Earlier this year, Laurie Anderson performed a new piece for dogs in Times Square during a chilly New York evening. Now, she has brought that special canine masterpiece to the Late Show with Stephen Colbert in a most resounding rendition of the tune.
On the show, Ms. Anderson entertains both humans and dogs with a new composition all her own. The piece is an exploration on how sounds affect the ears of a canine since they're cognitive prowess for hearing and processing audio and sounds is much more complex and sensitive than our own.
Rolling Stone commented on the performance:
"The ears of her special audience did perk up a few times during her short performance, which was also palatable for human ears. Anderson began with a section of lithe, elegant plucking that moved deftly into dissonance and scraping before coalescing into a rumbling, stirring close."
The new work from Anderson comes as an idea conjured by her and world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Since that discussion in 2010, Anderson has held two concerts of the piece, with an incarnation of it being performed at a festival in Sydney, Australia.
Also, the concert for dogs is in coordination with her recent film Heart of a Dog. In the film, the musician reflects on her late-mother, her late-husband Lou Reed and her beloved dog. That piece is set to debut on HBO April 25.
Certainly the performance was intended for dogs and not humans, and yet the experience is something not uncommon with our own human experience too. But without delving too far into the philosophy behind the work, take a preview of Anderson's latest idiosyncrasy with a video from the Late Show with Colbert below.
