Laurie Anderson’s genius, writes Mark Swed, “is to find the music and theater to capture that space between the real and the unreal, which she says has become increasingly unclear.” She brings her work Dirtday! to the Walker Nov. 2–4.

Minneapolis rapper P.O.S.—who performed with Doomtree at Rock the Garden 2012—canceled his tour this week, announcing that his “kidneys are garbage.” On dialysis for a month, he’s seeking a new kidney. A fund has been set up to help pay medical bills.

Pianist Vijay Iyer took home a whopping five prizes from Downbeat critics this spring, yet the prizewinning CD hasn’t, like most jazz releases, racked up many sales. Are efforts like Iyer’s at audience-expanding “outreach” on the right track?

Joy Division’s iconic album cover for Unknown Pleasures has become ubiquitous. But what exactly is it? Designer Peter Saville explains the design’s origin as an image of a pulsar found in a science textbook brought to him by the band.

Marcel Duchamp’s impact on art history is well-known, but the Barbican’s newly announced multimedia season, gets specific, digging into how the Dada trickster influenced John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns.

Music on the new CD by Matmos (part of our 2007 Performing Arts season) is based on ESP. Using a technique devised in the ‘30s, the duo recorded verbal responses by subjects after the album’s concept was transmitted to them through the Ganzfeld method.

The Telegraph’s Mark Hudson compares the success of Korean rapper PSY—who’s “Gangnam Style” has made him an international celebrity—to vanguard video artist Nam June Paik. He argues that Paik’s diverse work and reputation paved the way for “innovators” like PSY.

Tributes for Philip Glass’ 75th birthday keep coming, and “First Listen” offers online tracks to the newest, REWORK_Philip Glass Remixed, featuring musical odes by Beck, Efterklang’s Peter Broderick, Amon Tobin, and others.

Folkie Amanda Palmer, once half of Dresden Dolls, earned a whopping $1.2 million on Kickstarter to fund an album, but she wasn’t planning on paying musicians who toured with her—a stance she’s reversed. So why does the outrage persist?