While Pere Ubu have never been widely popular—usually categorized as "underground rock"—they have a devoted following, have been hugely influential on several generations of avant-garde musicians and are a critically acclaimed American musical group. To define their music, Pere Ubu coined the term Avant Garage to reflect interest in both avant-garde music (especially Musique concrète) and raw, direct garage rock.
When Cleveland-based band Rocket From The Tombs fragmented some members formed Dead Boys, while David Thomas and guitarist Peter Laughner joined with guitarist Tom Herman, bass guitarist Tim Wright, drummer Scott Krauss and synthesist Allen Ravenstine to form Pere Ubu in 1975. At the time the band formed, Herman, Krauss, and Ravenstine lived in a house owned by Ravenstine.
Pere Ubu's first single (their first five releases were singles on their own "Hearthan" label) was "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" (inspired by the "Doolittle Raid" and named after a film depicting the raid), backed with "Heart of Darkness"; followed by "Final Solution" in 1976. One review noted that "30 Seconds..." "was clearly the work of a garage band, yet its arty dissonance and weird experimentalism were startlingly unique."
Of their second single, "Final Solution" (backed with "Cloud 149"), one reviewer wrote that Ubu's "call for a 'final solution' was the cry of teen angst run down in the decaying rust belt of America, and unlike the British punks who were looking around England the same year, seeing no future, and hating what they saw, Ubu reveled in it." They would rarely perform this song after some listeners misinterpreted it as being associated with the 'Nazi final solution'.
After "Street Waves", their third single, Pere Ubu signed to Blank Records, a short-lived imprint of Mercury Records.
Laughner left the group after their first two singles, and died soon afterward after a struggle with drug addiction. Tony Maimone signed on as bassist after Tim Wright left to join DNA.
In 1978 they released their debut album, The Modern Dance, which sold poorly but has proven influential. With the song "Sentimental Journey," the debut also introduced the practice of re-appropriating titles from well-known popular songs: Pere Ubu's "Sentimental Journey" has no obvious relation to the Doris Day hit song of the same name; "Drinking Wine Spodyody" has no apparent connection to the Sticks McGhee song (later revived by Jerry Lee Lewis). This practice has continued through 2006's Why I Hate Women, which has a song called "Blue Velvet" (again, no relation to the 1963 hit song by Bobby Vinton).
Special note should be made of Ravenstine's contributions to Pere Ubu. While most synthesizer players tended to play the instrument as they would a piano or organ, Ravenstine generally opted instead to make sounds that were reminiscent of spooky sound effects from 1950s science fiction films, or perhaps electronic music and musique concrète.
Dub Housing was released in 1978 and New Picnic Time in 1979. The group briefly disbanded in 1979, but reformed soon afterward with Tom Herman replaced by Mayo Thompson (of Red Krayola).
The Art of Walking was released in 1980, and by the release of Song of the Bailing Man in 1982, Krauss was replaced by Anton Fier. The group disbanded again soon afterwards; Krauss and Maimone formed Home and Garden, while Thomas worked on a solo career, notably with Richard Thompson and with members of Henry Cow.
By the late 1980s, one of Thomas' solo projects eventually featured much of Pere Ubu. The band was reformed again in 1987, with Jim Jones and Chris Cutler joining for the release of The Tenement Year in 1988, a far more pop-oriented album than ever before. The following year, the track "Waiting for Mary" (off the album 1989 Cloudland) appeared on MTV briefly. After the recording of Cloudland, Ravenstine left the group (although he made a guest appearance on Worlds in Collision in 1991) and later became an airline pilot. Eric Drew Feldman joined the band in time for the Cloudland tour and the recording of Worlds in Collision but left afterwards, joining Frank Black.
Story of My Life was released in 1993 on Imago Records; Maimone left (once again) to join They Might Be Giants, and Michele Temple and Garo Yellin joined the band for the Story of My Life tour and feature on Ubu's 1995 album, Ray Gun Suitcase. Robert Wheeler has played synthesizer and theremin with Pere Ubu since 1994. Krauss left the band during the Ray Gun Suitcase sessions. For the Ray Gun Suitcase tour, guitarist Jim Jones departed as a touring member (although he continued to contribute to recordings), founding guitarist Tom Herman replaced him for the tour.
Concurrent with the 1996 release of the Datapanik in Year Zero box set, Jim Jones retired due to health problems. Tom Herman returned to the band after a twenty year absence to tour with the band in 1995, and went on to record Pennsylvania in 1998 and St. Arkansas in 2002. Jim Jones contributed guitar tracks to each album as well, and guitarist Wayne Kramer of MC5 fame joined the band for their 1998 summer tour. Herman left again in 2005, being replaced by Keith Moliné, of David Thomas's "solo" group Two Pale Boys. The new lineup completed an album entitled Why I Hate Women, which was released on September 19th 2006.
On 18 February 2008, Jim Jones passed away at his Cleveland residence.
Busman's Honeymoon
Pere Ubu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One day they're walking on their hands
One day they're crawling in the streets
afraid of a strange free wide open land
Ho! For the times they are calling
Oh! For the times they say,
Go go go Gone!
Always in love
Always in line for that long walking home
Last night I saw those old friends of min
Making most outrageous sorta claims
Burning all the books, rocking on their heels
watching awhile the heart of the flames
I see they've been talking to you
Has to be a matter of just time
What starts with you glad to be running some errand
slides with time to be walking the line
The Pere Ubu's song Busman's Honeymoon is a complex reflection on the passing of time and the changes that come with it. The lyrics describe a group of old friends who are coping with the evolution of their lives in different ways. The first verse talks about how some of the friends have become paranoid about the world outside, while others seem to be lost in their own imagination. The chorus of the song emphasizes the excitement and anxiety that the current time is creating for the people "Oh! For the times they are calling, Go go go Gone!". The second verse describes how some of the friends have become more reckless, behaving in ways that they never would have done before. The final lines of the verse describe the sense of inevitability that comes with growing older and being pulled into conformity, "What starts with you glad to be running some errand slides with time to be walking the line."
Overall, the song seems to be questioning the nature of change and how people react to it. The line "ho! for the times they are calling" suggests that there is a sense of excitement and adventure in the air, but the tone also suggests that this new era is also daunting and unfamiliar. The chorus also implies that people's responses to change might not always be the most productive or even appropriate, evident in the phrases "always in love, always alone, always in line for that long walking home." These lyrics might suggest that people tend to retreat inward when a new era is upon them, and that they struggle to find a sense of common ground with other people.
Line by Line Meaning
I think about those old friends of mine
The singer is reflecting on their past friendships.
One day they're walking on their hands
The behavior of the singer's friends was erratic and unpredictable.
One day they're crawling in the streets
The singer's friends had a tendency to act out in public in strange ways.
afraid of a strange free wide open land
The friends were uncomfortable with the unpredictability and openness of the world around them.
Ho! For the times they are calling
The artist acknowledges the changing times and the impact it has on people.
Oh! For the times they say,
The singer recognizes the nostalgic and somewhat wistful feeling associated with reminiscing about the past.
Go go go Gone!
The singer is urging the listener to move forward and embrace the changing times.
Always in love
The artist's friends had a tendency to be emotional and intense in their relationships.
Always alone
Despite their emotions, the artist's friends were always somewhat isolated from others.
Always in line for that long walking home
The friends were always struggling to find their place in the world and return to something familiar.
Last night I saw those old friends of min
The singer has recently reconnected with their past friends.
Making most outrageous sorta claims
The friends continue to behave in a strange, unpredictable manner.
Burning all the books, rocking on their heels
The singer's friends are becoming increasingly radical and rejecting societal norms.
watching awhile the heart of the flames
The friends are mesmerized by their own destruction and rebellion.
I see they've been talking to you
The singer recognizes that their friends have been influencing the listener as well.
Has to be a matter of just time
The artist suggests that the listener may also become radical or extreme with enough exposure to the friends.
What starts with you glad to be running some errand
The artist warns the listener that their involvement with these friends may start out innocently enough.
slides with time to be walking the line
But over time, the influence of the friends may lead the listener towards conformity and losing their sense of self.
Contributed by Sebastian C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Vladimir Ravic
Thank you for this uploaded gem