The Modern Dance cover

The Modern Dance

Released

This album is the urtext of art-punk. Without Pere Ubu’s debut blast from the Cleveland wastes, there would have been no Mission of Burma; no Pixies; no Pavement. The transition from the chugging kiss-off song “Non-alignment Pact” to the resolutely weird title track is, arguably, one of the most hair-raisingly perfect moments of 1970s rock’n’roll. And then it gets weirder, with tracks like “Real World” and “Over My Head” using herky-jerk rhythms and muttered spoken-word asides to generate moods that were completely alien to pop music at the time. And then the floodgates broke and rock music was never the same again.

Rick Anderson

Recommended by

Suggestions
Shonen Knife cover

Shonen Knife

Shonen Knife
Andando el Tiempo cover

Andando el Tiempo

Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard, Steve Swallow
Gli Occhi Freddi Della Paura [Original Soundtrack] cover

Gli Occhi Freddi Della Paura [Original Soundtrack]

Ennio Morricone, Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza
Heathen Earth cover

Heathen Earth

Throbbing Gristle
Messages & Portraits cover

Messages & Portraits

Giovanni Venosta, Roberto Musci
NULL cover

NULL

KEN mode
Fourth Drawer Down cover

Fourth Drawer Down

The Associates
Emergency! cover

Emergency!

The Tony Williams Lifetime