Laurie Anderson on the post-9/11 interest in her 1981 song “O Superman”:
People did say, “Wow, it’s so prescient!” and they didn’t realize that it wasn’t me being ahead or behind. It was that we’re all stuck in a war that’s the same war. [laughs] It’s not something new. It’s presented, of course, in a very PR way, with its theme music and so on, as the Gulf War or the Iraq War or the Syrian War or whatever war. But it’s the same war. People are shocked at how “O Superman” makes its points in such a dynamic, contemporary way, but they don’t realize that we’re just replaying this over and over again. That aspect of people being extremely unaware of what’s going on makes me want to occasionally do things that have to do with politics and the way that we see the world, because I just feel like we’re in this weird deep sleep. And once in a while, you go, “Whoa! That’s so much like the last war!” But this is one long war, and we just keep doing it.
Dear Tumblr Followers, I know a lot of you are considerably younger than me. That’s totally cool. I’m not hating, and I don’t intend to sound like an old fart or a preachy turd, but if you don’t know Laurie Anderson, quit scrolling in your dashboard right now, stop staring at that animated gif above/below this post, and go watch this video right now (or watch below).
If you can slow yourself down enough, it will be the best 8:32 you spend all month, or your money back. Take it from your old Uncle Man.