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.
Non-Alignment Pact
Pere Ubu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And get it signed by the heads of state
I wanna make a deal with you girl
Be recognized round the world
It's my nonalignment pact
Nonalignment pact
Sign it!
Nonalignment pact
At night I can see the stars on fire
I can see the world in flames
And it's all because of you
Or your thousand other names
Peggy
Carrie Ann
And Betty Jean
Jill
Jan
Joan
And Sue
Alice
Cindy
Barbara Ann
It's all because of you
It's all because of you girl!
It's all because of you
It's all because of you girl!
Sign my nonalignment pact
Nonalignment pact!
It's my
Nonalignment pact
The song "Nonalignment Pact" by Pere Ubu is a proto-punk track that was released in 1978. The lyrics of the song express a desire to make a deal with a girl and have it recognized by the heads of state worldwide. The singer of the song wants to sign a "nonalignment pact" with the girl, which could mean he is seeking a purely sexual or more serious relationship. The latter interpretation is supported by the lines "I wanna make a deal with you girl/ Be recognized round the world," which suggests that the singer wants the girl to be his official girlfriend, recognized by everyone.
The song then takes a slightly surreal turn when the singer starts listing a variety of female names, presumably belonging to his previous partners. The lines "And it's all because of you/ Or your thousand other names" suggest that the singer feels that all these women are responsible for his current emotional state. The chorus repeats the request to sign the nonalignment pact, suggesting that the singer is seeking validation and commitment from the girl.
Overall, "Nonalignment Pact" is a catchy punk song with enigmatic lyrics that can be interpreted in various ways. The song's tone suggests a mixture of frustration, desire, and defiance, and it captures the spirit of the late 1970s punk movement.
Line by Line Meaning
I wanna make a deal with you girl
I desire to enter into an agreement with you, woman
And get it signed by the heads of state
I want the heads of state to endorse and sign this agreement
Be recognized round the world
I wish for this agreement to be acknowledged globally
It's my nonalignment pact
This agreement is my nonalignment pact
At night I can see the stars on fire
During the night, I perceive the stars being ablaze
I can see the world in flames
I envision the entire world being in flames
And it's all because of you
This chaotic scene is due to you
Or your thousand other names
Or possibly, this calamitous outcome is because of someone else with many different aliases
It's all because of you girl!
Ultimately, it's because of you, woman!
Sign my nonalignment pact
Please sign my nonalignment pact
Nonalignment pact!
My nonalignment pact!
It's my nonalignment pact
Once again, this agreement is my nonalignment pact
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ALLEN RAVENSTINE, DAVID THOMAS, SCOTT KRAUSS, TOM HERMAN, TONY MAIMONE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@UndeadMetalhead
I wanna make a deal with you girl
And get it signed by the heads of state
I wanna make a deal with you girl
Be recognized round the world
It's my nonalignment pact
Nonalignment pact
Sign it!
Nonalignment pact
At night I can see the stars on fire
I can see the world in flames
And it's all because of you
Or your thousand other names
Peggy
Carrie Ann
And Betty Jean
Jill
Jan
Joan
And Sue
Alice
Cindy
Barbara Ann
It's all because of you
It's all because of you girl!
It's all because of you
It's all because of you girl!
Sign my nonalignment pact
Nonalignment pact!
It's my
Nonalignment pact
@vaspers
One of the best albums I ever bought on vinyl in the 1980s. Unusual voice. Hard punk sludge noise. Perfect Sound Forever!
@upwardnotnorthward1408
Most inventive synthesizer playing ever.
@olehh5942
Absolutely. I feel the same way
@scusachannel1682
When I was listening to this song my fire alarm went off. I did of course hear it, very well in fact, but I didn't pay any mind cause I thought it was part of the song. "Well the fire alarm in this song is very loud today, isn't it?" That was my last thought as I noticed smoke coming out of my bedroom and actually realized what kind of a mess my bad habit of listening to weird artsy rock from the 70s with my headphones on actually put me in. Nowadays all of my possession left are my PJs, the headphones and my remastered edition of Ziggy Stardust.
10/10, this song is on fire. Just like my house.
@scusachannel1682
@@pashadyne don't worry, it's 97% fake (I do, in fact, own headphones, PJs and a remastered CD of Ziggy Stardust)
@scusachannel1682
@@pashadyneWow, the original one? You must be so lucky!
@franciscobracho5065
I play music overnight so I can't hear cat burglers. But some mornings, as i regain consciousness, i wonder if the chainsaw fell some tree limbs or is it the music.
@benchalmers8757
@@scusachannel1682 this song burns down the house in my mind!
@johnhricko8212
thank you. great thought/history/remembrance . (me-too Ziggy SD)
@DateTwoRelate
When I put this on my turntable for the 1st time (in 1977) I knew something different was happening. Boy, was that ever an understatement.