Laurie Anderson - Big Science

The messages of political apocalypse and technological destruction from Big Science, the album that launched avant-garde performance artist Laurie Anderson into the music realm and spawned perhaps the century’s most unlikely Top 10 Hit (“O Superman (For Massenet)”) remain surprisingly relevant, despite having been released in 1982. Her robotic minimalism and on-a-slow-spaceship-to-the-moon sound won’t sit well with most, but Big Science represents the optimal entry point into Anderson’s catalog. Those who had the record the first time around be warned that the reissue isn’t for you, as the only additions are the already accessible video for “O Superman” and a forgettable bonus track. [www.laurieanderson.com]