Pere Ubu's "Cloudland" - Classic or Dud?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

"Waiting For Mary" is a fantastic pop song, its video one of the most authentically weird ever shot. How's the rest?

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 9 August 2005 12:51 (7 years ago) Permalink

classic, for sure. i think it has a sort of middling reputation because it kicked off the pere-ubu-self-consciously-goes-pop phase, and because the two albums that came after it are in the same vein but way worse. "cloudland" is sorta like "dub housing" reimagined as heartland music (put yr own scare-quotes there) instead of post-industrial screech. so yeah, it's poppy, but it's still plenty wayward-mystical. (s: "ice cream truck," "bus called happiness," and esp. "fire")

oh, and stephen hague did some production on it.

never seen the "waiting for mary" video. what's it like?

― zzxjoanw, Tuesday, 9 August 2005 13:11 (7 years ago) Permalink

Actually, I like Story of My Life quite a lot.

But anyway, the video....it's set in a roadside diner with self-consciously '50s decor: beehive hairdos on the waitresses, neon signs, etc. David Thomas, dressed to look like a mustached Jackie Gleason, sits at a table chanting the lyrics. About a dozen dancers wearing red vinyl jumpsuits (it LOOKS like vinyl) waltz with cardboard cutters doing the call-and-response harmonies ("what are we doing here"?). Cut to eggs getting flipped on a grill.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 9 August 2005 13:14 (7 years ago) Permalink

for years and years this was the only pere ubu album I'd ever heard. I thought all their albums sounded like Talking Heads!

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 9 August 2005 13:15 (7 years ago) Permalink

I'd say the whole thing is totally classic! It's undeniably poppy and extremely weird. The coolest thing for me about Cloudland is it puts into focus the clever hooks and pop moments of the rest of the Pere Ubu catalog, moments within the songs, that eclpse the oddball quality. It made me appreciate the earlier records even more. I'd rate it among my faves: the early singles, The Modern Dance, Dub Housing and The Tenement Year.

― mcd (mcd), Tuesday, 9 August 2005 13:23 (7 years ago) Permalink

Is there a thread on this album or am I just having deja vu?

― mcd (mcd), Tuesday, 9 August 2005 13:24 (7 years ago) Permalink

that video sounds great...

maybe i underestimated "story of my life;" i should go back and check it out again.

"cloudland" was the first pere ubu i heard, too, and i think, like mcd says, it changed the way i heard the other albums. after you know "ice cream truck," it's pretty hard not to see the pop in "dub housing."

― zzxjoanw, Tuesday, 9 August 2005 13:36 (7 years ago) Permalink

I actually remember hearing "Waiting for Mary" (just once) on the radio. It must have been a new add for the local alternative station, but didn't get into big rotation. I have the same memory of hearing the Fall's cover of "Victoria" just once when that came out.

The closest both of these bands got!

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Tuesday, 9 August 2005 16:55 (7 years ago) Permalink

Side A -- OK
Side B -- CLASSIC

― Dr. Walter Freeman (Grodd), Tuesday, 9 August 2005 16:56 (7 years ago) Permalink

the poppiest they ever got, I like a lot of these songs

I love what stephen hague did to 'love love love', this is the one track I can think of where you can hear chris cutler rattling along with monster techno

― milton parker (Jon L), Tuesday, 9 August 2005 17:13 (7 years ago) Permalink

"I love what stephen hague did to 'love love love', this is the one track I can think of where you can hear chris cutler rattling along with monster techno "

Agreed-that song rules

― Morley Timmons (Donna Brown), Tuesday, 9 August 2005 18:19 (7 years ago) Permalink

The album's not in print, is it?

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 9 August 2005 18:29 (7 years ago) Permalink

Classic. Bought this based on the cover art (no, not a common practice for me) in 1989. It was not at all what I expected. And, despite my 17-year-old-redneck tendency toward loud guitar rock, it won me over immediately. "Fire" still kicks my ass every time.

As a side note, my roommate in college misheard "Waiting for Mary" as "Working for Larry," noting that his boss at the time was named Larry. He felt this was an odd coincidence, and developed a certain fondness for the song. I did not have the heart to correct him.

― dj666 (damion666), Tuesday, 9 August 2005 18:37 (7 years ago) Permalink

I think it's still out of print, yeah. It's a shame too... As is the last wooden birds record "blame the messenger", which I highly recommend if you see it in a vinyl bin.

― Draw Tipsy, ya hack. (dave225.3), Tuesday, 9 August 2005 18:39 (7 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, I second Blame the Messenger. I think I like that more than the stuff like Dub Housing and New Picnic Time, actually.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Tuesday, 9 August 2005 19:11 (7 years ago) Permalink

Thirding Blame the Messenger.

Thanks for sendng me back to my cassette collection. I was thinking "Did I miss something here?" but then realized my memory had confused Worlds In Collision (yawn) with Cloudland ... have fished Cloudland off the shelf for digitizing and am looking forward to the revisit. My recollection is I liked it quite a bit, just got lost in the analog bin when my life went digital.

― Declan Zimmerman, Tuesday, 9 August 2005 20:52 (7 years ago) Permalink

Blame the Messenger is available as part of the 4 disc Monster box set (which formerly had 5 discs, but the live Pale Boys disc Meadville was removed when it was rereleased last year.

http://ubuprojex.net/hearpen/monster.html

http://www.cookingvinyl.com/acatalog/Cooking_Vinyl_Monster_390.html

― Wub-Fur Internet Radio, Wednesday, 10 August 2005 06:36 (7 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

"Waiting for Mary" fans - a must see live performance from 1989 with Debbie Harry(!) on backing vocals and David Sanborn (?!?) on sax...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiK-Lvwanq0

― that's not my post, Saturday, 11 August 2007 05:51 (5 years ago) Permalink

My friend became a HUGE Story of My Life fan -- he didn't care for WiC. I'd like to hear this.

Is Monster worth it? I always wanted to hear (in order): 1) Richard Thompson playing w Thomas and 2) his version of Surf's Up.

― Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 02:57 (5 years ago) Permalink

God, this is a great album until the last four songs, which are just ok.

Matthew, Story of My Life is pretty good and available used in most record stores.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 03:02 (5 years ago) Permalink

NTI, yes, Monster is worth it. The three album stretch of More Places Forever, Monster Walks The Midnight Lake and Blame The Messenger is solid awesomeness.

There are two editions of the box set.

On the earlier, you get the bonus disc of live 2 Pale Boys stuff, which is great. But the mix of one of the DT + The Pedestrians albums (with Richard Thompson) was all fussed-with by DT, including overdubs done in the 90's.

On the later edition, the live 2PB disc is absent, but DT removed some of the alterations to the Pedestrians album. I don't have this edition so I've never heard the less-fucked-with mix of the Pedestrians album.

― Jon Lewis, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 14:43 (5 years ago) Permalink

4 years pass...

This album is so beautiful.

― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 3 August 2012 02:03 (10 months ago) Permalink

i have owned it for years and never listened to it! (and my copy is 3000 miles away)

― half-worm inchworm tapeworm (donna rouge), Friday, 3 August 2012 02:12 (10 months ago) Permalink

the 2007 reissue?

― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 3 August 2012 02:20 (10 months ago) Permalink

original press lp

― half-worm inchworm tapeworm (donna rouge), Friday, 3 August 2012 02:26 (10 months ago) Permalink

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.