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.
Nevada
Pere Ubu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My grandfather and me.
Around Nassau Town we did roam through them dry sea beds and dinosaur bones.
The heat beat down fit to crack them stones.
Man, I feel so broke down I gotta go home.
Hoist up the John B sails.
See how the main sail sets.
I call for the captain sayin, I gotta go home.
Them good days are gone.
The good days are gone.
Them good days are gone.
The good days are gone.
The first mate - her heart sunk.
She went and cried in the captain's bunk.
I said, Don′t cry baby! Don't fly in a rage.
I'll tell you a story about the Golden Age.
30 cents a gallon, the superhighway -
You could fly like the wind through the hollow of the day.
John Stone would leave you alone.
You′d never get broke down, never go home.
Hoist up the John B sails.
See how the main sail sets.
I call for the captain sayin, I gotta go home.
I call for the captain sayin, I wanna go home.
Them good days are gone.
The good days are gone.
Them good days are gone.
The good days are gone.
Nevada! Baby, don′t go to bits.
We get to Reno and we call it quits.
Nevada! Baby, don't go to bits.
We get to Reno and we call it quits.
Nevada! Baby, don′t go to bits.
We get to Reno and we call it quits.
The song "Nevada" by Pere Ubu is a tale of reflection, regret, and nostalgia. It follows the singer and his grandfather on a trip to Nassau Town, where they wander through the remains of dinosaur bones in the dry sea beds. The heat is oppressive, and the singer feels "broke down" and "gotta go home." The chorus repeats the mournful sentiment that "them good days are gone."
The singer tries to console the first mate, who is crying in the captain's bunk, by telling her a story about the "Golden Age." In this era, gas was cheap and you could drive fast on the superhighway, never getting "broke down" or needing to go home. But this age is over, and the singer must "go home" to the present, where things are not as easy or carefree.
In the final stanza, the singer implores "Nevada baby" not to "go to bits," suggesting that this once-promising and exciting place is now falling apart. They decide to "call it quits" in Reno, perhaps indicating that they have given up on finding anything better.
Overall, "Nevada" speaks to the universal experience of looking back fondly on the past, while acknowledging that things will never be the same. It is a lyrically sharp and introspective song with a sense of melancholia.
Line by Line Meaning
We've come on the sloop John B, My grandfather and me.
The singer and his grandfather are on the boat named sloop John B, traveling together.
Around Nassau Town we did roam through them dry sea beds and dinosaur bones.
They toured through Nassau Town and dry sea beds, which consist of dinosaur bones.
The heat beat down fit to crack them stones. Man, I feel so broke down I gotta go home.
The heat is so intense that it's about to break stones. The singer feels scathed and wants to go home.
Hoist up the John B sails. See how the main sail sets. I call for the captain sayin, I gotta go home. I call for the captain sayin, I wanna go home.
The artist asks to lift the sails of the John B and asks the captain to take him home.
Them good days are gone. The good days are gone. Them good days are gone. The good days are gone.
The good days have gone by and are no more.
The first mate - her heart sunk. She went and cried in the captain's bunk. I said, Don't cry baby! Don't fly in a rage. I'll tell you a story about the Golden Age. 30 cents a gallon, the superhighway - You could fly like the wind through the hollow of the day. John Stone would leave you alone. You'd never get broke down, never go home.
The first mate became sad, but the singer tries to cheer her up by telling her about the 'Golden Age,' when gas was much cheaper and driving was much safer.
Nevada! Baby, don't go to bits. We get to Reno and we call it quits. Nevada! Baby, don't go to bits. We get to Reno and we call it quits. Nevada! Baby, don't go to bits. We get to Reno and we call it quits.
The singer tells 'Baby' not to freak out and that they're stopping in Reno, Nevada to end their journey.
Writer(s): David Thomas, Anthony William Maimone, Chris Cutler, Richard Scott Krauss, Allen Thomas Ravenstine, James Erwin Jones
Contributed by Hannah O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@gabbibunni
Stunning. I've seen them 4 times and they never disappoint