Devo: C or D? S & D etc.

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Okay, they can be annoying! But I like them from time to time. And half the time I don't know what they were on about! So...anyways what do you people think? Best album "Duty Now For The Future". Mark Mothersbaugh makes music for cartoons these days, like the tres annoying Rugrats.

― james e l, Friday, 18 May 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Everything up through `81's NEW TRADITIONALISTS is absolutely essential (the first two albums, Q:ARE WE NOT MEN? A:WE ARE DEVO! and the seminal DUTY NOW FOR THE FUTURE are pure genius). After OH NO! IT'S DEVO, the plot was a bit lost, alas. Still...respect is due.

― alex in nyc, Friday, 18 May 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

"Mongoloid" is solid gold easy action!Devo were an amazing band.Weird fuckers...

― cockney red, Sunday, 20 May 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

I am tempted to see Devo as sort of a theif of Talking Heads ideas, but I dont think they are. I like them, and Gates of Steel attests to their catchiness. THey are like Gary Numan's annoying cousins at the family picnic.

― Mike Hanley, Monday, 21 May 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Classic. Search: Girl You Want, especially the live version. Destroy: the "Whip It" video.

― Sterling Clover, Monday, 21 May 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Also "Mr. DNA" is searchable.

― Sterling Clover, Monday, 21 May 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

I always thought that the early recordings on the "Hardcore Devo" collections Rhino put out were the best. They have this sort of 70's rock sound still with them, before they became more polished new wave. It was before the whole Devolution concept took hold of everything they did, and the subject matter was a bit edgier, also- "I Need a Chick?" I love it.

― Bobby D. Gray, Monday, 21 May 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Classic.

Search: Secret Agent Man

Destroy: Uh... Yeah, Whip It is a little overdone.

― JM, Monday, 21 May 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

"Whip It" may have been overplayed, but that's hardly Devo's fault. If anything, said albatross cost them a bit of credibility, as it was roundly misinterpretted to be rife with sexual innuendo, as opposed to the sly statement on self-help sloganeering that the song was intended to convey. Moreover, it summarily landed them, the the mind of the record-consuming masses, in "one-hit-wonderdom," rubbing shoulders with lesser lamentables like Flock of Seagulls et al., when Devo themselves were clearly of a higher creative caliber.

― alex in nyc, Monday, 21 May 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

As has been pointed out, the band deserves credit for everything up to New Traditionalists. I found Oh No It's Devo to be fun but ultimately worthless, and it was all downhill from there. The band spent those first few albums proving themselves, seemingly effortlessly, too, and then spent the rest of their career wilfully tearing themselves down (probably inevitable considering their moniker). What sealed it for me was the video game Adventures of the Smart Patrol, which was the biggest waste of time and money possible considering the band's overall reputation (missteps notwithstanding). The Rykodisc Devo Live: The Mongoloid Years compilation is actually a pretty good testament for those who doubted their abilities at the beginning: even in 1975 they had their act down even before the Talking Heads released an album (for the poster who thought there was some influence). Sure, they were confrontational, geeky and annoying, but there were a lot of pop gems in there too. They get Classic just for "Girl U Want". And hey, I still like "Whip It" despite the oodles of play.

― Sean Carruthers, Monday, 21 May 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Are We Not Men...is easily my favorite punk rock record of all time. Those who don't consider this punk rock haven't listened very closely. This record is truly visionary, in the same class as Wire's Pink Flag.

It bothers me quite a bit that Devo get treated as a joke band. Of course, part of the concept was a joke, but it was an incredibly good one. All of the studio albums up through New Tradtionalists are absolutely essential. After that point they entered into the realm of self-parody, but the power of Mongoloid, Mr. DNA, Freedom of Choice, etc. redeem them from anything that was to follow.

― ryan schofield, Monday, 21 May 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

You have to admit that Devo didn't really help their case much in terms of being perceived as a novelty act by turning up on the cover of Oh No It's Devo wearing fake glasses (Mark anyhow) and potato outfits (okay, it was photo trickery, but still) and then releasing an entire album of silly songs. And then following that album up with a total zero of an album that had nothing going for it but a fairly lame cover of Hendrix as its key selling point. This is the deconstruction I mentioned in the previous point. On a casual glance, the Christmas-tree-stand-hat-and-plastic-suit motif of Freedom of Choice doesn't exactly inspire confidence in their non-novelty, either. I mean, I love their earlier material dearly, but to those not hip to the injoke, it seems like a bigger...and stupider...joke than it really is.

― Sean Carruthers, Monday, 21 May 2001 00:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

4 months pass...

OK, yes they were/are 'high concept'. Yes, they, in the larger picture can be seen as 'novelties'. I think the difference is that they were those things while remaining of substance. There is total great pop/music content. In other words, they were not JUST "high concept" or "novelty". They backed it all up with huge amounts of quality almost IN SPITE of it. That is the difference. Most flash in the pot 'novelty' bands are 2 dimentional. No meat. Just a bread sandwich. DEVO IS THE MEAT!! DUTY NOW and ARE WE NOT MEN are still why ahead of their time, of our time. No one can match that

― Mark, Thursday, 27 September 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

4 months pass...

classic!!

listen to the live album 'now it can be told'.

― geeta, Sunday, 17 February 2002 01:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

I've knocked Devo a lot on this site, but recently I through on Devo's Greatest Hits after spending some time with Neil Young's Trans and now I LOVE them. At least all the hits. Funny lyrics, strong hooks, Gates Of Steel, etc. etc. I apologize to everybody I thumbed my nose at, claiming that Devo was solely a "concept" band with a decent Stones cover.

CLASSIC.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 7 April 2003 02:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

Invented the white boy right angle, later metastasized by Steve "Soul Brother Number One" Albini. Did no wrong until album 4. Early live tapes (Max's '75) make Oneida sound like Beat Happening, and I love Oneida.

― Sasha Frere-Jones (Sasha Frere-Jones), Monday, 7 April 2003 02:39 (10 years ago) Permalink

Search: "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" babybabybabybabybabybaby

Also, the Swedish version of "Baby Doll" as appears on Tapeheads

― Joe (Joe), Monday, 7 April 2003 23:56 (10 years ago) Permalink

Has anyone ever seen the Dveo movie?

― Alan N (Alan N), Tuesday, 8 April 2003 00:08 (10 years ago) Permalink

yeah, i saw i about...god...18 years ago? something like that. used to have the most amazing stuff at the local video store.

― your null fame (yournullfame), Tuesday, 8 April 2003 00:13 (10 years ago) Permalink

i still don't get them. plz help me get them.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 8 April 2003 00:18 (10 years ago) Permalink

"Secret Agent Man" makes much more sense as the album track preceeding "Smart Patrol/ Mr DNA" where it started -- really 4 songs beautifully segued -- a very punk "rock-out" for yr college party

― george gosset (gegoss), Tuesday, 8 April 2003 01:20 (10 years ago) Permalink

I enjoy their debut very much - it's one of the few pop albums that manage to stay interesting even after the "first love". They weren't the most clever band out there, musically, I mean, but they still managed to have a fairly effortless approach to experimenting with odd meters and dissonance. Then again, the album is one of those where everything sounds really uncomfortable - but I've always assumed it was intentional, given the lyrics and all, unlike say Genesis' 9/8 apocalypse, which sounds unintentionally uncomfortable (Why on earth wasn't the apocalypse in 13/8 anyways?)

So yeah, search for that one.
Destroy? Sorry to say it, but pretty much everything they did ever since. The follow-up album was OK, but really not much else.

But then, I'm one of those boring fellas that don't like "Whip It" at all.

― Øystein Holm-Olsen (Øystein H-O), Tuesday, 8 April 2003 11:55 (10 years ago) Permalink

One of my friends has the theory that Devo invented "new wave" and that everybody ended up sounding like them - and I know what he means. I think the fact that they called their retrospective compilation, "Pioneers Who Got Scalped" says it all. I don't often listen to their albums but I do often still laugh at the covers.

― Dadaismus, Tuesday, 8 April 2003 12:13 (10 years ago) Permalink

4 weeks pass...

I just have to point out that this Pitchfork review claims that "Devo" is a one-syllable word. Interesting.

― NA. (Nick A.), Wednesday, 7 May 2003 16:12 (10 years ago) Permalink

There's an interesting interview with Motherbaugh (or is it Gerry Cassale?) in "The Tenacity of the Cockroach," the compendium of interviews for the Onion's Audio Visual club, wherein he explains the different pronunciations for the moniker (Deeee-vowe vs. d'VOE!, etc.) and the different applications thereof.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 7 May 2003 16:22 (10 years ago) Permalink

Do any of the pronunciations have one syllable? (I'm sorry, I know I'm nitpicking at a small point of this review, but that just seems like an incredibly stupid thing to say).

― NA. (Nick A.), Wednesday, 7 May 2003 16:35 (10 years ago) Permalink

The "vo" is silent.

duh.

you'd think people had never seen a french word before.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Wednesday, 7 May 2003 16:41 (10 years ago) Permalink

Hmmm... I distinctly seem to remember
"Are We Not Men? We are DEE-VOE"

D-E-V-O?

Interesting side point- beginning of last year I think, they we're doing musicians alphabetically on VH1... I started watching around V for some reason just so I could laugh at Vanilla Ice, and right after Vanilla was Weird Al. So having been a huge Weird Al fan as a kid, I stuck around to watch what they had to say. At one part they started talking about Al's song "Dare to be Stupid", and how it was inspired by his long time love of Devo, and it was sort of his way of paying homage to them. They then played clips of the original video, which of course made it all click for me. The clips were then followed had by a brief clip from an interview with Mark Mothersbaugh talking about how Weird Al approached him with the song, and played it for him. Mark said it was "one of the most beautiful things I had ever heard... and I hated him for it."

So those really interested might want to bother to look up "Dare to be Stupid"

― The Man they call Dan (The Man they call Dan), Wednesday, 7 May 2003 18:17 (10 years ago) Permalink

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention... I think I first heard "Dare to be Stupid" in the 1985 Transformers movie when I was 5, and it's actually the song that got me into Weird Al. Now looking back, I can see why Devo appealed to me the way they did. I have to admit, I really love Devo. When I tell people I actually do own about 14 albums of Devo, I usually hear "I didn't know they had 14 songs!"

― The Man they call Dan (The Man they call Dan), Wednesday, 7 May 2003 18:20 (10 years ago) Permalink

I don't think you can produce "Devo" as one syllable so long as there's that pesky "v" there.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 7 May 2003 18:50 (10 years ago) Permalink

Unless you read it as a Roman "u."

― nickn (nickn), Wednesday, 7 May 2003 19:15 (10 years ago) Permalink

Lets get back to the subject on how magnificent were Devo. I'm currently on an extreme dose of "Q:Are we not men? A:Wy are Devo", i'm totaly addicted to it. now all i'm missing is an energy dome(or just an empty flower-pot).

― rexJr., Thursday, 8 May 2003 07:30 (10 years ago) Permalink

oops. replace "Wy" with "we".

― rexJr., Thursday, 8 May 2003 07:32 (10 years ago) Permalink

They did perform as the one-syllable DOVE. A born-again spoof on themselves. Plank and Eno aside, I suggest classic up to the time of their first Warner Brothers release. Duds-ville from then on out. The live material from the Mabuhay Gardens is most essential, as are their DIY 7"s.

― V (1411), Thursday, 8 May 2003 21:12 (10 years ago) Permalink

When did they do that DOVE performance? I'm guessing that's when they did "You Gotta Serve Somebody"

― The Man they call Dan (The Man they call Dan), Friday, 9 May 2003 01:09 (10 years ago) Permalink

Goin' Under.
Love Without Anger.
Snowball.
Words Get Stuck In My Throat.
Gates of Steel.

Devo were great. Underrated guitar player, too.

― rumple, Friday, 9 May 2003 01:46 (10 years ago) Permalink

When did they do that DOVE performance?

You can google it.

Try Wikipedia.

"Devo actively embraced the Church of the SubGenius in the early 1980s. In concert, Devo often performed as the opening band for themselves, pretending to be a Christian soft-rock group called "Dove (the Band of Love)". They also recorded "E-Z Listening Muzak" versions of their own songs to play before their concerts. In 2001, members of Devo formed the surf band The Wipeouters, claiming that it was actually a reunion of the first gararge band they formed while in their early teens."

― V (1411), Friday, 9 May 2003 02:46 (10 years ago) Permalink

6 months pass...

Holy shit...

I just bought the reissue of 'The Complete Truth About...' on a loan (tee-hee!), and I've been scarred for life just by going through it in a hurry. Has anybody seen that "Through Being Cool" video? Two words: BRAIN DAMAGE (in a good way... like LSD, ya know!). Everybody should see this should they have the chance, now that it's on DVD. Being drugged outta your mind would probably help also. It is surprisingly disturbing, moreso than you would expect... even for someone like me.

― Francis Watlington (Francis Watlington), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 23:44 (9 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

http://www.pliink.com/mt/marxy/archives/000480.html

― The Scottish Restauranteer (ex machina), Saturday, 9 April 2005 17:38 (8 years ago) Permalink

fuck so many wrong pastes

http://www.newsobserver.com/lifestyles/story/2261615p-8641132c.html

― The Scottish Restauranteer (ex machina), Saturday, 9 April 2005 17:38 (8 years ago) Permalink

Some of their videos used to creep me out a bit..."We're Through Being Cool" and also "Love without Anger" (I think) with the valentine's chocolate box filled with worms....

― Joe (Joe), Sunday, 10 April 2005 13:20 (8 years ago) Permalink

That's the one. The DVD comp Francis mentions up there is essential -- it's a rerelease of the laserdisc they did in the early nineties and it's pretty damned great.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 10 April 2005 13:25 (8 years ago) Permalink

Search: Hardcore Devo Vol. 2
the hardest of the hardcore...

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Sunday, 10 April 2005 13:45 (8 years ago) Permalink

HAHAHAHA, so that guy was/is in Silica Gel? I had their Seeland records release at a certain point. Don't the Silica Gel guys master in collecting old 50s and 60s school PSA films in the Tri area of NC? Or is that another group of folks? I know there's a big Negativland/Triangle-area-North-Carolina connection somewhere.

― donut debonair (donut), Sunday, 10 April 2005 20:35 (8 years ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

http://www.hawley.k12.mn.us/elem/gallery/hawleywood/web%20movies/devo.mov

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 15 September 2005 13:00 (7 years ago) Permalink

devo performed by 17 year olds = CLASSIC

evidence here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chattycathy7575/sets/938749/

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Thursday, 15 September 2005 14:14 (7 years ago) Permalink

Yeh? How about 5th Graders?
The Video: http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2679592?showw=no&refsite=6721&htv=12&htv=12

― Bobby Peru (Bobby Peru), Thursday, 15 September 2005 18:21 (7 years ago) Permalink

OMG, my head just exploded from all the preciousness on this thread.

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Thursday, 15 September 2005 18:48 (7 years ago) Permalink

preciousness?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 15 September 2005 18:55 (7 years ago) Permalink

"Words get stuck in my throat" is apparently a cover of a song in the Japanese Monster movie "War of the Gargantuas". I read it in Psychotronic Video, so it mus be true.

― Soukesian, Thursday, 15 September 2005 21:40 (7 years ago) Permalink

Skipping 138 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Holy Cow at that pirate broadcast thing. I wish people did stuff like that all the time.

― everything, Wednesday, 13 January 2010 05:21 (3 years ago) Permalink

There's a dvd floating around the web of those two mid-summer 1977 Max's shows (referenced in that link) that made me really want to go beyond the lps and find some stuff from that first period.

I once read about a bootleg of a 1976 San Francisco performance that was supposed to be up there with the best. Never been able to track it down.

― do you want to be happier? (whatever), Wednesday, 13 January 2010 06:06 (3 years ago) Permalink

^^thanks for the archive link, everything. looks like the SF gig is more likely '77...

― do you want to be happier? (whatever), Wednesday, 13 January 2010 06:32 (3 years ago) Permalink

This (from an interview with Jerry Casale) is from a couple months ago but it's got me optimistic (especially because I have enjoyed the recent songs they've done). Bring on the new LP!

What can you share about Devo’s forthcoming LP, Fresh?

We’re picking up where we left off. We re-listened to all of our stuff and thought about all of the things we liked best about what we did. We know that we can’t suddenly become someone else. We can only be Devo. And we want to be the best Devo that we can be! We wrote from that point of view. We took it back down to basic core things. We think it’s the best record that we’ve ever done although we’re not certain that Fresh will be the title. There are more good songs on this album than any other record that we’ve made. We’re aiming for a spring release.

― Jouster, Wednesday, 13 January 2010 11:36 (3 years ago) Permalink

Devo's secret ingredient: Alan the drummer. Everything without him on it is irrelevant.

― Three Word Username, Wednesday, 13 January 2010 12:48 (3 years ago) Permalink

I once read about a bootleg of a 1976 San Francisco performance that was supposed to be up there with the best. Never been able to track it down

This is likely the Mabuhay Gardens show which is probably their most circulated live show. I believe this went around on vinyl and tape before even Q: Are We Not Men was released and has been going around ever since under various titles. A buddy of mine has a 70s vinyl edition and I've got a CD from the 90s on a bootleg label called Ranier. I know that in the UK at least there was huge excitement about Devo building through late 1977 and 1978 which was partly spread by a couple of tapes circulating and my guess is that this was one of them.

― everything, Wednesday, 13 January 2010 20:08 (3 years ago) Permalink

Here. Someone blogged one of the vinyl versions. There's a great version of the unrecorded song The Words Get Stuck In My Throat on this.

― everything, Wednesday, 13 January 2010 20:37 (3 years ago) Permalink

"Devo's secret ingredient: Alan the drummer. Everything without him on it is irrelevant."

This person has not seen Devo live with Josh Freese drumming.

Though of course I agree that Alan was amazing.

― Nate Carson, Wednesday, 13 January 2010 20:38 (3 years ago) Permalink

I sooo love that Jermaine/Devo song! Haven't pulled out the 45 for far too long.

― Such A Hilbily (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 13 January 2010 20:39 (3 years ago) Permalink

i just remembered, i have a new remix that devo did of the track pop music by M.
its on a cheapie remix comp that been released recently.
apart from the original, its the best thing on the comp.

― mark e, Wednesday, 13 January 2010 21:21 (3 years ago) Permalink

M remix by 2009/10 Devo or by 1979 Devo? If the latter exists, I need to hear it! If not, uh, quite like to hear it I guess.

― canna kirk (a passing spacecadet), Thursday, 14 January 2010 09:48 (3 years ago) Permalink

remix by 2009 Devo (off to dig in the archives for the cd .. )

― mark e, Thursday, 14 January 2010 09:58 (3 years ago) Permalink

2 weeks pass...

whoa

Devo playing at Kent State in 1973!

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2010/02/devo-private-secretary-video.html

there is also a great Rockpalast pro-shot DVD around (it was on D!m3 for a while) from 1978 that I recommend searching.

― sleeve, Monday, 1 February 2010 16:17 (3 years ago) Permalink

8 months pass...

Hey, so I recently checked out the "Pioneers Who Got Scalped" compilation. The oddities are great - I love the General Boy spoken word stuff, and it does have the 4 good tracks from "Oh No" and "Shout", but the rest of disc 2 is, frankly, awful! I was inspired to put together my own compilation of b-sides and outtakes from a variety of sources. I found stuff like "Find Out" and "Part Of You" which are better than almost all of "Oh No" and some cool bits from "Recombo DNA". Here's my tracklisting:

I'm A Potato (from Hardcore Vol. 1)
Mongoloid (single version)
Jocko Homo (single version)
We're All Devo! (from Pioneers)
Mechanical Man (from Greatest Misses - an early demo)
Be Stiff (non-lp single)
Duty Now For The Future! [General Boy] (from Pioneers)
General Boy Visits Apocolypse Now [General Boy] (from Pioneers)
It Takes A Worried Man (from Pioneers)
Turn Around (b-side)
Make Me Dance (Recombo)
Time Bomb (Recombo)
Nu-Tra Speaks (from Pioneers)
Mecha-Mania Boy (non-lp single) - this is *great*!
Peek-A-Boo! (Dance Velocity)
That's Good
Big Mess (these are the 3 tracks from "Oh No" I like)
Find Out (b-side)
Part Of You (outtake that came out on the Infinite Zero version of "Oh No")
Modern Life (Recombo)
Faster And Faster (Recombo)
One Dumb Thing (from Pioneers)
Love Is Stronger Than Dirt (Recombo)
Shout (the only good song on "Shout")

Note there are other non-lp tracks that I have on my import version of "Q: Are We Not Men". I played this last night and was VERY happy! It's so good I had to share it with you all. Bask in the devolved love: (link deleted)

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 20 October 2010 13:31 (2 years ago) Permalink

This commercial has been running all the time in NE Ohio lately:

― Tub Girl Time Machine (Phil D.), Wednesday, 20 October 2010 13:59 (2 years ago) Permalink

Been listening to Duty Now a lot. I will have to check out your comp, Gerald. Thanks!

― Trip Maker, Wednesday, 20 October 2010 14:21 (2 years ago) Permalink

Just downloaded that Compilation, thanks for putting that up Gerald.

Over the summer Devo went from being a band I quite liked to being a band a completely love. Duty Now For the Future is my favourite album. Still haven't bought the latest album though.

― Kitchen Person, Wednesday, 20 October 2010 14:52 (2 years ago) Permalink

Duty Now is so crazy good. I was surprised how much I liked their new album, and I think it's really fun.

Thanks for uploading that comp, Gerald, I am stoked to hear it.

― 17th Century Catholic Spain (Abbbottt), Wednesday, 20 October 2010 15:03 (2 years ago) Permalink

Surprised there isn't much discussion of the new album here. I thought it was really good, kind of harkens back to Oh, No! It's Devo in a way, but the songwriting is generally better. Some real garbage tracks on there though ("Cameo"...what the hell??), and the production is pretty awful, standard loudness war garbage production that makes the thing hurt your ears if you listen too much. If you just pick and choose your favorite 12 tracks out of the 16 released it gets a lot better. "No Place Like Home" is fookin genius. A friend of mine (also way into Devo) played "Don't Shoot" at a bar and I think a lot of people really enjoyed it. It's not too different from what the group usually does but it's got a very urgent, almost non-musical hook that's very very cool to hear blaring from giant speakers.

― frogbs, Wednesday, 20 October 2010 16:43 (2 years ago) Permalink

listening to GMcB-B's comp (about which, by the way, thanks a million, Gerald). never before noticed how much "i'm a potato" sound like something by the monks. probably because i haven't listened to it in forever. a lot of days, DEVO = the best of men, whether or not they were.

― naked human hands and a foam rubber head (contenderizer), Wednesday, 20 October 2010 17:38 (2 years ago) Permalink

That compilation is just great. The songs from the Oh no era are fantastic, I do like that album a lot but Find Out is just about better than anything on there.

Thinking I might get the new album. Is the 16 track deluxe version actually available on CD? Or do I have to buy the CD and then download the extra tracks? I've seen a couple things saying some of the songs left off should have been included.

― Kitchen Person, Wednesday, 20 October 2010 17:50 (2 years ago) Permalink

recombo tracks like "make me dance" and "time bomb" are fantastic, too. need to track that puppy down.

― naked human hands and a foam rubber head (contenderizer), Wednesday, 20 October 2010 17:57 (2 years ago) Permalink

Thanks GMcB-B! Looks like a great listen.

― EZ Snappin, Wednesday, 20 October 2010 17:58 (2 years ago) Permalink

Other good songs on Shout that aren't Shout:

- Are you Experienced?
- Here to Go

The new album left me very underwhelmed. I don't think I can recall any of the songs off the top of my head. They did a Devo-by-the-numbers album on purpose and I don't think its very surprising that its pretty tepid and unexciting. I'll have to listen to it again to have a more detailed discussion, I'm sure it has some highlights but I can't remember them.

― The Porcupine Captain With A Crew of White Rabbits (Viceroy), Wednesday, 20 October 2010 18:05 (2 years ago) Permalink

and yeah, "find out" just cleaned my clock

― naked human hands and a foam rubber head (contenderizer), Wednesday, 20 October 2010 18:07 (2 years ago) Permalink

I hate to pee in everybody's cornflakes, but I'm going to delete the link that G McBB posted. I don't have an issue with the downloading itself, I have my own eyepatch and parrot etc, but the download links have to be done away from ilx.

― Unfrozen Caveman Board-Lawyer (WmC), Wednesday, 20 October 2010 18:11 (2 years ago) Permalink

right and proper, just glad to have got in under the bar

― naked human hands and a foam rubber head (contenderizer), Wednesday, 20 October 2010 18:11 (2 years ago) Permalink

DAMN @ mecha-mania boy, find out, modern life, faster & faster, and one dumb thing. oh, no! could have been at least 100% better. :(

― naked human hands and a foam rubber head (contenderizer), Wednesday, 20 October 2010 18:21 (2 years ago) Permalink

I definitely agree with that! "Modern Life" and "Find Out" were two of their best tunes during that era...no idea why they got cut. I'm glad more people are finally hearing those two.

As for Shout: personally I really liked "The 4th Dimension" and "Please Please". Plastic, but very catchy tunes. I don't think the band really took Shout seriously, it really sounds like just something to satisfy the record company rather than the best the guys could do. I think they were all kind of burned out at the time and really just wanted a year off.

― frogbs, Wednesday, 20 October 2010 19:24 (2 years ago) Permalink

Sorry if I violated ILX law - I've posted links before without issue. *shrug* Anyone who didn't get a copy just send me some ILXmail and I'll hook you up.

I'm THRILLED that y'all have seen the light, too! "Find Out", indeed, smokes, as does "Mecha-Mania Boy". What the hell, I'm guessing some label retard did the track selection from 20 tracks submitted or something, or the producer was going for a smooth accessible sound and those were just a bit rough. Anyway, all this stuff is too good to be scattered all over the place, hence my desire to pull it together.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Thursday, 21 October 2010 00:08 (2 years ago) Permalink

2 weeks pass...

duders .....

fyi 'Recombo DNA' is on sale @ Rhino Handmade this weekend ... 40% off of the $39.99 list .. making it a still expensive but much more palatable $23.99. just ordered mine (along with a copy of one of the Charles Wright 2CD things so I could get the free shipping)

― Stormy Davis, Friday, 5 November 2010 17:58 (2 years ago) Permalink

http://www.rhino.com/shop/product/devo-recombo-dna

― Stormy Davis, Friday, 5 November 2010 17:59 (2 years ago) Permalink

their website was acting really slow and unresponsive for me though

― Stormy Davis, Friday, 5 November 2010 17:59 (2 years ago) Permalink

3 months pass...

so I feel like a dummy, but I'm just now getting around to giving Duty Now for the Future a solid listen (it's the only one I don't have on vinyl, so I just never think of it). <3 Strange Pursuit

little girl OTM

― OH YEAAAAH! (Z S), Sunday, 20 February 2011 16:08 (2 years ago) Permalink

Speaking of cute kids & Devo, I thought this entry in their tattoo gallery was p adorbs.

― great & spacious building (Abbbottt), Sunday, 20 February 2011 16:28 (2 years ago) Permalink

Red-Eye may be my favorite Devo song.

― dan selzer, Sunday, 20 February 2011 16:33 (2 years ago) Permalink

Whatever happened to the girl from the Whip It video?

SAN ANTONIO -- She was a successful entrepreneur, entertainer, and mother. That is, until failing health and the failing economy took her on a downward spiral. She's a woman you may have seen before.
Shay Spitz-Ober rocked the role of leading lady in the 1980 music video for Devo's "Whip It." Her husband played trumpet for the artist known as the godfather of Tejano music. She and her family lived in a $300,000 dollar home. But in a heartbeat, they lost almost everything they had.
"I lost my self-esteem," said Shay. "I lost my hair."
Shay was diagnosed with back-to-back bouts of breast cancer. Not long after, her business went under and she found herself and her family homeless.

(story continues at link. has nice outcome)

― Stockhausen's Ekranoplan Quartet (Elvis Telecom), Tuesday, 1 March 2011 04:48 (2 years ago) Permalink

I'll just leave this here:

― NYCNative, Tuesday, 1 March 2011 08:27 (2 years ago) Permalink

Gotta grab that gusto
Gotta get there first

― Trip Maker, Tuesday, 1 March 2011 15:20 (2 years ago) Permalink

Long time no sugar...

― dan selzer, Tuesday, 1 March 2011 15:28 (2 years ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

That Jermaine Jackson & Devo video!

― Col. Pinkney Lugenbeel (Abbbottt), Friday, 13 May 2011 20:45 (2 years ago) Permalink

Now, c'mon, you can't do that without a link!

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, 13 May 2011 21:48 (2 years ago) Permalink

Oh wait, it's upthread!

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, 13 May 2011 21:48 (2 years ago) Permalink

Just for convenience.
It's not the best song but it's crazy that it happened!

― Col. Pinkney Lugenbeel (Abbbottt), Saturday, 14 May 2011 00:00 (2 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

Devo have a new single themed around Mitt Romney's dog being strapped to the roof of a car.

...

― here's something to think about – where would we be without nasty (Crabbits), Sunday, 16 September 2012 15:00 (8 months ago) Permalink

It's kind of embarrassing.

― here's something to think about – where would we be without nasty (Crabbits), Sunday, 16 September 2012 15:03 (8 months ago) Permalink

This is probably a familiar factoid to most of you, but I was just reading Rip It Up and Start Again and saw that Devo used to refer to themselves as an "Industrial 80s band" - in the 70s. That's so amazing!

― Thanks WEBSITE!! (Z S), Sunday, 16 September 2012 15:04 (8 months ago) Permalink

"Let me tickle your fancy" is funny and cute. I mean crabby people nearly ruined my enjoyment of radio. I didn't want those kind of people riding in a car with me.

― โตเกียวเหมียวเหมียว aka Italo Night at Some Gay Club (Mount Cleaners), Sunday, 16 September 2012 15:58 (8 months ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

Bob 1 and Bob 2 explain how it's done. Best quote is "the sounds we're using are confidential"

― Elvis Telecom, Saturday, 1 December 2012 04:06 (5 months ago) Permalink

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