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.
Codex
Pere Ubu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I did this
And I went there
And I think about you all of the time
The day fades away
And the night passes over
And I think about you all of the time
I think about you all of the time
Here comes me
One, two
One...
I think about you all of the time
Step after step
Block after block
I think about you all of the time
The day fades away
And the night passes over
And I think about you all of the time
I think about you all of the time
I hear
I say
I see
I do
I think about you all of the time
The lyrics of Pere Ubu's song "Codex" seem to be a tribute to an absent loved one, as the singer repeatedly declares that they "think about you all of the time." The verses describe the singer going about their day-to-day activities, but with their absent loved one constantly on their mind, even though they are physically gone. The repetition of the phrase "I think about you all of the time" emphasizes the intensity of their feelings and the obsessive nature of their thoughts.
The use of simple and repetitive language in the song creates a hypnotic effect that matches the theme of constant longing and yearning present in the lyrics. The repetition also suggests that the singer's thoughts are constantly looping back to their loved one, unable to move on or let go. The rhythm of the verses, with their short phrases and pauses, adds to the sense of restlessness and anticipation, as if the singer is waiting for their loved one to return.
Overall, "Codex" is a poignant and haunting meditation on the pain of separation and the persistence of love, reminding us that even when someone is not physically present, they can still occupy our thoughts and emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
I think about you all of the time
The singer is constantly preoccupied with thoughts of the person addressed in the song.
I did this
The singer is reflecting on past actions.
And I went there
The singer is reflecting on past locations they have been to.
The day fades away
The day is coming to an end.
And the night passes over
The night overtakes the day.
Here come my shoes
The singer is getting ready to leave or go somewhere.
Here comes me
The singer is coming or arriving at their destination.
One, two
The artist is counting steps or beats.
Step after step
The artist is walking or moving forward.
Block after block
The artist is moving through a neighborhood or city.
I hear
The singer is using their sense of hearing to perceive things.
I say
The artist is communicating verbally.
I see
The singer is using their sense of vision to perceive things.
I do
The singer is taking action or doing something.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ALLEN RAVENSTINE, DAVID THOMAS, SCOTT KRAUSS, TOM HERMAN, TONY MAIMONE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nic Lawson
This was my first Pere Ubu lp. While I later came to love Modern Dance, and (most) everything else... Dub Housing has always had a special place in my heart. 1978 was a wild and wondrous year in music.
slimedog
+Nic Lawson Same here, still my favorite album by my favorite koo-koo band of all time.
Nic Lawson
There was a lot of good koo-koo music happening in Ohio back then.
shadofaxes
+Nic Lawson Oh hell yeah man. Bought this at a local Rolling Stone records when it came out, instant classic. My friends freeked when I played it first time and yes, the late 70's were an excellent time in music.
David Stowell
Happy to say I got to see Pere Ubu perform on two occasions, one in Portland Oregon where they took my wife's REQUEST for an encore. She screamed out "Non-Alignment Pact" and after a little horsing around with the synth sound they performed it. Perfectly.
The crowd went mad. A beautiful night.
999klondike
This band had so much talent, but so overlooked.
Fabian Dee
like a good version of talking heads with a bit of beefheart thrown in
Michele Krick
This song is as romantic as any other soft sweet love song! It describes those feelings of discord that we start to feel once we start to think of the possibilities of being in love. I love Pere Ubu for expressing discord, it somehow soothes my complicated soul!
y08arrow
My favourite lyric in this song is "Here come my shoes. Here comes me!"
Diane H
My favorite album of all time.