncomfortable platform with such dignity and strength... more important now then ever ..through 9/11 or Covid or Lou this survives us....thank you very much tiny desk for putting it out. I just wanna say thanks for........

[@albertomerola9127]

40 anni fa...ma questa musica è "invecchiata" benissimo...anzi, è ancora meglio ascoltarla oggi... spero che Laurie Anderson ci faccia il regalo di un concerto qui a Roma!

[@Del-Lebo]

What an amazing Human! First record i got from the library when I was 8. born in 1966! Still love your hair and science/music

[@ofwonderandwander]

Laurie is such a master.of dynamics. Legend. ❤️❤️

[@WoRN808]

Heartbreaking and wonderful. Loved Laurie Anderson's music from when I was a kid and this was all new. Helped me in so many ways. Influenced my whole life. Glad for this performance. Thank you Laurie Anderson and the crew. And Tiny Desk for making this space for wonderful music to take place and be out there.

[@robertcox14]

Thank you, Laurie! STILL great songs that I move to.

[@johnrigby1861]

Is it 40 years ago since I first heard Laurie Anderson's Superman .... amazing back then and amazing today. This 18 minute concert is amazing, pure joy and an absolute pleasure.

[@darrenspooner1482]

She is a legend. Amazing artist

[@macielfelipemarcos]

What a gift on a Friday! Thank you Tiny Desk and thank you Mrs. Laurie Anderson!

[@elisabethseeger5837]

Mesmerizing inexplicably! Love it!

[@bernardobuffa2391]

I cannot help to give different meanings to O Superman lyrics each time I listen. This song is just an eternal voice.

[@dynasoftbg2571]

Zwei meiner Lieblingsstücke von Laurie Anderson, und so wundervoll dargeboten. Oh Superman ohne Vocoder, schon ziemlich geil. Einfach wunderbar.

[@redridinghoodB]

Sie ist die Heldin meines musikalischen Erwachsenwerden. Und beide Stücke sind mit ihr wunderbar gealtert. Nich haut es immer weg, wenn ich sie live sehe, dieses Jahr ist es mal wieder soweit.

[@LaurieCoco-t8z]

SHE IS A GIFT !!!!!!!

[@kathyerickson9402]

Thank YOU Laurie Anderson. That was lovely!

[@danieldale7320]

This is where I go when I want to curl up like someone does with a book I'm sure every one thinks I'm a lunatic because I can't not aaaaaaaa ahhhhaaaaaa. Thank you goddess please don't ever stop