a

The place of Pere Ubu in the Scheme of Things

We don’t have a place in the scheme of things. We are not
in any particular category. We don’t appeal to any particular
group of people except people who don’t fit. You know, Pere
Ubu demands quite a bit from an audience. For being a pop
band, we have a number of pretensions and one of those

’ pretensions is that we try to create on stage a sense of the many

voices and confusions that go on in everyday life. The reason,
for instance that I do all of that gesture and complication off
mike is because the microphone is that interface with the
world, which is like what I’m doing right now; I’m talking to
you. When I’m singing through the mike on stage, it’s like I’m
talking to you now. Because when I’m talking to you now, I’m
thinking of a bunch of other stuff and I’m concerned with a
whole lot of other things, you know. So this is what Pere Ubu
tries to create on stage. Now, this is kind of a stupid thing to
bother with but this is what we do. So clearly, Pere Ubu is a
group which is pretentious. This‘is not something that’s easy
to sell and we don’t sell it particularly well and if I wasn’t so
charming and magnificent as a performer and so lovable, then
we would sell even worse than we do.

Art

What is art supposed to be? Now, here, let’s just cut right
to it. Well, I know what art is supposed to be. I know that art
is supposed to be a form of intimacy in a language, in an
entertainment, and essentially something that binds people

Planet of the Arts Volume7 Issue5 page 7

Regionality vs Homogenization in music

Clearly, things change and you can’t get back many of the
things you lose. Obviously, the force in music is to homog-
enize. One would hope that there remain people who stick to
their roots. Now, that doesn’t mean hiding your head in the
sand and doing traditional music for ever and ever, like
granny’s rocker in the Appalachian Mountains and things
like that because that stuff doesn’t exist anymore and you
can’t go on being just a nostalgia act which is one of the
problems with folk music these days. Much of it is just sort of
nostalgia. It’s like one of those 50’s do-wop nostalgia chan-
nels. You know, it increasingly bears little resemblance to
everyday life. So obviously, you can’t just stick your head in
the sand but one would hope that there remain people who
don’t want to homogenize things. You know, the premise of
1984, the book, was that you control people by eliminating
their ability to express “harmful thoughts,’
thoughts. The language of music has been simplified to such
an extent now, that it reminds me of that premise. I don’t

> complicated

think there are as many people now who see music as a serious
poetic language. I think because of commercialism, because
of a number of societal trends, etc., etc., etc. I think most
people see music as a form of wallpaper or they see it as a
soundtrack to the mating ritual or they see it as a form of
oblivion-inducing drug where they can escape, they think,
reality for awhile. I think that music is a form that all people
inherently speak. I think, though, that these forces that
we've been speaking of have eliminated that ability to speak
the language for many people. So, I’m all for people speaking

the language of

together. It should
be uplifting and
upbuilding to the
community. It should
have a social func-
tion. Soclearly, once |:
again, I am not into
self-expression. I’m
not into some pimply-
faced teenager who’s
not felt any pain com-
paratively, who
hasn’t had to work in

..dashion triumphed over substance,
appearance triumphed over reality...

Mmusre.-~ 1 just
think that people
have become illit-
erate, or there’s
a trend towards

illiteracy.

Opening for a
band called the

Pixies

a stinkin’ steel mill
for ten years to support a family and on and on and on. I don’t
really want to know what that kid thinks about life because he
doesn’t think much about it. And I don’t want to know what
some dipped-out broad into astrology and plants talking has
to say either. I’m not interested in it. So, the issue is self-
expression and, as I just explained what art is to me and
therefore probably what it is in an absolute sense. I was just
noting again that self-expression is not a part of it. I mean,
obviously the purpose of art is to share the hopes and dreams
and fears of a community. That’s not to say that art isn’t
personal. There’s a difference between creating something
that’s personal and creating something that’s self-expressive.
The point is that we all share certain hopes and dreams and
fears. These are the things that you bring out personally. I
would say that there’s things that shouldn’t be expressed even
though they’re true and have been felt because to me, it should
be upbuilding to the community. Like, I really don’t like
violence. There’s some music that’s very violent and very
aggressive. I know this is strange coming from a group like
Pere Ubu which does do loud and, at times, exceedingly angu-
lar pieces. I also don’t like music whose sole purpose is to be
a drug-like environment. That also can be lived without.

When we’re in
control of the situation, we play for about two hours, we do a
whole lot of stuff. We do a lot of psychological things. We
really, on a good night, unless I’m moping or something, we
create something with an audience that’s fairly groovy. Peo-
ple are laughing and not laughing and there’s a whole thing
that happens. There’s a sociality and a bond that’s created
and nurtured and developed over the course of an hour and
a half to two hours and when it’s in good conditions, you get
something that’s unique and wonderful. Now, you can’t do
that when you’re opening for the Pixies because you’ve gotta
keep them amused to some degree. It’s like playing in front
of a certain number of wild animals. You have to stare them
down, you have to never show fear or lack of control, and you
have to bear down on them. But at the same time, we don’t
sell out. We don’t just do all of our hard rock songs. That
would be a solution, to just go out there and hard rock it, but
we try to throw in some of the weirder, not weirder, but, you
know, the more poetic sort of garbage and the more subtle
artistic stuff. There’s probably less humour now than there
was two weeks ago and less humour than there was four weeks
ago just because we’re in the last week of the tour and we’re
just brooding it out at times. I mean, | like Charles
personally...and | don’t have much to say about it. *

1991. Pere Ubu was opening for The Pixies in Commodore Ballroom

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The place of Pere Ubu in the Scheme of Things
We don’t have a place in the scheme of things. We are not
in any particular category. We don’t appeal to any particular
‘group of people except people who don’t fit. You know, Pere
Ubu demands quite a bit from an audience. For being a pop
band, we have @ number of pretensions and one of those
pretensions is that we try to create on stage a sense of the many
voices and confusions that go on in everyday life. The reason,
for instance that I do all of that gesture and complication off
mike is because the microphone is that interface with the
world, which is like what I’m doing right now; I’m talking to
you. When I'm singing through the mike on stage, it’s like I’m
talking to you now. Because when I’m talking to you now, I’m
thinking of a bunch of other stuff and I’m concerned with a
whole lot of other things; you know. So this is what Pere Ubu
tries to ereate on stage. Now, kind of a stupid thing to
bother with but this is what we do. So clearly, Pere Ubu is a
group which is pretentious. This is not something that’s easy
to sell and we don’t sell it particularly well and if I wasn’t so
charming and magnificent as a performer and so lovable, then
we would sell even worse than we do.

Art

What is art supposed to be? Now, here, let’s just cut right
to it, Well, I know what art is supposed to be. I know that art
is supposed to be a form of intimacy in a language, in an
entertainment, and essentially something that binds people

Planet ofthe Arts Volume 7 IssueS page 7

Region

vs Homogenization in music

Clearly, things change and you can’t get back many of the
things you lose. Obviously, the force in music is to homog-
enize. One would hope that there remain people who stick to
their roots. Now, that doesn’t mean hiding your head in the
sand and doing traditional music for ever and ever, like
granny’s rocker in the Appalachian Mountains and things
like that because that stuff doesn’t exist anymore and you
can’t go on being just a nostalgia act which is one of the
problems with folk music these days, Much of itis just sort of
nostalgia. It’s like one of those 50’s do-wop nostalgia chan-
nels. You know, it increasingly bears little resemblance to
everyday life. So obviously, you can’t just stick your head in
the sand but one would hope that there remain people who
don’t want to homogenize things. You know, the premise of
1984, the book, was that you control people by eliminating
their ability to express “harmful thoughts,” complicated
thoughts. The language of music has been simplified to such
fan extent now, that it reminds me of that premise. I don’t
think there are as many people now who see music as a serious
poetic language. I think because of commercialism, because
of a number of societal trends, etc., ete., etc. I think most
people see music as a form of wallpaper or they see it as a
soundtrack to the mating ritual or they s
oblivion-inducing drug where they can escape, they think.
reality for awhile. I think that music is a form that all people
inherently speak. I think, though, that these forces that
we've been speaking of have eliminated that ability to speak
the language for many people. So, I’m all for people speaking

the language of

cit as a form of

together. It should
be uplifting and
upbuilding to the
community. Itshould

have a social func-
tion. So-learly, once
again, I am not into
self-expression. I'm
not into some pimply-
faced teenager who's
not felt any pain com
paratively, who
hhasn’t had to work in
a stinkin’ steel mill

music. T just
think that people
have become ill
erate, or there's
a trend towards

illiteracy

Opening for a
band called the
Pixies

for ten years to support a family and on and on andon. I don’t
really want to know what that kid thinks about life because he
doesn’t think much about it. And I don’t want to know what
some dipped-out broad into astrology and plants talking has
to say cither. I’m not interested in it. So, the issue is self-
expression and, as I just explained what art is to me and
therefore probably what itis in an absolute sense. I was just
noting again that self-expression is not a part of it. I mean,
obviously the purpose of art is to share the hopes and dreams
and fears of a community. That’s not to say that art isn’t
personal. There’s a difference between creating something
that’s personal and creating something that’s self-expressive

‘The point is that we all share certain hopes and dreams and
fears. These are the things that you bring out personally. I
would say that there’s things that shouldn’t be expressed even
though they’re true and have been felt because to me, it should
be upbuilding to the community. Like, I really don’t like
violence. There's some music that’s very violent and very
aggressive. I know this is strange coming from a group like
Pere Ubu which does do loud and, at times, exceedingly angu
lar pieces. 1 also don’t like music whose sole purpose is to be
a drug-like environment. ‘That also can be lived without,

1991. Pere Ubu was opening for The Pixi.

When we're in
control of the situation, we play for about two hours, we do a
whole lot of stuff. We do a lot of psychological things. We
really, on a good night, unless I'm moping or something, we
create something with an audience that’s fairly groovy. Peo:
ple are laughing and not laughing and there’s a whole thing
that happens. There’s a sociality and a bond that’s created
and nurtured and developed over the course of an hour and
‘a half to two hours and when it’s in good conditions, you get
something that’s unique and wonderful. Now, you can’t do
that when you're opening for the Pixies because you've gotta
keep them amused to some degree. It’s like playing in front
of acertain number of wild animals. You have to stare them

down, you have to never show fear or lack of control, and you
have to bear down on them. But at the same time, we don’t
sell out. We don’t just do all of our hard rock songs. That
would be a solution, to just go out there and hard rock it, but
we try to throw in some of the weirder, not weirder, but, you
know, the more poetic sort of garbage and the more subtle
artistic stuff. There’s probably less humour now than there
‘was two weeks ago and less humour than there was four weeks
‘ago just because we're in the last week of the tour and we're
just brooding it out at times. I mean, I like Charles
personally...and I don’t have much to say about it.*

mmodore Ballroom

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