Laurie Anderson

Performance artist Laurie Anderson is best known for her United States Live, a staggeringly
witty, epic-length (more than six hours spread over two days in its staged version)
dissection of American politics and popular culture that established her as a major
art-world figure who could operate successfully on the fringes of pop. She's still not
making music that fits into any commercial radio format, but she does seem to be... More >

Multimedia ain't omnimedia, and if she ever gets to do a movie again I hope she hires Jonathan Demme or at least Julien Temple. A credible groove ain't a compelling groove, and I'm inclined to blame the auteur rather than Nile Rodgers, Jimmy Bralower, or even Adrian Belew. But this soundtrack establishes her as a dynamite entertainer nevertheless. Her timing and intonation are so slick that even when she says something strange you catch yourself taking it for granted. Most of her material is perfectly comprehensible to anybody with a working knowledge of lower Manhattan. And if you're thinking this is faint praise, stop condescending--she's got more to say than 98 percent of those plodders, stumblers, and lurchers whose chief aim in life is keeping their avant-garde credentials in order. (Grade: A-)