| It probably came from America. In fact it probably came before the embryo of punk had splattered its entrails across the face of the western world. But the world wasn't listening.
Pere Ubu had been around the fringes of Cleveland, Ohio for a few years in a differing guise. Dave Thomas the lead singer had formed Rocket From The Tombs (Check "Ain't It Fun" Glitterhouse Records) in 1974 and teamed up with guitarist Peter Laughner. After a few years of finely tutoring their brand of nihilism, along with bass player Tom Herman and drummer Peter Krauss they became Pere Ubu - Sonic Innovators of the new wave/Post Punk genre.
The music they would eventually create and the lyrics they wrote would present apocolyptic landscapes, sonic sound structures and emotions that burnt to the core. Early singles "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" (1975) and "Final Solution" (1976) are pieces of music so ahead of the time in structure, content and post-modern f***-you attitude that supposed "innovators" like Radiohead or The Flaming Lips are still trying to catch up a quarter of a century in the future.
And that's the genius of Punk Funk and of the band Pere Ubu, is that the edgy, sonic sounds all them true innovators created and the Post 09-11 landscapes they evoked, those slabs of nihilistic yelps and throbbing bass have only neared reality in the 21st Century and beyond. |
