Terminal Tower - Pere Ubu

[seismo!princeton!sjuvax!lp102918 (palena)]

...I know my name is a bit of a joke for the oh-so-astute readers
of this rag.Since you people think you have the inside-track on
progressive rock,I thought I'd post somethin' super-intelligent
about a super-progressive band,just to show you all how great you're
not.I hope it ruins many days...

...one of the more interesting albums I've recently acquired is from a
little-know progressive band of the mid-late '70's called Pere Ubu
(can't begin to guess at the meaning of the group's name).  I first
became interested in this band upon hearing the dark,psychotic "Thirty
Seconds Over Tokyo" - a song that must be heard to be believed.Many of
you may be familiar with this song and/or "Final Solution".  Contrary
to what some might think,"Final Solution" has nothing whatsoever to do
with Nazism.It's actually described by the album's note-writer as a
"dumb teen angst song" and it is (though it's a helluva lot smarter"
than most teen angst songs I've heard)."Thirty Seconds over
Tokyo",likewise,has nothing to do with bombing raids.Actually it's
about paranoia,though I guess bombing raids and paranoia are not
*entirely* un-related fields...

...it seems that this band underwent personnel changes like under-
wear.Constant throughout was vocalist David Thomas and his voice was
the group's most indentifiable feature.Of the ten songs on this
album,only one wasn't group-written.So the personnel changes are
reflected in the band's songwriting style.The band started out playing
punky-malaisy stuff (which I liked),then got into raegae/ ska-like
stuff (which I disliked),and ended making profoundly wierd music
(which I can't even begin to understand and so won't comment on).
Aside from Thomas' voice,the other feature of this band that struck me
was their use of space,which creates (even during the "Carribean"
period) a "jittery" presence...

...well,there's my contribution to this rag.And I did *not* create
Tony Rowley out of some mischievous desire.If you don't believe me,ask
Paul Kirsch (anybody who listens to the Dead Kennedys can't be all
that untrustworthy)...

				      Larry Palena

     ...and you shall put no idols before you...