Classic Or Dud: Laurie Anderson's "O Superman"

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big science is an amazing record. let x = classic!

it shocking to me that suck a strange tune would be such a pop hit. it just goes to show you that your average radio listener could like songs that escape the usual formulas.

if only the industry at large would be as bold today. (and it tries and succeeds sometimes, i know, i know. but but but...)

― msp, Thursday, 11 September 2003 18:38 (twenty years ago) link

I will never forget the moment I first heard this song. It seems so quirky and funny at first, a typical Anderson parody of American consumerism.

And then this last verse:

"So hold me, Mom, in your long arms.
So hold me, Mom, in your long arms.
In your automatic arms. Your electronic arms.
In your arms.
So hold me, Mom, in your long arms.
Your petrochemical arms. Your military arms.
In your electronic arms."

It just chilled me to the bone. Still does.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Thursday, 11 September 2003 20:50 (twenty years ago) link

I enthusiastically second The Ugly One with the Jewels! Yes, it's technically a "spoken word" album, but it's remarkably atmospheric.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 11 September 2003 21:26 (twenty years ago) link

No doubt, Alex. "John Lilly" is like a mini-suite, the way it's structured. The wobbly two-chord undulations underneath "Maria Teresa Teresa Maria" do as much to create the mood as Laurie's wonderfully chosen verbal images.

― Eric H. (Eric H.), Thursday, 11 September 2003 21:30 (twenty years ago) link

when i was 14, a schoolteacher subjected me (and the rest of the class) to all of home of the brave (the film)! i still don't like it, but i like "o superman" as noted above.

― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 12 September 2003 06:50 (twenty years ago) link

There's a nice little segment on program #14 of the radio series American Mavericks about Laurie, and it discusses the inspiration for "O Superman," Massenet's "O Souverain" which has the line:

O souverain, o juge, o père

("O sovereign, o judge, o father")

― Ernest P. (ernestp), Friday, 12 September 2003 15:25 (twenty years ago) link

has anyone fallen as far as she? I regrettably made my girlfriend sit through the Moby Dick disaster of cheesiness she did a few years ago. Egads. Although I heard the performances immediately after 9/11 were more a return to form. The last album I bought was Bright Red and only like the eno production. Otherwise, she is beginning to seem like a casualty of the 80's, which is too bad.

O Superman though, outstanding.

― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Friday, 12 September 2003 16:51 (twenty years ago) link

has anyone fallen as far as she?

Her boyfriend, Lou Reed.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 12 September 2003 16:53 (twenty years ago) link

Yeah, just listen to that old people sex record he did about them. Yuck.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Friday, 12 September 2003 17:33 (twenty years ago) link

i refuse to believe that both of them are not gay

― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Friday, 12 September 2003 17:42 (twenty years ago) link

whatever, man

'mister heartbreak' is a wonderful album. 'big science' and her tracks on 'you're the guy I want to spend my money with' as well.

― jl (Jon L), Friday, 12 September 2003 18:04 (twenty years ago) link

This song got to number 2?!

Could Schneider TM & Kpt.Michigan - "The Light 3000" get to number 2? In the City of Sound perhaps.

I think this is the saddest song.

― David. (Cozen), Saturday, 13 September 2003 08:54 (twenty years ago) link

vinyl as pop art

― george gosset (gegoss), Saturday, 13 September 2003 09:39 (twenty years ago) link

pretty relevant these days -- "petro-chemical arms" anyone ?

― george gosset (gegoss), Saturday, 13 September 2003 09:40 (twenty years ago) link

can those western fossils really hear all their answering machines ?

― george gosset (gegoss), Saturday, 13 September 2003 09:43 (twenty years ago) link

"I think this is the saddest song. "

I saw Laurie Anderson live about 1 or 2 days after 9/11/2001 and When she sang this song just listening to the lyrics was so overwelming. "Here comes the planes, They're American Planes, Made in America"

Also, this is one of my alltime favorite songs.

― A Nairn (moretap), Saturday, 13 September 2003 20:22 (twenty years ago) link

"Here comes the planes, They're American Planes, Made in America"

That just gave me the chills.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 13 September 2003 20:55 (twenty years ago) link

I thought the exact same thing as I listened to this sitting on a train platform in Kilwinning today. I know reading post-Sept 11 resonance into lyrics which are clearly not meant thus is an irretrievable dud but it is quite poignant. The way she sings "Made in America... Smoking..." then that pause, you think she's talking about planes on fire. It's the first time I've ever felt anything about Sept. 11.

― David. (Cozen), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:35 (twenty years ago) link

Wow. Wildly out of context, yes, but stil.....creepy.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:37 (twenty years ago) link

classic. the first time i ever heard this song, i was getting into my car to go to school on a very cold canadian winter morning. it was on a university radio station. my car was parked in a spot that i never park in, only because my usual spot was taken. my stereo was turned up all the way from the previous night. the "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA" at the beginning scared the hell out of me because of the extreme volume and its repetative nature.

― astroblaster (astroblaster), Saturday, 13 September 2003 22:25 (twenty years ago) link

uh, don't forget her song "from the air" that's designed to be the first song you hear after you've heard the single and now bought the album -- that's about aeroplanes too y'know, and if you're american/ a smoker then probably another round of "chills"

(new zealand doesn't have that problem, well not since the french tried to blow up a Greenpeace protest boat, the bomb designed to explode when the boat would have had everybody aboard it, the Greenpeace people very luckily somewhere else by coincidence)

― george gosset (gegoss), Monday, 15 September 2003 06:59 (twenty years ago) link

that's about aeroplanes too y'know, and if you're american/ a smoker then probably another round of "chills"

And there I was thinking New Zealand was the land of Hobbits, not patronizing smartasses. Silly me.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 15 September 2003 11:51 (twenty years ago) link

i didn't think hobbits only lived in new zealand, or sorry, was that a skinny ?

― george gosset (gegoss), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 02:17 (twenty years ago) link

alex, on sept. 13th you seemed to be enjoying creepy

― george gosset (gegoss), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 11:33 (twenty years ago) link

Relax, Bilbo, I was just giving as good as I was getting.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 11:34 (twenty years ago) link

All lives need ghosts

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 11:46 (twenty years ago) link

one month passes...

what the fuck was I saying upthread about the D. Stewart / B. Gaskin "It's My Party"? it's an amazing deconstruction of the original song, a *comment* on it, and therefore quite a remarkable number one. Tom called that one right.

― robin carmody (robin carmody), Saturday, 15 November 2003 17:44 (twenty years ago) link

one year passes...

is this one of the earliest ilm threads?

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 05:58 (eighteen years ago) link

aside from being frightening and moving and spellbinding, this song almost got me laid

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 06:01 (eighteen years ago) link

i'm not convinced i'll ever hear this song in the way i did before 9/11/2001

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 06:04 (eighteen years ago) link

"hi mom!"

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 06:07 (eighteen years ago) link

This is the first thread I ever saw on ILM.

― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 07:56 (eighteen years ago) link

"O Superman" is absurd, monotonous, pretentious, tuneless nonsense, and in terms of melodic content compares unfavourably to other hit singles of the period, such as "Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie.

― Comstock Carabinieri (nostudium), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 08:01 (eighteen years ago) link

I like this song, except I always wish there was more of the synth counterpoint stuff that comes in at the end.

Ha, totally agree. Still classic of course.

― Ste (Fuzzy), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 08:34 (eighteen years ago) link

one night back in - o - 82 a mate and i listened to this on repeat while on acid for several hours. when i put on the second side of rock bottom he demanded i take it off and we put this back on.

classic.

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 08:45 (eighteen years ago) link

"Who are you people and what do you want?"

― Baaderonixxxorzh (Fabfunk), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 09:25 (eighteen years ago) link

and in terms of melodic content compares unfavourably to other hit singles of the period, such as "Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie.

You need a mouth diaper, `cos you talk an awful lot of shit.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 10:49 (eighteen years ago) link

No, you need a new pair of ears because you are the awful lot of shit if you cannot see that "O Superman" is repetitive, non-melodic and arty-farty. You should listen to some proper pop music of that period, such as Kim Carnes and REO Speedwagon.

― Comstock Carabinieri (nostudium), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 10:53 (eighteen years ago) link

No, you need a new pair of ears because you are the awful lot of shit

Brilliant.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 11:06 (eighteen years ago) link

some proper pop music of that period, such as Kim Carnes and REO Speedwagon.

And with one simple comment, Comstock was freed from the tiresome burden of ever having to be taken seriously.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 11:20 (eighteen years ago) link

Of course I understand why you are inimical to music. Because of the rhythm-dominant, unmelodic rock of Killing Joke you are deaf.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 11:28 (eighteen years ago) link

(I was going to post that as Comstock Carabinieri but I thought it best to let Alex down lightly)

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 11:29 (eighteen years ago) link

You're a flagrant whistlehead.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 13:54 (eighteen years ago) link

SO THE SONG THEN

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 13:59 (eighteen years ago) link

HOW BOUT IT

― jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 14:00 (eighteen years ago) link

no this is so much better

― lemin (lemin), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 14:44 (eighteen years ago) link

The song is an absolute classic, and has the same resonance for me now that it did when I first heard it, which is a simple, distilled feeling of melancholy.

The REO Speedwagon props above were a joke, right? Please tell me that they were a joke...

― John Justen (johnjusten), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 15:08 (eighteen years ago) link

The song inspired one of Greil Marcus' more unfortunate allusive/elusive pieces; but, yeah, classic. I wish "Big Science" was as good as the single.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 15:10 (eighteen years ago) link

"From the Air" is quite good.

― jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 15:12 (eighteen years ago) link

the whole records it great.

― jed_ (jed), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 17:05 (eighteen years ago) link

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