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.
Dark
Pere Ubu Lyrics
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And my wife begins to fear,
That I've lost some sense of balance,
And I've lost the will to live.
And the radio,
AM radio,
Oh, the radio will set you free.
And I drive to fill a sense of purpose.
And I drive to find a perfect world,
Where I hope to build a house.
And the radio,
AM radio,
Oh the radio will set you free
And the radio,
AM radio,
Oh, the radio will set you free.
And I drive because I do what I want.
And I drive 'cause I was born to drive.
And I drive 'cause every ghost town rising in the dust,
Feels like a home to me.
And the radio,
AM radio,
Oh, the radio will set you free.
And I drive to close an open wound.
And I drive just to be alone.
And I drive to hear Tom Dooley swearing to his faith,
That must be nearly gone.
And the radio,
AM radio,
Oh, the radio will set you free.
And I drive to find a river's edge.
And I drive to hear a woman crying.
And I drive because I want to -
I agree to pay the price.
And the radio,
AM radio,
Oh, the radio will set you free.
And the radio,
AM radio,
Oh, the radio will set you free.
And I drive to feed the ring of fire.
And I drive to be a one who knows.
And I drive to hear a worried man recount the things he
Always wanted to be.
And the radio,
AM radio,
Oh, the radio will set you free.
And I drive into the wilderness.
And I drive to find a sense of purpose there.
And I drive to find a perfect world,
Where I hope to build a house.
And the radio,
AM radio,
Oh, the radio will set you free.
And I drive because the angels fly.
And I drive because I fear the coming of the night,
The fearsome night.
I've agreed to pay the price.
And the radio,
AM radio,
Oh, the radio will set you free.
Oh, my friends don't understand me,
And my wife begins to fear,
That I've lost some sense of balance,
And I've lost the will to live.
And the radio,
AM radio,
Oh, the radio will set you free.
The Pere Ubu song "Dark" is a melancholic and introspective exploration of the singer's state of mind as he drives aimlessly through the wilderness. He feels misunderstood by his friends and wife, and he fears that he has lost his sense of purpose and will to live. However, he finds solace and escape through the radio, particularly the AM radio, which he believes can set him free. The radio serves as a form of companionship and guidance for him as he drives to find a perfect world, a river's edge, and a sense of purpose.
The use of driving and the wilderness symbolizes the singer's search for meaning and purpose in life. He feels lost and disconnected from himself and others, and he turns to driving to find some form of escape or meaning. The radio represents a connection to something beyond himself, something that he hopes can help him find his way back to himself. The use of Tom Dooley, a traditional American folk song, further emphasizes the singer's search for something authentic and real in an increasingly complex and fragmented world.
Overall, the lyrics to "Dark" convey a sense of sadness and isolation, but also a glimmer of hope and determination to find one's way back to a meaningful existence.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, my friends don't understand me,
The singer feels isolated from their friends.
And my wife begins to fear,
The singer's wife is worried about their behavior.
That I've lost some sense of balance,
The singer's mental state is unstable.
And I've lost the will to live.
The artist is struggling with depression.
And the radio,
The radio serves as an escape for the artist.
AM radio,
The singer specifically listens to AM radio.
Oh, the radio will set you free.
Listening to the radio provides freedom and comfort for the singer.
And I drive into the wilderness,
The artist goes on long drives to escape their surroundings.
And I drive to fill a sense of purpose.
Driving gives the artist a feeling of purpose.
And I drive to find a perfect world,
The artist is searching for a utopia through driving.
Where I hope to build a house.
The singer wants to settle and create a home in this perfect world.
And I drive because I do what I want.
The artist finds freedom in driving wherever they please.
And I drive 'cause I was born to drive.
The singer feels a natural inclination towards driving.
And I drive 'cause every ghost town rising in the dust,
Abandoned towns hold a special allure for the singer.
Feels like a home to me.
The singer feels a sense of belonging in these empty towns.
And I drive to close an open wound.
The artist uses driving as a way to heal from emotional pain.
And I drive just to be alone.
Being alone on the road is a comfort to the artist.
And I drive to hear Tom Dooley swearing to his faith,
The singer listens to music and radio broadcasts while driving.
That must be nearly gone.
The singer listens to these broadcasts to connect with others.
And I drive to find a river's edge.
The artist seeks out natural beauty and solitude on their drives.
And I drive to hear a woman crying.
The artist is drawn to emotional experiences and storytelling through radio.
And I drive because I want to -
The artist uses driving as a form of self-expression and freedom.
I agree to pay the price.
Driving may come at a cost to the singer.
And I drive to feed the ring of fire.
Driving is a way for the artist to feel alive and passionate.
And I drive to be a one who knows.
The singer strives to understand and experience the world through driving.
And I drive to hear a worried man recount the things he always wanted to be.
The singer is compelled by human experience and storytelling through the radio.
And I drive because the angels fly.
Driving provides a sense of transcendence and freedom for the singer.
And I drive because I fear the coming of the night,
The artist finds driving a comfort from their fear of the dark or unknown.
The fearsome night.
The artist is afraid of the unknown in the darkness.
Oh, the radio will set you free.
Listening to the radio provides freedom and comfort for the singer.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: SIMON WILCOX
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
KseraksOG
This song is really dark, but i can see light. Strange, but this song for me is like a cure.
Geoff Strum
Basically all their songs are just that
kleinco
so so melodramatic. in the best way love it
F R
Very intriguing, from the start to the end.