The Modern Dance

One of the albums of all time!

Fuck you for starting the album with straight up tinnitus. What the fuck is this shit. There's a song where there's a crowd cheering in the background, I don't believe that for a second.

The vocals are absolutely awful. The guitar parts are the most bland and repetitive punk riffs I've ever heard. The bass playing is pretty great, but the other aspects just stain it to the point of no return. Not to mention the earraping sound effects that add literally nothing to the album. The bagpipes are even worse like oh my god it's terrible. This sounds like something the CIA would use to torture experiments. Horrible listen, absolutely excruciating.

noisy and chaotic but lowkey in a bad way. i dont like how it sounds most of the time its like a cat is scratching its nails on a wall (especially track 3)

Not a fan. A lot of noise and will not listen to it again.

Liked this one. Catchy and unique. Sometimes jarring and noisy but not junk.

This was an interesting listen and I’m glad I heard it. The noise at the beginning was annoying but what followed was same great music. People call it post-punk which is odd because punk was just about to hit. I did enjoy this. Even with the weird sound effects. They were really good.

All filler, no killer

Really enjoyed this. There are aspects of this album that would typically be very offputting, but here they just WORK. The first half is stronger, but it is a fascinating listen start-to-finish. Lots an catchy tunes, lots of avant garde oddness, what else could you ask for?!?

This is the worst album I have ever heard. I'd rather listen to Trout Mask Replica. It's random noises and honking on a saxophone. It's weird with no purpose, which makes all the critics think "this MUST be deep. It must MEAN SOMETHING". Yeah, it means that the band fooled you into listening to this crap album. You receive no points, and may God have mercy on your soul. My rating:-10/5. But I have to give it a 1.

The rumors are true: really bad music was produced in the ’70s, too. On “The Modern Dance,” however, Pere Ubu present - as I see it - not just music, but also a whole lot of noise - albeit with timing that’s remarkably deliberate. And Robert Christgau is also right, in a way, that not all the experiments on this recording can be considered failures. The question remains, though: did they really have to release all the fails? Is this art, or can it be thrown out?

Definitely going to revisit this one and check out more of their work, love the brown sound they got goin on It does take a very specific mood to want to listen to this kind of music for me

“We're all different. Him, especially. But there's something kind of fantastic about that, isn't there?” Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Mmh

With this album art, and with no preconception of who they were, I was expecting something maybe musical-inspired, maybe glam-rock. Took no time at all for me to realize this is something else entirely, and punk is too niche for what's going on here. I heard the first few tracks initially on a single earbud, a mono experience for a band that know how to use sound in different ways. I was already understanding their depth when I decide to put my other earbud on for a more rounded experience. By today's standards the way they mixed this is a work of art, and this is a product of the late '70s? Get the fuck out of here. A few hours into experiencing this today and I have to recognize, as art-rock often does, I appreciate this for reasons outside of typical musical appreciation. I like this because it sounds weird and it's done right. If you strip these tracks of the slight conceptual north they each have, this might just be a very average pop-rock. Instead we're constantly lead down a road that could potentially require us to think, but in a low-key, no obligations kind of way. I'm looking forward to replaying this, and would absolutely love a copy for my record collection. 4.3/5

The instrumentals are fine, and honestly? For the first couple songs I kinda enjoyed the weird vocals, but as time went on just became more annoying than anything. Not the best punk I’ve heard, but it’s still decent

School shooter soundtrack

i'll have to reflect on this gave me the ick and i liked it

Não curti muito, mas pra dizer a verdade eu nem entendi direito a vibe

Pere Ubu are maybe one of the most European sounding American bands. A CBGB vibed band mixed with UK postpunk with a funny voice, but they were from Cleveland. Close enough in creative innovation (and proximity) to Devo but without the new wave appeal and more atonal synthesizer/noise sounds. The Modern Dance certainly is one of the standouts of experimental American rock music of the 70s. As much as many genres were created or explored and pushed more into smaller categories for radio, magazine, and record companies for marketing purposes, a band like Pere Ubu is like Chrome or The Residents in that it's for who it's for: a group of people who like their music to be too weird and avant-garde that's too niche to be considered profitable. David Thomas is a kind of vocalist I like in that I like the way he enunciates the pitches of words he says instead of sounding coherent. He has a unique high pitched voice which many can easily find irritating, much like the weird (though very cool for their time) EML synthesizer. They really didn't go for the more available synthesizers like Moog or ARP, not that any of them were cheap for their time. I'm tired of the excuses, I really enjoyed this album because weird postpunk music is my thing. The Modern Dance inspired a lot of rock music to come in the 80s and 90s from your favorite alternative bands and other post punk acts. Maybe they're more of a musician's band, but Pere Ubu are one of the more unique acts of the 1970s, from America or Europe or anywhere in the world.

A couple bangers but some real duds too

Meh moc experimentalni

this is probably what dementia sounds like. nothing against it, though

Chalk up another proto-punk/alternative/indie band I haven’t heard if before!

No. NO me gusta nada. Dub Housing sí, pero este NO.

I really want to like this album more than I do. I respect punk and post-punk as a very out there genre that holds a respectable niche, even if the general consensus amongst music fans tends to be punk was a cultural moment that is never going to be as strong as it once was and post-punk is a black sheep always outside of the mainstream. The good news in all this is that there are songs on this album that I liked. The bad news is that there were songs on this album I didn’t like, and I disliked those ones a lot more than I liked the songs I enjoyed. There are some… questionable choices made on this album. The initial shrill sound that takes up the first minute or so (I started the album when leaving work and genuinely thought I had set an alarm up until figuring out it was the song), the choice to put cheering on what to me was one of the album’s less interesting songs, and to me the least excusable of the lot: a song comprised so heavily of smashing glass. Sentimental Journey is one of my least favourite songs I’ve encountered on this whole journey, and I don’t exaggerate to say it is the main reason this album gets a 2 rather than a 3. I listened to this album twice for this review because I was quite on the fence, and SJ tanked my enjoyment of it. I do like songs on this album, and if this album was comprised fully of songs more in the vein of the title track, Non-Alignment Pact and Humor Me, modestly enjoyable songs I would individually give 3 stars to, this album would be stronger. I hope the next album I encounter in the genre is stronger than this.

*1978. Experimental. *Aggressive oboe (or clarinet?) and weird noises, but occasionally there's some semblance of actual music. *This is somewhere between a 1 and 2, but since there are substantially more annoying albums on here, I guess I'll bump to a 2. RATING - 4/10

I like music where its distressed noises and unpleasant sounds. Make you feel alive you know.

This fits really well with the kind of music I’ve discovered I like through this listening project.

I was conflicted because experimental/hard to listen to doesn't make something bad but as the track continued I got more and more convinced that man was trying to piss me off, so he gets a 2 for that.

just too avant-garde for me

rather shite

Seemed pretty lack luster to me. Nothing really stood out. Some songs seemed a little experimental which is not necessarily my thing.

I appreciate the DIY Punk aspect of this album, and I can certainly hear that it’s the bridge to New Wave. But this is a little too avant-guard in terms of sounds. It’s not would I would describe as “melodic” or “lyrical” or “easy to follow”. But I do ascribe to the notion that sometimes art is out there, which given its use turning ordinary sounds into something, coupled with its impact, is where I’m rating this.

I would really like to experience the brainwaves of people liking this album. There was absoletly nothing here that was enjoyable. Why has this band two albums on this list.....

Day1024 - rock critics are so full of themselves. there’s nothing wrong with this album but it shouldn’t be critically acclaimed

This sounds of its time and way ahead of its time....at the same time. If I ever learn bass I want to learn this whole album. Did I used to know this band and forget somehow? I dunno. But the blind spot has been unblinded. I hear the future in this record. Mission of Burma, TV on the Radio, Bob Mould, Peter Murphy, At the Drive In, all of it. Also, I'm pretty sure Pere Ubu listened to Television.

The sounds of tinitus and smashing glass.

Not my taste BITD, but now I get it.

My favorite part was when it was over so I could go listen to Slipknot, or Prince, or literally anything else. This is awful

Ei oo mun musaa.

There are two albums by this band, but no Tool albums. No Deftones albums. No MF DOOM albums.

Likes parts, but ultimately did not like all that much. 2/5

First couple of tunes are fantastic . Not so sure about the rest. Can see the influence and innovation but not that enjoyable of a listen

Pere Ubu are very much deserving of entries on this list. Original and interesting music. Not something I go to regularly, but often enough to keep me interested. This album flows well and is very entertaining. Solid four!

gosto de estranhices, mas nada me cativou aqui. ouvi na rua e não sabia o que era barulho e o que era o álbum.

nunca tinha ouvido falar! depois de tentar ouvir o disco entendi o motivo.

This wave of extremely early Post-punk that basically is just Punk Rock but quirky always interested me. Did everyone reach the end of what they could do with the Punk Rock sound in like one year, and realize they had to expand? A lot of the music here, like the first two songs, are basically early Punk songs (or just kinda Rock and Roll songs) with intentionally weird vocals, sprinkled with bells and whistles (weird percussion, samples, a weird blowing sound, etc etc). There's some cool dubbish influence, which is a sound I always love incorporated with Post Punk. Once you get past the vocals this is a very fun album, very great! It's funny that I imagine a lot of people feel pushed away from the pretentious and "arty" idea of this scene, meanwhile these guys seem to be screwing around, just making what they want to make.

JL : 2, Sentimental Journey

4/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/pere-ubu/the-modern-dance/ Very interesting, and something that I need to hear more often to really judge well. Some parts are (intendedly?) insufferable, like the jazzy outburst on one of the first few songs, but other parts are so far ahead of its time. I hear ideas that Talking Heads would work out more on later albums, I hear weird vocal stuff that black midi/Geordie Greep would use 40 years later. Cool stuff!

Classic! Standout songs: The Modern Dance, Real World, Non-Alignment Pact

Why so much screeching noises?

Not for me

Эээто... Очень странно, но классно, мне понравилось!

Good

Buenas canciones iniciales, malas en el medio, buenas al final

Detta var inte bra. Hatade allt.

I had Dub Housing before this, and like that, I appreciate the weirdness here of the art-punk.

This might be a bit more enjoyable than the other Pere Ubu album in here but really I just don’t understand why either of them were necessary

Alternately wow and annoying. Averaging 2 and 4

Fantastic! The kind of album i was hoping for when signing up for this project. Not quite a perfect album, but interesting, rocking, and enjoyable. Will be something i revisit.

Too "modern" by the peak of the disco fever

I like a lot of bands in this general vicinity, sonically, temporally, but I just cannot get into this. I don't know why. I have tried before. I kind of just keep it to myself.

Ugh. If the whole album was like “Sentimental Journey” it would be an easy 1 star, but I liked some earlier stuff.

Why

93 SUFFFAHHhhhhh

Pretty brown. Hell yeah. Cool recommendation!

Would be a 3.5. Really like this and like how wild it is for the 70s, but its not my fav that I think I'd put on regularly

Holy fuck do not listen to the opening track with headphones on. Blew my fucking ear drum out.

Did not enjoy. The singer is just annoying.

That was interesting to listen to on my ride to work, but I doubt I'm going to listen to it again

Weird, but it’s a must-listen! 411

1,5/5

I've had a fair bit of challenging music in the past week, by which I mean music that is discordant and generally has low ratings on here. Personally I found listening to 50 Cent more challenging than most of these supposedly difficult albums. It definitely feels like a foundational record for post-punk and if you had told me this was a lost TV On The Radio album from 2009 I would have believed you, it feels that ahead of it's time. I'm not sure that two laps by the same band in the same year should be permitted -except maybe in very rare occasions where the influence of both was huge but I was also glad to get to hear more Pere Ubu. I liked it more than Dub Housing which I gave a 4, this is closer to a 5 but it also a bit too strange to be an immediate classic worthy of a 5. Favourite tracks were Non-Alignment Pact and Modern Dance. I read the lyrics to the 6 minute free form track Sentimental Journey and they are quite impressionistic but I interpreted as someone stalking or describing a journey following someone which added to the sinister mood that builds in the track.

Again tough one. Music I have never heard, and probably for good reason. I don't mind some of it, but most of it is just pure noise. That doesn't make it non valuable it is not my thing, but of course some of that should be here. It is better, I think, than there other record on the list so that means I should go up. It's a 2 from me again, but a better one, promise.

Ratings seem to either be a 5 or a 1. I kind of like about half of this. It does get a little repetitive, but this music often does. Gonna be generous and go 3.

Wtf is this weirdness

Eeeh.

It's very experimental. It sounds way ahead of its time! It's like no other album on this list. It seems kind of industrial, but I like that. Very good album!

"music".. This really comes close to defining the line between music and noise.

Musically I kinda liked what they were doing when they weren’t being dissonant for being dissonant’s sake, but they garbled vocals were a bridge too far, there were times I wasn’t convince English was the language being used. I almost felt like there was some commonality with Pixies, but yeesh, these are no Pixies

Perhaps the worst album I've ever listened to. Sounds like it was made by stray cats and a homeless dude

This album tried to run me off with a piercing sound in my right ear as the very first thing I heard. I’m glad I stuck around. This a fantastic, weird, cacophonous romp in someone’s garage. It has captivating melodies among chaos and a compelling lead singer. I love weird stuff and this certainly fits the bill. Nice discovery here.

Well this was certainly better than the last Ubu offering we had but then that’s probably not saying much!

A vast improvement on that other album that was headache inducing. This one has it’s moments where you can sense the artist is thinking “hmm this is a bit too melodic, better throw in some distortion and fingernail scraping on a blackboard “ fortunately that is only fleeting and the rest is very listenable.

I really wanted to give this a 1* as it annoyed me that I quite liked it and given I hated Dub Housing with a passion, and that album set the lowest bar of all 1* albums on this list. How can there be such a discrepancy between 2 albums released 6 months apart? Does this mean I’ll have to listen to Dub Housing again? Does a bear shit in the woods?

Frustrating - in almost every song there was a moment or two that was really great…but then the rest was accompanied by a third grader with his newly acquired recorder and a rubber chicken.

This is a quirky album with some very odd songs , but if that is what you are into than it's a good one to listen to. It borders on punk and sort of new wave and somewhat like an attempt to just be weird.

Прикольно

Очень экспериментально, очень шумно Всё как я люблю Особенно учитывая время выхода, звучит действительно революционно Оценка на сайте тоже понятна)

ожидания были скорее занижены, впервые слышу название группы и прослушиваний очень мало, но post punk/art punk/noise rock - все как люблю, по итогу понравилось на 3.5 с округлением в большую сторону

I have no idea what a Torment Nexus is, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's this album. Dog rapist vocals, wheelchair screeches, rubber duck squeeks - I'm sure that the static noises on this record come not from post-production, but from the microphones refusing to record this crap Put it on the next Voyager's Golden Record so that the aliens finally come over to kill us all

Some novel things, mostly run of the mill

Tough one. This is an album that I’ve known and have tried because the band has influenced many of my favorite bands. They haven’t been for me. After trying again, they still aren’t, but I respect that they pushed boundaries.

The singing sounded like animal sounds but apart from that it’s awful

Starting a song with high pitched wine is bold and while nowhere near as successful as Public Enemy this is at least interesting. The glass breaking also pails in comparison to that in the excellent “Heart Monitor Riddem" by Kurupt FM. https://open.spotify.com/track/61NiI5dYMLy7p1Cblkc6G6?si=dmfDlsX9QXqSWhX530YoXw&utm_source=copy-link Per Ubu are not quite a temu Iggy Pop per se but are close. More Per Unusual than Per usual. Not a perfect album, but the highs make it worth the effort

I initially enjoyed this crazy, noisy, messy little proto-post-punk album. I was engaged from the beginning and the highs were high but my interest waned in the 2nd half and I'm not sure whether the quality dropped or I just got distracted. I may return just to make a bit more sense of the whole of it

Common praise for this band includes the claim that, while they are talented musicians, they pretend to be bad when they play. WTF? How is that any different than just being bad musicians? And if this is making a statement, being satirical, or meant to be art, no reasonable listener can decipher the actual message. So, they've failed as musicians and artists. The claim to fame seems to be that they were the precursor to Captain Beefheart and that ilk. Woof. I don't think Atlas could shoulder that burden.

Oh dear. Not one for me I’m afraid. couldn’t get my head around. Clearly not cool enough!

Apparently I saw Pere Ubu supporting the Gang of Four in March 1981, although I don't remember the former. The death of David Thomas recently prompted a reappraisal of this album. At times it is a cachophonous racket driven by Thomas' grating voice. On closer listen, it has more depth and variety.