The Modern Dance

"Humor Me" redirects here. For the 2017 film, see Humor Me (film).

The Modern Dance
Studio album by Pere Ubu
Released	February 1978 (1978-02) [1]
Recorded	October 1976; January 1977; November 1977
Studio	Cleveland Recording Suma, Cleveland, Ohio, US
Genre	Art punk [2]
Length	36:20
Label	Blank
Producer	Pere Ubu Ken Hamann
Pere Ubu chronology
The Modern Dance (1978) Dub Housing (1978)
Singles from The Modern Dance
"Street Waves" Released: October 12, 1976 [3] "The Modern Dance" Released: August 25, 1977 [4]

The Modern Dance is the debut album by the American rock band Pere Ubu. It was released in February 1978 through the label Blank Records. ^[1]

A 5.1 surround sound version was released as the DVD-Audio side of a DualDisc in 2005.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Christgau's Record Guide	A− [8]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[9]
The Independent	[10]
Mojo	[11]
New Musical Express	10/10 [12]
Q	[13]
Record Mirror	[14]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[15]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	10/10 [16]
Uncut	[17]

Reviewing for The Village Voice in 1978, Robert Christgau wrote that "even though there's too much Radio Ethiopia and not enough 'Redondo Beach,'" he would be "listening through the failed stuff—the highs are worth it." ^[18] In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), he reaffirmed that "the highs are worth it, and the failed stuff ain't bad" in his revised review. ^[8] Ken Tucker, writing in Rolling Stone , called it vivid and exhilarating, even if "harsh and willfully ugly". ^[19]

NME named The Modern Dance the 11th best album of 1978. ^[20] Fact placed the record at number 31 on its list of the 100 best albums of the 1970s. ^[21]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Pere Ubu (David Thomas, Tom Herman, Allen Ravenstine, Tony Maimone and Scott Krauss), except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Non-Alignment Pact"		3:18
2.	"The Modern Dance"		3:28
3.	"Laughing"		4:35
4.	"Street Waves"		3:04
5.	"Chinese Radiation"		3:27
6.	"Life Stinks"	Peter Laughner	1:52
7.	"Real World"		3:59
8.	"Over My Head"		3:48
9.	"Sentimental Journey"		6:05
10.	"Humor Me"		2:44

Personnel

Pere Ubu

• David Thomas – vocals, musette, percussion, production
• Tom Herman – guitar, backing vocals, production
• Allen Ravenstine – EML 101 and 200 analog synthesizers, saxophone, tapes, production
• Tony Maimone – bass, piano, backing vocals, production
• Scott Krauss – drums, production

Technical

• S. W. Taylor – sleeve artwork
• Ken Hamann – engineering, production
• Mike Bishop – engineering assistance
• Paul Hamann – engineering assistance
• Mik Mellen – sleeve photography

Release history

Year of Release	Place of Release	Format	Label
1978	United States	Vinyl LP	Blank
1981	United Kingdom	Vinyl LP	Rough Trade
1988	United Kingdom	Vinyl LP	Fontana
1988	Germany	CD	Fontana
1998	United Kingdom	CD	Cooking Vinyl
1998	United States	CD	DGC
1999	Italy	Vinyl LP	Get Back
2005	Europe	DualDisc	Silverline
2007	United States	Vinyl LP	Blank
2008	United Kingdom	CD	Cooking Vinyl
2015	United Kingdom & United States	CD and Vinyl LP	Fire Records (UK)

References

1. ^{[5] [6] [7]}
2. Dougan, John. "The Modern Dance – Pere Ubu". AllMusic . Retrieved January 20, 2013.
3. Gimarc, George (2005). Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock, 1970–1982. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 41. ISBN   0879308486.
4. Gimarc, George (2005). Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock, 1970–1982. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 84. ISBN   0879308486.
5. Cohen, Gary, ed. (January 7, 1978). "Blank Replaces Dip" (PDF). Cash Box . Vol. XXXIX, no. 34. New York: Cash Box Pub. Co. p. 17. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 20, 2024.
6. Fulton, Dave, ed. (February 18, 1978). "New BTO Album Leads Phonogram's Feb. LPs" (PDF). Cash Box . New York: Cash Box Pub. Co. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 20, 2024.
7. Zhito, Lee, ed. (January 7, 1978). "Mercury Dip Draws Blank". Billboard . Vol. 90, no. 1. Los Angeles: Billboard Pubs. p. 95.
8. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Pere Ubu: The Modern Dance". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN   0-89919-026-X . Retrieved November 20, 2007.
9. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Pere Ubu". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0-85712-595-8.
10. Gill, Andy (July 28, 2006). "Pere Ubu: The Modern Dance". The Independent .
11. Perry, Andrew (October 2006). "Pere Ubu: The Modern Dance". Mojo . No. 155.
12. Sinker, Mark (February 13, 1988). "Action Pact". New Musical Express . p. 34.
13. "Pere Ubu: The Modern Dance". Q . p. 123. [I]f you're curious about the original post-punks, The Modern Dance remains absolutely essential.
14. Westwood, Chris (April 1, 1978). "Pere Ubu: The Modern Dance". Record Mirror . p. 13.
15. Coleman, Mark; Matos, Michaelangelo (2004). "Pere Ubu". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  626–27. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
16. Weisbard, Eric (1995). "Pere Ubu". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 291–93. ISBN   0-679-75574-8.
17. Stubbs, David (August 2006). "Pere Ubu: The Modern Dance". Uncut . No. 111.
18. Christgau, Robert (March 27, 1978). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . Retrieved January 26, 2012.
19. Tucker, Ken (June 1, 1978). "Pere Ubu: The Modern Dance / The Suicide Commandos: Make a Record". Rolling Stone . No. 266. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved August 29, 2007.
20. "1978 Best Albums And Tracks Of The Year". NME . October 10, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
21. Kelly, Chris; Lea, Tom; Muggs, Joe; Morpurgo, Joseph; Beatnick, Mr.; Ravens, Chal; Twells, John (July 14, 2014). "The 100 best albums of the 1970s". Fact . Retrieved February 28, 2018.

External links

• The Modern Dance at Discogs (list of releases)