Laurie Anderson - Mister Heartbreak

Agreed. I cleaned up my old Quiex vinyl copy the other day and took it for a spin. Home of the Brave as well. 

This was the first Laurie Anderson I heard, at the age of 13. I loved it, and quickly bought Big Science and, a few years later, Strange Angels: all fabulous. I was recently quite disappointed by Homeland - it seemed lacking the musicality and humour of her earlier work.

She is one of those artists who you can't describe adequately to someone who hasn't heard them. An avant-garde performance artist/musician with genuine humour and insight? Hardly snappy is it? But I still love her music. It's wonderful that my children enjoy some of her wackier lyrics - I think there's a child-like love of absurdity in her work which they recognise.

Spare her a thought just now though - she was married to Lou Reed.

Mark