For those who are curious about what this song means is that the line, “Hello? This is your mother, Are you there? Are you coming home?” Is from a mother writing to her son in war and the line “Well you don't know me, but I know you” Is the Chief of her son's military team writing a letter back to the mom letting her know that her son has died due to not surviving the war.
@@albertogregory9678 You won't because there isn't anything. That's stxrzrxvzn's interpretation. Just search the song meaning online and you will find much better information. For example, Anderson drew from the aria from Jules Massenet's 1885 opera Le Cid. The first lines ("O Superman / O Judge / O Mom and Dad") echo the aria. It is also considered a commentary on the Cold War.
I think this song is delightfully surreal and by nature evades this kind of direct interpretation. I think its less about war and more about change, sudden and inevitable. A dialogue between a person and the things about to happen to them. On the one side is a person, a strange one, or perhaps made strange only by the context - and something more, unknowable and eldritch. The person attempts to make sense of what they're being told now, but they don't have the tools to do so. They can only wait and see what the voice was talking about, seek comfort in justice force and mom before the shoe drops. That's how I interpret it
The song is criticizing the use of cold war-era military technology. I think the "parents" are referring to the idea that the military industrial complex keeps citizens safe like parents keep children safe. The synth voice beat is meant to mimic an artificial heartbeat to show how there is an offputting and dark side to this. "so hold me mom, in your long arms, in your petrochemical arms, your military arms"
This song sounds to me like the sound of a mind breaking, falling into madness. Pain, sadness, heartbreak, loneliness, and emptiness have overcome it, and it breaks.
Even then, this song is a deep help when tapping into my time when I became undone. The sounds, the words, the mother, this song is the embodiment of my psychosis while simultaneously holding deep political messages about war.. people have the ability to interpret and it’s beautiful..
Hi, Mom! 😥 Yeah, my Mama's in a care home with Parkinson's. Nonverbal, pretty much paralyzed, but her mind's still sharp as a tack. Breaks my heart, and there's not a damned thing I can do to help her. Jesus won't either, so to hell with Him too.
"Mom" is about America resorting to emotional manipulation when all else fails to justify bombing innocent people. "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". There's nothing wholesome about it. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Maybe let everyone to interpret it on their own? Thats Art, it may have many reasons and inspirations to its existence but I just hate when someone find in Art/Music something to relate to and there comes the Rocket Prophet and explains they are wrong. Andersons words and performance are timeless and the song can be related to many Situations in course of history and Life of many people. War can be fought on the Front, in the Sky, under the Sea or in somebodys head and heart.
The hahaha in the background throughout the piece: it sounds like a woman's laugh, or like she's trying to catch her breath (but can't) while also sounding like a siren. It's very evocative
"Because 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, hi mom. So hold me, mom, In your long arms."
This is one of those obscure songs that doesn't get radio play cause it doesn't fit in radio, but somehow you are just lucky to stumple upon it and ones you hear it you can't leave it.
@@ag8454Nor does my matter whether or not it's experimental or popular. It exists as well in the future as it does in the past and present. It's timeless...until something changes! That's the whole point.
@@theodour8617 it’s both. Of course it’s embedded in its time but also it was way ahead of it’s time, not many people listened to this then, people just get it and dismissed it as “queer” in the slur sense of the word.
to me this song has always felt like the final sunrise at the end of the world, be it a personal and singular end or a true, apocalyptic end. There's such a melancholic and definitive grief to it, like taking a last look around at everything you've ever held in your heart and mind. A dawning of unavoidable and irreversible departure. it makes me need to lay down flat on the floor.
My mom is 84 I am 63 She passed away a month ago I knew it was coming-she reminded me, we all must go I was the one who cared for her, not knowing she was preparing me to go When my family calls to see how it’s going--i wish I could play this song out my mouth into the phone
I’m so sorry for your loss. I am terrified of losing my mother. I hope you’re doing as okay as you can be now, and remember your mother still loves you even if she isn’t here anymore.
As a 32 year old it warms my heart seeing the younger kids discover artists like Laurie and Kate Bush. The stuff I got made fun of for liking in the 00s as a teen.
Exactly this. Like my mom showed me Kate Bush and Laurie Anderson as a kid, and when I was in highschool people thought it was weird and dated. Now the youth bringing it back.
I feel so scared of this song. Its so haunting and intimidating but theres beauty here,sad, solumn but comforting beauty that both pushes you away but makes you run back for more...like a mother of some sort. The fear, the comfort, the sadness, the beauty.
I was honored to talk to Mrs Laurie the other day . I told her that I was a huge fan of her music. and I also said to her "Mrs Anderson O Superman sounds like it is due to be released in 2032." She instantly started laughing. She is one of the sweetest, kindest and appreciative artists that I've ever met.
The world has not caught up yet to what she’s communicating in this piece. I’m here because I’m contemplating how wokeness (postmodern Marxists) are so strongly pro-war, because a war culture is a war culture regardless of its self-proclaimed virtues. Laurie’s work was ahead of its time. If you haven’t heard of him, look up John Maus. His music and videos are similar to Laurie Anderson’s.
My siblings and I were obsessed by this album when it was released. Especially this song. We figured out an acapella version (4 voices) so we could sing it when we were working outside (we grew up on a small family farm). One time, after the verse "and when justice is gone.... there's always force" my bother ad-libbed "Hi force!" and we all completely lost it. So many memories made around this mesmerizing album. ❤
I have been working on a paper about this song for a month or so, and ever since I saw this comment I've heard "Hi force!" every time I listen to it lmao
"For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes." 😉
The difference in listening to this as an adult now compared to when I heard it as a child is breath-taking. It sounds so sinister and cataclysmic in an awesome end of the World way. You become so used to the constant beat that when it finally stops at the end it's like listening to a heart monitor stop ..... then all you are left with is silence wrapped in the petrochemical arms of 'Mom' .
@Alexandra Kulik: My mom was hell, total despair, vicious anger, malignant manipulation, and into violent delight ... against my sisters and I since I was 3 years old ans 2/3. So I have a very very different "perspective" of that song since the 80s.
O Superman O judge O Mom and Dad Mom and Dad Hi. I'm not home right now. But if you want to leave a Message, just start talking at the sound of the tone. Hello? This is your Mother Are you there? Are you coming home? Hello? Is anybody home? Well, you don't know me, but I know you And I've got a message to give to you Here come the planes So you better get ready Ready to go You can come as you are, but pay as you go Pay as you go And I said: OK. Who is this really? And the voice said: This is the hand, the hand that takes This is the hand, the hand that takes This is the hand, the hand that takes Here come the planes. They're American planes Made in America Smoking or non-smoking? And the voice said: Neither snow nor rain nor gloom Of night shall stay these couriers from the swift Completion of their appointed rounds. 'Cause when love is gone There's always justice And when justive is gone There's always force And when force is gone, There's always Mom. Hi Mom! So hold me, Mom, in your long arms So hold me, Mom, in your long arms In your automatic arms. Your electronic arms. In your arms. So hold me, Mom, in your long arms Your petrochemical arms Your military arms In your electronic arms
I was a teen when this came out and I remember my dad playing it on his high end stereo, quite loud. I thank him for introducing me to such a range of amazing music.
Yes, it's scary letting go. It's so strange to listen to and watch this weird thing time and again and still be moved by it. This is art and it's a masterpiece.
This song to me will always symbolize death's arrival to claim a loved one. I became obsessed with this song, constantly replaying the lines "Well you don't know me, but I know you" and "This is the hand that takes." I didn't realize it but my father would die after collapsing on the ground four days after I started listening to the song. I hadn't seen him in 3 three years and I know it probably sounds crazy but it felt it listening to this was a personal warning, as if the song was saying, "Death is coming for someone you love, so you better get ready." Such a powerfully haunting song and still one of the best I have heard.
I always took the “there’s always mom” line as smth sinister, and felt that my complicated feelings for my mother had been validated. Like when a parent claims theyre doing everything for your own good, but you know its hurting you more than helping. “I’m gonna use love to keep you here with me under my care and control, and if I can’t use love I’ll use justice (try to reason), and if I can’t do that I’ll use force, and even if I can’t do that I’ll still always be here and be a part of you because I’m your Mother”. Thats also the feeling i get from the call, like an overbearing mother who won’t stand to leave her child alone and the child has had enough of it. You’re never gonna outgrow mom (shes not gonna let you leave).
@@totallylegitenergy2559 All interpretations are correct, regardless of what is "intended". I think that you (probably) misread this comment, as it is not stating what the commenter believes to be a correct interpretation, but sharing the connection they feel to this song with others who may feel the same connection. The commenter might even already know this, and it wouldn't change what they said. Of course, I don't speak for them, I just saw this and was finally able to put the weird ahh thoughts in my head into words for once.
@@skz_mus Not all interpretations can be correct, especially when it's a historically based song, if they want to attach their own personal feelings that have nothing to do with the song that's fine, I just thought it would be good to clear up the actual meaning of the song since it is a memoriam to both what happened to the people that were taken hostage, and those six service members who lost their lives attempting to retrieve them.
I get it why people find it disturbing but I find it peaceful on a ethereal (?) level. Nothing extreme or in your face being loud. No immense build up. Just almost like a ocean wave on a calmer day
Im so glad that "well you dont know me but i know you" is becoming popular on tiktok rn, makes me so happy to hear a song i love used in such a meaningful way Edit: I'm referring to the videos that use this to connect with deceased relatives, rather than those sharing mental health issues with others. If y'all could stop trying to argue that a visceral connection some have with those who led similar lives isn't meaningful just because it's on tiktok, that would be fantastic 🥰
This song always moves me to tears, and makes me realize how mean I was to my mom growing up my whole life, and how much I wish I could’ve changed my behavior. I love her so much and shes getting older, we’re losing time and I don’t want her to pass away thinking I didn’t love her with my whole heart. Laurie Anderson really was way ahead of her time with this song, absolutely beautiful and brilliant.
@@marielpare8290 I know. Just saying the “mother” character is not really anyones mother. It’s trying to fool the person being called. The song is deep.
I stumbled upon this song a few months ago through tik tok, I listened to it almost daily since. When the doctor told me that my dog had cancer, this song was playing in the background. When I saw him when I got back from school, this song was playing in the background. When we sadly had to put him down so he wouldn't suffer anymore, this song was playing in the background. Now when I want to remember my baby, this is the song I play. If I had to explain grief to someone, I would play this song. 5:30 "And when force is gone, there's always mom. Hi mom!"
Note: maybe 8 or 9 years ago Laurie Anderson composed and released music she composed specifically for dogs to listen to, there’s videos of her performing it for dogs online,
Made a deep impact on me as a young child when my parents played this song in the car driving back home in the evening from anywhere. Always got goosebumps when I woke up. Felt like I was in another world looking out of the car in to the dark night, with the metallic distorted voice of Laurie and the sound of minimalistic bleeps on the background. Thankfull for these musical experiences my parents gave me.
This song has haunted me for over a quarter-century. I met Laurie Anderson once on a Northwest Airlines flight around 1987. She seemed taken aback that anyone would have recognized her then. As if she didn't realize her own influence. Today I still consider her as a master of her craft. She is a true poet.
@@JKTube first time I heard this song on the alternative station where I live I thought it was Imogen Heap. I guess the vocoder-like effect she uses made me think of "hide and seek".
Is it bad that this song comforts me without making me feel unnerved in the slightest? Like, it comforts me in a melancholic, doomed way, but comforts me still. Hard to describe.
This song permanently changed my life when I heard it on vinyl in my parent's living room the year it came out. My mom had heard it on the radio and just pulled over to the side of the road and forgot everything in life except for the song until it ended. Then she drove straight to a record store to buy it and brought it home like she'd found the holy grail. And sonically that's what it was to me as a young kid. It takes over your entire consciousness. Even though it's my favorite song, I have only listened to it maybe 6-7 times in my entire life, because it impacts me so powerfully I never want it to lose that power. I'm particularly sensitive to music and this is the only music that has impacted me this powerfully other than the first time I heard Beethoven's Symphony no6.
They played this on the radio!? Unfortunately, I never heard it on the radio - I am sad about the current state of radio - it's automated garbage. I remember when radio brought people together and had the opportunity to change lives (like your wonderful story) - thank you for sharing. She DID find the holy grail
Thanks for sharing.... Two great performance pieces! Also love pastoral symphony...so evocative! Listen to Beethoven piano concerto #5. Sublime. Make sure it's a good performance...and pianist. Grimaud Andsnes Uchida Barenboim It's just ethereal.
The first time I heard Talking Heads' Once in a Lifetime, I felt like a whole new kind of music sprang into being. And then I heard Laurie Anderson, and another whole new kind of music sprang up. In the same decade, no less. It was a great time to be a teenager.
Technology. American Military-Industrial complex. American imperialism. Capitalism. Power & comfort. I’ve listened repeatedly the past few days and it gives me chills. Also very timely for it to skyrocket in popularity with the younger generations. Beautiful and eerie performance.
@@arkbien9303 The only reason hostages were taken was because of American imperialism.. American Imperialism is why America has done everything It has done for the last 120 years or so. And also everything done to us. The Iranian hostage situation and 9/11(among many events) are both the results/blowback of American imperialism.
@@cliffordohrnberger Am I to assume you agree with what Iran did? You know very damned well that the Ayatollah's response to America's messing around where it shouldn't have has ruined the country, possibly permanently. 😐 Two massive wrongs never make a right and the innocent always suffer. And this song refers to a very specific event, not general American imperialism.
Listening to this feels like listening to a conversation someone else is having with God - You're outside of it, and none of it is directed at you, but it's still so incredibly poignant and beautiful to hear.
Personally I see a dialogue between the first strong AI and its designer, man. I see in this music the beginning of digital consciousness. This is similar to what you are saying, the machine speaks to its creator God
One of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard. I have been listening to it since its release and have never grown tired of it.
my dad showed me this song when i was about 7 or 8. i always thought he had the coolest, oddest taste in music. this song, as well as some others he showed me, undoubtedly make me think of him. lost him over two years ago, still can’t believe it. hug ur parents.
Same thing for me too my dad was watching i guess it was a movie and She played alot of her songs and I was just amazed some thing like this exists, i was about the same age maybe older but it was the late 80's early 90's. opened my mind
I think if somebody shows this kind of music to their kid, they are definitely cool - sorry for your loss, Im sorry he is not among us anymore, even when I do not know him. But if he liked this, it feels like I know him.
❤️❤️❤️ I was fortunate to see Laurie Anderson in a live show in SF. I was 7 months pregnant so despite the fact that the show was over-sold, I was allowed a seat just a few feet away from where she was performing. Both of my sons heard very inventive music before they were born, and they are creative musicians and composers themselves now!
listen to the words and look at the visuals. this is about American Imperialism. watch it as many times as have to. this is the most genius thing i’ve ever watched and listened to.
No it's not. Not sure why RUclips erased my original comment, but she said it's about Operation Eagle Claw, a failed attempt to rescue the hostages in Iran in the 1980's
really sad state of affairs when it seems like most people don't understand its about imperialism, when it's basically explicitly said in the lyrics?!?!?!
@Anthony Andrea It's a TV show on Netflix. This particular episode is from an episode called Bandersnatch, which is an interactive episode. You get to make choices throughout the episode. Getting to this ending is kinda tricky though. I think you have to go through a bunch of others first.
i didn't expect this song to make me cry, but i did at the line "so, hold me mom". powerful stuff. thank you laurie anderson for this touching piece of work!
Fun fact: This was the first nickname given to me by a childhood friend in Los Angeles😉 Edit: My child hood friend would shorten my nickname to Supe. Ironically, he called our rival a bih in the very same breath. I thought that was pretty ironic.
I've been working in a nursing home for the first time, and the whole experience has been forcing me to confront loss, death, time, suffering, all of the things i never knew I truly feared. I don't want my now 50 yo mom to die one day. I don't wanna suffer in old age. Breaking down as I grow old TERRIFIES ME. I feel like I've seen no greater hell than the look I caught in the eyes of one of my dementia patients as they went into an episode of distress and confusion.
I couldn't agree more. I just recalled this song because I'm staying with friends, and their shower's drain makes this exact beat for about three minutes after you turn off the water. With that beat of pipes pumping together closed, in an instant I was 13 years old again. Crossed legged at 3AM watching this song on RAGE for the first time. Never will I forget it or that moment. Ever.
I’ve been searching for this song ever since I saw it on MTV! It was sometime in the 90’s and I recently stumbled across a top 10 list of Vocoder songs. I never forgot the beat! 😅
I remember first hearing it on the cassette radio. I first laughed, then listened, it kept going, I kept listening, and 8 minute later was the longest thing I’ve heard on the radio. After it finished I was hooked. I think this was the greatest musical art of the 80s, Genius.
i hate to say it, but i discovered this through a tiktok. but hell im so glad i did. from what im seeing, everyone has their own feelings with this masterpiece, and im no different. there’s something so oddly comforting yet terrifying about it. ive been through a lot these past few years and somehow o superman perfectly encapsulates the feelings in a strange way i could never describe. im very happy this song is in my life now.
Yes, my nutrition-hose was cut in 1969...I exactly know, what you mean! This was a fertile and massive creative time...good Worms Dame from west-Berlin Studios....
I'm 56. My sister had the album, but I recorded it off the radio. I STILL expect Bachman-Turner Overdrive "Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" to follow after that last 'Ah'.
For some time in the 80's I used the "Hello,I'm not home right now, but if you want to leave a message, just start talking at the sound of the tone "to VERY popular effect.
In 1982 I was 15 vears old and heard this song on the radio at night. I was completely mesmerized, because over 8 minutes there was always something NEW happening in this track, only the female breathbeat remained constantly, everything else was shifting, slowly like tectonic plates. I knew nothing about Laurie Anderson, I didn't know that she was beautiful - it was just a pure listening experience.
I was also 15 in 1982 and considered this then as a pile of monotonous, pseudo intellectual shit.; my view remains the same today - it is simply irritating bollocks that is prlobably played in Guantanamo Bay as part of torture. Americans love crap because the only culture that they have is that which festers in the arse of their oversized pants.
@@thomasgray9170 - calm down. I loved this when it came out (I was 18 in 1982) and I still love it now; I think it's inventive and - in 1982 it was bloody unique. Incidentally, I'm not fat and I'm not American.
@@corkscrewcurly Thank goodness that it was indeed unique, for the sake of the sanity of the masses! Even the lyrics are appalling but the composition surely couldn't have taken more than ten minutes. There is a lot of music that I hate yet can comprehend its appeal or appreciate its craftsmanship but this track's popularity strikes me, to use economics terms, from induced demand rather than autonomous demand. My dad once told me that if the BBC wheeled out a dog turd onto a stage, most British people would applaud. Anyway, I accept my admonishment, providing you buy me a nice pair of ear muffs.
This album really expanded my music taste. I was a big metalhead & punk fan, then in '84 I heard this. Felt like I was listening to all the politics and ideas behind punk, but from a different perspective. Timeless. Beautiful. Tragic.
I love the way you said that. Laurie doesn't always easily fit into the punk category, but there's definitely some handshake going on there, some overlap.
@@1953beetle i think that laurie probably fits into the category of avant garde like she fits into the category of violinist or songwriter - "kind of". she's famously hard to categorize, but I'm not all that interested in solving the question since one of the things that makes her interesting, imo, is her ability to be this and that, yes and no, and a little frustrating. there's that punk overlap again! that being said, calling her avant garde is great if that feels right to you. :)
There is something mystical about this song and I don't know how to describe it. I just know that every time I listen to it, it makes me cry. Every single time.
I can recall when this was released way back in the 80s. Nothing else had ever sounded like it and going forward nothing else will ever sound like it; it's totally original. Superb piece of music history.
@@CelestialWoodway You had to be there. I had this and "Walk the Dog", they were catchy in a mesmerizing way, bizarre, avant-garde and unique at a time when there was a LOT of new direction and experimentation in music.
Good god, Bandersnatch gave this song such beautiful and bittersweet meaning. Edit: Should have said “for me” this song now has a “new” association in my mind to a story I found to be sad yet beautiful, and unforgettable.
This song made me cry when I was in art school during 9/11, and it still makes me cry 20 years later. It still manages to feel like an alarm and a lullaby simultaneously, and the lyrics become more literal all the time.
A 38 year old man and I've only just found this!!! I dont even know what to say of the feelings this gave me, I've just been stuck in an awkward trance for the last 8:27sec, in the somberness of peaceful sadness, the "huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh" of her voice as the beat felt like a heartbeat on a monitor beating down to its last beat. Didn't feel like i was listening to a song...more like i just witnessed art in sound, like the first time witnessing zdzisław beksiński...its an awkward experience of art that pulls you in. So awkward yet so glad it found me.
The first time I listened to this song, I found it funny that I was getting strangely emotional over it. The second time I listened to it, I dashed to the bathroom halfway through, where I bawled my eyes out uncontrollably for a solid ten minutes, and I just couldn't figure out why. Even now, when I really let the song get a hold of me, I start crying. I don't understand why I feel this way.
I feel you. As a kid I liked or loved this song so much now 41 years old I'm getting panic attack hearing it. It scares the shit out of me and I have zero explanations or any reason why. There is something in it that I can't explain.
@@HibaSheikh-er7kh it's not that I don't want to listen to it. It's so wonderful yet so strange at the same time. It's that it's something in my head that reacts to it. And my curiosity what's to know why.
Lost my mom last year. When I got this ending of bandersnatch and heard this track I was in tears. I dreamt of hugging my mom so tight that when I woke up I had tears running down my face. Didn't want the dream to stop... Great episode.
Lost my mom at the end of October. The ending immediately ran through my whole body and had me in rushing tears. It was almost too much especially with the song. There are so many paths and they are waiting for us but also with us still
When I was 13 this would be playing on the radio in the morning as I got ready for school - my beautiful wee Irish Mother (now 78 years young!!) still loves this masterpiece x
So far, I find your (this) comment to be the most fascinating one of the bunch. Truly! Songs this length just don't get played. Not on the radio, nor the television. I remember when G'n'R's "November Rain" dropped, & MTV (I was about 13 y.o.) had it on constant rotation. I thought I was going to either lose my mind, or switch to VH1. 9 minute song. Around that time, Bohemian Rhapsody had made a comeback thanks to the Wayne's World soundtrack (& the epic car sing along of course), & I had thought that was an incredibly long number at merely 6 minutes. Of course, I hadn't heard "Free Bird" yet, so, what did I know? (the original NINE minute hit.) Lately I've been jamming out to the Rhino Records 15 volume comp (that's has the same title as that Depeche Mode song), just trying to appreciate how random New Wave truly was, for a music genre. It seems to me, most of the lyrics in New Wave, are dark at the core, yet humorous, overall. Kinda like if Novelty Rock (Tenacious D, Flight of the Conchords, Bobby Joe Ebola, etc) wasn't consciously trying to make you laugh. Like MST3K, or Beavis & Butthead. Judging by the popularity & mass respect of Weird Al Yankovic, these days, I'd say the World (World = every Millennial on the 'net) is overdue for a major revisiting of New Wave music (grunge has been fun, but at this point is getting a free ride, in terms of trendiness.) This song, "O Superman", immediately struck me, the first time I heard it (not sure if it was open or closed fist, truly. Backhand?? meh.) Seemed to be like 1st wave Industrial, in terms of the lack of a coherent drum beat. "The Tyranny of the Beat" (1991) is a fine collection of this style. But somehow, I don't think she (Laurie) was familiar with Throbbing Gristle, actually. & even if she was, THAT wasn't really what she was going for at all anyways. (I still cannot believe that this was ever played on the radio.) To transplant this tune 40 years into the future, it must seem shocking to most EDM (electronic dance music) fans & fanatics. Perhaps even profane. Could you imagine, a "candy raver" attempting to dance to this? First a "liquid" attempt, then perhaps a "caterpillar", only to admit defeat, & give up the dance, standing there bug eyed & motionless, sucking on their candy coated pacifier. Yeah, this generation NEEDS "new wave". Right now.
Yes I remember this being played on the radio too, nothing unusual about that. In fact it wasn’t uncommon to for an entire album to be played, one example I remember was Crisis by Mike Oldfield. If you want another example of another long pop song then Richard Harris’ MacArthur Park comes in at 7 minutes 21 seconds.
I once listened to this song on repeat for hours while doing a 16 hour shift as a security guard. It was winter time and the day was as dark as the night. I sat in that car and somehow this kept me awake. I first heard it on the radio in the middle of the night the night before, same downtown place. To this day I never looked into the artist or the lyrics, as I felt the song should remain an enigma in my mind for all time.
I saw Laurie Anderson in concert once and time ceased to have meaning during the show. I honestly couldn't tell you if it was 5 minutes or 2 days. It was fantastic. Totally took us all to a new dimension.
5:55 :) For the people that embraced the inevitability of death and got to spend a few more moments basking in the warmth and light of youth, a mother's love, and the comfort of a rabbit you called your own
It seems that once every 20 years or so this song gains some new cultural significance due to a world shattering event. I am listening to this song during the Covid-19 quarantine, and every lyric, from front to back, is punching me in my emotions. I might be social distancing, but I'm holding you now in my electronic arms. Stay safe.
I came here from Aphex Twin's polynomial-C (which seems to borrow a little from this track). It's got such a cool retro home made feel. In crisis we always go back to the home-made.
Hi Jeff. That's an insightful comment, thanks. In the early days of the Internet, the Web was a force for good, and it's great we now have music and information now at our fingertips. I still remember this track when it came out on Top of the Pops! Stay safe. We will survive Covid-19.
How true. Now the youth have Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry and Stormzy bringing pop music to a grinding halt. The cardinal sin of pop music has occurred. It got boring, when once it was mesmerizing.
I’m Japanese and I couldn’t understand the meaning completely when I first listened this song,but I really shocked by the sounds. This is like future but somehow I feel comfortable while I’m listening her voice.
Je suis Français. J’ai découvert cette chanson sur une radio de grande écoute tard le soir quand j’étais adolescent au début des années 80. C’était totalement nouveau et hypnotique. Merci à RUclips de nous permettre de redécouvrir ce titre et surtout merci à RUclips de me permette de lire vos commentaires qui me font penser que nous sommes nombreux à être toujours sous le charme de ce chef d’œuvre unique même si nous ne pratiquons pas la même langue. Je vous embrasse tous.
I find it fascinating that even though different cultures are separated by the rules and regulations bound to it, the human condition transcends any language or region, such as what this song evokes
I like your comment. Even as a native English speaker, the poetry here is challenging because these words have so much power & many dimensions of meaning. ❤
This song makes me feel like the grim reaper is breathing down my neck and stroking my hair. My heart is pounding with fear and anxiety but I can’t stop listening.
This song is nearly 40 years old and still sounds like nothing else ever made in music, still so beautiful in its simplicity all these years later ❤️🌈🎵
We may not know each other, but this song is touching to many of us on a completely different level, and that's incredibly beautiful and comforting in a strange and lovely way. We aren't alone. Keep keeping on, my friends.
My dad absolutely loved this song and he loved laurie Anderson and all of her songs. Thats why he named me like laurie Anderson. He showed me all of her songs. I'm so glad i still listen to these songs. I miss you so much dad. You died with your passion a month ago but i'll forever remember you with these songs and i'll show these songs even to my children one day and you'll be so proud.
Never understood meditation but this song makes me realise what the idea is. Focusing on the pulsing through headphones, it’s like watching the entire universe come into being with your ears.
I'm so glad to be alive during a time when I can still listen, watch, enjoy, cry through, and experience musical art like this--years and years after its creation, before I was even born... How surreal is this wild, weird, heartbreaking, wonderful world in which we live? I pray for peace amongst all peoples. May you always have water and shade. (Thank you for bringing me here, LPotL♡)
@@neilstevens9729 I'm not insulting you, on purpose. Just letting you know how you look to me. If you were insulted maybe there's a grain of truth in what I said
Love the comments of so many people that actually entered the train even though they knew what was about to happened. This song brought me goosebumps all over the body. Love your moms and dads and have a smooth and peaceful 2019 unknown friends
i agree fully, well described! i would go even further and reflect on if its simply a song, since it balances heavily between a message / art video / perfo act / song
2 days ago i was trying to sleep and this exact part of the song started playing in my head. i genuinely had a panic attack and i couldnt sleep all night.
I'm writing this with a translator, my English is horrible. I was listening to this song, and I remembered my friend's older brother who died in January this year. I remember perfectly how his mother was, in tears, his father and everyone, it was the first time I saw that family cry. he died of a cardiorespiratory arrest after being shot. I remember him in the coffin, he seemed to be sleeping, his mother couldn't even see him, she preferred to stay isolated in the room, and my friend slept on top of him before the burial. No one in that house was the same and whenever I go there I feel someone's presence, apart from an energy that makes me uncomfortable. I unfortunately heard the shots, they were close to my house, I didn't know they were really shots and I jokingly said "is it a shot?", but I knew it was really after I saw a lot of people going to the scene of the accident, I felt bad.
I discovered this piece in college, in class. Since then, I use it to sleep every night. It's been three years. Three years of Laurie Anderson rocking me to sleep, hypnotising me with that repetitive rythm and those odd words.
Si vous voulez un peu de changement (variété ne serait vraiment pas le mot juste ici), un pionnier français de la musique électronique, Jean-Jacques Perrey, a enregistré en 1957 un album totalement approprié à votre usage : ruclips.net/video/k3Uc55KMZt8/видео.html
Heard it for the 1st time just now and Thats what i decided to do with this song forever. 10 seconds into the song it felt like i was wrapped in warmth and that everything is ok...my eyes literally closed by themselves while i felt like a cat purring. Absolute gold!
this song is the definition of art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable
Damn right
Wow that's such a good quote
this is so scary 😢😅
What happens when I’m disturbed and comfortable?
@@gamerschoice3277 Spontaneous combustion
For those who are curious about what this song means is that the line, “Hello? This is your mother, Are you there? Are you coming home?” Is from a mother writing to her son in war and the line “Well you don't know me, but I know you” Is the Chief of her son's military team writing a letter back to the mom letting her know that her son has died due to not surviving the war.
Hey sorry to bug you, Ive been looking for the letter and can’t find jack. Do you have a name or a url? Thank you!
@@albertogregory9678 You won't because there isn't anything. That's stxrzrxvzn's interpretation. Just search the song meaning online and you will find much better information. For example, Anderson drew from the aria from Jules Massenet's 1885 opera Le Cid. The first lines ("O Superman / O Judge / O Mom and Dad") echo the aria. It is also considered a commentary on the Cold War.
"Died due to not surviving the war"... I mean.. you aren't wrong I guess?
I think this song is delightfully surreal and by nature evades this kind of direct interpretation. I think its less about war and more about change, sudden and inevitable. A dialogue between a person and the things about to happen to them. On the one side is a person, a strange one, or perhaps made strange only by the context - and something more, unknowable and eldritch. The person attempts to make sense of what they're being told now, but they don't have the tools to do so. They can only wait and see what the voice was talking about, seek comfort in justice force and mom before the shoe drops. That's how I interpret it
The song is criticizing the use of cold war-era military technology. I think the "parents" are referring to the idea that the military industrial complex keeps citizens safe like parents keep children safe. The synth voice beat is meant to mimic an artificial heartbeat to show how there is an offputting and dark side to this. "so hold me mom, in your long arms, in your petrochemical arms, your military arms"
This song sounds to me like the sound of a mind breaking, falling into madness. Pain, sadness, heartbreak, loneliness, and emptiness have overcome it, and it breaks.
This is currently happening to me.
@@patriciahigh1310 I'm so sorry. Know you're not alone. Every breath is a victory. The worst thing to do is give up.
And then there's bliss.
me when i find the song through tiktok and dont know the meaning behind songs
Even then, this song is a deep help when tapping into my time when I became undone. The sounds, the words, the mother, this song is the embodiment of my psychosis while simultaneously holding deep political messages about war.. people have the ability to interpret and it’s beautiful..
When I heard the lyric "there's always mom" I cried a lot... that's such impactful storytelling...
Hi, Mom! 😥 Yeah, my Mama's in a care home with Parkinson's. Nonverbal, pretty much paralyzed, but her mind's still sharp as a tack. Breaks my heart, and there's not a damned thing I can do to help her. Jesus won't either, so to hell with Him too.
"Mom" is about America resorting to emotional manipulation when all else fails to justify bombing innocent people. "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". There's nothing wholesome about it. Quite the opposite, in fact.
@@davesmith1695 Wow, i first didnt connect it like that but you're right.
Maybe let everyone to interpret it on their own? Thats Art, it may have many reasons and inspirations to its existence but I just hate when someone find in Art/Music something to relate to and there comes the Rocket Prophet and explains they are wrong. Andersons words and performance are timeless and the song can be related to many Situations in course of history and Life of many people. War can be fought on the Front, in the Sky, under the Sea or in somebodys head and heart.
@@davesmith1695 I know. I still cried. You are correct.
The hahaha in the background throughout the piece: it sounds like a woman's laugh, or like she's trying to catch her breath (but can't) while also sounding like a siren. It's very evocative
Most likely catching her breath after crying because the song is about her son dying in war and being told my the military chief
I've always thought of it as a heart rate monitor
@@tf2sfm8 no it isn't
To me it seems like a laugh that gets stuck and loses its positive meaning, turning into something that changes with the shifts in the song
I thinks almost like an artificial heartbeat. The song has some relation to death and it would make sense.
"Because 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, hi mom. So hold me, mom, In your long arms."
that part is gonna stick with me for a while, this song is truly beautiful
@@anthonysimpson01 to be honest, same
I know, I miss orangumom - as she liked to be called.
@@anthonysimpson01 same
best lines
This is one of those obscure songs that doesn't get radio play cause it doesn't fit in radio, but somehow you are just lucky to stumple upon it and ones you hear it you can't leave it.
Dutch radio station KINK 80'S plays this regularly.
it was billboard #2 in the UK in 1981, a year before the full album was released
They played it on TripleJ Hottest today, this is how I stumbled across it. I had to stop what I was doing.
so glad its popular on tiktok
@@po3alilythat’s how I found also. ❤
This song terrifies me but I cant deny its actual sound is extremely ahead of its time
Here in Italy it was used on an AIDS PSA
TERRIFIES. Especially when you think about what she wrote it about.
We thought it was ahead of its time, turns out it was of its time. Experimentation became extinct less than a decade later.
@@Oxmustubeoh my god shut up, just because experimental stuff isn't necessarily popular doesn't mean it doesn't exist anywhere.
@@ag8454Nor does my matter whether or not it's experimental or popular. It exists as well in the future as it does in the past and present. It's timeless...until something changes! That's the whole point.
39 years into the future, this still sounds like the future.
Absolutely! What a great comment 🙂
@@mac_mcguckin Totally agree …
i think in 2060 it will be same
Eeeeh, it already sounds very dated. Maybe you are being sarcastic?
@@theodour8617 it’s both. Of course it’s embedded in its time but also it was way ahead of it’s time, not many people listened to this then, people just get it and dismissed it as “queer” in the slur sense of the word.
I don’t know why, but if I had to explain grief to someone I’d just play this.
Absolutely, thi is like a real soothing grieving help, so beautiful
I agree, it makes me feel.
🤷♀️ it means different things to different people
I get that. I feel like there's both grief and nostalgia wrapped up with some survivor's guilt in this song
@@Lyndanetthat makes it art 🎉
to me this song has always felt like the final sunrise at the end of the world, be it a personal and singular end or a true, apocalyptic end. There's such a melancholic and definitive grief to it, like taking a last look around at everything you've ever held in your heart and mind. A dawning of unavoidable and irreversible departure.
it makes me need to lay down flat on the floor.
💯
That's what it is. I didn't enjoy this on a deep level, it's disturbing in the weirdest way and I couldn't place why.
Yes! You described it perfectly
Yea it rly gives me that apocalyptic feel like a “what now?” Kinda thing I think
I've never wanted to give a comment a 5 star rating.
My mom is 84
I am 63
She passed away a month ago
I knew it was coming-she reminded me, we all must go
I was the one who cared for her, not knowing she was preparing me to go
When my family calls to see how it’s going--i wish I could play this song out my mouth into the phone
I’m so sorry for your loss. I am terrified of losing my mother. I hope you’re doing as okay as you can be now, and remember your mother still loves you even if she isn’t here anymore.
I'm so sorry for your loss. Sending love and prayers ❤️🙏
Very close to your sound now
You're so lucky.
I am sorry fr your loss. YOu mom was right. The pain though is rough. Huge huggs . It will get bettre . I hope this finds you well.
I do love that Laurie is getting a revisit on social media. She's an absolute pioneer in the world of electronic music.
I was completely unaware of her existence till now.
I recommend watching her 60 Minute interview from a couple years ago then digging in. @@MyNameisRevenant
Kate Bush effect
no she fricking isnt
You may want to google her career. lol@@herbert850
As a 32 year old it warms my heart seeing the younger kids discover artists like Laurie and Kate Bush. The stuff I got made fun of for liking in the 00s as a teen.
Exactly this.
Like my mom showed me Kate Bush and Laurie Anderson as a kid, and when I was in highschool people thought it was weird and dated.
Now the youth bringing it back.
thats why i like it when show's and other media use's old and obscure songs
I bet you turned out, “alright”
right!!! I don't get why they think this is a scary song but it makes me so happy that they're interested in her
Have you ever seen any episodes or clips from the old PBS show she did called Alive From Off Center when she hosted?
I feel so scared of this song. Its so haunting and intimidating but theres beauty here,sad, solumn but comforting beauty that both pushes you away but makes you run back for more...like a mother of some sort. The fear, the comfort, the sadness, the beauty.
You can imagine Laurie having makeup on with green glowing eyes smiling and staring at your soul in the music video.
You said EXACTLY how I always have felt about it. You said it better then I could
this song makes me unsettled and comforted at the same time bro what
Same
Broken record here but same for me
help, the beats made my head wanna dance😭
That’s how good art should make you feel
Exactly Laurie’s intent I am sure:)
I was honored to talk to Mrs Laurie the other day . I told her that I was a huge fan of her music. and I also said to her "Mrs Anderson O Superman sounds like it is due to be released in 2032." She instantly started laughing. She is one of the sweetest, kindest and appreciative artists that I've ever met.
As a big fan of her, that never saw her, this checks out. (To this day I hope for a headpat from Laurie before I die)
The world has not caught up yet to what she’s communicating in this piece. I’m here because I’m contemplating how wokeness (postmodern Marxists) are so strongly pro-war, because a war culture is a war culture regardless of its self-proclaimed virtues. Laurie’s work was ahead of its time. If you haven’t heard of him, look up John Maus. His music and videos are similar to Laurie Anderson’s.
A master piece of Lauries. RIP Lou. You both were Perfect for each other. O Superman O George and Lou Reed.🦸♂️👨🔧🦸♂️
@@brucekilby9957 hey Bruce I also talked to her that day about her late great husband Lou Reed. It was amazing. And yes O Superman is a masterpiece
So cool. Is this a recorded interview that we can hear? or just a private discussion. Love her. Lou too.
My siblings and I were obsessed by this album when it was released. Especially this song. We figured out an acapella version (4 voices) so we could sing it when we were working outside (we grew up on a small family farm). One time, after the verse "and when justice is gone.... there's always force" my bother ad-libbed "Hi force!" and we all completely lost it. So many memories made around this mesmerizing album. ❤
I have been working on a paper about this song for a month or so, and ever since I saw this comment I've heard "Hi force!" every time I listen to it lmao
Please tell us there’s record of this. I would so much love to hear your a capella…
@@leighlafoster6950 hey! IU'd like to read the paper!
"For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes." 😉
Only a serial killer would enjoy this weird ass creepy song…. Pun intended.. iykyk.
The difference in listening to this as an adult now compared to when I heard it as a child is breath-taking. It sounds so sinister and cataclysmic in an awesome end of the World way. You become so used to the constant beat that when it finally stops at the end it's like listening to a heart monitor stop ..... then all you are left with is silence wrapped in the petrochemical arms of 'Mom' .
Smoking or non smoking?
Blondie or brunette?
Yes, I get the final feeling like the heart has stopped.
Beautifully said!
This is absolutely remarkable; exactly the feeling I get from the song. It makes me like it's the absolute end. It makes me weep every time I hear it.
this song freaks me out in the best way possible
"So hold me mom in your long arms"
That's going to break and heal my heart every single time.
IKR
@Alexandra Kulik: My mom was hell, total despair, vicious anger, malignant manipulation, and into violent delight ... against my sisters and I since I was 3 years old ans 2/3.
So I have a very very different "perspective" of that song since the 80s.
it is peotry...
❤️
Love this song so clever
O Superman
O judge
O Mom and Dad
Mom and Dad
Hi. I'm not home right now. But if you want to leave a
Message, just start talking at the sound of the tone.
Hello? This is your Mother
Are you there?
Are you coming home?
Hello?
Is anybody home?
Well, you don't know me, but I know you
And I've got a message to give to you
Here come the planes
So you better get ready
Ready to go
You can come as you are, but pay as you go
Pay as you go
And I said: OK. Who is this really? And the voice said:
This is the hand, the hand that takes
This is the hand, the hand that takes
This is the hand, the hand that takes
Here come the planes.
They're American planes
Made in America
Smoking or non-smoking?
And the voice said: Neither snow nor rain nor gloom
Of night shall stay these couriers from the swift
Completion of their appointed rounds.
'Cause when love is gone
There's always justice
And when justive is gone
There's always force
And when force is gone,
There's always Mom.
Hi Mom!
So hold me, Mom, in your long arms
So hold me, Mom, in your long arms
In your automatic arms.
Your electronic arms.
In your arms.
So hold me, Mom, in your long arms
Your petrochemical arms
Your military arms
In your electronic arms
I need to copy thisss omg
Thank you for this... I was looking for a lyric video but ur comment gave so much more meaning when listening to the song
Thank youuuuu
dont forget the
huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huhhuh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huhhuh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huhhuh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huhhuh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huhhuh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huhhuh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh
Love you for this 💚
I was a teen when this came out and I remember my dad playing it on his high end stereo, quite loud. I thank him for introducing me to such a range of amazing music.
Gotta love Dad's and their record collections.
Rad profile pic man. When I saw this scene in theaters in Los Angeles, it blew my mind. Sometimes the most fundamental truths are the most profound.
@@BabylonHits7 Well recognized! 😉👍
Your Dad get’s an extra star ⭐️ in my book 📕!
Dennis Nielsen serial killer . Look it up 😮
Ground-breaking, astonishing and unforgettable, a pure masterpiece!
Brother David also loves musical masterpiece
Yes, it's scary letting go. It's so strange to listen to and watch this weird thing time and again and still be moved by it. This is art and it's a masterpiece.
So true
listen to it during a magic mushroom trip
This is real
Then learn real art
This song to me will always symbolize death's arrival to claim a loved one. I became obsessed with this song, constantly replaying the lines "Well you don't know me, but I know you" and "This is the hand that takes." I didn't realize it but my father would die after collapsing on the ground four days after I started listening to the song. I hadn't seen him in 3 three years and I know it probably sounds crazy but it felt it listening to this was a personal warning, as if the song was saying, "Death is coming for someone you love, so you better get ready." Such a powerfully haunting song and still one of the best I have heard.
You got me paranoid now😂
Fax bruh I lost someone around this time 4 years ago don’t play with me
Omg stooppp
R.I.P. your father 😭
Rest in peace to your father. Wishing you and your family well
I always took the “there’s always mom” line as smth sinister, and felt that my complicated feelings for my mother had been validated. Like when a parent claims theyre doing everything for your own good, but you know its hurting you more than helping. “I’m gonna use love to keep you here with me under my care and control, and if I can’t use love I’ll use justice (try to reason), and if I can’t do that I’ll use force, and even if I can’t do that I’ll still always be here and be a part of you because I’m your Mother”. Thats also the feeling i get from the call, like an overbearing mother who won’t stand to leave her child alone and the child has had enough of it. You’re never gonna outgrow mom (shes not gonna let you leave).
The song is about the hostages of the American embassy hostage crisis that were held for over a year that people believed would never be released.
Out from mother comes the strangling vines
@@totallylegitenergy2559 All interpretations are correct, regardless of what is "intended". I think that you (probably) misread this comment, as it is not stating what the commenter believes to be a correct interpretation, but sharing the connection they feel to this song with others who may feel the same connection. The commenter might even already know this, and it wouldn't change what they said.
Of course, I don't speak for them, I just saw this and was finally able to put the weird ahh thoughts in my head into words for once.
@@skz_mus Not all interpretations can be correct, especially when it's a historically based song, if they want to attach their own personal feelings that have nothing to do with the song that's fine, I just thought it would be good to clear up the actual meaning of the song since it is a memoriam to both what happened to the people that were taken hostage, and those six service members who lost their lives attempting to retrieve them.
@@totallylegitenergy2559Well youre wrong do shut up
Genuinely shocked on how old this song is, truly an ageless song it fits perfectly in any era
I get it why people find it disturbing but I find it peaceful on a ethereal (?) level. Nothing extreme or in your face being loud. No immense build up. Just almost like a ocean wave on a calmer day
Im so glad that "well you dont know me but i know you" is becoming popular on tiktok rn, makes me so happy to hear a song i love used in such a meaningful way
Edit: I'm referring to the videos that use this to connect with deceased relatives, rather than those sharing mental health issues with others. If y'all could stop trying to argue that a visceral connection some have with those who led similar lives isn't meaningful just because it's on tiktok, that would be fantastic 🥰
I know currently googling too!
ruclips.net/video/slhSqHqduNE/видео.htmlsi=hOUB8jlBENJdyf7x
Nothing to come out of Tik Tok is meaningful
"Meaningful"
@@I.Am.Terrible.At.Usernames I understand where you're coming from, but once you mature, you'll realize you're sorely mistaken
This song always moves me to tears, and makes me realize how mean I was to my mom growing up my whole life, and how much I wish I could’ve changed my behavior. I love her so much and shes getting older, we’re losing time and I don’t want her to pass away thinking I didn’t love her with my whole heart.
Laurie Anderson really was way ahead of her time with this song, absolutely beautiful and brilliant.
You have time to make up for it, she knows you love her, she understands.
I’m glad the song moves you, but it’s about the botched 1979 Iran hostage rescue.
@@kd8opiShe made this song as a piece of performance art and I think she’d be okay with the different ways the song resonates with people.
Was your mother the american industrial war machine?
@@marielpare8290 I know. Just saying the “mother” character is not really anyones mother. It’s trying to fool the person being called. The song is deep.
I stumbled upon this song a few months ago through tik tok, I listened to it almost daily since.
When the doctor told me that my dog had cancer, this song was playing in the background.
When I saw him when I got back from school, this song was playing in the background.
When we sadly had to put him down so he wouldn't suffer anymore, this song was playing in the background.
Now when I want to remember my baby, this is the song I play.
If I had to explain grief to someone, I would play this song.
5:30
"And when force is gone, there's always mom.
Hi mom!"
Note: maybe 8 or 9 years ago Laurie Anderson composed and released music she composed specifically for dogs to listen to, there’s videos of her performing it for dogs online,
Made a deep impact on me as a young child when my parents played this song in the car driving back home in the evening from anywhere. Always got goosebumps when I woke up. Felt like I was in another world looking out of the car in to the dark night, with the metallic distorted voice of Laurie and the sound of minimalistic bleeps on the background. Thankfull for these musical experiences my parents gave me.
Kraftwerk had similar effects on me.
the fact that this got to number 2 in the UK singles chart makes me feel uncharacteristically patriotic
I'm really shocked (but very very pleased) something so experimental got so high on the charts !
This song has haunted me for over a quarter-century. I met Laurie Anderson once on a Northwest Airlines flight around 1987. She seemed taken aback that anyone would have recognized her then. As if she didn't realize her own influence. Today I still consider her as a master of her craft. She is a true poet.
+T Escherman: Amen. It's 37 years later, and I can't think of anyone whose had a hit that sounded ANYTHING like this.
Amazing Song....Went on a Surf Trip to Cape Hatteras when I was 14 and I have never forgotten this song....
T Escherman I’m 48 I remember being in my room lying on the bed listening to the radio charts this came on,, ,,,,felt in a trance
Met her outside of Borders Bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI... must have been around 1995, or so... still just as modest then, too. An amazing artist...
@@JKTube first time I heard this song on the alternative station where I live I thought it was Imogen Heap. I guess the vocoder-like effect she uses made me think of "hide and seek".
Is it bad that this song comforts me without making me feel unnerved in the slightest? Like, it comforts me in a melancholic, doomed way, but comforts me still. Hard to describe.
Same; I listen to it when I have anxiety & it’s perfect 🥲 no idea why 😩❤️
Absurdism
Art disturbs the comforted and comforts the disturbed
This song permanently changed my life when I heard it on vinyl in my parent's living room the year it came out. My mom had heard it on the radio and just pulled over to the side of the road and forgot everything in life except for the song until it ended. Then she drove straight to a record store to buy it and brought it home like she'd found the holy grail. And sonically that's what it was to me as a young kid. It takes over your entire consciousness. Even though it's my favorite song, I have only listened to it maybe 6-7 times in my entire life, because it impacts me so powerfully I never want it to lose that power. I'm particularly sensitive to music and this is the only music that has impacted me this powerfully other than the first time I heard Beethoven's Symphony no6.
some are easily amused.
They played this on the radio!? Unfortunately, I never heard it on the radio - I am sad about the current state of radio - it's automated garbage. I remember when radio brought people together and had the opportunity to change lives (like your wonderful story) - thank you for sharing. She DID find the holy grail
Thanks for sharing....
Two great performance pieces!
Also love pastoral symphony...so evocative!
Listen to Beethoven piano concerto #5.
Sublime.
Make sure it's a good performance...and pianist.
Grimaud
Andsnes
Uchida
Barenboim
It's just ethereal.
The first time I heard Talking Heads' Once in a Lifetime, I felt like a whole new kind of music sprang into being. And then I heard Laurie Anderson, and another whole new kind of music sprang up. In the same decade, no less. It was a great time to be a teenager.
Best. Mom. Ever.
Technology. American Military-Industrial complex. American imperialism. Capitalism. Power & comfort. I’ve listened repeatedly the past few days and it gives me chills. Also very timely for it to skyrocket in popularity with the younger generations.
Beautiful and eerie performance.
This is mostly about Operation Eagle Claw, not imperialism.
It's literally about Operation Eagle Claw, a failed attempt to rescue hostages from Iranians in the 80's.
@@arkbien9303It could be argued that Ameican imperialism is one of the things that led to the Iranian hostage crisis
@@arkbien9303
The only reason hostages were taken was because of American imperialism..
American Imperialism is why America has done everything It has done for the last 120 years or so. And also everything done to us.
The Iranian hostage situation and 9/11(among many events) are both the results/blowback of American imperialism.
@@cliffordohrnberger Am I to assume you agree with what Iran did? You know very damned well that the Ayatollah's response to America's messing around where it shouldn't have has ruined the country, possibly permanently. 😐 Two massive wrongs never make a right and the innocent always suffer.
And this song refers to a very specific event, not general American imperialism.
Listening to this feels like listening to a conversation someone else is having with God - You're outside of it, and none of it is directed at you, but it's still so incredibly poignant and beautiful to hear.
Personally I see a dialogue between the first strong AI and its designer, man. I see in this music the beginning of digital consciousness.
This is similar to what you are saying, the machine speaks to its creator God
OMORI PFP
Actually, in an interview with Anderson Cooper, Laurie Anderson herself said this song is "About how technology can't save you."
source??
@@thatoneguy9582he most likely got it from Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Superman
ruclips.net/user/shortsViqOZ_QaXeI?si=h0H7xmNM2HtBLQxB and inspired by the Iranian crisis
@@thatoneguy958260 mins..search the quote and you'll find the video
It’s very cryptic, that answer. I wish she would explain that statement. It could be taken many ways.
I'm a teenager just discovering this master piece of art. It's f amazing
As you grow older, you'll learn to stop calling things like this "art."
@@markv1274 boo
Everything Laurie does is art, she is far more than just a musician.
You should listen to Kate Bush-The Kick Inside and The Dreaming are two great Art Rock albums.
@@markv1274 you're disgusting, stupid and uneducated.
THIS is ART. with deep meaning
This song feels like the arrival of the angels while they sing a chorus to the end of the world. Poignant, beautiful and so so melancholic.
Literally no better explanation
Feels something beyond human nature
13 angels standing guard round’ your bed
@@miiinotaurbeautiful song from a great album
One of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard. I have been listening to it since its release and have never grown tired of it.
I was 13 in 81’ and obsessed with this album. I didn’t understand the depth of it at all then, but loved it was so innovative.
my dad showed me this song when i was about 7 or 8. i always thought he had the coolest, oddest taste in music. this song, as well as some others he showed me, undoubtedly make me think of him. lost him over two years ago, still can’t believe it. hug ur parents.
Same thing for me too my dad was watching i guess it was a movie and She played alot of her songs and I was just amazed some thing like this exists, i was about the same age maybe older but it was the late 80's early 90's. opened my mind
He certainly did have cool taste
I think if somebody shows this kind of music to their kid, they are definitely cool - sorry for your loss, Im sorry he is not among us anymore, even when I do not know him. But if he liked this, it feels like I know him.
your dad had a rare quality of super coolness!
i had a friend like that who had a huge vocabulary that would make us laugh so hard! So rare!
Wow what a shit taste in music
❤️❤️❤️ I was fortunate to see Laurie Anderson in a live show in SF. I was 7 months pregnant so despite the fact that the show was over-sold, I was allowed a seat just a few feet away from where she was performing. Both of my sons heard very inventive music before they were born, and they are creative musicians and composers themselves now!
That's awesome! Do you have any other recommendations for inventive music?
@@joeybrazelton3069Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards of Canada
Bob Marley, no womon no cry @@joeybrazelton3069
listen to the words and look at the visuals. this is about American Imperialism. watch it as many times as have to. this is the most genius thing i’ve ever watched and listened to.
No it's not. She explained in interviews it's about Operation Eagle Claw, a failed attempt to rescue hostages from Iran.
No it's not. Not sure why RUclips erased my original comment, but she said it's about Operation Eagle Claw, a failed attempt to rescue the hostages in Iran in the 1980's
really sad state of affairs when it seems like most people don't understand its about imperialism, when it's basically explicitly said in the lyrics?!?!?!
@@notransitory1She said in interviews it was about Operation Eagle Claw, a failed attempt to rescue hostages
Has nothing to do with imperialism, it is in honor of those who were taken hostage and the six service members who lost their lives.
I'm 32 years old, a previous boss I had showed me this song over 10 years ago, I'm still listening to it today. This was an awesome era for music
That part when she sings "well you don't know me but i know you" is excellent audio and video
When justice is gone, there's always force.
Yeah I know
When force is gone, there’s always mom
Hi Force!
@@hikariari-b9iWHAT DOES IT MEANNN
There’s always family but in the end that will get ruined too? (Electronic arms alluding to manufactured family)
The best Black Mirror ending brought me here, I was crying so much because of that scene, jesus that was such a deep masterpiece
Albert Damdin 😕🙁☹️😢😭 I think any “normal” person will agree with you!
@Amir Tamaddon Well put. It did for me too. I didn't even realize that until I read your comment.
@Anthony Andrea It's a TV show on Netflix. This particular episode is from an episode called Bandersnatch, which is an interactive episode. You get to make choices throughout the episode. Getting to this ending is kinda tricky though. I think you have to go through a bunch of others first.
Fr that ending got me bawling my eyes out but it was the best one in my opinion
This song makes me cry every time I listen to it. I would kill to hear that level of life in my mother's voice again.
The fragility of life and the possibility of mutual destruction, this is the hand that takes! Absolute masterpiece!
I think baby Clark Kent was implying I’m Dr. Manhattan as some sort of compliment.
The hand is still taking.
i didn't expect this song to make me cry, but i did at the line "so, hold me mom". powerful stuff. thank you laurie anderson for this touching piece of work!
I don’t think you can appreciate now how incredibly unique this was then. I still feel like I did then watching this.
Fun fact: This was the first nickname given to me by a childhood friend in Los Angeles😉
Edit: My child hood friend would shorten my nickname to Supe. Ironically, he called our rival a bih in the very same breath. I thought that was pretty ironic.
in 2023 its still pretty unique
This song is just very weird. That’s all it is
It’s still incredibly unique ❤
I've been working in a nursing home for the first time, and the whole experience has been forcing me to confront loss, death, time, suffering, all of the things i never knew I truly feared. I don't want my now 50 yo mom to die one day. I don't wanna suffer in old age. Breaking down as I grow old TERRIFIES ME. I feel like I've seen no greater hell than the look I caught in the eyes of one of my dementia patients as they went into an episode of distress and confusion.
Once you hear this song you never will forget it.
I couldn't agree more. I just recalled this song because I'm staying with friends, and their shower's drain makes this exact beat for about three minutes after you turn off the water. With that beat of pipes pumping together closed, in an instant I was 13 years old again. Crossed legged at 3AM watching this song on RAGE for the first time. Never will I forget it or that moment. Ever.
I’ve been searching for this song ever since I saw it on MTV! It was sometime in the 90’s and I recently stumbled across a top 10 list of Vocoder songs. I never forgot the beat! 😅
Uh, sure. Made me terrified by HIV more than probably 300.000 debates about it.
But I’m trying to! 😂
Almost as bad as Elvira by the Statler Bros.
I remember first hearing it on the cassette radio. I first laughed, then listened, it kept going, I kept listening, and 8 minute later was the longest thing I’ve heard on the radio. After it finished I was hooked. I think this was the greatest musical art of the 80s, Genius.
23 and I always cry like a baby when I hear this song.
Laurie Anderson was light years ahead of her time and this song is proof of that.
This bizarre song is oddly comforting but sends chills down my spine and makes my arm hair stand up, and yet I adore it.
It's called goosebumps, not arm hair stand up.
@@HoverDoor I know what goosebumps are, I just used different wording because I personally like the way it sounded.
i hate to say it, but i discovered this through a tiktok. but hell im so glad i did. from what im seeing, everyone has their own feelings with this masterpiece, and im no different. there’s something so oddly comforting yet terrifying about it. ive been through a lot these past few years and somehow o superman perfectly encapsulates the feelings in a strange way i could never describe. im very happy this song is in my life now.
Agreed
I also discovered through TikTok. It doesn't matter how we got here. It's just good we're here. 🙂
@@gingerhoggatt7838As someone who has been into her since the 90s...WELCOME. 😊
Like bon ivers creeks
Or Imogen heaps hide and seek
and????? its a song 🤷 same with radio or other social network
I`m 53 and it still gives me chills. Played the cassette to death as a teenager. Way ahead of her time.
54 THIS YEAR, STILL OLVE THIS
Yes, my nutrition-hose was cut in 1969...I exactly know, what you mean! This was a fertile and massive creative time...good Worms Dame from west-Berlin Studios....
@@marcus-flavius I’m 62, and this song still gives me the chills as well! I also enjoy the remixes of the track that are released from time to time!
I'm 56. My sister had the album, but I recorded it off the radio. I STILL expect Bachman-Turner Overdrive "Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" to follow after that last 'Ah'.
I'm 20 and its okay i guess
One of THE most unique and extraordinary songs of my lifetime. Stunning.
It's total crap !
Better than good
It's not "most unique", it's either unique or not..
@Nosaveddata Maybe you should try some drugs. They might help your negative attitude and narrow mindset
unique yeah, extraordinary? hell no
For some time in the 80's I used the "Hello,I'm not home right now, but if you want to leave a message, just start talking at the sound of the tone "to VERY popular effect.
In 1982 I was 15 vears old and heard this song on the radio at night. I was completely mesmerized, because over 8 minutes there was always something NEW happening in this track, only the female breathbeat remained constantly, everything else was shifting, slowly like tectonic plates. I knew nothing about Laurie Anderson, I didn't know that she was beautiful - it was just a pure listening experience.
for me too...
This was my exact experience too. Blew my tiny mind, it did. I never thought I’d be watching the video on the internet, 37 years later
I was also 15 in 1982 and considered this then as a pile of monotonous, pseudo intellectual shit.; my view remains the same today - it is simply irritating bollocks that is prlobably played in Guantanamo Bay as part of torture. Americans love crap because the only culture that they have is that which festers in the arse of their oversized pants.
@@thomasgray9170 - calm down.
I loved this when it came out (I was 18 in 1982) and I still love it now; I think it's inventive and - in 1982 it was bloody unique. Incidentally, I'm not fat and I'm not American.
@@corkscrewcurly Thank goodness that it was indeed unique, for the sake of the sanity of the masses! Even the lyrics are appalling but the composition surely couldn't have taken more than ten minutes. There is a lot of music that I hate yet can comprehend its appeal or appreciate its craftsmanship but this track's popularity strikes me, to use economics terms, from induced demand rather than autonomous demand. My dad once told me that if the BBC wheeled out a dog turd onto a stage, most British people would applaud. Anyway, I accept my admonishment, providing you buy me a nice pair of ear muffs.
I've only just found this song bit there's something so comfortable about it. I cannot stop listening to it. It makes me feel so calm...
I know exactly what you mean
A serial killer loved this song
@@af_81which one?
@user-mg3go3qg4x Okay? Is that important in any way? Are you trying to imply something?
@@Behestofheaven yeah. That’s the songs a bit serial killer ish
This album really expanded my music taste. I was a big metalhead & punk fan, then in '84 I heard this. Felt like I was listening to all the politics and ideas behind punk, but from a different perspective. Timeless. Beautiful. Tragic.
@cross hatch2 I love the the
I love the way you said that. Laurie doesn't always easily fit into the punk category, but there's definitely some handshake going on there, some overlap.
@@smoothblink Yes, KUSF (student station) played mostly punk and Laurie fit right in.
@@smoothblink Avante guarde?
@@1953beetle i think that laurie probably fits into the category of avant garde like she fits into the category of violinist or songwriter - "kind of". she's famously hard to categorize, but I'm not all that interested in solving the question since one of the things that makes her interesting, imo, is her ability to be this and that, yes and no, and a little frustrating. there's that punk overlap again! that being said, calling her avant garde is great if that feels right to you. :)
There is something mystical about this song and I don't know how to describe it. I just know that every time I listen to it, it makes me cry. Every single time.
I can recall when this was released way back in the 80s. Nothing else had ever sounded like it and going forward nothing else will ever sound like it; it's totally original. Superb piece of music history.
MiG23 Flogger lol What a dick.
I like Echoes by Don Diablo - it has a "O Superman-ness" about it.
Might be a reason no one else wanted to sound like this.
@@CelestialWoodway You had to be there. I had this and "Walk the Dog", they were catchy in a mesmerizing way, bizarre, avant-garde and unique at a time when there was a LOT of new direction and experimentation in music.
to be fair hide and seek is quite similar yet different enough
Good god, Bandersnatch gave this song such beautiful and bittersweet meaning.
Edit: Should have said “for me” this song now has a “new” association in my mind to a story I found to be sad yet beautiful, and unforgettable.
⅄
or the song originally had a bitter sweet meaning you dumb shit
@@endowarrior7399 What about this song makes you think it has a bittersweet meaning? Bandersnatch easily gave this song a bittersweet meaning.
ScG think it’s all the bombs and I’m pretty sure ‘mom’ in this sense is some kind of army with their automatic, electronic mechanical arms
Grip Langer get a life next
This song made me cry when I was in art school during 9/11, and it still makes me cry 20 years later. It still manages to feel like an alarm and a lullaby simultaneously, and the lyrics become more literal all the time.
They're American planes.... so hard to believe this was before 9/11. It's all I can think about hearing it.
This is about the Iranian hostage crisis and when the plane and helicopter went down
@@imtherealFidi right. But she also sang it live in New York because people associated it so heavily with 9/11.
A 38 year old man and I've only just found this!!! I dont even know what to say of the feelings this gave me, I've just been stuck in an awkward trance for the last 8:27sec, in the somberness of peaceful sadness, the "huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh" of her voice as the beat felt like a heartbeat on a monitor beating down to its last beat. Didn't feel like i was listening to a song...more like i just witnessed art in sound, like the first time witnessing zdzisław beksiński...its an awkward experience of art that pulls you in. So awkward yet so glad it found me.
Amen!!!
The first time I listened to this song, I found it funny that I was getting strangely emotional over it. The second time I listened to it, I dashed to the bathroom halfway through, where I bawled my eyes out uncontrollably for a solid ten minutes, and I just couldn't figure out why. Even now, when I really let the song get a hold of me, I start crying. I don't understand why I feel this way.
It kinda feels like the ghost of people past who didnt get the end they wanted. Kinda. Idk, kinda
I feel you. As a kid I liked or loved this song so much now 41 years old I'm getting panic attack hearing it. It scares the shit out of me and I have zero explanations or any reason why. There is something in it that I can't explain.
@@TitusFFM then don't watch I'm feelin so strange and weird watching this 😭😭😭😭
@@HibaSheikh-er7kh it's not that I don't want to listen to it. It's so wonderful yet so strange at the same time. It's that it's something in my head that reacts to it. And my curiosity what's to know why.
@@TitusFFM I kinda find it disturbing i wanna know why is it so disturbing 😭😭😭
Lost my mom last year. When I got this ending of bandersnatch and heard this track I was in tears. I dreamt of hugging my mom so tight that when I woke up I had tears running down my face. Didn't want the dream to stop... Great episode.
I'm sorry for your loss... Your message was very touching. All the best xo
@@rollmops3113 thank you!
Im sorry about your loss man :(
God loves everything and everybody else and everyone....
Lost my mom at the end of October. The ending immediately ran through my whole body and had me in rushing tears. It was almost too much especially with the song. There are so many paths and they are waiting for us but also with us still
When I was 13 this would be playing on the radio in the morning as I got ready for school - my beautiful wee Irish Mother (now 78 years young!!) still loves this masterpiece x
So far, I find your (this) comment to be the most fascinating one of the bunch. Truly! Songs this length just don't get played. Not on the radio, nor the television. I remember when G'n'R's "November Rain" dropped, & MTV (I was about 13 y.o.) had it on constant rotation. I thought I was going to either lose my mind, or switch to VH1. 9 minute song. Around that time, Bohemian Rhapsody had made a comeback thanks to the Wayne's World soundtrack (& the epic car sing along of course), & I had thought that was an incredibly long number at merely 6 minutes. Of course, I hadn't heard "Free Bird" yet, so, what did I know? (the original NINE minute hit.) Lately I've been jamming out to the Rhino Records 15 volume comp (that's has the same title as that Depeche Mode song), just trying to appreciate how random New Wave truly was, for a music genre. It seems to me, most of the lyrics in New Wave, are dark at the core, yet humorous, overall. Kinda like if Novelty Rock (Tenacious D, Flight of the Conchords, Bobby Joe Ebola, etc) wasn't consciously trying to make you laugh. Like MST3K, or Beavis & Butthead. Judging by the popularity & mass respect of Weird Al Yankovic, these days, I'd say the World (World = every Millennial on the 'net) is overdue for a major revisiting of New Wave music (grunge has been fun, but at this point is getting a free ride, in terms of trendiness.) This song, "O Superman", immediately struck me, the first time I heard it (not sure if it was open or closed fist, truly. Backhand?? meh.) Seemed to be like 1st wave Industrial, in terms of the lack of a coherent drum beat. "The Tyranny of the Beat" (1991) is a fine collection of this style. But somehow, I don't think she (Laurie) was familiar with Throbbing Gristle, actually. & even if she was, THAT wasn't really what she was going for at all anyways. (I still cannot believe that this was ever played on the radio.) To transplant this tune 40 years into the future, it must seem shocking to most EDM (electronic dance music) fans & fanatics. Perhaps even profane. Could you imagine, a "candy raver" attempting to dance to this? First a "liquid" attempt, then perhaps a "caterpillar", only to admit defeat, & give up the dance, standing there bug eyed & motionless, sucking on their candy coated pacifier. Yeah, this generation NEEDS "new wave". Right now.
Yes I remember this being played on the radio too, nothing unusual about that. In fact it wasn’t uncommon to for an entire album to be played, one example I remember was Crisis by Mike Oldfield. If you want another example of another long pop song then Richard Harris’ MacArthur Park comes in at 7 minutes 21 seconds.
The Leprechauns in West Cork love this too!
I think the O stands for originality , hard to think of a more original piece of work....absolutely timeless and exciting
How fabulous! My Mum stamped on mine and smashed it to bits :D
I once listened to this song on repeat for hours while doing a 16 hour shift as a security guard. It was winter time and the day was as dark as the night. I sat in that car and somehow this kept me awake. I first heard it on the radio in the middle of the night the night before, same downtown place. To this day I never looked into the artist or the lyrics, as I felt the song should remain an enigma in my mind for all time.
In some way, this is among the best comments I've ever read on the internet.
I saw Laurie Anderson in concert once and time ceased to have meaning during the show. I honestly couldn't tell you if it was 5 minutes or 2 days. It was fantastic. Totally took us all to a new dimension.
It was probably about 2hrs
Were you on drugs?
saw here during the Strange Angels tour...it was transcendental.
@@jamesspratt hahahahah!
Probably
FAR OUT man!
5:55 :)
For the people that embraced the inevitability of death and got to spend a few more moments basking in the warmth and light of youth, a mother's love, and the comfort of a rabbit you called your own
the ending didn't make me cry but damn this comment almost made me
Same except without the almost.
Beautifully said. Something too about following death down the rabbit hole and Watership Down.
⅄
It seems that once every 20 years or so this song gains some new cultural significance due to a world shattering event. I am listening to this song during the Covid-19 quarantine, and every lyric, from front to back, is punching me in my emotions.
I might be social distancing, but I'm holding you now in my electronic arms. Stay safe.
I came here from Aphex Twin's polynomial-C (which seems to borrow a little from this track). It's got such a cool retro home made feel. In crisis we always go back to the home-made.
"I am listening to this song during the Covid-19 quarantine, and every lyric, from front to back, is punching me in my emotions."
Same dude. Same.
"but I'm holding you now in my electronic arms" - I was listening to *that exact* line as I read your comment!
Hi Jeff. That's an insightful comment, thanks. In the early days of the Internet, the Web was a force for good, and it's great we now have music and information now at our fingertips. I still remember this track when it came out on Top of the Pops! Stay safe. We will survive Covid-19.
Good the way drop the Covid-19 link in to your ''please love me,, post not ever liking this song
LAURIE ANDERSON WAS & IS LIGHT YEARS AHEAD OF HER TIME ! ! !👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
What a glorious time, when experimental pieces like this could actually enter the charts...
How true. Now the youth have Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry and Stormzy bringing pop music to a grinding halt. The cardinal sin of pop music has occurred. It got boring, when once it was mesmerizing.
No shit . love it
I wish it was like that nowadays
Teddy Dunn pop music means popular music. So, yes, obviously he is talking about music on the radio because the radio plays what is popular.
What an intelligent and creative woman.
@@tachikomakusanagi3744 stfu and get lost, you ignorant clown!
I’m Japanese and I couldn’t understand the meaning completely when I first listened this song,but I really shocked by the sounds. This is like future but somehow I feel comfortable while I’m listening her voice.
Je suis Français. J’ai découvert cette chanson sur une radio de grande écoute tard le soir quand j’étais adolescent au début des années 80. C’était totalement nouveau et hypnotique. Merci à RUclips de nous permettre de redécouvrir ce titre et surtout merci à RUclips de me permette de lire vos commentaires qui me font penser que nous sommes nombreux à être toujours sous le charme de ce chef d’œuvre unique même si nous ne pratiquons pas la même langue. Je vous embrasse tous.
I find it fascinating that even though different cultures are separated by the rules and regulations bound to it, the human condition transcends any language or region, such as what this song evokes
@@yellow_jacket3260 Her voice is soothing and comforting in any language.
I like your comment. Even as a native English speaker, the poetry here is challenging because these words have so much power & many dimensions of meaning. ❤
This song makes me feel like the grim reaper is breathing down my neck and stroking my hair. My heart is pounding with fear and anxiety but I can’t stop listening.
When it’s a handsome man: 😍
When it’s the grim reaper: 💀
Stupid comment.
if only I could get the grim reaper to stroke me
This song is nearly 40 years old and still sounds like nothing else ever made in music, still so beautiful in its simplicity all these years later ❤️🌈🎵
Here because of Bandersnatch, loved it
Yup
same
Yeah same
Same haha
lol me toooo
We may not know each other, but this song is touching to many of us on a completely different level, and that's incredibly beautiful and comforting in a strange and lovely way. We aren't alone. Keep keeping on, my friends.
Well said Bethany. Many messages in this song...
This is a beautiful message: Sending you love from across the stars. It takes seconds to write words but the impact they have can be MASSIVE.
X 💜❤💙
@@lionheart11381 You are a beautiful person. Love from across the stars, friend :)
@@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOne very true.
Sending you all a big hug! We made it so far! 2020
I was baked out my mind and saw /listened to this for the first time. This made me feel things i havent felt in years. Truly ahead of its time
Absolute genius. Jaw-dropping.
"AND THE VOICE SAID..."
My dad absolutely loved this song and he loved laurie Anderson and all of her songs. Thats why he named me like laurie Anderson. He showed me all of her songs. I'm so glad i still listen to these songs. I miss you so much dad. You died with your passion a month ago but i'll forever remember you with these songs and i'll show these songs even to my children one day and you'll be so proud.
jenny, he understood true art.
@@MrDayjur thank you
beautiful post
... :-)... Hi Laurie...
@@joedavis4150 its more like laura but its the same but hi!
Never understood meditation but this song makes me realise what the idea is. Focusing on the pulsing through headphones, it’s like watching the entire universe come into being with your ears.
I've been in a meditative trance exactly once, I can definitely see why this could do the same
I'm so glad to be alive during a time when I can still listen, watch, enjoy, cry through, and experience musical art like this--years and years after its creation, before I was even born... How surreal is this wild, weird, heartbreaking, wonderful world in which we live? I pray for peace amongst all peoples. May you always have water and shade. (Thank you for bringing me here, LPotL♡)
1:44 for those looking for it, this is where the popular soundbyte starts 👍
what a precious piece of art, still love it after all this years. Close your eyes when you listen.
@@neilstevens9729 go back to listening to Whitney Houston
Justin bieber can top this
Neil Stevens so its all about vocals huh? Ariana grande has a great voice too
@@neilstevens9729 You sound really dumb right now just letting you know. Enjoy your pop music approved by a corporate board.
@@neilstevens9729 I'm not insulting you, on purpose. Just letting you know how you look to me. If you were insulted maybe there's a grain of truth in what I said
Love the comments of so many people that actually entered the train even though they knew what was about to happened. This song brought me goosebumps all over the body. Love your moms and dads and have a smooth and peaceful 2019 unknown friends
Haris tk92 Im your friend from the future
Thanks random person on RUclips
thank u:)
The future says hi friend
..pulled me through, a Guilty Soldier..
This masterpiece will live on even after the generation who lived it fades ,the lyrics are so powerful
this looks and sounds super cool now but just imagine how fucking mind blowing this would have been to listen to in 1982
It was - and still is!🌟
Yup, it was
Was indeed
Yep, it was amazing hearing this when it was first released.
I did listen to it in 1982, and it was indeed fucking mind blowing. What a privilege.
God this song is amazing. Cold and warm all at once.
i agree fully, well described! i would go even further and reflect on if its simply a song, since it balances heavily between a message / art video / perfo act / song
god is your dimention x
It's like a venus flytrap. "Come closer, it's nice in here. See?"
I literally hear “Hello this is your mother are you there are you coming home” in my head when I’m trying to sleep at night
Especially sleeping in a dark room and the closet door is slightly open 🫡
2 days ago i was trying to sleep and this exact part of the song started playing in my head. i genuinely had a panic attack and i couldnt sleep all night.
What part is that?
@@mummytrolls I can’t sleep at night bc I hear it over and over replaying in my I head
I'm writing this with a translator, my English is horrible. I was listening to this song, and I remembered my friend's older brother who died in January this year. I remember perfectly how his mother was, in tears, his father and everyone, it was the first time I saw that family cry. he died of a cardiorespiratory arrest after being shot. I remember him in the coffin, he seemed to be sleeping, his mother couldn't even see him, she preferred to stay isolated in the room, and my friend slept on top of him before the burial. No one in that house was the same and whenever I go there I feel someone's presence, apart from an energy that makes me uncomfortable. I unfortunately heard the shots, they were close to my house, I didn't know they were really shots and I jokingly said "is it a shot?", but I knew it was really after I saw a lot of people going to the scene of the accident, I felt bad.
I discovered this piece in college, in class. Since then, I use it to sleep every night. It's been three years. Three years of Laurie Anderson rocking me to sleep, hypnotising me with that repetitive rythm and those odd words.
Si vous voulez un peu de changement (variété ne serait vraiment pas le mot juste ici), un pionnier français de la musique électronique, Jean-Jacques Perrey, a enregistré en 1957 un album totalement approprié à votre usage :
ruclips.net/video/k3Uc55KMZt8/видео.html
Heard it for the 1st time just now and Thats what i decided to do with this song forever. 10 seconds into the song it felt like i was wrapped in warmth and that everything is ok...my eyes literally closed by themselves while i felt like a cat purring. Absolute gold!