12. Pere UbuThe Modern Dance
I started with Devo, then people started looking at all these other weird bands in Ohio. Cleveland had this scene that I remember reading about. Pere Ubu had come out of Rocket From The Tombs which was also where the Dead Boys had come from. I think it was Ian Penman who wrote about them, and a good writer can awaken things in you. I just thought, ‘These guys sound really interesting, I’ll check them out’. They had a 12-inch called ‘Datapanik In The Year Zero’ which had ’30 Seconds Over Tokyo’ and a song called ‘Heaven’ on it. I think The Modern Dance was already out, so I went back and got it the next week. I thought they were extraordinary.
I find it really uplifting, and at the same time there’s this real profound sense of alienation and isolation. I think they do a really good job of articulating the deracination of the modern Western human being. If it was ‘what’s your favourite record’ full stop, then it would be very difficult for me to not say The Modern Dance.
