No Rock And Roll Fun

LANGUAGE IS A VIRUS... BEING SENT BACK TO OUTERSPACE: Laurie Anderson apparently couldn't believe it when she was approached and asked to become Nasa's artist in residence. Frankly, we're not quite sure we can believe it, either.

She intends to produce a range of works from her two-year NASA commission, including a film on the moons of the solar system that will debut at the 2005 World Exposition in Japan.
Anderson said her affiliation with the space agency has sustained her spiritually, especially as the war in Iraq has dragged on and the Abu Ghraib prison scandal has unfolded.
"Frankly, I find living in American culture at the moment really problematic," she said. "But then when I think of NASA, it's the one thing that feels future-oriented in a way that's inspiring. The greening of Mars or building a stairway to Mars, these are unbelievable aspirations."
Her voice ignites with wonder as she describes glimpsing the nebula for the first time, "like watching stars being born in outer space."

Hmmm. We're not sure working so closely with NASA would be the way we'd choose to try and escape from the horrors of the US Military-Industrial complex - it seems like joining in a fox hunt to try and get over the death of your pet dog to us - but we take her point.