Life on a String (album)

For the film, see Life on a String (film).
Life on a String
Studio album by Laurie Anderson
Released August 21, 2001
Recorded 2000-2001
Genre Avant-garde
Experimental music
Pop music
Label Nonesuch/Elektra Records
79539
Producer Laurie Anderson
Hal Willner
Laurie Anderson chronology

Talk Normal: The Laurie Anderson Anthology
(2000)
Life on a String
(2001)
Live in New York
(2002)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic link
Rolling Stone link

Life on a String is an album by performance artist Laurie Anderson, released in 2001 on Nonesuch Records.

One of Anderson's predominantly musical (as opposed to spoken-word) albums, Life on a String was recorded at the Lobby Studios in New York City under the musical direction of Skúli Sverrisson, and produced by Anderson and Hal Willner. Guest musicians on the album include Van Dyke Parks, Mocean Worker, Mitchell Froom and Lou Reed.

The first three songs, "One White Whale," "The Island Where I Come From," and "Pieces and Parts," were taken from her show Songs and Stories from Moby Dick. The song "Slip Away" is about the death of her father.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Laurie Anderson, except where indicated

  1. "One White Whale" – 2:03
  2. "The Island Where I Come From" – 4:08
  3. "Pieces and Parts" – 3:36
  4. "Here with You" – 2:22
  5. "Slip Away" – 5:50
  6. "My Compensation" – 2:28 (Anderson, Skúli Sverrisson)
  7. "Dark Angel" – 3:22
  8. "Broken" – 3:19
  9. "Washington Street" – 4:41
  10. "Statue of Liberty" – 4:24
  11. "One Beautiful Evening" – 5:05
  12. "Life on a String" – 2:57

Personnel