The Modern Dance

Good in parts, but the vocals ruin it for me. Standout song: Over my head

A couple interesting moments, but a mostly nonsensical noise. At least it’s not boring.

Yeah, I don't know. There were some bright spots, but this was mostly noise for me. I heard a little Brian Eno in there and maybe some punk or something, but honestly it didn't really pique my ears at all, just sounded like some vaguely musical noise. Two stars.

hurts

Just when one of these tracks would settle into something that might be identifiable as a "song" and begin to offer some intriguing listening, it would fall back out into chaos. Don't get me wrong, I actually like a little abstract in my music, I just think they got the ratio wrong. 2 stars for creative authenticity.

OK C’EST BON ARRÊTE STP, J’TE DONNE TON 2 ÉTOILES APRÈS UN MOIS DE RETARD, MAINTENANT ARRÊTE DE ME DONNER DE LA MARDE, GÉNÉRATEUR

An extra star because some of it wasn't complete garbage

Did I hate this? No. Did I like it? Also no, but it’s not nearly as bad as a lot of the reviews would have you believe. It’s certainly a tough listen, but there is good stuff here. I have found through this that vocals make or break an album for me and the vocals here are very rough. The music around the vocals is pretty good, even if a good portion of it is just noise. In the end, this isn’t my cup of tea, but not the assault to my ears I was expecting.

listen again, didn't get enough time

That's not my taste in music

Never really got into Pere Ubu. Still not convinced

Ahead of it's time. Sounds like an album made in the 2020's by some students straight out of an English music school. It was a little funny sometimes. Don't hate it, just not something I would listen to.

Honestly did not enjoy it that much, got kind of a loony toon punk vibe to it some of the time. His singing, once again is just not my style.

I don’t know who could really dance the most of the music on this album. A lot of it just seemed like noise to me. There were a few songs that I actually thought had a pretty good groove. But overall not my thing.

Ensimmäisen kappaleen alussa oli todella ikävää taajuutta. Parissa biisissä oli kivojakin pätkiä, mutta ei tätä kyllä jaksa kuunnella.

Ihme joikua

Levyn alku oli tosi swengaavaa ja kivan kuuloista. Melko pian kappaleet olivat ihmeellistä epävireisen huilun soittamista ja pullojen hajoittelua.

4/10

Listening to this from a punk lens made it a little more listenable, earning it a point over Dub Housing. I honestly liked “Life Stinks” as a punk song hahaha. The glass shattering, moaning, and other sounds throughout were pretty painful. But at least it was interesting!!

Like something Nick Cave would play after you get home from the pub at midnight. Each song sent me through a journey that went “what the hell?” to “okay, this is interesting” to “why are they doing that now?” Glad I gave it a try. Would not listen again.

This one's weird, but easy. Music is great. Real World being the standout, instrumental wise. If this album were instrumental, it'd be getting a 4 from me. It's just consistently let down by the really annoying vocals. I get that's the point, but I just can't. Dude sounds like a manic Peter Griffin, haha.

I went to Louisville to visit my best friend growing up. He doesn't live in Louisville nor does he ever or even ties to the city but in this situation he was living in z Louisville. I called a couple of people I knew from there from a long time ago. 20 years since I last seen them. But I got their answering machine. I get to the friend's house. The one who has zero ties to the city and he's drunk. Then we're at a Chinese restaurant but we are eating breakfast. He keeps drunkenly saying things to me and now across from us is a completely different friend that I know from another part of my life but they kind of know each other now. They are not friends. The three of us are sitting in a living room at this strange apartment complex. Strange to me but apparently it's where the first person lives. I'm trying to fall asleep in a recliner but he still keeps drunkenly make fun of me. I get up and pay for the food a d leave the apartment. It's a big complex and the couple I tried calling live right down at the end of the complex but on the way I drive and then walk. They are still not answering my calls or answer when I knock. Then briefly we are all in a car then I'm at the front door again and I let myself in. I try to fall asleep on their couch but it feels like I'm pressing my heels in concrete. Then they show up. Then my old friend shows up with the different friend. I'm still partially trying to sleep. They do mention how I got in but they mostly seem bothered by something else. The old friend says he was going to pay for the food but I had already paid. Now I'm on a recliner. The wife is gone. The husband seems distant then somehow. Maybe someone voiced it that the couple lost the baby and I tell them they'll have one eventually but this comment seems to bother them. We are all standing outside around the complex's pool. My heels still feel like they are being pressed in concrete. The husband mentions he's a doctor now and pulls out a zamboni with a bowl at the end of it packed with mud. They all hit it but I don't. The husband starts to walk on the pool which is now frozen. Then I'm next to him on a couch and he starts crying and tells me that their baby girl was dragged 2 miles before they noticed her car seat had fallen out but still connected to the car seat. We are now outside by a garage. I apologize for making the comment earlier about how they will some day have a baby. He said they were charging them with murder then he hit a much smaller bowl. He was wearing a nice smoking jacket. I asked how many years he was facing and he shook his head and said $63.

The funny thing to me about starting this album is that it made me realize that I could not remember what DUB HOUSING. And that's relevant because it was the entire reason why I was even worried about getting into this album. I mean, from what I could recall, DUB HOUSING was just a mess. Noisily unlistenable, and absolutely mono in the sense of variation. Even despite the 3 I gave it, it's always been one I've long thought of as "one of the worst my group has gotten," on a different level from stuff like DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE or CALENTURE. So that ended up being my expectation going in, and I'll admit, it worried me a little. Like, what if it actually meant I didn't like experimentation? If, deep down, despite the passes I've given to some other albums on the more avant-garde side of things, I'm actually one of those people who really only prefers classic rock? The worry that I'm secretly closed to broadening my musical horizons and that I'm just kidding myself; all that. And, well, I can safely say that that's not the case. I mean, of course; I'm the kind of gal who'll actively vouch for The Residents and KOLLAPS on the basis that they're weird and experimental. There were actually some parts of this album I found rather interesting, much to my surprise. There's a little bit of punk energy in this I could dig. No, my problem isn't with experimentation. My real is with albums that are fucking boring, and that's what THE MODERN DANCE is. Like, yeah, it's stranger than the average album, and it gets its noise on in a lot of parts, and none of it to me is, like... Off-putting. I'm not revulsed. I'm just waiting for it to **DO SOMETHING INTERESTING**. Especially during "Sentimental Journey", where I'm sure there was supposed to be some sort of point about... I don't know. Pulling out of my butt: familial abuse? But I really could not be assed to tell. To me, this album is just a damn snooze fest, where I'm almost tempted to make the accusation I make against a lot of post-punk bands where I think that they think they can be praised to the heavens and back if they make a bunch of uncommercial noise. I'm not gonna claim that level of insincerity, but the vibes are too strong of me to **not** bring up the possibility. So, yeah, it's fucking boring. I mean, what do interesting parts and a small dose of punk energy matter when the whole package can't support them? Like, jeez, I'unno. Early on I wanted to be kind because of those, but nah, man. No quarter. I didn't like this at all. Best I can really say about it is that it's just "boring bad" and not "morally offensive bad" like Kid Rock's album, or the worst of both worlds like Koffi Olomide's. But let's not act like that's a compliment, y'know?

It started off OK. A nice DIY feeling. But I just found myself becoming increasingly irritated by everything about it.

Very raw. I didn’t love it.

Very raw - I wouldn’t go as far as to say I enjoyed it but I could appreciate it from afar. Overall - I would be okay never listening to it again

Were two albums really necessary?

< the Beatles I will never understand the genre of music "what if I/we just fuck around in my basement and call it music and release it as an album as a goof." Like this, the residents and Radiohead

Reminds me of The Cramps.

Just not really my jam

That was just about music

Maso

I wonder if albums haven't been added to this list just for their irritation value. Given the sound and the time period, this was probably an inspiration for groups like Devo and the Talking Heads, but it shows little of the musical skill and only some of the humorous charm of those groups. A six-minute noise experiment that serves as the album's penultimate track (and roughly one-sixth of its total running time) feels like time I'll never have back in my life now.

Not great, but I like the energy

I’m a sucker for experimental post-punk/art punk, but I’ve never been able to get into these guys. None of those songs sounded interesting to me

I live for this kind of music, but I can't seem to get this for reasons unknown. It just feels like they're trying too hard.

It's usually my kind of stuff, and it's good... I think? But I just can't get the appeal with Pere Ubu.

Rating: 3.5/10 This album sucks but it has some promising moments. Instrumentally, an interesting take on post-punk with some of the worst vocals I've ever heard.

meh like if devo/the pixies had a less talented kid together or something

… I guess? I mean, I think lots of people hate it, but it’s just … there. Yes, this is an album.

Sorry, no. This isn't my thing at all. I'll give it a two for the okay music, but the singing and annoying noises throughout pull it way down.

This was better than dub housing, it had more rhythm to it and more structure in some areas, not the biggest fan of it but I might be more interested soon

It was aight, but not sold

Messy.

Trying to hard.

Proto jazz punk too far for me

Lame.

Forget about the list for a second; how does this band even get a record deal????? Terrible singing, barely even noise rock. I fail to see how this is art-punk post-punk. 1.5 if I could.

It triggered my tinnitus but there was some good stuff buried in there it was just hard to pull out

Avant-garde punk rock, but unfortunately, not interesting

I've heard the opening Non-Alignment Pact before and I quite liked it. Starting on this high I enjoyed the next couple of tracks as art-rock before the whole thing went modern art avant-guard with weird sounds, smashing bottles, mumbled vocals, etc. and completely lost me. Not worth a second listen. Two stars overall and Non-Alignment Pact is doing a lot of the heavy lifting for that rating. I do like the fact that I was made to listen to this instead of another band of four once-popular English guys from the 70s, though.

Let me just say that I feel like I dodged a bullet by listening to this one without headphones. It's an incredibly, incredibly ballsy move to start your album out with the infernal screeches of the guitars of the damned. I can see why it turned a lot of the people here away, but it succeeded at hooking me in. For better or worse, it's attention grabbing. I quite like the industrial aesthetic that this album has going on. I have no clue how some of the sounds on this album were made, which makes the way in which they were utilised doubly as impressive to me. I had absolutely no clue what any of the vocalists were saying, but in all fairness who can understand a britbonger-they're American???? I listened to this one twice and I don't really have any opinion on it other than that I liked the opening track and thought that Sentimental Journey was funny. There just isn't nearly enough meat on the bones of these songs to justify their long runtimes, and the entire thing feels like it drags it's feet as a result. This is yet another album where I wish I had the documentation on why it made the list.

70’s…what?…rock jazz experimental. Not my jam.

super punk. Lil too punk for me.

OK.

Complete twaddle

Not my thing, sorry.

First the positives, the album art is very cool, the general vibe is post-punky and works quite well, some songs are quite catchy with the saxophone playing. Second the negatives, the songs were quite boring, some were annoying and straight up bad. The intro was horrible and nearly made me turn off the album. All in all a pretty bad album. Weak 2 star.

Album opens up with an assault on my hearing - with the first track, I've had enough. A cursory listen to the rest of the tracks didn't produce anything revelatory. 1.5/5

It's weird and seems sort of hostile toward its audience. Being deliberately difficult is an artistic choice I guess. I'll give it more than 1 star for holding tightly to its own vision and for its raw energy.

in between the cool indie rock/punk songs there were sounds like "Sentimental Journey" that made me think they actually hate their fans and were trying to punish me for listening

There were interesting moments of this album that felt exciting and like it would be in line with punk bands I've enjoyed, like the Pretenders or maaaaybe Ramones, but the glimmers of moments didn't hold up to the more frequent unstructured chaos.

Yeah this is a lot more challenging than their other album on the list. More noise, less fun. Last song is pretty good, though. 2/5

wasn't in the mood for this today

Was isch dänn das!? Rächt wirr, aber irgendwie au cool, experimentel. Was für droge sind da im Spiel?

find die erste zwei lieder bis etz seehr geil haha. NON ALIGNMENT PACT. au sehr weird aber gnüsses. laughng goht recht dumm mitem free jazz stuff aber finds reecht geil die stechend gitarre nocher isch super. street waves macht langsam klar dass er nöd andersch wird singe. aber s het alles mega drive und ich finds easy cool. chinese radiation? oge? aber jo vo mir us real world wird langsam chli ahstrengend. over my head au ehner müehsam zum lose, s lauft sich langsam uus. humor me au swirig. s album fangt definitiv sehr geil ah und hört schwaach uuf. de langsam stuff isch vieel weniger cool als de schnell.

Puh. Eher nichts für mich.

Didn't really grab me.

Innovative, influential, somewhat painful.

There are aspects of this album I really dug. The post punk vibe of the rhythm section mainly. But between the singer, which I disliked his delivery throughout the album, andthe overwhelming artsy tinkering which quite frankly either didn't move me or in the case of the Musique Conrete "Sentimental Journey" just down right hated. This just isn't anything I'd ever return to and quite frankly felt like a waste of my time. (3.85) ★½

the voice is EXTREMELY grating to me, taking an otherwise okay album and making it a not good album.

2/5

some songs were ok. some songs were meh. overall i don’t think i’ll be listening to this one again.

I like a few PU songs. They aren’t on this album. Not sure why this is on here.

This was interesting but really started to grate quite quickly. Opening bars told me this was sime nice scuzzy, punky stuff that was right up my street and i was interested in. Unfortunately, this got swamped with the random squeaks, talking heads esque vocals. It just seemed to disappear up its own arse.

Trying to be punk, funk and psychedelic all at once. Little too much for me. Feel vocalist is all over the place.

Not completely awful, but did not enjoy it.

This is like a straight up punk version of Devo. There isn’t a lot of variety on this album though. It’s just straight up Devo punk. I really can’t explain it any better. It lacks a stand out track. There is no vocal range. The music is simple but perfect for the vocals. Don’t ask me what the lyrics are about. It’s mostly noise to me but not ear bleeding noise. I could stand this, I just wanted something more out of it. Choice cut: Non Alignment Pact

I’m not interested in this. Did not have any fun with this. Mostly inoffensive. Wasn’t much to latch on to if you know what I mean. 2/5

Nah mate. Too jazzy.

Jaysus. Had just about enough to make it a high 1*, rounded up to 2*

Some good songs, unfortunately interrupted by periodic shrieks and an entry that's mostly just smashing glass. I don't understand why... this kind of thing... it's not art to me, it's irritating.

A little too artsy fartsy.

Falls into the same irritating zone as Talking Heads and Devo, a.k.a. my musical arch-nemesis. I can't tell you why this puts me in a state of primal rage, but it just does. Not a fan.

Avant-garde, which I try and be open minded to. There is some good avant-garde out there, but there is a lot of bad. I find the genre difficult to penetrate unless you have an affinity for that particular artist before going into it. This is no different. Some interesting ideas, but mostly ruined by the shrieking vocals. Not the worst I've heard on here admittedly.

Ah 70's punk. The head-bopping, driving percussive angst of a generation. Laughing and Sentimental Journey had me cringing, but Street Waves brings the album away from dissonance and back to fun. Basically a mixed bag of mosh and mess. Mostly mess.

A 36 minutes long album shouldn’t have so much “failed stuff”. It has some good moments, but annoying the audience just for the sake of it is always a dumb and cheap choice.

More pretentious performance art than music. Although at times it veered into Nick Cave or the Velvet Underground territory, just not as good. Interesting but headache-inducing. Experimental but alienating. And way too much feedback.

Oh no thank you. I just can’t get behind music like this that much, I don’t see its charm. I can possibly see how it’s popular- I respect the different style, but I just don’t like it.

The Cuyahoga River flows directly through Cleveland (OH, USA) and in the 1960s would actually *catch on fire* frequently due to how polluted it was. Crocus Behemoth is the moniker adopted by the "vocalist" in the band, who were founded in Cleveland. There must be some correlation here. 4/10 2 stars. (Stunning that not one album from Pere Ubu is here but 2. This is not as terrible as their followup - that's the best I can give it)

2 - Not really sure on this honestly. Didn't really resonate at all

I’ve been a part of some intoxicated jams where everyone switches instruments while some random friend who doesn’t sing gets on the mic and just gets weird, definitely some fun memories. I’m glad most of those jams weren’t recorded cause I’m sure they sounded terrible. This album reminds me of what I imagine those jams sounded like. That being said there’s some pretty interesting moments scattered through out the ten songs. There’s plenty of risks being taken through out and that freedom yields some really cool exploration. I wouldn’t say there’s anything here that I will revisit but I can appreciate what the band was going for. I guess I’d give it a 2.5.

I'd never heard of this artist before and based on the name, I was guessing it was an older African guy, lol (Père being the French word for father). How wrong I was! Like thinking you're about to drink water, but it's actually flat Sprite. This was pretty unhinged and felt quite experimental. I appreciate that they felt free to explore and take risks, and there were many cool and interesting moments, but the vocals often impeded my enjoyment. I'll give it a 2.5.

This album took me off guard, what is it... art-punk, garage rock, anti-music, a recycling truck driving down a dirt road? I didn't hate it but it's pretty out there, the highs are high and the lows are low. It's short and interesting at points, not sure I'd play it again though. The garbled mumbling and drunk sound effects feel somehow very Cleveland. Not the worst, 2.0.

Not sure what to make of this. At times its a fun romp with some weird alt-punk sounds. At other times it devolves into obnoxious vuvuzelas, honking and the ramblings of a seemingly drunk madman. For a 3- minute listen you can do a lot worse with some of the other garbage on the list. Not recommended but also not mad about it. 1.5 stars

Pretty wonky and strange, but at least unique and interesting at times. 4/10

aprecio la valentía, pero no es mi tempo.

Had another album by these guys and this one just didn’t live up to the other

For an album that was described as "Art Punk" I was quite nervous to listen to this. At the beginning I enjoyed myself far more than I thought, but by the end of the album may of my fears had been realized. This could be a tough listen for many stretches. There's still more stuff in here that I liked, so it's ultimately a win.

Pere Ubu, een van mijn eerste 1-sterren albums in deze lijst (uiteraard was Joni primus). Dus ik ben vooraf al extreem gewaarschuwd, dat dit wel eens enorm kut kan zijn. Het eerste nummer begint nog wel aardig, als een soort Talking Heads meets Sex Pistols en the Pixies. Alleen mixen ze er allerlei kutgeluiden doorheen, die zwaar op de irritatiegrens drukken. En dat blijven ze vooralsnog doen. We mogen vooral niet te veel luisterplezier beleven aan platen van Pere Ubu. Ik moet zeggen, in mijn geheugen is dat album Dub Housing vele malen kutter dan dit. Ik was niet van plan dat alsnog een keer op te zetten voor een second opinion. Maar hier zit soms nog wel een soort van muziek in en kan ik me best van voorstellen dat anderen dit tof kunnen vinden. Alleen jammer dus dat de zanger er soms overheen loopt te bleren en ze er continu van die irritante geluiden doorheen kieperen. De 1 blijft ze bespaard dit keer, een magere 2 is hun deel.

I’m not really sure why this is consistently rated so poorly. That said, it was a bit…workmanlike? And not in the way that punk’s key virtue was its lack of virtuosity. Just workmanlike dull.

I hadn’t heard of Pere Ubu before today. Apple Music says it is 70’s alternative, which is a decade and genre that I don’t often see together. I did find some charm in this album with the rawness and how it doesn’t try to be pristine, but it didn’t take too long before I felt I’d had enough. I’m glad I finished it because the final track, Humor Me, would be one of my highlights here, but overall I did find it a little lacking despite the aforementioned charm. I doubt I’ll be returning to this, but I’m glad I heard it.

not for me

It's OK, I like the uniqueness but the vocals are a unappealing for the most part

Too experimental for me.

There's something here that I like, but it's a little bit too out there for me. But I think I might listen to parts of it again. It's WAY too out there for the family, that's for sure. It was interesting listening to this driving home from a softball tournament.

Yeah this is a lot more challenging than their other album on the list. More noise, less fun. Last song is pretty good, though. 2/5

not a fan of this one, not sure why it's on here unless it has some type of uniqueness in the way you can't hear the guy (I can't remember the name of the band but the guy sings "psycho killer kitskisee fa fafa fa fa fa fafa fa fa, that's who this sounded like). The music sounded the same across the album, too.

Number two from Pere Ubu (assuming that rhymes). Like the first, I don't really like it at all. Can't say that I hate it, just not a strong enough reaction. But I wouldn't miss it at all and wouldn't return to it either. Oddball rock. Favorite tracks: Laughing. Album art: This is a cool cover, sketch-type drawing of a guy dancing with a flag, with a skyline behind. It's a good cover art, I like it. 2/5

Avant Garage really hits the nail on the head with this one. It's odd, but makes an interesting change to the stereotypical punk formula

This might be great after the 10th listen but was tough on first go.

Soft-punkkia? Päivän fiilikseen ei oikein osunut ja siten jätti vaisun tunnelman. Eroaa kyllä kepeydellään genren muista orkestereista.

Album starts with a horrible high pitched noise- I definitely wasnt exprcting it 😅. I am finding myself going back and forth a lot as I listen to thr album. I get what they are going for- pushing the boundaries of what rock music can be. But sometimes I feel like its being dissonant just for the sake of being "avant guard". On the other hand- when the leaned into the chaotic rock sound but without the dissonant instrumentation, I found myself really enjoying some songs. Also- even some of the more grating parts did make me laugh. Overall- a hard album to assess. Im sure it had a lot of influence on other rocks artists, but I personally wouldnt see myself putting it on again

There were some parts I liked, but overall a little too “artsy-alternative” for me to understand.

Honking reed instruments and smashing cups are musical? Not for me. Too bad, as there were moments of good music underneath.

There was an okay track early on but they really lost me with all the smashing glass.

All the toots, twerdles and honks on Laughing were pretty irritating. I hate that sort of crap. Turns out, it was pretty indicative of what the rest of the album's like. There were moments I enjoyed, but a lot of irritating noises. Still better than the Residents.

Thought this would be better, reall not good - avante garde, 2 is generous

J'ai probablement plus aimé que le premier album de Pere Ubu que j'ai eu ici, mais ça reste un style très particuliers qui n'est pas facile à apprivoiser. Mon principal problème reste avec les vocals qui sont vraiment dur à prendre au sérieux. 4.5/10

Meget muligt at det er meget indflydelsesrigt osv men jeg nød ikke rigtigt at lytte til det! For syret til mig, selvom det i øjeblikke mindede mig om Television

So close to a 1 but I could hear the B52's and Talking Heads in there so...

Beware of high hopes

Not super great -

a generous 2, idk how the average is so high and why this is in the list

Did not like.

started ok, last few tracks unlistenable

Definitely not something I'm into, but I was distracted watching the olympics, so it had that going for it. Songs were too long. 2.6

Well, there might have been some break through music and concepts in here but there was a lot of "noise" too. I don't think I have the patience to put in the effort to get out all the good/interesting parts. I'm glad I live 45 years past this album so I can hear all the good music that benefited from these pioneers.

Not…so…good….nope

meh,

I feel like my ears were being violated by the vocals and the random high pitch noise in the first track. Some alright guitar and bass work though.

I heard a bit of this dude growing up, and my thoughts at the time remain true 40 years later. Sucks. Really sucks.

Bit too experimental for my liking

Listened to over half the album, and just got a bit annoyed at it. Sounds like something I'd make if I was bored with garageband.

Sone interesting sounds

A bloody EAR RINGER of an album. There's a lot of experimentation taking place here. I like the gang feel, with mantras and slogans being paraded around. I couldn't find any overall direction I could get behind though. The glass smashing sound effects on Sentimental Journey saw me off.

A bit weird. Gave me Talking Heads vibes I think? Not my jam but had a couple interesting moments.

Noisy punk, bad production, lousy vocals

Boh non mi ha detto niente!

enjoyable... but nothing that knocked my socks off.

Experimental

Pönkað tilraunakennt rokk. Hittir ekki alveg í mark hjá mér.

Having a headache when that first song starts, made me dislike everything in an instant lol. As the songs went on, I was reminded of Datarock at times so the music definitely had a more modern feel and was not what I expected from a late 70s album. Overall I couldn’t get into it but it was an interesting listen.

Mmm

That was crap. Didn't finish.

I think we found the inspiration for the Violent Femmes

My second Pere Ubu album and I'm none the wiser as to why it's here. They seem to have been an important underground influential artist but it's just such messy noise and not a million miles from the last one.

Schräges Rock Album der 70er. Einige passable Stellen werden durch rumgeklimper und experimentieren mit irgand was was Geräusche verzerrt. Es war irgendwie Zeitverschwendung diesem Soundsammelsorium zu folgen.

welcome to Константинополь 2.0

Did not land for me and my interested waned.

Terrible vocals over a basic instrumental makes for an overall boring and sometimes just bad experience

I liked the peppier, upbeat parts. Everything else was meh. 2/5

i remember what it was like, you’d get a cool riff and then you’d fuck it up for no particular reason except to make it artier

I'm glad that avant garde punk/rock exists and I'm glad they released this and I'm glad I don't have to listen to it again. These are not negative thoughts. There's a space for music like this and there are other bands that went somewhere more melodic with the influence of this band/record.

This album wasn’t enjoyable to listen to but I also can’t say that I hate it enough to give it a 1. There are some things to like with this it’s just buried under like 20 layers of obnoxious post-punk/noise rock. Like the first song wasn’t terrible but the first 20 seconds almost made me nauseous and my gf had to leave the room.

For all of my musical tastes, I should like this. Should. But I don't. Nothing about it is clicking with me. The album cover is amazing, I'll give it props for that. Unfortunately, nothing else is working for me. Not musically, lyrically, vocally... it's too bad. I sure did try. I'm sure this album sings a direct line to someone's soul, I just know that it ain't mine.

This album reminds me of being 14 and first learning guitar. You don't really known the notes so you confidently bash them out, 90% wrong with a few times that you play it right.

Pere Ubu is really for a select, discerning audience. I'm not one of them.

I assume they didn't have money to pay for a vocalist. There's a song that starts with the sound of breaking glass and I would much rather every song had that instead of vocals. Absolutely terrible. 2 stars for the band cause they actually know how to play instruments.

Not sure what to make of this... certainly different and not what you would think a "1978" would sound like. Ultimately not something I'm likely to listen to again but OK with it being on the list.

I can't really figure this album out. I don't know who it would be for. It's not really bad, some of the instrumentation is inventive. Great drums and bass throughout. Vocals are super off-putting. I'd never heard of this band before and after this album I might go find some of their other stuff if the mood strikes. It's interesting to listen to, weird for sure. I'm just not sure I get what they were trying to do or say. Hard to rate because I don't really like it but it's not bad. I'd give this like 2.5 but I can't bring myself to round up to 3 so it's a 2/5 I suppose.

Subsequent plays are better, and I want to like this album/artist, but I just can’t into it. The first 30 seconds of the first song of the album is just a screech, like it’s actively trying to get the mainstream listener to dislike it so the punk fans can claim superiority.. second Pere Ubu album, another 2/5

I especially don’t like Sentimental Journey (was enough to tip the balance to a lower ranking for the album)

01) Non-Alignment Pact - 6,5 02) The Modern Dance - 7,0 03) Laughing - 4,0 04) Street Waves - 7,0 05) Chinese Radiation - 4,5 06) Life Stinks - 5,0 07) Real World - 5,5 08) Over My Head - 6,0 09) Sentimental Journey - 1,0 10) Humor Me - 5,5 TOTAL: 5,20 (52/100) This album is full of weird and unpleasant noises including the singer's vocals. Few songs sound like actual songs, the rest is some experimental weird stuff with lame sound effects like in the 1978 SF space movie. Can "Sentimental Journey" really be allowed to call itself a song?

Some of this was VERY fun, but dissonance and noise rock has always been widely available to me and so i don't think it has the same uniqueness it probably did when people discovered it in its time.

I really did not like most of this, especially the ending of "Sentimental Journey." The vocals just made me uncomfortable. I'm all for art rock, but at least make it a little listenable!

This is what you get when a middle school concert band makes music for dogs. Dogs love it. Humans run from it.

Musically not terrible, they should have got rid of the "singer" and whoever is fucking about with the noise pedals though Won't be listening again

Didn’t really vibe

Interesting - generally a sort of tedious punk rock. Not my scene, though flashes of decent rock.

They are committed to their thing. Good on them.

Very odd, but some minor points for creativity I guess? 1.7 stars

Need to read about what I don’t get about this

Had never listened to this group. Didn’t find it terribly good , but I’m not musically intelligent. For me it’s a low rating bc I don’t have any need to listen to again.

"The Modern Dance" by Pere Ubu is an avant-garde album that pushes the boundaries of rock music. Released in 1978, it features experimental soundscapes, angular guitar riffs, and David Thomas's distinctive vocals, creating a unique and challenging listening experience. While the album is praised for its innovation and influence on the post-punk genre, its abrasive and disjointed nature can make it difficult for some listeners to connect with. Tracks like "Non-Alignment Pact" and "Street Waves" showcase the band's unconventional approach to songwriting, but they may alienate those looking for more traditional rock music. Overall, "The Modern Dance" is a polarizing album that will appeal to fans of experimental music but may not resonate with a wider audience.

Have awarded myself a solid two stars for playing this until the end.

I owned this album. The landscapers were working while it was playing, it didn't make much of a difference. It is interesting, but is it good? Do we put these albums in the context of the time they were created or do we review them from the present? The same question is asked of the Constitution. Is recorded music a museum piece or a living thing? I admire the creativity, but I don't want it on heavy rotation. I was 3 stars then the 6 self indulgent minutes of 'Sentimental Journey' killed me. 2* The list has two Pere Ubu albums, they are out of Cleveland, art school no doubt. The wife said, "This is what music sounds like in hell." I save that line for Bon Iver.

I like the music but can’t take the vocals. Like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Totally outrageous. “Modern Dance” and “Street Waves” were good though.

A curious underground and avant-garde release. I can see how it may have influenced some punk and experimental styles that came after it but as an album it was quite shoddy.

I like punk and post-punk, but this album is almost impossible to enjoy. Its extremely discordant and very poorly produced. You can see how in retrospect it was influential but I cant help but think it was partly a lesson in what NOT to do. 2/5

Até interessante pela experimentação sonora, mas mesmo curto, no final estava chato.

Old school punk. Clash, sexpistols like.

Every time this starts to get interesting, it gets obnoxious again.

Never heard of this band before so I had no expectations on what this album was like or idea on the bands sound. that was a nice experience. This was an OK album, not many stand out songs you think thats amazing I want to listen to that again Favorite song: real world Least favourite song: Over my head Album artwork: Great artwork

Avante garde. The modern art of music. Not my cup of tea.

Thought this was pretty interesting garage/post punk rock for 1978. That being said I wasnt ever really blown away by any individual track. I liked that it was darker and kind of pyschadelic inspired in places, but the lyrics were impossible to decipher the way it was sung and mixed. I'm guessing a lot of this is due to the Seinfeld effect though, as I gather this was the first time a lot of these sonic textures were used like this and it likely had a big impact on more commercially successful bands who appeared later. Even like REM, I could hear influences from. Personally I need a bit more melodic movement to emotionally connect, I couldnt really imagine myself dancing to it, but it was by no means a bad listen and I was glad for the exposure.

This entire album sounded like some weird filler interlude that I would be happy to slog through as part of a better album - maybe velvet underground or pixies. But for that to be the whole thing is just kind of unacceptable.

I always assumed that this was either a ska or reggae band. I think I would have liked it better had it been either of those.

Just not for me at all. Pretty dreary all the way through without any sort of break, and I also did not connect with the singing. Happy 500 fellas.

Screechy, chaotic and alarming

They called it avant garage, which is accurate.

2 - Man, I was kinda hopeful for this album because of the genres and my own curiosity, but this was boring. I wasn't crazy about the vocals either. I was more excited for their second album than this one, but not so much now. I guess I finally know what I think of Pere Ubu.

Weird AF. Some of it is really good. The rest is complete suck. If it wasn’t so screechy I would rate it higher.

My initial thoughts on this one a few tracks in were a bit subsided as the album moved along, but overall I thought this was too bland for the ambition it was attempting. I wanted a bit more dynamics to flesh out what I feel like the band was trying to achieve. Maybe it was intentional. The vocals were mixed wonderfully, which made the whole experience even more off putting given the less-than-stellar production everywhere else. There aren't too many memorable tracks here either, and when a good chunk of the 36-minute runtime is taken by sound effects and in-betweener songs, you need to have something with more sticking power.

Experimental rock. Some very dissonant sirens and horns throughout. Our dogs hated it.

I mean, there are moments here that I totally get what the band and singer are going for. But at the same time, the band feels like it's venturing close into Beefheart territory. It feels more like if Colin Hay was trying to sing The Shaggs. Are they brilliant? Or just brilliantly terrible? I'm veering more the second camp, although there was a track or two I liked, like "Real World." Still, not enough for me to recommend.

Not a great start to the album - that piercing squeal to kick off Non-Alignment Pact is excruciating. The rest of the song wasn't bad though - kind of a fun, rocking beat. The album is a bit strange, but on first listen I'd say I didn't get to another song where there were unbearable noises (Thomas' singing and his oboe?) until song 6 and Life Stinks. But the very next song Real World also started with some annoying music and/or noises and unlike the first song it didn't really get better. Sentimental Journey was downright awful. There were moments where I was reminded of the Talking Heads or Pixies, but not quite measuring up. I was intrigued and conflicted enough to give it a second listen, mainly to see if I could justify giving the album a 3. I couldn't quite get there.

"So this is one of those bands where the singer can't really sing. Got it." This was my first thought when the vocals first came in on the first song. But hey, it's punk. No one ever said a punk singer needed to actually be good. There is some great stuff here. But the instrumentals are often overshadowed by the brutal and sometimes grating vocals. I hear a lot of other bands here though, which speaks to its importance and influence. I hear Talking Heads. I heard Dead Kennedys. I hear Black Flag. I hear Roxy Music. I hear also hear more recent bands like The White Stripes and Black Keys. It's clearly an influential album. But that doesn't make listening to it enjoyable enough to give it more than 2 starts. I don't think I'll seek this one back out. Standout tracks: Non-Alignment Pact, Laughing, Life Stinks, Over My Head As an aside, I've assigned different meanings to each star in the rating system: 1. I HAD to hear THIS before I died? 2. I had to hear THIS before I died? 3. I had to hear this before I died? 4. I had to hear this before I died. 5. I HAD to hear this before I died.

What the actual fuck? Those are the only words I can think of to describe this. Listen, I would consider myself a fan of post-punk. I love me some Marquee Moon or Remain in Light here and there. So I was intrigued when I saw this. But like a parent who found out their kid cheated on a math test, I’m not even mad, I’m just disappointed. There are so many things to talk about. Like how, for one, this barely feels like music at some points. There is a lot of really weird synth and guitar ambiance that feels like someone has pushed you off a cliff and you are just dangling by a rope. I can respect the fact that this is actually experimental in a way, but it doesn’t always make for very interesting and compelling songs. This feels like something a music nerd would tell a girl to listen to at a bar instead of whatever “shitty mainstream normie” music she listens to. Like “you don’t get it until you’ve heard it ten times all the way through”. Whatever Brian. It lacks a lot of conventional music things that exist to make music sound good. Which is cool if you are into that. But I’m not. This barely even feels like punk music. Even though Marquee Moon came out the year before this, I don’t think post-punk became something noteworthy until the years after this. Also I have to speak about the singers. This may sound dramatic, but I immediately hated it. Aside from parts in the last song, I can’t name one second of this where I thought the singer sounded good. In an album filled with some of the strangest choices in songwriting I’ve ever heard, he still manages to sound out of place. In a year where we got albums like Music for 18 Musicians, Hemispheres, Die Mensch-Maschine, and Ambient 1: Music for Airports, this doesn’t feel like it should be as liked as it is. But I guess that’s why music is subjective. Rating: 3/10

Quite a lot of shouty punk, but also some more progressive music. Although marginally more listenable than Dub Housing, it is still a long way from my taste.

I dont get it. Starting an album off with some fuckawful noise doesnt help too. I dont really get this album honestly. Significant 36/112 Liked 17/112 Added 4/112 NNN

That is one of the most annoying ways to start an album I have ever heard. It just felt like they were trying too hard to be alternative. There were some parts that I really wish had been whole songs, but they veered back into cooky sounds. Felt like they could have integrated their sounds more into the songs.

Definitely Avant Garde, but a decent album regardless. Probably nothing I would return to but I could understand its influence. 2.5/5

I tried, but I just couldn't get into this. I like the mix of the instruments. It's that rare occasion where you can actually hear the bass guitar separate from the guitars. The issue here is it all sounds bad. The vocals are monotonously annoying. Screeching sax that sounds like a Yoko Ono sabotage. Reading other reviews, people enjoyed the experimental punk aspect of it. It just doesn't sound good. There's no world where I would want to spend time listening to this on purpose.

Pardon papa poum

a failli me creer des daddy issues

Not a fan of this really. I liked a couple of tracks but then again I don't think I'd revisit them.

meh, a little more modern sounding on some places than most rock from this era, but it absolutely drags. had to force myself to push through.

Nul à chier mais on s'y attendait vu leur autre album de la liste.

Pere Ubu vient récupérer sa première position au classement des pires pères du monde, devant l'incontournable Tim Buckley. Le génial père de robpierre ferme lui toujours la marche.

Not as psyched with this one as I was the funkier, dance-oriented 'Dub Housing.' Starts off with some interesting industrial textures and the classic Pere Ubu experimentation, but starts to lose steam by the third track and never really recovered.

Ab 2. Lied wird's besser

Beetje gekkigheid ben ik niet vies van, maar dit valt me zwaar.

Apparently I'm too dumb to appreciate this and pretty much endured it. I find it unfortunate because there is some interesting stuff going on musically that gets drowned out by the art noise BS.

What's worse - David Thomas' awful voice or his horrendous musette? Even though this debut is MUCH better than the following Dub Housing, those two “instruments” really prevent it from being an enjoyable listening experience.

Hieman kunnianhimoinen nimi albumilla, tosin muutamien biisien junnaavuus taitaa täyttää sen (voi tanssia monotonisesti). Hieman liian surinaa, taiteelliset pyrkimykset tulevat selvästi naiiviuden pinnan alta.

Niin kauan kuin punk riittää, tai punkkia riittää, levy vähintään menettelee. Annoin pari mahdollisuutta, mutta puolivälissä näyttää tapahtuvan väistämätön nukahdus.

Bleh. Why does this list include a lot of this shit

Rock experimental. Un rollo que quiere ser moderno metiendo ruidos... Un 2.

3/10. What if we took the all the abrasive sounds of Watermelon Man, but made them into something really boring?

Not a fun listen. 3/10

Drunk uncle jam sesh

Thought it was OK to start with but bored by the end.

Not what I expected given the album cover/title! Proud of myself for making it all the way through whatever this is supposed to be. There are parts of it that I liked, but mostly unlistenable. Hard to rate considering it’s not trying to be good in any conventional way. Rounding up to a 2, giving extra credit for making an album filled with breaking bottles and high pitched squealing sounds (bagpipes? recorder?!) making a list like this 50 years after it was made

Better than Dub Housing, but not by much.

Somewhat random art noise that didn’t excite me

Punky

Kinda gratey on the ears

Regardless of what my daily album is, I always listen to the whole thing. It was a tremendous struggle to make it through this one. Now excuse me while I help my wife get the knitting needles out of her ears.

meh. the majority of the songs just don't do anything for me.

Liked some of the later tracks a bit more than the first few but not for me. Might be one that would grow on me.

This was a tough listen. Really noisy and I played it way too early. It was interesting though and felt fresh and new despite its years.

I find the cover art 10% interesting and 90% off putting. Which actually makes it perfect for this album. Starts strong, but somewhere in the third song they lost me. It's interesting, but also a mess. A stressful listen, honestly. Songs like Sentimental Journey are just more work than I want to put in when trying to relax to some music. It is possible Pere Ubu belongs on this list. It is also possible The Modern Dance is mostly just noise. Maybe both can be true at the same time? 2.5 rounding down for the cover art.

Not my thing! Started off good but didn't enjoy it all

Tried it twice, didn't get it.

Random sounds with no coherence. Not enjoyable unless you actively want a headache

Not great, didn’t make it through. Not bad, either.

I couldn't finish this one, it's a sensory overload. Can hear slithers of garage rock and hearty serves experimental rock from the tracks I could tolerate. Reminds me of J Mascis. Can understand the underground appeal. 4/10

Regular punk album. I'm sure it must have historical importance, but I didn't enjoy it that much.

Estilo un tanto underground y experimental. No me ha aportado nada especialmente. Flojo en muchos sentidos.

Meh.

Was just not that into it.

Non-alignment pack is a pretty fun punk song and the rest of these are not

Much better than the other Ubu album on here (That's right there's TWO OF THEM) but only just. Some of the musical compositions are interesting, and I kind of like the humor in taking a groove and inserting some challenging sax bleats or whatever. Really it's the horrid, awful vocal wailing shit that I cannot stand.

As a punk fan I can appreciate elements, but this is just noisy.

Rock experimental. Un rollo que quiere ser moderno metiendo ruidos... Un 2.

It's highly admirable that the list is inclusive of special needs musicians.

It’s weird, too weird for me like I tend to enjoy most post punk and vocals aren’t usually an issue but I didn’t find this fun 2/5

lost interest halfway through

Punk is fine, but once you start calling it art punk maybe the original intention is being lost. Anyway I found this a difficult listen.

I really did not care for this at all.

Very offbeat and quirky.

Great sound, but not terribly moving for me.

Huh en ihan tällaisen häröilyn fani ole, vaikka onkin suht kiinnostava. Livenä saattaisin innostua.

I really tried with some of this but in starting to feel like some efforts are people just farting into a tin whistle and calling it avant garde and post punk. Without sounding old, most of this is just noise conveniently given the experimental label.

ruined my day

just awful

Couldn't finish this one

not woke enough for punk

My ears said no. I listened to them

Its like someone took a mediocre prog rock album and then threw a bunch of dissonant sounds and background noises on top. Not pleasant to listen to. What is even more frustrating is the odd interesting bit in there, ruined by weird sound effects. 1 star

Parts of this are fun and parts of this are insufferable, and the fact that those parts sometimes occur at the exact same time makes for a very confusing listening experience. I just wish the sound was less grating? And why is there a track where it's just someone smashing bottles? I was willing to hate this album less until that point. Rating: 1.5

Not even slighlty motivated to finish listening to this. bummer. I was excited because of the first seconds of the opening song... 1 star

Some nice tunes but the vocals and the squealing sounds are annoying. 1,5

ça allait encore jusqu'au verre brisé, je vous hais Pere Ubu Playlist pick : Modern Dance

Starting your album off with screeching audio cutting out doesn't exactly make the best first impression.

Bro what is this crazy album. If I get to the end of this project and there’s a bunch of great albums missing I’m going to be so confused as to how ones like this made it in over them

Painful listening experience, but if you were to take out the unnecessary sound effects and the intentionally bad instrument playing and just strip it down to its bare bones, you’d still have a pretty lousy album.

Nej tyvärr

Pere Ubu’s The Modern Dance was strange, disjointed, and exhausting to sit through. The album felt like a chaotic jumble of noises, vocal strains, and sounds created by what we can only assume were musical instruments—none of which became any more enjoyable as the record went on. That NME considered this the 11th best album of 1978 says less about the album itself and more about what must have been a remarkably thin field of contenders that year.

This just isn't music made for the masses. It's made to never sell in the $1 bin at Goodwill.

Første albumet jeg faktisk fysisk har fått vondt i øret av

Yikes. If I would have stolen this from a record store back in the day I would demand my money back.

Loads of random noises. Artistic for sure

this is the kind of album that really makes me question who wrote this list

I don't hate all noisy avant garde albums, but I do kinda hate this one. I can't convince myself that this band isn't using noisy garbage to mask their mediocre songwriting. Albums like this walk a fine line and this falls on the wrong side of it for me.

I skipped the first song because the right ear did not deserve that. Second song sucked, third song sucked. Just random noises. Gave up at that point. I just can't with the experimental bullshit albums. Fuck off. 1*

praktisch unhörbar.

War kommerziell nicht erfolgreich.... Wen wundert's?

The great streak of albums was going to come to an end at some point One of the very few good things I can say about this album is that it’s relatively short and there’s a couple of songs that aren’t absolute garbage. If the entire album sounded like Street Waves it’d probably be closer to a 3. Laughing and Life Stinks are just putrid songs, in the most annoying, bad spirited, and grotesque way possible. I really can’t stress how awful this dudes voice is to me, it’s truly uniquely bad to me. It sounds like a drunken caricature of a more talented musician. This albums paved with all sorts of irritating instruments, between whatever the hell those sax sounds are and the random distorted instruments for no reason. I’d argue Sentimental Journey isn’t even music, it’s just a 4th grader playing saxophone while some dude throws beer bottles at him I get this is sorta experimental and did indeed influence future artists, but their refusal to even try to sound good is truly infuriating. There are very few moments in this album where I’d rather listen to the song rather than complete silence, so by my rating this has to be a 1. I really think this enters my bottom echelon of truly terrible albums; I genuinely can’t think of 5 albums I’d place lower than this

This was actually horrific to listen to I had to skip nearly very song because it was hurting my ears

First song sounded like people with Tourette experimenting with drugs and alcohol. The rest was barely better.

I can find redemption in Laibach, Throbbing Gristle, Ministry and Einsturzende Neubaten, so having some understanding of avant garde music, I should have enjoyed the creative risks taken by Pere Ubu, but I don't. It comes off like even worse junk than the stuff Captain Beefheart does. Feels more gimmick than authentic artistic statement. Having said that, I can see how 12 year old edgelord in me would have embraced this when I was young, dumb, full of cum. Most bearable: "Over My Head"

Too loud

Kokeellinen sekoilu ei oikein lähe...

Another absolute garbage album that should have never been included on a list like this. 0 / 5

Demasiado experimental para mi gusto, mucho sonido raro, mucho trompetas sin sentido, pareciendo que improvisan en el momento, gritos, realmente parece una banda de locos que tienen algunos instrumentos. No es para nada mi gusto, y no entiendo porque existe en esta lista pero bueno. Quizas la batería y alguna que otra cuerda puede haberme sonado bien pero lo demás esta rarísimo.

Neither enjoyable to listen to nor interesting to hear. The punk and post-punk sensibility can be such a liberating creative force. But it is too-often a convenient facade for the lazy and uninspired. Great punk bands compensate for their technical shortcomings with authenticity. These guys just sound pretentious; like the amateurishness is cultivated.

1 i hate this

The title track reminded me a bit of the B-52’s, but that’s about it 🙁 1 star…

i didn't know music could be this bad.

Non alignment pact - 1/5 Modern dance - 1/5 Laughing - 1/5 Street waves - 1/5 Chinese radiation - 2/5 Life stinks - 1/5 Real world - 2/5 Over my head - 1/5 Sentimental journey - 1/5 Humor me - 3/5

No me gustó.

Why is it that these experimental bands feel the need to involve shittily played wind instruments? How does this even get brought up in the studio? Did these guys pick up the instrument themselves, thinking that their inept attempts at clarinet is what the world is waiting for? Or did they bring in some poor studio musician and attempt to explain in painstaking detail how they want their shitty ear-piercing filth to sound? If this went on to inspire anything, it may perhaps be this loathsome practice.

It's been a long while since we had an album come up that I dislike this much—thanks for keep the other 1 star albums company! I clearly missed the point of this album, but I hope the band had fun making it! Just because I don't care for it doesn't mean that it cannot have some profound meaning for them or their audience.

Oh, it's art! Listen to the art! Such art! It's shitty art, but it's still art! On the one hand, I'm glad that weirdos exist and they're free to make weird shit, and I'm glad there are other weirdos out there who appreciate said weird shit. Different strokes for different folks. On the other hand, this is bad. It's not the absolute worst--there are at least 10 albums on this list that are worse, most-but-not-all of this at least qualifies as music, it's creative, and I was able to get through the whole thing without turning it off. However, it utterly failed at the task of being something that I could enjoy listening to. It's a borderline 1/2, but ultimately rounding down due to excessive fart sniffing. 1.4

Holy shit! The intro to the first song is absolutely terrible and ear piercing. The rest of the album is just so so at best

Not often do I listen to a true 1/5 which makes this a truly special moment

Listen i like art music and post punk but this shit hurt to listen to. like if talking heads wished physical harm on their audience