The Modern Dance

If I wanted to listen to random noises I would listen to my butt cheeks.

Didn’t even get through the first song. If your album opens with tinnitus then go fuck yourself

One guy on Rate Your Music said this is his favorite album ever. I disavow that.

This sounds like a cross between Hawkwind and Television, albeit some rather twisted, scary versions of both bands. Does that sound like the perfect blend to you? It does to me

why do i have the best time with the weird albums

Really dug this. It's got a raw, punk rock vibe to it.

Ground zero for postpunk. The avant garage. The beauty of Cleveland pressed into vinyl... A band I'd probably have never got into, except for reading Rip It Up and Start Again, Simon Reynolds amazing book on postpunk 78-84. I hear it very differently now. Not a perfect album, but the highs are totally exhilarating. 4.5*

Summery: One of the rare albums that's genuinely hard to listen to. Solid bass and drum playing throughout (including some undeniably good bass riffs), but the vocals are consistently garbled and grating. It gets even worse when the vocal harmonies join in. Additionally, the sound effects are really, really annoying. I can see these songs being used to extract information from foreign espionage agents. Non-Alignment Pact: Punk, for sure. Very high drone in the right channel is annoying and unnecessary. Fantastic bassline begins to make itself known, and around 1:30 we get some really solid reduction in texture. The right channel is almost completely unlistenable - like the end of Queen's Sheer Heart Attack (the 1977 song), but for more than 3 minutes. Too irritating for my taste. Modern Dance: The right-channel noise has been replaced by literal static noise (a bit like the sound lava makes in Minecraft when it turns into obsidian), and it's a welcome relief. The song would be much stronger without it, though. Fun vocal back-and-forths, and an overall fast-paced groove. Unfortunately, though, Pere Ubu adds these really unappealing sound effects that make these songs go directly from 3-4 stars to 2 or less. Laughing: I sat through 125 seconds of painful, off-tune intro, before an equally out-of-tune shouting harmony ensued. At 2:50, the thinning of texture was again a welcome relief. Great bassline and decent drumming, but everything else is... not good... At least the ending was tolerable. Street Waves: Easily the best track so far, because it lacks the incredibly grating sound effects that dominates the earlier songs. Another solid bassline that steals the show, and a garbled, technically unsound vocal that brings the song up several notches as soon as it ceases. Chinese Radiation: It's alright until the loud-crowd section, which is bad. Strange piano-based section at the end that I can't really comment on. Life Stinks: The singing is actually pretty funny here. However, whatever's happening at around 0:55 is unacceptable. Real World: Pretty good, actually. Fairly nondescript. The singing is very weak. Over My Head: Floyd-esque whale noises, but the comparison ends there. The singing is okay, particularly the backup vocals (they're especially okay). Nice and chill. Sentimental Journey: The breaking glass probably means something. I wonder if it's a result of the vocal performance. Lots of nonsensical noises here, again reminding me of some early experimental rock piece by Pink Floyd (think Several Species from Ummagumma) or possibly Revolution 9. Not fun. Humor Me: At this point, you'd have to give me a Bohemian Rhapsody or Stairway to Heaven to bring this album up from 1 star to 2 stars, and this song wasn't either of those. It was pretty good though, especially the bassline. Good guitar playing, but whatever effect was used on it doesn't fit the song well (too much distortion). A decent ending to an indecent album.

I've got no language for Pere Ubu's early genus. No positive language, at least, which made the trip from second to first release a search for flaws. I suppose there are plenty: It's a rough album, deliberately spiky at all kinds of levels. But breaking glass fills the brain-space prepared for it more than perfectly. I'm no dancer, so even the title is appropriate. Glad there are several more hours of this somewhere out there.

This is SO weird, but I LOVE IT.

bro why is this on the list

An absolute assault on the senses! My ears feel like they’re bleeding. Pure trash, throw it in the bin! Zero stars - dont rizz me, dont come by ohio, we’re done!!

Discordant at times, feels like it's going to lose control then finds it right back. Awesome album, undeniable energy and a pace you can't help but want to match.

40 minutes of goofy caterwauling

Sounds like a bunch of children were let loose with instruments and a sound effect machine. And to top it off you have the mumbling and random shouting which sounds like someone on a drug binge. Couldn't distinguish any of the songs from eachother. 36 mins of assault to my ears Don't listen with headphones - save yourself from the offensive screeches. The worst song for me was "Sentimental Journey" - what I imagine the inside of a microwave sounds like. Also includes birds/clown horn and bottles being smashed repeatedly. Lyrics include - " Table. Chairs. TV. Books. Other stuff". To the 5 (!!!) writers who wrote those lyrics - I hope you didn't give up the day job Terrible 1 ⭐️ but wish I could give it less

Discarding all sense of musical conventions reminds me of both the fall and the minutemen but with less of an effort to make musical sense. Anti music Don’t take the brown acid, man. It’s “challenge music.” Side effects may include writer’s block, delusions of postmodernism, man’s inhumanity to man, and improper comparisons to abstract art.

willfully ugly

Back when I were young, in the mid 80s, it was hard to track down truly left-of-centre music. Here in Australia, it meant listening to Triple J late at night on the off chance they played something really out-there and then haunting stores like Red Eye Records to see if you could find vinyl, hopefully without getting gouged for expensive imports. (I once made the naive mistake of buying a pricey imported Candian edition of a Severed Heads album, not realizing that they were, in fact, a Sydney band and there were much more reasonably priced local pressings to be had). That is how, for instance, I discovered The Residents, who I think could be considered in the same sphere as Pere Ubu. Their 13th Anniversary Show Live in Japan album was briefly available as a cheap local pressing on AIM, so I snapped it up and spun it obsessively for at least a year. I loved it, partly because it was so hard to find these things. It was exciting to be challenged by music in that kind of way. I can imagine that I might have had a similar relationship with Pere Ubu if I had access to this record when I was 15. I have certainly read a lot about them; Simon Reynolds is almost hagiographic in his description of the band, especially their early years, in his wonderful survey of postpunk 1978-1984 'Rip It Up and Start Again' (highly recommended). On paper, this should be right up my alley; abstract, intellectual, industrial postpunk, with weird noises and a rhythm section described as "the tank side". But Reynolds quotes Dave Thomas as saying "I was totally obsessed with the abstract", and cites the massive influence of Captain Beefheart, although studiously avoiding any blues elements at all (which, frankly, are the best bits of Beefheart). The result is, often, an unfocussed mess, more idea than execution. There are a handful of strong songs on the record (Non-alignment Pact, Modern Dance, Street Waves) that I quite like. I woudl totally dig an EP of songs liek that. But many of the tracks are more interesting in the concept than the actual listening experience. It doesn't help that Dave Thomas can really only sing one melody, which gets tedious as we move into the second half stretch. So, 2.5 stars for having a few good songs (which certainly makes this better than Dub Housing, which doesn't have any). But I'm rounding down, because I'm cranky. Maybe if I'd spun this obsessively when I was a teenager, I'd love this, but these days I just don't have the time and energy.

Ooh, this is great - a bit more accessible than "Dub Housing", I think, but, you know, still not _that_ accessible. I was entertained, while listening, by trying to come up with similes for what I was hearing. "They're like The B-52's on a bad batch of meth!" "It's like the Pixies, but they fucking hate you!" I was thinking 4 stars, but I wanted to play it again immediately after after my second play through finished, so that, plus the broken glass sound effects rounds it up to 5! Fave tracks - any of the first 3 tracks, "Real World", "Sentimental Journey", I like the lot!

Very wild and eccentric post-punky, ridiculously influential

3.5 stars. Started off great for being pretty out there. But second half faded and got too harsh. Standout is "Non-Alignment Pact".

I really wanted to like this, as I know the "hits"; unfortunately it starts with two absolute bangers and then - nothing much else happens. My eldest thinks Thomas sings like Peter Griffin. Was hoping for more Gang-of-Four-like action and less obtuse weirdness. Gotta appreciate the history, however

I hear a lot of fantastic later bands in this record, and the best parts have this sublime controlled hysteria to them, but I have owned this record for over ten years and never feel like putting it on. A great three out of five record!

Best Song: Life Stinks. The one song that was appreciably punk. Worst Song: Non-Alignment. Who decides to kick off an album with such an insufferable noise? "Hey, you know how we should start the album? How about a metro train screeching into the station, but worse?" Overall: Not every obnoxious art project is accidentally great art. This is mostly just directionless, uninspired nonsense. I bet they had fun making the album, and I love that for them, but it sure isn't fun to listen to.

Wow! The album started out with a long annoying sound and managed to sustain that thru several tracks. Points of brilliance but nothing I will need to endure again

great punk sound

A FAVORITE OF MINE! Been a huge Pere Ubu fan even before starting this, so was absolutely THRILLED to see their debut pop up here! One of my favorite underappreciated “weird” bands of all time, and their debut is still one of their best to this day. Noisy punk crossed with abstract experimentation all rolled up into an album of absolute perfection. Long live Pere Ubu!!

Every post punk, new wave, no wave band that followed owes this album a debt of gratitude. Not everyones taste and jarring at times but influential and important

I can imagine this will be a pretty devisive album. For money - this is as much a piece art - a true display of intention and expression - as anything I have heard on this list. Garage-prog, art punk. There are songs that feel like the could be talking heads that then veer in a wildly different direction. Kids music not for kids. There is real raw email under the chaos. And the bass lines. A one of one band for sure.

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Modern dance

More cranky, hanky stuff like Dub Housing, but it feels slightly more like organised chaos here. In some senses, that's great, this album has ten actual songs, but on the other hand, I quite liked the terrifying unpredictability of the former. In short, both are great, the people low balling this just want everything in varying shades of grey and beige.

There's a lot to digest here. Not the most listenable album, but definitely worth listening to for the ideas and imagery it spontaneously generates.

Never heard of these guys before this project. Great stuff - the more I hear it the better it gets! Standouts: The Modern Dance, Real World, Humor Me, Non-Alignment Pact, Laughing, Life Stinks, Over My Head, Sentimental Journey. 4/5

I'd callt hem experimental punk. I didn't know about them, they are not great musician, but they know how to twist your mind.

This has a post-apocalyptic feeling to it. Like any minute, there’s gonna be slow moving zombies staggering about. I don’t hate it! The song with the reed instruments bellowing like dying geese?I couldn’t help but chuckle. There was 2 straight minutes of that! Fully committed. There are moments where it’s right in the pocket and it cooks. And then it’ll abruptly pivot to some chaos, making you long for that pocket moment again. I guess that’s their trick. 2.8

Couldn't finish for some reason

The hype around Pere Ubu among the punk/alternative community at the time was real, but I missed the point, whatever it was. I’ve just given the album about three spins & I can see a bit more clearly why it had the reputation it gained at the time. But it’s still not my bag. The first two trax sound like the same track to me & they set a chaotic course that rarely varies. Life Stinks may be amusing, but it reminds me too much of Captain Beefheart at his least accessible. Interestingly, there are so many times on the album that, to me, Thomas’s voice sounds very much like early David Byrne (Real World; Humour Me). I went online to see if this was a common belief & debate certainly rages about who influenced who. I’d say the difference between the bands was that Talking Heads had melodies & Pere Ubu generally did not. With another dozen listens I might get used to this album, but that ain’t gonna happen.

If I’m going to listen to this type of genre, I’d lean more Throbbing Gristle or Psychic TV. I did enjoy how irritated a friend got in my car as they finally asked about the glasses smashing in the background.

Modern? Experimental? Art? Garbage? Yes to all

Ugh

Good god, what the hell was that?

I had to listen to this and drive like jehu back to back and robert wyatt oy 2 days before. Someone is messing with me. Give me my time back. Just cause it's different, doesn't make or good.

In the name of all that is holy, how did this end up on a list of 1001 albums that must be heard. Incoherent lyrics, random noises, and irritating vocals. I just don't get it...

I like post punk if it's done in a good manner. This really hurt my eardrum. Literally. I had tinnitus the whole day, and it's still going.

10/10 Pere Ubu has quickly become one of my favorite post-punk bands their stuff is incredible

innovative

A really great record! I never listened to it before but it is flawless in my opinion.

Avant- garde punk. Some songs are great and hit hard. Others I wouldn’t listen to unless I were in the mood for experimental sounds. Classic album though.

Ahh my old pal/nemesis Pere Ubu - my first experience of what can only be described as headache inducing euphoric psychosis was back at the start of this project. This is slightly more accessible but still fucking way out there man. It's made me surprisingly tempted to go back and listen to Dub Housing again (a task I swore I would never willingly subject myself to after my first listen) to understand where the differences between the two lay. I think the accessibility of this one comes from the fact that although it's still rife with seemingly non-sensical horn and synth key bashing, each track ultimately opens up into pretty strong, pretty funky post punkesque riffs - something which I seem to remember Dub Housing definitely not doing. Okie dokie have just got to Life Stinks and they are back to their old tricks again and I love it. They are definitely going down as one of the most interesting finds within 1001 and I am super glad they snuck two albums in, have really enjoyed the point of comparison. I've mentioned before that Post Punk is my favourite genre and I think it could be argued that these guys (along with Talking Heads, Devo etc) are probably responsible for the genre as we know it. ALL HAIL PERE UBU

Unfiltered master piece. A collection of great punk songs that became legendary. Great album!

This album was released the same year as 'Dub Housing,' and album I have already reviewed. Much of what I said for that album applies here. If any band deserves to be called art punk, it's this one. This album is dynamically varied, and utilizes noise well. Despite its chaos, it is very carefully constructed and skillfully executed.

woah. pere ubu is a name i've always seen at record stores but i've never listened to them before. i had no idea what to expect. holy shit does this stuff rock. i'm kind of floored. it's very noisy, a bit unconventional in that sense, a lot of atypical instrumental choices (noise, an instrument i am learning is called the 'musette') but juxtaposed with that is some killer rock. really really cool stuff!

nice

Fuck yes.

A very potent, angry sound; almost a sonic cross between the romantic instrumentation of Roxy Music and the bombast and nasal tone of the Jello-led Dead Kennedys. Musically it reminds one of the frustration of the excess of the disco era, music about the reality of hip, disaffected young people away from the gloss of pop. Magnificent.

My kind of chaos

Sentimental Journey and Humor Me sound like Tim Heidecker and I love it. I wasn't sure about this album, it opens with quite possibly the worst tonal sound I've heard, but after that, I love everything about this album.

This has everything. Punk energy, strange noises, sing(shout)along bits and some brilliant basslines. And Thomas' voice just sets it all off. This must have been quite the thing in 1978, and it still sounds great now.

W sumie to bardzo dobre. Trochę surowe instrumenty, dużo mocy, ale też spokojniejsze fragmenty. 5/5

Timeless Pere Ubu record and one of the best albums ever made in every sense; consistent high-quality song-writing and I especially like that the music is both experimental and, at the same time, highly accessible. A clear 10/10 album for me.

I enjoyed this album

How do you say that

very good...kind of niche rock and jazz fusion.

Really like this. I love the "avant-garage" description, I think that captures what they are doing. Their sound is solidly punk in some ways, but they are also freely experimenting, and the concoction is irresistable. Occasionally it got annoying, like that track with all the bottle smashing, but besides that I think I have a new band to dig into.

Lost me a bit towards the end but overall boundary pushing and solid

I LOVE POST PUNK!!!@ this is a good album, a bit too weird for me but I like the title track and a few others. very niceee

It's good. I never heard of these guys before this book project. Now I know two of their albums. Great sound, interesting. I'd definitely keep listening. Standouts: Non-Alignment Pact, Real World 4/5

I don't know if my tastes have evolved, but this sounds more accessible and melodic than Dub Housing. There are several catchy dance tracks, skewed toward the first half. The sparser, creepier tracks remind me of the post-rock band Slint. The Byrne-esque vocals are very dramatic and excessive, but just adds to the extremity of how hard music can be while still retaining some form and structure. The samples are a cool addition that add to the atmosphere. Bass is strong, which is also a standout to me in post-punk. There were several unsatisfying parts, but I had a fun time.

"Modern Dance" has white noise that honestly made me think my headphones were faulty. :P

Holy fucking shit, this album kicks balls. I was originally going to give it 5 stars, but I’m torn because “Sentimental Journey” was the only low point that I thought didn’t come together. Everything else about the sound of the album is fantastic.

post-punk. Me ha sorprendido para bien.

I loved this album when it first came out. So jarring. It still holds up.

I really liked how weird this album was, but sometimes it got too shrill for me. "Sentimental Journey" is basically unlistenable. But, I ended up listening to it 3 times and would definitely listen again.

groovy

post-punk. Me ha sorprendido para bien.

it was pretty cool i think, but that's about it. 7.7/10

Så bra skiva... fräschaste post punk bandet

Post-punk classic! Even within the varied field of post-punk they manage to stand out without resorting noise. Great record from a great band

Doesn't sound as dated as I expected; very confident for a debut album; a clear influence on loads of bands I love, but falls just short of a fifth star - only just though!

Not really what I needed to be listening to with an enormous hangover, but even through the discomfort of the often quite dissonant instrumentals, you can tell there's reason to the rhyme.

I quite liked this but found it hard to understand the lyrics so I just pretended it was in a different language. I really enjoyed Modern Dance and Sentinmental Journey -- I will defintely give this anohter listen sometime.

With a punk energy, explosive inventiveness, and a natural sounding chaos, it has everything I love about experimental rock.

This is pretty weird but wonderful!

My first opportunity to hear Pere Ubu was months and months ago in this project when I made the acquaintance of their second album, Dub Housing. I was surprised to find this is their first album, also released in 1978. What reasons for offering two albums up on this list when they were created so close together? As expected, this was an off-the-wall, wacky affair that started with an alarm clock beeping then some very weird music that was supposed to include Sentimental Journey but I couldn’t make it out. I kind of enjoyed this in some weird way.

Wow! Didn't expect to enjoy so much of this. For the first half, I thought it was gonna be a 5. Actually sounded like music for several of the tracks. Eventually, it sounded like a lunatic locked themselves in the recording studio but I actually want to hear a lot of this again. Nice surprise!

meni dobar album, zadovoljan sam, ima dobrih stvari kojima bi se mogao vraćati

Inventive and progressive sounding art punk. 7.5/10

Really interesting. Really cool. I had no idea what to expect from this and was pleasantly surprised when this turned out to be a rowdy, avant-garde take on punk. I will listen to more from this band.

Artist not available to stream on Spotify, but songs I was able to locate on Youtube are quite good

I always associated this band with a pretentious hipster douche that I knew. This was one of his "you just wouldn't get it. It's just too intelligent for people who aren't me" bands. Well "HA!" because I do dig this. It isn't as deep as ass hat claimed it to be, but it definitely isn't going for the mainstream. I liked it but I didn't want to because of the association. I also hate that band name; it enrages me for no reason. I'm still slappin' a 4 on it

Was waiting to hear this one... I love On the Surface and knew this was their classic. Love this weirdos, solid 4

An angular album uncompromising in its abstract chaos and unquestionable in its importance for the development of post punk and art rock.

Pere Ubu have always been underrated and under appreciated. An incredible art punk experimental band from Cleveland. Very stoked this is on the list.

Образующим событием в моей музыкальной одиссее стала книжка "Rip it up and start again", автор которой по всей видимости эту группу, и этот альбом в частности, очень ценит. И-и-и я слышу, почему. Это звучит как пост-музыка сейчас, а в 78-ом? Вишенкой на торте является еще и то, что когда музыка группы Pere Ubu заканчивается, спотифай генерирует лучший саундтрек конца света с группами вроде Swell Maps, Young Marble Giants и Wire. Лучшая песня - Laughing.

A very good album that becomes even better when you hear David Thomas’ vocals and your broken brain transports you to a world where the entire album is being performed by Muppets. Four stars.

Not an album I should love as much as I do, but it's never uninspired, always exciting and never feels cheap, even though it is definitely inconsistent.

Vreemd. Heel vreemd. Doet soms ronduit pijn aan mijn oren, maar toch wel vet. En de basgitaar is fantastisch.

I like this one way more than Dub Housing. It feels more consistent and Pixies-like. Not sure if my taste is changing or what, but I appreciate Sentimental Journey way more than I probably would have a year ago.

This reminded me of a a weirder harsher and uglier version Television? Oh boy sign me up. Not a perfect album (like Marquee Moon) but one I’ll be coming back to.

Listened 3/19/24. Always an interesting listen from these guys