Laurie Anderson's Homeland

You can get a "first listen" of Laurie Anderson's long-awaited new album, Homeland, at NPR. You can hear individual tracks or the entire album, which is melodic, dark, edgy and political. There's also some lovely guest vocals by Antony Hegarty. In my opinion, Homeland is one of Laurie's best albums ever.

My BFF Donna and I went to see Laurie perform the concept show Homeland in 2008 at the Ferst Center here in Atlanta. It was right before the presidential election and emotions were running high. A few people got up and walked out of the show because Laurie made some brilliant shots at Dubya, McCain and Palin. I had the pleasure of interviewing and meeting Laurie and she was one of the most gracious people I've ever met. We were so awed by her (and the fact that Lou Reed was there, too!) that we couldn't even muster the courage to ask for a photo or autograph. After standing in the presence of one of my idols and inspirations, nothing else was required.