It seems that many people are not familiar with Laurie Anderson, whose quirky and haunting album Big Science, released in 1983, is one of my favorite works of avant garde pop art. But everyone knows who Lou Reed is, even if they are only really familiar with Take a Walk on the Wild Side and his iconic band The Velvet Underground. He is obscure and yet hugely famous, while she is obscure and very discreet.
When people learn that they are married - they wed in April 2008 and have been together as a couple since 1995 - the reaction is usually "Who's Laurie Anderson"? Except among those who know who she is, and they say "It makes perfect sense". One reason is that Lou Reed is famously bi-sexual and Laurie Anderson was pretty much openly lesbian. Both of them transcend gender, if you ask me. It isn't that she is masculine and he is feminine; it is as if the two of them belong to some alternative gender that few people can pull off. So it makes perfect sense that these two talented musico-poetical creatures from the Third Gender Universe and the New York music scene would have come together.
How lucky and wonderful that they are doing a show, together, at Salle Pleyel in Paris on September 4. I was planning a trip to Paris but could not seem to decide when to go. I bought tickets for the concert online. Now we have to go! September is actually my favorite month in Paris. La rentrée, everybody back from summer vacation with a vengeance, trying to figure out how to prolonger le bronzage. Fewer tourists, as they have scampered back home to their own back-to-school madness. Generally nice weather, though mercifully cooler.
