LAURIE ANDERSON - GRAVITY'S ANGEL

[spaceboy537]

Why hasn't this been remastered and reissued on Blu-ray yet?

[ratsaremac]

I saw her in Richmond Va but I remember the show being at the Carpenter Center downtown? A Synclavier coupled with twang bar king's arsenal of Roland gear plus earth shaking percussion and the crispest clearest stereo audio ever made it one of the best concerts I have ever seen. Rock on forever Laurie I will always love you.

[SupersnakeLivesTo100]

Hearing this today transports me into an otherworldly dimension just as effectively as when I first heard Laurie's recording in 1986.

[zoolook76]

late show is not available?

[futuristfood]

julia heyward is cool.

[zerocrossing]

I was an intern for Laurie on this project and let me tell you, hearing it 28 years later I still get goose bumps when that bell sample starts! Classic.

[netsR0T]

<3

[probrojeffro]

What's she doing these days?

[netsR0T]

@probrojeffro -- touring with her husband, Lou Reed :)

[probrojeffro]

@netsR0T Cool. Thanks.

[skipmendler]

the only problem with this movie: too many closeups of Laurie (as much as I love her!) when one really really really wants to see what *else* is going on within the stage picture... like for example what David Van Tieghem is doing!

[JCSeibel]

Saw her live at the Mosque in Richmond VA in the mid-80's. Even better in person (amazing amazing show).

[Bfdidc]

@JCSeibel I saw her then at the Mosque too! And a couple of times since.

[mARCarchitectureaz]

Wonderful thx for posting. Saw her performance in 84, Gammage Hall, AZ St. Great acoustics, intimate.

[HpRoth100]

it seems so

[Daisan]

....magic....can´t get enough...

[exzealient]

more creativity in 4 bars than most bands in their entire repetoire

[drogheda1966]

I cannot remember the last time I had goosebumps...

[devilsgateway]

Genius



[odovicor]

luv it

[christopherawesome]

30 seconds of title screens is a bit much

[trampismat]

@christopherawesome yep, it's a real distraction from the genius of Laurie's film.

[memuaddib]

awesome

[ellenszer]

i need to remain the clone of her s.

[xnonsuchx]

One of the few cases of a live version being better than the studio version!

[HayaKusanagi]

asian instruments, right?

[xnonsuchx]

@HayaKusanagi - Some of the percussion, perhaps, but the others are mostly US/Europe.

[WeisserAlarm]

"Home of the brave" was such an important performance - and it is not available on DVD... So thanks for uploading!

[rullrich100]

Almost 30 years old, and as fresh as when it arrived. Anderson is brilliant.

[MrCaptaindan]

i, tell ya this is gold ....why because she make a real world that right!

[xwaystranger]

Complete NY mind masturbation.

[bercik1964]

Ade's the guy!

[HinknownUnson]

She's a bad mamma jamma.

[odovicor]

Its equivalent must come from the otherworld/netherworld. As much as love all kinds of music, even the white bread of 60's pop, I find absolute joy and amazement in this esoteric, ethereal performance.

[helgejanssen]

fantastic version! sax to make tuxedomoon proud!!

[helgejanssen]

fantastic version!

[TheGeoffgeoff]

I remember being disappointed by the movie; after watching everyone have fun in "Stop Making Sense" it seemed like "Watching Laurie Anderson play with her toys."

But wow: it still seems fresh, despite the change in fashion...

[ochrerobe]

The esotrica of art - how does this make you feel....

[clipsupreme]

One of the most awesome Anderson performances I've seen. She's on fire and on full throttle

[skipmendler]

Beginning of this clip illustrates one of the problems I had with the HOME OF THE BRAVE film - too many closeups! I wanted to see more of the stage as a whole - and in this case more of Van Tieghem's work on this cut

[AidanJeans]

I first discovered this in the trailer for "Naked Lunch." Great piece!

[alessialen]

I LOVE IIIIIIIIIIIIT!

[BasiaMona]

LOVE IT! thank U for sharing IT with us! & thank U Laurie! what a talent/brain U have! yummm!

[HaloSvevo]

along with Talking Head's Stop Making Sense this is the best concert film I've ever seen.

[carolynhowell35]

i remember listening to walking and falling back in the late 80's early 90's always while sun bathing, was hooked instantly :)

[PaulieCV64]

even BETTER them the recorded 1 !!! loved&favorite it :P

[JonValkenberg]

thanks a million! I saw the movie when it came out in 84. Some parts were absolutely fixed in my mind (langue d'amour, lily, gravity's angel...) but i could nowhere find the video. Now you posted all of it here. GREAT!!!!!

[warwickharris]

hi stockhausen, one of my faves - itz not from home of the brave - itz from ''Mr Heartbreak'.

[LordBalto]

The musical part of this is on one of the shorts on the DVD of Cronenberg's Naked Lunch.

[greifocs]

INCREIBLE!!!!!!ZARPADO



[MrDETALHE]

magnífico...............

[JoshuaTaylor]

While I prefer the studio version, (life-altering for me) this is pretty darned good. I've been playing guitar and piano for 30 years now, but I've never encountered anything with rhythmic structure. It's hypnotic and unforgettable. As for the meaning of the lyrics... Well, let's not go there. "This ugly room...."

[minischa1906]

dermasen genial habe mich grade neu verliebt in ihre musik

[CafeAlpha]

I love this, though I think the audio punctuation of the studio version is missed. If you've never heard the studio version, you should find it.

[tonymakkar]

absolutely amazing--makes me shudder and wanna cry--wow--the recording on the cd is even better, but to the see the scenes from Demme's take on the show--incroyable!

[odovicor]

What a song, what a performance!!! Is that Wallace Stevens' "man with the blue guitar"?

[toodlebug500]

@odovicor It's Adrian Belew on guitar, from King Crimson, done stuff with Talking Heads, amoung others, he's a dude! :)

[odovicor]

@toodlebug500 Thanks for the info, but I was alluding to the poet Wallace Stevens' trope, "the man with the blue guitar." You said it, "he's a dude." Stevens for me is the poet's poet, and LA, along with her fab musicians, is the artist's artist. I remember King Crimson even before I first heard LA in the 80's. Now you know wat a fossil I am! LOL Best!!

[BLUESMANRONCHICAGO]

@toodlebug500 LAURIE IS IN MY MIND THE FEMAL COUNTERPART OF DAVID BYRNE, THOUGH THEIR MUSIC IS DIFFERENT, THEY BOTH HAVE THAT INTENSITY IN THEIR PERFORMANCES, AND NO MATTER HOW BIZARRE THEY MAY SEEM TO ACT, IT DRAWS YOU IN

[warwickharris]

@BLUESMANRONCHICAGO thatz because laurie is NOT bizarre at all - shez totally ingenious and sussed...

[BLUESMANRONCHICAGO]

@warwickharris did not mean to say she was bizarre, but i should have used word ecclectic, and i agree she is a genious

[adamfirebear]

These songs are supercomplex. That's an amazing amount of talent on stage!! Hard to take your eyes off any of the virtuoso musicians who're making it look easy. Mesmerizing!!

[MariaTool]

i love this woman :)

[tallgreenalien]

That's my favorite Laurie Anderson of all time! I blew an amp one time playing this extremely loudly! It was the song my audiophile friends and I liked to listen to all the time. Unlike anything I've ever heard. So much depth of soundstage, you feel totally immersed in it.

[HasumiAmane]

I'm only 14, but I've been listening to these masterpieces for a long time. I must say that this is one of my favorite songs. I just can't stop listening to it!

[scottjhnsn]

you quite possibly maybe the coolest 14 yr old i've ever come across ;)

[alexandriaheather]

I need every one of these instruments. Now.

[JoshuaTaylor]

This song, in a way, changed my life forever. As a studio cut from "Mr. Heartbreak", back in my chemically altered days with Peter G's vocal backup...Let's just say I'll never get over it...

[Aqene1000]

This movie blew us away in the mid 80s.

Saw it 7 nights in a row..........a refreshing

break from madonna who was huge then

[BLUESMANRONCHICAGO]

@Aqene1000 this movie along with Talking Heads "Stop Making Sense" falls into same category, absolutely mind blowing to watch an entertainer the likes o Laurie Anderson Or David Byrne, priceless.....................­..............

[trampismat]

@Aqene1000 very jealous of you Aquene1000

[benloe1]

I think this is one of the best top 10 in my life. I am 54.. This is Fricking Great

[odovicor]

It has everything. A pop culture oracle--with its mysteries, riddles and answers all contained within itself. Hell, just go along for the ride! I first heard this about 25 years ago, on her album release. THIS live performance is equally good--with more sound effect. It moves me like Birgit Neilson singing ELEKTRA. My top 10, too.

[jackhillty1]

me too

[xnonsuchx]

I'm 40...saw this 'movie' when it came out. Can't recall a better 'art' movie experience. The song live is better than the studio version too.

[vampyrewitch]

She's so young and pretty in thiis vid! :)

[nefersguy]

20 years ago I thought Mr Heartbreak was the most futuristic music I ever heard, I think the same thing today. No one can touch her in vision!

[stevepaselli]

Hey, that's Adrian! Adrian BELEW! Wow.

[mystenzo]

The album Mr. Heartbreak is 20 years ahead of NOW! In 1984 it was predicting the future. Genius.

[kosalet]

An exceptionally QUALIFIED and interesting music (jazz-rock?).

[Loopjump]

First time i see this performed live. Home of the Brave reminds me of autumn '84, except: "and at his funeral all his friends stood around looking sad.

but they were really thinking of all the ham and cheese sandwiches....".

That line popped up after a friends funeral, while the ham & cheese sandwiches were served.

My thoughts at the funeral were about decay.

[ArtsPatron2008]

Right on Loopjump-

I've used the "sandwiches" line many a time since 1984- and made the windows SHAKE with the percussion on this piece. FOND memories of Madison, Wisconsin, roommates, parties...

[blyson]

i love how he whacks the plywood

[reretacnala]

I remember this LP coming out many years ago around christmas time. A friend and I played it over and over and over all christmas day. One of those desert island moments.......................­.....

[theholygoes]

quality xxxxxxx

[odovicor]

I hope Shakespeare can see this! She's Ariel.

[jruona]

Always one of my favorites of her work. The original is incredible but this is great to see again. I have this video somewhere, but a long time since I've seen it. Very cool seeing Adrain Belew on this as well.

[acebass2]

only in the 80's could LA become any sort of star. That's what was great about that decade

[tokyohalogen]

Disagree. She could easily have contoured whatever impulse she had to want to make music into something that would be equally comprehensible and incomprehensible to whatever generation.

[jim15215]

@acebass2 You are correct. Also, the 70's also had their days. I know from personal experience that people like Joe Smith at Warners actually was into the music... not the financial bottom line. Lately, the accountants have taken control, but give it time... there will always be others to come that will discover real talent (as LA), bring it to the forefront, blow away the posers, and redefine the true elegance of creative musicianship. As always, the wheel keeps turning.

[mrporpol]

does anybody have her artistic song ' BABY DOLL' for posting, i really love it !!!

[cuttersboi08]

I wish!! One of my favorites pieces!

[melonrat69]

dissssturbing!

[dirtyfishydishcloth]

awesome sonics and visuals at the end, there

[tunderlo]

igen, nagyon szép....

[blahmfingblah]

You know, she has a beautiful singing voice. I wish she would use it more these days.

[spadehatesscrewtube]

a lovely singing voice, a lovely singing voice. :)

[blahmfingblah]

This was right before Adrian's tour with the new King Crimson!

[blahmfingblah]

By golly that is Adrian Belew!!

[anthonypi]

an absolute treat!! only saw her once live ..been a fan since the first album

[blahmfingblah]

Is that Adrien Belew?

[diggerby126]

Absolutely brilliant - that's why I'm a big fan of LA.

[Albinus321]

I saw her live in Montreal in 1988. Wonderful.

[pseudonym1964]

And she is amazing live!

Best when she is alone on stage with all those strange instruments... magician!

[JAZZWOLFEN]

unbelievable ... all these years I paid her no attention at all ... i had no idea... my mind is officially blown!

[odovicor]

Isn't she fantastic. Can you imagine living in backwoods Kentucky, where the imagination has been so tamed among the untamed wilderness and then hearing L.A.? First heard her in the mid 80's and she's been a favorite ever since.

My mind, too, was blown!!!

[michaelmouse1]

@JAZZWOLFEN everyone deserves a good blowjob.

[xnonsuchx]

@michaelmouse1 - except those freaks who don't enjoy it ;-)

[trampismat]

@JAZZWOLFEN well said! My mind was officially blown too, the first time I watched this film back in the mid '80's

[MadameBeekeeper]

I've only heard the studio version... and YEARS ago.. this is actually giving me chills!!!

"I loved you better"

[odovicor]

@MadameBeekeeper

Every song, poem ought to have at least one golden line. "I loved you better" is the golden line from this wonderful song/performance. LA trumps the significant other with this line.

[chrisb4nu]

Totally firickin awesome. Lauri is timeless and the ultimate entertainer. I studied some of her "performance work" work in college as well..

[jburyfall]

Ever read The Nerve Bible? I highly recommend.

[chrisb4nu]

Will have to check it out. Thanks!

[lyricessence]

Me too. First saw Laurie on film in a classroom. Thanks, Mike Vanden Heuvel!

[michaelmouse1]

@chrisb4nu Pity you didn't learn to spell her name right. LOLOLOLOLOL

[muzzleray]

Clevinger bass

[Gnobbee]

Wonderful stuff... never ages.. I've seen her 4 times over the past 20 years.. utterly beautiful... I thought I had her complete collection(uk here).. but I've not seen "Life on a String",,it must be recent yes?

[tomaszSz75]

Life on a string is not so recent, released in 2001. I guess her last studio album. Nicely packaged.

[deadmorrow]

I like this, first time I've seen it, never heared of Laurie Anderson before as I can recall but I hope one can buy this somewhere.

[Yltrin]

Funny fact: I first heard about this woman during my last English test at school. Some kind of report about her... and it got me interested, I looked her up and there she is: one of the most unique and creative artists i've ever seen. Absolutely wonderful!

[Radharc]

Totally blows the studio version out of the water...

[MisterKamikazi]

Woah, that's like an electronic gong the percussionist is using. Pretty cool!

[GrossKcar]

I've got every recording she's ever made, but this song stands alone. BEAUTIFUL. Does anyone know the name of the second to last song's title on the "Life On a String" album? I can't find my cd, and want to get a link to it here! It has lyrics in it which go something like, "Hate is like a diamond...perfect...". She also talks about the "Egyptian's burning the rags of their ancesters for fuel" as well as "I'm a little teapot."...Great song!

[Kafeifei]

That is called "One Beautiful Evening"

[GrossKcar]

Thank you, K! I found the CD yesterday! hahaha...typical. Now my damned disc player refuses to play or rip it. Won't play TOOL's 10,000 Days either, and both are in pristine condition. I've been looking for "One Beautiful Evening" for a long time on You Tube, and also on playlist sites, and it's just not there.

[sideorder]

I am a fairly "steady freddy" kinda guy w/ my emotions propperly tamped down for whatever the american male sorta standard is~ THIS song made has made me cry several times over the years-and I still don't know why. I lack the words to praise Laurie Anderson

[spadesghost]

then you're a normal well adjusted adult, which an accomplishment in itself in todays world. congrats, and i agree with you, so you're not alone.

[BaldexSoldier]

Across the years - she can still play my soul's strings.

Thanks!!!

[zeezberlin]

Absolutely Stunning!

[dutchie1959]

Thank you so very much for sharing this! Beautiful song, wonderful singer. I am touched once again by great music!

[Lecksmiamoarsch]

Thats another dimension of music. We have to prepare our kids for this. Keep feeling young and mystical everybody - one love.

[martyestrada]

That gave me chills. I've only heard the one with Peter Gabriel backing her up from the original album. She certainly is dynamic. Thanks for the killer memory.

[spadesghost]

that ending is A LOT creepier than i remember the song to be ..

[maurrod]

Still one of the best works "Home Of The Brave"

[agusua1]

amazing voice and performance...why I haven't heard it before???but, it's never too late...

[Ascentia]

Incredible. Thank you so much for posting!

[JonsMusicVidOnline]

This song was a profound influence on everything I do~

[daveonly9]

WOW! This is overwhelming, Laurie is simply gorgeous. Thank you for uploading.

[ThingyBlahBlah3]

Thank you so much for putting this up!  I've been looking for it for a long time.

[dethspud]

"You can see in the dark.

But I've got one thing:

I loved you better"

Luff the Lar!

Be Well.

[Truedantalion]

Very nice. And Adrian Belew is a very good addition to the atmosphere.

[khamsin59]

One of my favorite Anderson pieces of all time. So melodic and yet, I've never met a musician (including me) or a professional dancer who has ever been able to count the meter of this song. It's so completely asymmetrical and yet it seems to immerse you so completely that you could dance to it...if you had a mind to, that is :)

[stockhausen]

Im glad u enjoy the video. I posted pretty much the whole show. Check it out.

[zavinullava]

I don't think "thank you" quite expresses my feelings - I love you for posting all of these!

[kabosht]

I read in an interview that she said 27/13 was a "typical" time signature she was using around this time. No wonder it's hard to count...

[splankhoon]

@khamsin59 It's a straight metre with varying accents. Makes it sound like a musical start-stop animation. Try this : take a 4 to the beat and change the accents constantly (in triplets, quavers, etc...). The music becomes very powerful and unique. Zappa did this a lot on his synclavier compositions.

[spadesghost]

I bet laurie really admired david bowie

[quasarsphere]

Given Bowie's fantastic cover of "O Superman" I'd hazard a guess that the admiration's mutual.

[spadesghost]

i only said that because it recently just dawned on me how similar they have been,

yes im slow. but a huge fan and always have been. i loved her littlespot on snl, forget what year though, it was really groundbreaking video at the time, yet sort of like max headroom

[stockhausen]

No problem. It's always a pleasure to serve you here at the Jai-Jira Music Research Laboratories.

[khamsin59]

This is even more haunting than the studio version. Thanks for posting it.

[odovicor]

This is the first time I've seen this post, and I'm as mesmerized as when I first heard the album cut over 20 years ago. Haunting--a good word to describe the lingering quality. It touches something primal in us, but not cruel.

[dangerousmezzo]

Brilliant. Thank you so much for posting this. I love and admire Anderson's work, and to see her there, with Adrian Belew and the other geniuses with whom she collaborated, is such a thrill.

[cosmos34]

And people think Julia Roberts is beautiful ...

[ReubenFTourettes]

This is completely sublime. Always been one of my favourite Anderson songs. Never knew Laurie could play the bass before. Apparently this song was inspired by Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow" which I'm readinmg at the momment. Not that far into it yet so I haven't seen the link. Great book though.

Ruby

Xox