The world’s greatest lyricist, according to Laurie Anderson
You could ask one hundred different people who the greatest lyricist of all time is, and you’d probably get one hundred different answers. After all, music is not a set of clinical facts; it is inherently emotional. We like the lyrics that we like because of what they mean to us specifically; it is all subjective. So, while figures like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Patti Smith might top the rankings of lyricism, there is still room for the off-the-wall stylings of avant-garde writing, at least in the heart of Laurie Anderson.
In all fairness, Anderson should be no stranger to gifted lyricism. Although she is often overshadowed by her late husband, Lou Reed, who was himself a prolific and undeniably brilliant songwriter, the Illinois-born artist has had a legendary career in the arts in her own right. From the minimalist art pop of Big Science in 1982 to the avant-garde mastery of Homeland in 2010, Andersons’ musical career is criminally overlooked and well worth a resurgence.
Anderson is often noted more for her filmography than her music, and it is clear to see why; when you direct something as groundbreaking as Heart of a Dog, it is easy to forget about hit singles like ‘O Superman’. Nevertheless, music remains an intrinsic aspect of the artist’s life, teaming up with New York jazz outfit Sexmob during a tour in Europe last year. Jazz, particularly the weirder side of the genre, has always endeared itself to Anderson, fitting in neatly with her avant-garde tendencies. It was this fascination with experimental music that led her to meet the greatest lyricist of all, Don Van Vliet.
Vliet, or Captain Beefheart to you and I, is an unavoidable titan of the avant-garde, having produced some of the defining early releases of the genre, including the likes of Trout Mask Replica and Lick My Decals Off, Baby.
Inevitably, the pair would eventually cross paths through their respectively tireless artistic endeavours. As Anderson explained to The Line of Best Fit in 2021, “I got to work with him a couple of times. And he was a very jittery guy.” Thankfully, his jittery nature did not scare Anderson away.
The pair worked together briefly on a project that never came to fruition. Nevertheless, the experience provided Anderson with some endearing anecdotes about the legendary songwriter. “He would come back from a walk to my studio […] it was next to these cracked sidewalks with weeds growing out of them,” the artist shared, “He would come back really spooked because he said, ‘I just saw some things in the weeds!’. And then he’d look behind the console of the studio we were working at and shout ‘Woah! I just saw Brer Rabbit pop up on the screen’.”
The prospect of a collaboration between Laurie Anderson and Captain Beefheart is certainly an exciting thought for fans of the weird and wonderful, so it is pretty disappointing that the project never reached the public. Nevertheless, the missed opportunity certainly did not alter Anderson’s utter adoration for Vliet. “I really love Captain Beefheart,” she shared, “he made really great paintings as well.” Before sharing a final ringing endorsement of his songwriting genius, “He’s somebody who I hope gets a revival soon, because he wrote amazing hallucinatory songs with the greatest lyrics.”
