While Pere Ubu have never been widely popularโusually categorized as "underground rock"โthey 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 concrรจte) 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 concrรจte.
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 Molinรฉ, 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.
Talk To Me
Pere Ubu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Talk to me. Yeah, talk to me.
Talk to me. Talk to me.
Talk to me. Yeah, talk to me.
Bears are best.
Bears are best.
Penguins will wander round like penguins will always do.
Water pig is ugly as an old stick, an old stick.
Good ole fella!
Good ole pal!
Ugly as a stick though.
Talk to me. Talk to me.
Talk to me. Yeah, talk to me.
Talk to me. Talk to me.
Talk to me. Yeah, talk to me.
The zoo, like so many things that men do, that men do,
Fails to satisfy the needs of living things like them
Or even you.
You might find that we walk the streets,
Walk the streets of a sad and lonely town.
Talk to me. Talk to me.
Talk to me. Yeah, talk to me.
Oh dear,
Oh darling child,
Don't you sob and don't you cry
If tears was enough then it's tears that we'd always cry.
The tears make a flood.
The blood is a hurricane.
Everyday, like off to work,
Men carry on the same.
Talk to me. Talk to me.
Talk to me. Yeah, talk to me.
Talk to me. Talk to me.
Talk to me. Talk to me.
Talk to me. Talk to me.
Talk to me. Talk to me.
The Pere Ubu song "Talk to Me" seems to be a commentary on the state of humanity and our interactions with the natural world. The repeated refrain of "Talk to me" seems to represent a desire for deeper communication and connection between people, or perhaps between humans and animals. The mention of bears and penguins at the zoo, and the description of the water pig as "ugly as an old stick", evoke images of animals being held captive and viewed as curiosities rather than living beings with their own needs and desires.
The lines "The zoo, like so many things that men do, that men do, / Fails to satisfy the needs of living things like them / Or even you" suggest a broader critique of human society and our tendency to prioritize our own desires over the well-being of others. The song seems to suggest that this lack of empathy and connection is a root cause of human suffering, as represented by the lines "If tears was enough then it's tears that we'd always cry. / The tears make a flood. / The blood is a hurricane."
Overall, "Talk to Me" is a haunting and thought-provoking song that challenges listeners to consider our relationship with the natural world and with each other.
Line by Line Meaning
Talk to me. Talk to me.
Please communicate with me.
Talk to me. Yeah, talk to me.
I'm urging you to have a conversation with me.
Talk to me. Talk to me.
I am still waiting for your response.
Talk to me. Yeah, talk to me.
Come on, don't be afraid to speak up.
Bears are best.
Bears are great animals.
Bears are best.
There's something special about bears.
Bears are best at the zoo.
Bears are most commonly seen in zoos.
Penguins will wander round like penguins will always do.
Penguins have a specific behavior pattern that they always follow.
Water pig is ugly as an old stick, an old stick.
The water pig is a very unattractive creature.
Good ole fella!
He's a good guy.
Good ole pal!
A term of endearment for a friend.
Ugly as a stick though.
Despite his positive qualities, he's still not very attractive.
The zoo, like so many things that men do, that men do,
The zoo is just one example of something created by humans.
Fails to satisfy the needs of living things like them
The zoo doesn't adequately meet the needs of the animals.
Or even you.
It might not even satisfy your own needs.
You might find that we walk the streets,
You may notice that we're just wandering around town.
Walk the streets of a sad and lonely town.
Our town is quite depressing and isolated.
Oh dear,
Oh goodness,
Oh darling child,
My beloved child,
Don't you sob and don't you cry
Please don't cry.
If tears was enough then it's tears that we'd always cry.
Crying is not enough to solve our problems.
The tears make a flood.
Excessive crying can lead to a flood of tears.
The blood is a hurricane.
Bloodshed can be destructive and chaotic.
Everyday, like off to work,
Everyday, we go through the motions of our routine.
Men carry on the same.
We continue with our monotonous lifestyle.
Talk to me. Talk to me.
I still want to have a conversation with you.
Talk to me. Yeah, talk to me.
Please speak up and communicate with me.
Talk to me. Talk to me.
I'm still waiting for your response.
Talk to me. Yeah, talk to me.
Let's have a discussion.
Talk to me. Talk to me.
Please don't ignore me.
Talk to me. Talk to me.
I need someone to talk to.
Talk to me. Talk to me.
We need to communicate better.
Lyrics ยฉ Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BALTHAZAR GETTY, BENNY LATIMORE, SCOTT THOMAS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MichaelJames-mg3xx
They definitely started out better. Way better
@joelrizzo2786
Infinitely true re: videos title
@robdavidson1876
I liked Cloudland and Terminal Tower...
@NOWtheband
Each to their own perception and all that trip.
I think he is wrong.
๐
(No disrespect as I know a couple of the chaps from Pere Ubu and they're lovely blokes!)