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.
Street Waves
Pere Ubu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I can hear the city city comin' round
The things I say hit the air and seem to fall apart
And I can see the faces faces fallin' down
And then I'm
Gone
Gone
Gone by her heart
I get a picture of what it'll be like
I turn the channel round to Channel 43
I see electricity jump and spark
I see electricity uh real and stark
And then I'm
Gone
Gone
Gone by her heart
I ride a street wave right by her side
And I can hear the city city comin' round
The things I say hit the air and seem to fall apart
And I can see the faces faces fallin' down
And then I'm
Gone
Gone
Gone by her heart
And then I'm
Gone
Gone
Gone by her heart
The lyrics to Pere Ubu's "Street Waves" convey a sense of energy and movement as the singer "rides a street wave" alongside someone else through the city. The repetition of "Gone" throughout the song adds a feeling of urgency and finality, as if the singer is on the edge of something big.
The first verse sets the scene, with the singer riding a wave of energy alongside someone else, taking in the sights and sounds of the city. However, when the singer speaks, their words seem to fall apart and cause people's faces to fall as well. This could be interpreted as a fear of not being able to communicate or connect with others, despite being in the midst of the vibrant city.
The second verse introduces a new element, with the singer turning the channel to Channel 43 and seeing electricity jump and spark. This image expands on the feeling of energy and excitement from the first verse, but also adds a suggestion of danger with the use of the word "real and stark" to describe the electricity. The repetition of "Gone" in the final verse suggests that the singer is caught up in the moment and maybe even losing themselves in the energy and excitement of the city, but also hinting at the potential consequences of this way of living.
Line by Line Meaning
I ride a street wave right by her side
I move quickly down the street with her
And I can hear the city city comin' round
I can hear the sound of the city growing louder
The things I say hit the air and seem to fall apart
The things I say don't have any real impact or meaning
And I can see the faces faces fallin' down
I can see the disappointment on people's faces
And then I'm
At that moment
Gone
I disappear
Gone
I vanish
Gone by her heart
I am gone from her feelings
I get a picture of what it'll be like
I have an idea of what the future will look like
I turn the channel round to Channel 43
I change the TV channel to see how the world is changing
I see electricity jump and spark
I see the energy and excitement in the world
I see electricity uh real and stark
I see the energy and excitement as raw and powerful
And then I'm
At that moment
Gone
I disappear
Gone
I vanish
Gone by her heart
I am gone from her feelings
I ride a street wave right by her side
I move quickly down the street with her
And I can hear the city city comin' round
I can hear the sound of the city growing louder
The things I say hit the air and seem to fall apart
The things I say don't have any real impact or meaning
And I can see the faces faces fallin' down
I can see the disappointment on people's faces
And then I'm
At that moment
Gone
I disappear
Gone
I vanish
Gone by her heart
I am gone from her feelings
And then I'm
At that moment
Gone
I disappear
Gone
I vanish
Gone by her heart
I am gone from her feelings
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: ALLEN RAVENSTINE, DAVID THOMAS, SCOTT KRAUSS, TOM HERMAN, TONY MAIMONE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Matteo Baldocchi
I ride a street wave right by her side
And I can hear the city city comin' round
The things I say hit the air and seem to fall apart
And I can see the faces faces fallin' down
And then I'm
Gone
Gone
Gone by her heart
I get a picture of what it'll be like
I turn the channel round to Channel 43
I see electricity jump and spark
I see electricity uh real and stark
And then I'm
Gone
Gone
Gone by her heart
I ride a street wave right by her side
And I can hear the city city comin' round
The things I say hit the air and seem to fall apart
And I can see the faces faces fallin' down
And then I'm
Gone
Gone
Gone by her heart
And then I'm
Gone
Gone
Gone by her heart
TheKillingWomb
I ride a street wave right by her side
And I can hear the city city comin' round
The things I say hit the air and seem to fall apart
And I can see the faces faces fallin' down
And then I'm
Gone
Gone
Gone by her heart
I get a picture of what it'll be like
I turn the channel round to Channel 43
I see electricity jump and spark
I see electricity uh real and stark
And then I'm
Gone
Gone
Gone by her heart
I ride a street wave right by her side
And I can hear the city city comin' round
The things I say hit the air and seem to fall apart
And I can see the faces faces fallin' down
And then I'm
Gone
Gone
Gone by her heart
And then I'm
Gone
Gone
Gone by her heart
Syd bysyd
Bleedin great - what a wrongly overlooked band, they should be held in the highest esteem!
HangingFreud
Where should I start ? The fierce guitar ? The erratic and creative rhythm section ? The haunting synth effects ? This song is a true rock masterpiece. What a shame it is so unknown.
Idiots Avant
One of the all time greats! So alive!
Jo Mo
They were, and still are, hugely influential.
Damon Berry
@Eden Ash sure, but it's silly to correct someone and tell them this is "not rock". it's definitely rock.
Eden Ash
@Damon Berry yeah, I have a strange music taste
Eden Ash
@Damon Berry I meant just specifically this song fits into the post-punk genre
Timothy J. Horan
This record changed EVERYTHING for me when I first heard it. Anybody else?
mark ewings
I'm with you pair, I got Dub Housing in 1979 then the modern dance shortly after. Nothing compares, really
Stefano Gortaldi
I started the hard way as my first Ubu encounter was with their second album: Dub Housing - then months later I bought "The Modern Dance"...both are masterpieces who changed my way of listening to music.