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.
Mona
Pere Ubu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Anyway...
You know I'm a rolling stone.
You know I been born to be alone.
But I'm just happy to be me.
Mona, my Mona, she comes to me from Arizona.
Bombay, Talinn -
Pretty places that I've never seen.
I grab my hat.
That's my home.
Mona loves Popeye.
Mona loves Popeye.
Mona loves Popeye, loves Popeye, loves Popeye.
Who knows the hearts of men?
I've heard it all, but then again...
You know I been born to run.
Mona, my Mona, she comes to me from Arizona.
I'm just happy to be me -
A cartoon sailor on a cartoon sea.
Mona loves Popeye.
Mona loves Popeye.
Mona loves Popeye, loves Popeye, loves Popeye.
I hope some people say, He's a wild one.
Anyway...
I hang my hat.
It's time to go.
Mona, my Mona, she comes to me from Arizona.
Mona, my Mona, she comes to me from Arizona.
I'm just happy to be me -
Just a cartoon sailor on a cartoon sea.
The lyrics to "Mona" by Pere Ubu are somewhat puzzling and open to interpretation. It appears to be a love song to a woman named Mona who the singer has a long-distance relationship with, as she comes to him from Arizona. He seems to be wandering and traveling a lot ("Bombay, Talinn - Pretty places that I've never seen"), implying a sort of free-spiritedness, but at the same time, he feels born to be alone, as well as born to roam. He finds solace in being himself, even if people consider him a wild one.
The repeated lines of "Mona loves Popeye" are intriguing, as they don't seem to fit into the rest of the song's narrative. It's possible that the singer is alluding to the cartoon sailor Popeye the Sailor Man, who is known for his freedom-loving, independent spirit similar to the singer's. The mention of Popeye could also be a metaphor for the singer's own internal struggle, as Popeye's signature line is "I am what I am."
Overall, "Mona" comes across as a song about embracing one's unique self and finding comfort in unconventional relationships. It's a tribute to the adventurous spirit and the power of love, even across long distances.
Line by Line Meaning
Hope some people say, He's a wild one.
I hope that some people see me as a free spirit.
Anyway...
Moving on from the previous statement.
You know I'm a rolling stone.
I am a wanderer by nature.
You know I been born to be alone.
I am most comfortable being by myself.
But I'm just happy to be me.
I am content with who I am.
Mona, my Mona, she comes to me from Arizona.
Mona is my lover and she comes from Arizona to be with me.
Bombay, Tallinn -
These are places I have not been to.
Pretty places that I've never seen.
I have never seen many beautiful places in the world.
You know I been born to roam.
I have an inherent need to travel and explore.
I grab my hat.
I prepare to leave and wander again.
That's my home.
My hat represents my home, wherever I go.
Mona loves Popeye.
Mona has an affection for the cartoon character, Popeye.
Mona loves Popeye.
Mona loves Popeye very much.
Mona loves Popeye, loves Popeye, loves Popeye.
Mona's love for Popeye is intense and ongoing.
Who knows the hearts of men?
It is difficult to understand what motivates people.
I've heard it all, but then again...
I have heard many things, but I am still uncertain.
You know I been born to run.
I am naturally inclined to move and be on the go.
I'm just happy to be me -
I am satisfied with who I am.
A cartoon sailor on a cartoon sea.
I feel like a character from a cartoon, adrift on a fictional ocean.
I hang my hat.
I prepare to leave again.
It's time to go.
It is time for me to depart and explore once more.
Mona, my Mona, she comes to me from Arizona.
Mona is my partner and she travels from Arizona to be with me.
Mona, my Mona, she comes to me from Arizona.
I am happy that Mona is here with me in spite of my restless spirit.
I'm just happy to be me -
Once again, I am comfortable with who I am.
Just a cartoon sailor on a cartoon sea.
I feel like a character from a cartoon, without a sense of direction in life.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JAMES TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
HodgkinsD
This is brilliant.
Ubu Projex
Like this - we'll put it to Mr Thomas!
Richard Trouwborst
Mooie stofzuigermuziek
O.D. Jones
nice deepfake...its the studio vers over yr footage...but hell, wtf NOT???