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.
Dream The Moon
Pere Ubu Lyrics
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Gonna make a deal with you.
Somewhere down a road from here
Tell me it won't seem like a honeymoon, ya know.
Dreamin' dreams.
Schemin' schemes.
Do what seems an easy thing.
Gaze across the roofs of a tenement year.
Think of all the places.
See the harvest moon rise so big and near, ya know.
Dreamin' dreams.
Schemin' schemes.
Do what seems a easy thing.
What the mice in the subway know people in the streets
Can barely see.
Quite sublime in a dusty clime
Til the next subway train comes screamin' down the line.
Dreamin' dreams.
Schemin' schemes.
Do what seems a easy thing.
Take a look around my face.
Take away the years that have come and gone.
Take a look around my face.
Just another year to be hanging on, you say.
Dreamin' dreams.
Schemin' schemes.
Do what seems a easy thing.
The lyrics of Pere Ubu's song Dream The Moon describe feelings of desperation and uncertainty in regards to the future. The chorus of "Dreamin' dreams, schemin' schemes, do what seems an easy thing" seems to suggest that the singer is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their dreams, even if it means taking shortcuts or making compromises. However, despite this willingness to do what it takes, there is an underlying sense of futility and hopelessness: "what the mice in the subway know people in the streets can barely see." The mice, hidden away in the subway, have a sense of the truth that the people above them are blind to. This imagery suggests that the singer is also unable to see the reality of their situation, and is instead clinging to a naive sense of hope.
The second half of the song focuses on the passage of time, with references to the "years that have come and gone" and the idea of "just another year to be hanging on." There is a sense of weariness here, as though the singer is resigned to a life that will never quite meet their expectations. At the same time, there is a hint of defiance in the repetition of "Dreamin' dreams, schemin' schemes, do what seems an easy thing." Despite the odds, the singer refuses to give up on their dreams, no matter how impossible they may seem.
Overall, Dream The Moon is a powerful meditation on the human condition, with lyrics that capture both the despair and the hope that can come with chasing our dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
Somewhere down a road from here
At some point in the near future, perhaps a short distance away
Gonna make a deal with you.
Planning to negotiate or bargain with another party
Tell me it won't seem like a honeymoon, ya know.
Requesting reassurance that the deal won't be too difficult or complicated
Dreamin' dreams.
Thinking about hopes or aspirations
Schemin' schemes.
Devising plans or plots for achieving goals
Do what seems an easy thing.
Choosing to take the path of least resistance or effort
Think of all the houses.
Contemplate the variety of living spaces available
Gaze across the roofs of a tenement year.
Look over the rooftops of a run-down apartment building, perhaps reflecting on past times
Think of all the places.
Consider the many locations that exist in the world
See the harvest moon rise so big and near, ya know.
Observe the visual phenomenon of the moon rising particularly large and close to the horizon
What the mice in the subway know people in the streets
Suggesting that those who live in poverty or difficult circumstances may have valuable knowledge or experience
Can barely see.
May be overlooked or not visible to those in more privileged situations
Quite sublime in a dusty clime
Despite harsh conditions, there may be something beautiful or transcendent
Til the next subway train comes screamin' down the line.
A sudden turn of events can change circumstances quickly and dramatically
Take a look around my face.
Examine the signs of aging or wear that have accumulated over time
Take away the years that have come and gone.
Imagine what life might be like without the weight of past experiences and mistakes
Just another year to be hanging on, you say.
Acknowledging the challenges of persevering through difficult times
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOE THOMAS, JOLYON WARD SKINNER, MICHELE WILLIAMS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Gabriel Bongiorno Rodríguez
Qué buena canción! Alto viaje