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O Superman

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"O Superman"
O Superman (For Massenet)
Single by Laurie Anderson
from the album Big Science
B-side"Walk the Dog"
ReleasedOctober 1981 (UK)[1]
Recorded1981, The Lobby, New York City[2]
Genre
Length8:21
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Laurie Anderson
Producer(s)Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson singles chronology
"O Superman"
(1981) 		"Sharkey's Day"
(1984)

"O Superman", also known as "O Superman (For Massenet)", is a 1981 song by performance artist and musician Laurie Anderson. The song became a surprise hit in the United Kingdom after it was championed by DJ John Peel,[3] rising to number 2 on the UK Singles Charts in 1981.[10] Prior to the success of this song, Anderson was little known outside the art world. First released as a promotional single, the song also appeared on her debut album Big Science (1982)[11] and as part of her live album United States Live (1984).

In the 1981 Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll, critics voted "O Superman" the best single of the year.[12][13]

Music

In writing the song, Anderson drew from the aria "Ô Souverain, ô juge, ô père" ("O Sovereign, O Judge, O Father") from Jules Massenet's 1885 opera Le Cid, that she had heard in the voice of tenor Charles Holland.[14] The first lines ("O Superman / O Judge / O Mom and Dad") echo the aria.[15] Susan McClary suggests in her book Feminine Endings that "O Superman" may also have been inspired by Massenet's 1902 opera Le jongleur de Notre-Dame.

Anderson's lead vocals are overlaid on a sparse background of two alternating chords formed by the repeated spoken syllable "ha" created by looping with an Eventide Harmonizer.[16] A Roland VP-330 vocoder was used on Anderson's voice to sound "like a Greek chorus".[16][17] A saxophone is heard as the song fades out, and a flute line and sample of bird calls appear at various points within the track. The two chords of the song are A♭ major and C minor, the repeating "ha" syllable acting as a harmonic drone on C.

Lyrics

O souverain, O juge, O père!
The song "O Superman" is based on the aria "O souverain, O juge, O père!", from Jules Massenet's opera Le Cid, here sung by Enrico Caruso in 1916.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The song's introduction consists of a repetition of the "O Superman / O Judge / O Mom and Dad" stanza. The rest of the song's lyrics are loosely structured around a phone conversation between the narrator and a mysterious voice. At first, the voice leaves a message claiming to be the narrator's mother but, upon not receiving a response, reveals itself as someone whom the narrator "doesn't know" but who "knows" the narrator. The narrator finally responds, asking "who is this really?" The voice then identifies itself as "the hand that takes" and informs the narrator that the "American planes" are coming. The song concludes with the stanza "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", with the narrator pleading to be held in her mom's long petrochemical, military, electronic arms.[citation needed]

As part of the larger work United States, the text addresses issues of technology and communication, quoting answering machine messages and the United States Postal Service motto "Neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" (which Anderson interprets into American Sign Language in the music video). In a 2022 60 Minutes interview, Anderson summarized the song as being about how "technology cannot save you".[18]

The lines "'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice / And when justice is gone, there's always force / And when force is gone, there's always Mom" derive from the fourth sentence of Chapter 38 of the Tao Te Ching: "When Tao is lost, there is goodness. When goodness is lost, there is kindness. When kindness is lost, there is justice. When justice is lost, there is ritual. Now ritual is the husk of faith and loyalty, the beginning of confusion."[citation needed]

In an interview with the Australian magazine Bulletin in 2003, Anderson erroneously stated that the song was connected to the Iran–Contra affair,[19] but she had meant to refer to the earlier Iran hostage crisis and the failure of Operation Eagle Claw in 1980.[20][21]

Release

First released as a single by B. George's One Ten Records, the song's unexpected popularity led to Anderson signing a distribution contract with Warner Records, which would reissue the single and later release her debut album Big Science in 1982. A live version of the song also appears on Anderson's 1984 live album United States Live.[22]

With DJ John Peel frequently playing "O Superman" on BBC Radio 1, the song reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and was ranked among the top ten "Tracks of the Year" for 1981 by NME.[23][24][25]

"O Superman" did not appeal to all listeners. According to the 1982 book The Rock Lists Album, compiled by John Tobler and Allan Jones, polls conducted by several unidentified British newspapers saw "O Superman" voted readers' least favourite hit single of 1981.[25]

Although Anderson had dropped the song from her performance repertoire almost two decades earlier, she revived the piece in 2001 during a concert tour that included a retrospective look at some of her older pieces, an idea conceived by her romantic partner Lou Reed. A live performance of "O Superman" was recorded in New York City shortly after the September 11 attacks, which some, including Anderson, felt gave the song's lyrics a new topical resonance.[26] This performance would appear on Anderson's 2002 album Live in New York.[27]

The B-side of the original single was a spoken word piece titled "Walk the Dog", which would also appear on United States Live. The studio version of the track was included on the Warner Bros. compilation Attack of the Killer B's (1983),[28] but was never issued on any studio album until the twenty-fifth anniversary reissue of Big Science in 2007.[29]

The 2018 interactive film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch includes an ending scored by "O Superman".[30]

In November 2023, an audio clip from "O Superman," centered on the lyrics "Well, you don’t know me / But I know you,” went viral as a sound on TikTok.[31]

In Italy, the song became popular thanks to its usage in a series of television PSAs about HIV prevention by the Italian Ministry of Health running from 1988 to the early 90's.[citation needed]

Recording details

Words and music written by Laurie Anderson.

Charts

Chart (1981) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[36] 28
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[37] 19
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[38] 9
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[39] 10
Ireland (IRMA)[40] 11
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[41] 21
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[42] 16
UK Singles (OCC)[43] 2

References

  1. ^ Bacon, Tony (2006). Singles. Backbeat UK. p. 195. ISBN 978-1-871547-73-3.
  2. ^ a b Big Science (Media notes). Warner Bros. 1982.
  3. ^ a b Murphy, Ben. "Laurie Anderson's 'O Superman' Re-Released!". DJ Magazine. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  4. ^ Bychawski, Adam (November 14, 2011). "The Big Pink sample Laurie Anderson's 'O Superman' on new track - listen". New Musical Express.
  5. ^ Hermes, Will (June 25, 2010). "Electronic Expressions in the Service of the Soul". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Rodgers, Jude (2015-03-15). "Mother's Day 2015: the 10 best songs about mothers". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  7. ^ Derry, Mark (1989). "Laurie Anderson: On the Jagged Edge". Elle. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  8. ^ "About the Piece: O Superman (tape)". LA Philharmonic. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  9. ^ Lester, Paul (11 July 2008). "What's the weirdest chart hit of all time?". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  10. ^ "The Official Charts Company - Laurie Anderson - O Superman". Official Charts. Retrieved April 25, 2009.
  11. ^ O Superman by Laurie Anderson-Topic on YouTube
  12. ^ Robert Christgau: Pazz & Jop 1981: Critics Poll
  13. ^ 1981 Pazz & Jop: The Year the Rolling Stones Lost the Pennant|The Village Voice
  14. ^ Folkart, Burt A. (November 12, 1987). "Obituaries: Charles Holland; Singer Fled Bias, Found Success". Los Angeles Times.
  15. ^ "Laurie Anderson Record Release Party". Other Minds Archives. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  16. ^ a b Simpson, Danny (April 19, 2016). "How we made Laurie Anderson's O Superman". theguardian.com. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  17. ^ "Selective Synthesis: "O Superman"". Roland Cloud. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  18. ^ "Laurie Anderson: The 60 Minutes Interview". 60 Minutes. July 25, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  19. ^ Wiesel, Al (January 22, 2003). "Sound Zero". The Bulletin. Archived from the original on January 29, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2007.
  20. ^ "'It has never been more pertinent' – Margaret Atwood on the chilling genius of Laurie Anderson's Big Science". the Guardian. 2021-04-08. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  21. ^ "Featured Audio - 98.7WFMT - Classical and Folk Music Radio Streaming Online". Archived from the original on 2013-02-09. Retrieved 2013-02-19.
  22. ^ O Superman (Live) by Laurie Anderson-Topic on YouTube
  23. ^ Official Singles Chart Top 75, 18 October 1981 - 24 October 1981
  24. ^ "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  25. ^ a b Tobler, John; Jones, Allan (1982). The Rock Lists Album. Methuen. ISBN 0458969001.
  26. ^ Klein, Joshua (August 2, 2007). "Laurie Anderson Big Science". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  27. ^ "September 11th Anniversary Coverage". WNYC. September 3, 2004. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  28. ^ "Attack Of The Killer B's (Volume One)". Discogs. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  29. ^ Barton, Laura (April 19, 2021). "Laurie Anderson - Big Science". Uncut. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  30. ^ "All The Songs In 'Black Mirror: Bandersnatch,' So You Can Marvel At The Sheer Amount Of '80s Details". Bustle. 2019-06-08. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  31. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (2023-12-07). "Playboi Carti Is Back Atop TikTok Billboard Top 50". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  32. ^ O Superman (For Massenet) (Remastered) by Laurie Anderson-Topic on YouTube
  33. ^ "Bill Kipper Discography". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
  34. ^ "The Lobby - CDs and Vinyl". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
  35. ^ "Laurie Anderson - O Superman (Vinyl)". Discogs.com. 2015-03-30. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
  36. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 978-0-646-11917-5.
  37. ^ "Laurie Anderson – O Superman" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  38. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Laurie Anderson" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  39. ^ "Laurie Anderson – O Superman" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  40. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – O Superman". Irish Singles Chart.
  41. ^ "Laurie Anderson – O Superman". Top 40 Singles.
  42. ^ "SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Songs M-O". Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  43. ^ "Laurie Anderson: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.

Listening

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