Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Song of the Day: 'From the Air' by Laurie Anderson


I remember how excited I was when my oldest brother came home from college one weekend with a 45 of Laurie Anderson's "O Superman." With its artsy sleeve and minimalistic half-spoken, half-sung refrain, it was the closest thing to avant-garde a kid in Mesa, Arizona, had ever seen. Her debut album arrived shortly thereafter, and while it included that song -- a surprise hit -- as well as nine other tracks, it was the LP's eerie opener, "From the Air," that remains my favorite Anderson song to date. With it playful yet cryptic lyrics, coming from the captain of a plane that is about to crash, it beautifully escapsulated everything Anderson does so well. If you haven't heard it, you're in for a treat -- but be sure to fasten your seat belts, we are all going down, together ...

  

2 comments:

Darren said...

WOw, does this bring back memories. I would buy copies of New Music Express and search out songs/albums that sounded interesting. I remember reading about Laurie Anderson and driving to downtown Denver's WaxTraxx to buy the O Superman single. Then later on the album. I have been a long time fan and think she is a bit like scotch whiskey. You either love it or hate it. I am in the former category. Thanks for sharing this.

Unknown said...

Never knew that's where Robyn got the "...about to attempt a crash landing" lyric in "Bionic Woman." Weird. :-)