THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

659-Laurie Anderson-O Superman.

1981-Number 2 single.

Best Bit-At 2.40. If you know of a more unlikely song ever to make the UK top 40, then please let me know.

Laurie Anderson was born Laura Phillips Anderson, on June 5th, 1947, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, United States, you could call her a ‘Jack of all trades,’ but you would have to add, ‘master of many.’ During her long and illustrious career she has always tried to push back the boundaries, in the fields of ‘Pop Music,’ ‘Performance Art,’ and her multimedia projects. Laurie Anderson is also noted for inventing several devices that she has used in her recordings, in the genre of ‘Electronic Music,’ including the ‘Tape-bow violin,’ the ‘Talking Stick,’ and ‘Voice Filters.’ In 1992 she met the American singer/songwriter Lou Reed, (1942-2013) (see also best songs 401-165-131 and 58) the pair became romantically involved, and were married from 2008 until his death in 2013. The pair both worked together musically, contributing to each others recordings. The discography of Laurie Anderson includes seven studio Albums, released between 1982-2010, two Spoken word Albums, two official live Albums, and one compilation Album, she has also released an audio book in 2001, and has collaborated with several music artists since 1977, including Nona Hendryx, Jean Michel Jarre, and Nancy Wilson. Laurie Anderson has released 11 singles between 1981-2010, with only ‘O Superman’ charting, reaching Number 2 in the UK, Number 9 in the Netherlands, Number 11 in Ireland, Number 16 in South Africa, and Number 28 in Australia.

‘O Superman,’ which is also known as ‘O Superman (For Massenet,’) was the only single issued from Laurie Anderson’s debut studio Album,’Big Science,’ from April 1982, and was written and produced by Laurie Anderson. The genres of music that ‘O Superman’ can be filed under are ‘Electronic,’ Art Pop,’ ‘New Wave,’ ‘Experimental Pop, and ‘Minimalism.’ ‘O Superman’ remains one of the most unlikely songs to have become a hit single in the UK. It was the legendary BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel (1939-2004) (see also best songs 435) who championed the song, getting it on to the Radio 1 playlist, and therefore giving the general public a chance to hear something that they otherwise probably wouldn’t have.

In writing ‘O Superman’ Laurie Anderson has said that she drew from the aria, ‘Ô Souverain, ô juge, ô père” (“O Sovereign, O Judge, O Father,”) from Jules Massenet’s (1842-1912) 1885 opera ‘Le Cid.’ The first lines. ‘O Superman / O Judge / O Mom and Dad,’ echo the aria. The American musicologist Susan McClary suggests in her book ‘Feminine Endings’ that ‘O Superman’ may also have been inspired by Massenet’s 1902 opera ‘Le jongleur de Notre-Dame.’ The three musicians who played on ‘O Superman’ were Laurie Anderson, who provided the vocals, by using a ‘Roland VP-330 vocoder, which distorts the voice, the other most recognisable track to use a ‘vocoder’ in this ‘1000 Best Songs’ list, is the Electric Light Orchestra, with ‘Mr Blue Sky’ (see also best songs 25.) ‘O Superman’ was recorded on a sparse background of two alternating chords, formed by the repeated spoken syllable ‘ha,’ which was created by looping with an ‘Eventide Harmonizer.’ The flute, and the saxophone on the track were played by the American Perry Hoberman, and the organ, and keyboards, were provided by the Canadian artist Roma Baran. There is also a sample of bird noises, that can be heard at various points during the song.

‘O Superman’ addresses issues of technology and communication, in particular planes and arms. Laurie Anderson has explained the songs meaning, ‘In 1979, Iranian students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran. America went blazing in with helicopters to get hostages out, but it backfired. A helicopter and a plane crashed in the desert, we were left with dead bodies, and a pile of burning debris, so I thought I’d write a song about all that, and the failings of technology.’

‘Cause when love is gone, there’s always justice, and when justice is gone, there’s always force, and when force is gone, there’s always Mom.