Devo: C or D? S & D etc.

Search: Secret Agent Man

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

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.

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

CLASSIC.

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

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.

duh.

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

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"

Devo were great. Underrated guitar player, too.

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

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.

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

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

It didn't work. Almost everything on those albums is just not Devo-ish at all.

I'm getting into Devo again after not listenening to them much for about a decade. I've got that Complete Truth DVD coming in the mail, hopefully tomorrow.

Uncontrollable Urge live in San Diego in 1981. My uncles were at this concert. Sadly, I was only 7 years old at the time, and could not go. :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BmxN3E548I

Yeah, I want to hear some live stuff and the Hardcore demo stuff.

devo : seriously fuckin' classic.

Anyway, CLASSIC, of course. Esp the Hardcore Devo stuff, the initial round of videos and the first couple/three albums. Love to hear some of the early-early live shows mentioned upthread.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkZwHVM64qg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oQql7XXx88

wow, talk about missing the entire point

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9Ir60XdUCM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utrTwJ6p0Jg&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMk_Y0WzIrA&mode=related&search=

i have been looking to download it for months now and can never find it.

devo = super.

Point is that DEVO were proud of being uncool (by conventional standards, anyway). See "Through Being Cool" and basically their whole persona. They presented themselves as this angry, sarcastic bunch of outsiders, not asking for entrance to cool culture, but laughing at it from the outside.

??? I'm sure I'm missing something here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZejmxvQAwY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIMttc0ciKU

Song's called Goo Goo Itch - that might be why you can't find it? Search for Hardcore Devo and you should be abe to get it!

>> devo = super.

Oh yeah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_k8JAMGXiI

Thank you YouTube

Suffice to say it is awesome. The early part of the show mostly covers "Freedom Of Choice" material with the band rocking out on synths and keyboards. Gradually it becomes more like the 77-79 era and they move to heavy guitaring on the stuff from the first two albums, including some rarer songs like "Pink Pussycat". A couple surprises for me were how good Mark Mothersbaugh was as a singer, and how fucking tough Bob Mothersbaugh is as a guitarist. The solos on "Blockhead" and "Smart Patrol" are mindblowing. He well deserves the cover shot.

I think the brilliant "Urgh, A Music War" clip of "Uncontrollable Urge" is from this show (not sure though - it's been years since I saw that film.

My opinion is that almost everything is great up to and including "Oh No It's Devo" but they completely lost the plot after that. Total Devo is an absolute dog. Shout and Smoothnoodlemaps have one or two good songs each and are generally not as offensive. Search for "Are You Experienced" and "Devo Have Feelings Too" respectively.

The more recent Devo history is a McCartney-esque mix of inspired anthologising, depressing mythologising and embarrasing nostalgia outings.

In the first category the items to claim are the aforementioned live 1980 DVD, the "Hardcore" series, the Rhino Handmade cd that included the complete original recording of "Freedom Of Choice" with live drums, guitars etc and a ton of other goodies, and the best of the various "official bootlegs" available here: http://www.boojiboysbasement.com/

By the way the early, early live shows aren't that hot really other than for historical interest. The very first "Sextet Devo" 1973 Kent State show is on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_M9ZMo5TiU

In this lineup is Bob Lewis, who successfully sued them in the late 70's for intelectual property theft of the whole "Devolution" stuff.

I completely agree with this.

(back in the day i think that XTC were the closest we came to the band everyone likes -- certainly they bridged otherwise pitiless foeships)

And the vids from New Traditionalists were indeed the best.

So here's a bit of lost Devo lore -- the video for "Dr. Detroit," the theme song from the Dan Ackroyd piece of suck of the same name:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5aEBT3l3qg

Lost because it's not on the DVD video collection and they make no mention of it being missing for one reason or another (unlike the "Are You Experienced?" cover, which they specifically say is missing for rights reasons). Never saw it at the time but I do remember the song getting some top 40 airplay up in upstate New York, oddly enough!

"oh no, no the yellow plastic unit!"

Alex, has the 'weird' version of "Secret Agent Man" ever been released on any musical format or just as a soundtrack to the video?

I was thinking it was on one of those great Rhino collections like Recombo DNA or Pioneers Who Got Scalpted. But apparently it's not.

What is this C or D shit anyway? If we're talking letter grades, they were A+ on the first two releases. A on the next two. C+ at worst by the time of Shout.

Interviewed Jerry last year and saw them in a theater in Seattle. Fucking awesome for geezers playing punk. Great set list, and very few stage props. Just two solid hours of slaying hits with Josh Freeze on the drums.

I get it now (classic or dud, etc). Whatever, nevermind.

That I'm aware of, the video version of "Secret Agent.." only exists as...well...the video. I want to say that that was by design for a while -- that they were going to release things solely as videos (a then newfangled medium) as opposed to conventionally releasing records, but I might be projecting there.

i have the Dr Detroit 12" single.
its hugley entertaining and tacky.
sadly my deck isn't connected up to the computer.

"Oh No! It's Devo" is so tasty and inspiring.

On the commentary track for the DVD of their videos, Mark tells a tale of a girl who wrote him a letter. She said she was watching the video for "Peek-a-Boo" while she was on acid and thought Mark could really see her, which lead to her changing some behavior or another in life.

That would be the scariest thing.

The dance sequences in "Through Being Cool" video were choreographed by KENNY ORTEGA who unleashed Xanadu (dancing) High School Musical(s) and Newsies (director) onto the world.

Through Being Cool

Produced by DEVO Directed by Gerald Casale and Davy Force "Don't Shoot (I'm A Man)" written by Gerald V. Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh © Recombinant Music 2008
Produced by DEVO
Directed by Gerald Casale and Davy Force
"Don't Shoot (I'm A Man)" written by
Gerald V. Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh
© Recombinant Music 2008

sorry for posting the same thing over and over again (damn copy and paste) but WE HAVE NEW DEVO!

So... that's new? I've never heard it, but the copyright says 2008 and the "don't tase me, bro" thing was certainly more relevant a while ago. Is this from the new record I've been hearing about? I like the song, btw (and I liked "Watch Us Work It" a lot, too, actually).

They were fucking great live last year.

love it. bring on the album.

Not as immediate as "Watch Us Work It" (which is brilliant), but still very promising.

This is very good, the classic Devo sound, and it's great that the De-evolution concept is still in there.

nice

also the target-iest video since that queens of the stone age one

The video ads a lot. Wasn't sure of the "get in my hybrid" line, but when it was immediately complemented by the rabbit-car image, I was like *cool*.

adds even! It swifs it up.

you must swif it

I hope they tour w/Devo 2.0.

They were fucking great live last year.

Yes, the best show I saw at SXSW this year. Is that "Don't Shoot" song really a brand new one?? It blended right into their set; I'm not familiar with their entire catalog, so figured it was from an album I hadn't heard before. That's impressive.

Saw them last summer in Brooklyn. They rocked. Brooklyn let me down, though ( read my silly reasons here! )

Anyone have an mp3 of Don't Shoot?

Check out the Club Devo site. They might have something.

holy fuck listening to the debut for the first time and the opening minute of 'gut feeling' has floored me

god this song is one chord-change away from perfection, and it's pretty damn good regardless

I guess 'Slap Your Mammy' is that key-change anyway...

...this song is ridiculously beautiful.

The rest of the album's not bad either.

I think "Praying Hands" is my favorite off their debut.

After listening to the album at least 1,000 times now, I think the one I could most never get tired of is "Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin')" -- it almost sounds like it was written, then played backwards, re-written and then recorded that way.

Acoleuthic, if you haven't heard it yet, check out Smart Patrol/Mr DNA from their second album. Might be right up your street.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG1T_EuNqCY

Already listened to and loved! The central jam is INTENSE!

I've been listening to those first two albums this afternoon, too. <3 these guys so much. Although my Duty Now for the Future seems to be more jumpy/skippy than last time I played it. Bah.

DNFTF is now being listened to in its entirety! A wry smile cracked when 'Devo Corporate Anthem' was followed up by, erm, a Spotify advert :D

There's a lot to like from the Hardcore Devo era too. They definitely changed after Duty Now...

I saw them perform Are We Not Men? in Seattle a few months back. Amazing.

Strange Pursuits by a mile the best track so far. Interesting how on each album there's been a track that's 'broken' the album open for me

Oh, I listened to the beginning of Oh No! and the first 3 tracks are all wonderful, gather the album falls away after that tho?

SIB is also GREBT

Melvins covered Mr DNA last time I saw them. Melvins + Devo = OMG

Acoleuthic--you really need all of their albums through Shout, and nothing at all after it.

Jamie--Melvins covers are always staggering. The Didjits cover of that song is also top notch.

Think the first album is my fave of all the ones I've heard so far but will give them all a try!

The first two are the closest to my heart, and their most experimental.

Also, make sure you rent/buy/download the video collection because they were huge innovators and the videos have so much to offer.

This is what everyone has told me! Already love the Peek-a-boo video, would see more :)

Yeah I reaaaaaally want to see melvins do their cover of detroit rock city live but lack the balls
to just ask Buzz directly to do it

He's more intimidating than most, but you don't get what you don't ask for :)

that jennings td catch was full of thrillpower

hahaha whoops

I like Oh No! It's Devo all the way through! You wld be so missing out if you just rocked the first three tracks. Big Mess/Speed Racer/What I Must Do – all solid, all on the second half of the album. It's not their most loved album by a long shot, tho.

It's not their most loved album by a long shot, tho.

That's a real shame, because it's certainly my favourite. It's like the technology of the era finally caught up with their ideas - everything comes together on that one for me.

xpost it's my favorite album of theirs, every last note, I get kind of emotional even just thinking about some of the sounds. the first one's the other perfect one.

on second listen 'oh no!' is very good indeed

they rocked live last year.
fat old guys, but givin' it.
where is the love for "uncontrollable urge"?
possibly the best opening vocals of an opening track on a first album ever.

greatest first-two-albums ever by a group. MAYBE Soft Machine matches it, maybe.

Haven't really heard given those first two a fair crack (except for Why Are We Sleeping, which is AWESOME)...if Third was in my 70's top 5, I take it I'd kinda like 'em...

Anyway, DEVO. Thank fuck for ILX.

The first two are the only Soft Machine albums I really like. He sings the alphabet!

"Patterns" is maybe their most underrated song? No love for it on ILX and it's awesome.

Duty Now For the Future is an album I will always buy if I see it in used record stores. Everyone I know needs at least one copy.

they're still great live

Patterns is one of their greatest songs from the later period. (Later period in my opinion being post-Whip It). Find Out is another gem from that time, if you can track it down.

BTW I don't think anything on Oh No It's Devo is underrated. For sure there's an vague idea out there that the album sucks but I'm not sure where that comes from (perhaps it was poorly reviewed at the time owing to them being a bit past their sell-by date by then). But I don't know any Devo fans who don't love it.

I think it might be as good as their debut. Patterns for sure is wondrous. How is that tune not a stone-dead all-time pop classic?

Could've been a cool single but probably rejected because it's practically a ballad. And in a minor key for most of the time. Devo had to maintain this perky, zippy futuristic persona rather than the arty cynics that they actually were. So of course the singles were Peekaboo and That's Good, rather than Explosions or Patterns.

peekaboo is awesome to be fair

They were on fire at the time but no-one was really paying attention. Search for the Rhino Handmade version of Dev-o Live (also on dvd) and their double disc "Recombo DNA" which has tons of demos from 1977-1982 including the whole of Freedom of Choice in demo form. It's a bit heavier, has more guitar and in my opinion is a better album. But I'll admit I've always been a bit cold on that album.

ooh ok! so that and the videos dvd. groovy. all the albums up to oh no! are on spotify, which is how i've been listening to them so far, but there's not much else. youtube will probably have odds and ends. christ, patterns has TWO CHORUSES, and the second one totally builds on the first. this is fucking songwriting.

i gather 'freedom of choice' is a little more...commercial than maybe the others?

It was mentioned upthread but worth mentioning again - the Hardcore Devo CDs with pre-1st album songs are really good too.

Itchy goo, itchy goo, itchy goo goo goo
It's all I wanna do, whammo!

For me, Freedom of Choice is just a bit half-assed in the songwriting dept, and the production job has always underwhelmed me - some of the songs (not all) sound pretty flat eg. "Gates of Steel", "Snowball" and "Planet Earth" all sound way better in their live or remixed versions. Also it was the first time their packaging and conceptual elements stopped being subversive and surreal. Also, in my view it marks the point where they stopped opposing paternalism and joined the machine in terms of Mark Mothersbaugh's "advice" songs which started cropping up more and more, starting with Whip it. That always disappointed me. Contrasted with the previous two albums it really came up short.

Mind you, I'd love to hear a good remaster of this and New Traditionalists.

The Hardcore Devo albums are SOLID, esp. the 2nd one.

This sounds like it could be awesome:

* In 1982, Toni Basil released a cover of "Pity You" on her album Word of Mouth, retitled as "You Gotta Problem." The instrumental track of this version was re-recorded by Devo and the album was engineered by Bob Casale.

Melvins covered Mr DNA last time I saw them. Melvins + Devo = OMG

― Jamie_ATP, Sunday, January 10, 2010 6:01 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i saw that at ATP :D

Re Toni Basil - it's okay. She did a few Devo songs including Be Stiff and I forget the others. They are all okay. There's youtube vids out there. If memory serves she shows up in The Men Who Make The Music somewhere.

Or at least she gets a credit and my friends and I would argue about where she was. I think she's in the video for Come Back Jonee somewhere.

I have that Toni Basil album! Most of the album's not great apart from Mickey but the Devo song is cool.

I just watched it on Youtube – the vid has kind of a Devo vibe to it.

Ha her "Be Stiff" video has the same orange-haired guy who seizure-dances in the Devo videos.

Spaz Attack. LOL.

"I come up the river to kill many people. I come up the river with my laser gun."

I just recalled there's another Toni Basil/Devo collab (with vocals from both) on the Recombo DNA disc I mentioned upthread. It's pretty crap. It's one of those clanky, banging mid-tempo things and her vocals are horrible, with MM doing his "Peekaboo" voice in the background.

Fans of Oh No It's Devo could hunt down the soundboard recording of the Boston gig on that tour. First 2/3rds is all Oh No/FoC/New Trad stuff, including stuff that they probably never performed again, like Patterns, Speed Racer, Out of Sync and Deep Sleep. Then they close the show with Joko Homo/Uncontrolable Urge/Smart Patrol/Gut Feeling/Come Back Jonee. This must've been an incredible tour to see.

I'm a huge fan of the first 4 albums and have always been lukewarm about "Oh No" and downright hated "Shout". "Peekaboo" grates, too.

I'd love to hear that stuff live, though, so if there's a link to the above mentioned Boston gig, please post it!

This looks like it although it's slightly incomplete. Missing the 8 min version of Beautiful World and Come Back Jonee. The version of Girl You Want is amazing on this - it sounds totally different.

In my opinion there are two, radically different Devos: 1974-1979 version and 1980-1982 version (post-82 who gives a shit?). In terms of music, philosophy, songwriting, image and so on they are quite different. A huge bulk of the first version (my favourite) only exists in live or demo form. So I listen to demos, live stuff, and Hardcore archival stuff for my Devo fix these days, having long ago exhausted the albums. Fortunately there is huge amounts of of stuff out there, with some kind of approval of the band. The Hardcore discs are just the tip of the iceberg. Here's an unbelievable resource.

Thank you for those links!

I agree that there's a big dip in quality between Oh No.. and Shout. But the Shout is like a cliff over an abyss when you hear Total Devo and Smoothnoodlemaps.

Plus that cover version of "Are You Experienced?" is worth the price of admission IMO.

some of the songs (not all) sound pretty flat eg. "Gates of Steel"

It's well worth tracking down the "Now It Can Be Told" live album from 1998. "Gates Of Steel" on that is awesomely atomic-powered.

I've always had a soft spot for "Now It Can Be Told", though I know hardcore Devo fans abhor it.

I am totally onboard with Shout being okay and the last two being poor. There's a couple of good ones on Smoothnoodlemaps though - Devo Has Feelings Too is pretty cool. I also like Now It Can Be Told. That was pretty much the set they played the only time I saw then live which was round about the same time. Greatest hits tours can be really fun.

Wow I forgot about Now it can be Told and wonder what happened to my copy. 3 sides with an etching if I recall...

I've always had a soft spot for "Now It Can Be Told", though I know hardcore Devo fans abhor it.

they do ? i think its great, really great. the build up from acoustic opening to the full on band gets me every time.

Thank you, ILX, for making me put on "Oh No" for the first time in a long while. It's almost shockingly great. And "I Desire" practically sounds like something from Hardcore Devo.

two, radically different Devos: 1974-1979 version and 1980-1982 version

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. This amazing clip of "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA" is from that dvd:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNxURxqIv80

I know where I got the impression fans didn't like "Now It Can Be Told": the crushing review on Allmusic. I should know better than to take that to heart. I, too, will pull out "Oh No" from the sell pile for one last listen today.

oh fer fuck's sake dude, allmusic is full of shit. also full of otm, but unless you know the dude that's writing (ned raggett, thom jurek being two i generally trust if not always agree with) you can't base your decisions on what to hear purely on what they say

sweet vid

oh no, "Oh No!" is great and my fave of the 80s albums, definitely pick it up for a dollar or two if for 'Speed Racer' and 'Peek-a-Boo' if nothing else. I remember reading in The Stark Fist that it's like a Subgenius concept album. 'He's got a picture in his pocket of the Lucky One'. time out for fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9x6Jm3ski8

Xpost. "Big Mess" is not about the Subgenius. The lyrics were taken from letters written to an LA gameshow host by a nutty fan.

I'm so glad this is back on youtube. Neil Young in his Never Mind The Bollocks shirt, Booji Boy on vocals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9sktCm8qJs

Then there's this - Jermaine Jackson with Jerry and Mark on Omnichords.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0ImnOLzVBc&feature=related

"Big Mess" gets me hyped up like a kid on Christmas Eve. Seeing that letter is awesome. It reminds me of that Max Headroom pirate broadcast but innocent & cute.

^^^that pirate broadcast thing always reminded me of Devo. The cheap masks are one obvious reason, the other I just realized: it sounds like "Chango" from Hardcore 2.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

"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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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)

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBx9xOBNElg

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Thanks GMcB-B! Looks like a great listen.

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.

and yeah, "find out" just cleaned my clock

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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)

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

their website was acting really slow and unresponsive for me though

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxAwxCkAT2s

little girl OTM

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

Red-Eye may be my favorite Devo song.

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)

I'll just leave this here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_M9ZMo5TiU&feature=related

Gotta grab that gusto
Gotta get there first

Long time no sugar...

That Jermaine Jackson & Devo video!

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

Oh wait, it's upthread!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0ImnOLzVBc&feature=player_embedded

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

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

...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuXunulTYpU

It's kind of embarrassing.

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!

"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.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrXgJKDxagU

http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/04/devo-to-reissue-hardcore-compilations/

Very good news, although I imagine it's a little late. These discs were unavailable for so long and sold for such a ridiculous price that I imagine most Devo fans have pirated them already. A few bonus tracks are nice. I have heard "Doghouse" and it's hilarious. I think Jerry breaks out laughing in the middle of the song which is a break from Devo's regular straight-faced absurdity. Either way if you're a Devo fan who hasn't heard this yet it really is an essential, maybe my favorite Devo releases outside of Q: Are We Not Men and Freedom of Choice.

http://www.futurismoinc.com/news/mwhannouncement

New issue of previously never released concert in 1977 coming (titled Miracle Witness Hour). "Uncontrollable Urge" sounds pretty tight, and based on the sample I'd imagine the rest of it will be good.

interesting new label.
good luck to them.
i have the 3 live concerts now (stiff release, truth can now be told, expanded 'are we not men'), so may skip this ..

I'm excited for this release. I have a bootleg tape of this show - actually not the whole thing - about two thirds. It's a favourite of mine thanks to having killer versions of Be Stiff and Social Fools and also a couple of rare tracks that are really good - Huboon Stomp and The Last Time I Ever Saw St Louis. Stoked.

they can't release enough of these early Devo shows as far as I'm concerned

Correct. Anything from 77-82 is great but I think the ones I've heard from 77 are the absolute best - one from Mabuhay Gardens and the Max's Kansas City ones that you can watch on youtube.

Got this new live disc. It's the same recording as the old bootleg cassette I've had of this gig since the 80s - and the sound quality is more or less the same. But it's not the complete show - it's just half the songs, not even in the same order they performed it. This is a bit weird as the disc opens with Mark announcing Be Stiff and you can tell it's partway through the show. It's a subtle difference but nevertheless there is an absence of verisimilitude about the whole thing. Or at least it feels like you turned up late for the show to find the band already onstage. Omits some great tracks like Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy, Too Much Paranoias etc and also a rarity they really should have included called "The Last Time I Ever Saw St Louis".

But...great performances. The whole thing is played at the more relaxed tempos of the early recordings which is brilliant for tracks like Be Stiff (which is awesome here) and Smart Patrol/Mr DNA which here is over eight minutes long without any extra bits, just played slowly and heavy.

http://www.sonicstate.com/amped/2014/12/16/-devo-signature-guitar/

Hardcore Live album is on Spotify. Effortlessly brings awesome crunchy, clanging, heaviness to the hardcore material, with a great vibe throughout. Seriously check this out if you are a devotee of any level. Too many highlights really but O NO, Stop Look & Listen, Clockout, Be Stiff...amazing. Weirdly no version of Smart Patrol though.

As I understand it the concept was to only play tunes from 1977 and back - I don't think Smart Patrol was around back then? And yeah the live album rules - was worried at first that the tunes were too clanky and low-battery to really pull off live, but they really do 'em justice. Plus there's a perfectly Devo tribute to Bob 2 at the end.

Smart Patrol (sans Mr DNA) is the oldest song from any of their albums. Also the longest btw. Pre-dates Jocko Homo even. First performed in April 1975 at Kent State University Auditorium! My guess is they didn't want to clutter up the old stuff with tooo many familiar numbers. They already have Gut Feeling, Satisfaction and others on there.

Good interview with Jerry Casale and Josh 2.0 on Ken Reid's "TV Guidance Counselor" podcast

http://www.tvguidancecounselor.com/

^ Focusing on early videos and TV appearances

A modest fifteen.

no gut feeling?

I read "Recombo DNA" by Kevin C. Smith. This book covers all the pre-history of Devo from the 60s on and then ends in 1980 before Freedom of Choice. Good concept. Indepth coverage of Ohio scene, college years, Kent State shootings (the Casales were present), the various religious tracts and conspiracy books they were inspired by, their other art projects and home recording from 70-77, working with Bowie, Eno, Conny Plank etc. Nice to get more info about early members like Jim Mothersbaugh and Bob Lewis. Great read but man those guys are whiners. They have nothing good to say about anyone.

I'm reading the fancy new book which is all great pictures and oral history from Mark and Jerry. Might be a good complement. It's not a great history on its own, sort of assumes a bit of knowledge. Would've been nice to have a bit more context within, but the pics and anecdotes are great.

This is the one that like $250? I want it but I'll wait for the cheapo paperback reprint I guess.

There's already a cheaper version...I didn't pay that much, I got the "Classic Edition" for 65 bucks.

its strange that they've been so silent these last few years. the most powerful nation on the planet electing an idiot game show host to lead them is just about the most Devo thing of all time.

Never too late for a Devo 2.0 reunion.

Interview with Jerry Casale here (starts about 18 mins in): https://www.mixcloud.com/DublinDigitalRadio/xxx-devo-with-gerald-casale/"> https://www.mixcloud.com/DublinDigitalRadio/xxx-devo-with-gerald-casale/

Ugh I borked that link but click on the end and it works.

But today Devo is merely the house band on the Titanic.

https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/qvqek5/devo-open-letter-devolution-rock-hall-trump-2018

I feel like that rant would have more bite if he wasn't such a (closet?) gourmet food & wine expert.

I did wonder when one of 'em was gonna step out and use Trump as the ultimate evidence that their theory was correct all along. There's no satire anymore.

hang on, you cant rant if you like food/wine ?

I mean you can, but knowing personally that he orders multiple $1000 bottles of wine on the reg at elite-tier restaurants kinda softens the blow.

The theory is not anti-capitalist. It's that humans are de-evolving. $1000 bottle of wine seems to be either a step forward, or at least neutral in that.

Devo has never been anti-capitalist, they've been about subverting capitalism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1J99Z0BIMc

"Everyone has their own facts, their own private Idaho stored in their expensive cellular phones," he sneers as he taps his Khlebnikov caviar spoon against the decanter of 1962 Saint Emilion Cheval Blanc.

"The earbuds are in, the feedback loops are locked, and the Frappuccino’s are flowing freely."

I feel like that rant would have more bite if he wasn't such a (closet?) gourmet food & wine expert.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli)

not closeted at all, has gone on the record about being a wine aficionado

personally i have no kick against the luxury left

Fantastic documentary and a must watch if you're on this thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thy0gQzqgY0

grrrr ... unavailable to those of us in the uk.

what is it ?

thank you for posting (doc is the story behind how the mutant image of Chi Chi Rodriguez ended up on the first album cover)

the idea of a doc that puts the Kent State footage together with Chi Chi's golf career is some direct version of the truth, I'm sending that to my mom (I started listening to Devo when I was 12, and she definitely remembers that)

my earliest Devo memories are from about the same time as I saw that episode of WKRP in Cincinnati where the golfer's name is pronounced "chee-chee-rod-rih-gweez"

same

First ever Gerald Casale solo album out now on red vinyl

that came out last year - I got a copy. hard to believe it's actually 15 years old now. the new (?) track on the vinyl is pretty good though

t or f Gerald Casale is the Mike Love of Devo

Lol. Good one. Maybe a bit more like Peter Hook.

I don't know if that's fair - they have opposing opinions on the Kent State shootings at least.
I read the biography Recombo DNA, which credits Casale as the main "conceptualist" in the group, which is a pretty important role in Devo.

It's mostly because he is the grifter, and he is a bit cringe.

Also, Mothersbaugh's art books demonstrate that he had plenty to contribute to their concepts, and he wrote a lot of their most "conceptual" songs on his own including Jocko Homo.

I guess there's a parallel if you think both he and Love helped make the work of a talented musical introvert more accessible and understandable to the public.

yeah I mean listening to his solo album I think its clear he's probably most responsible for their overall sound

does seem a bit insufferable but Mike Love he is not

peter hook is a good parallel!

i like everything up to and including oh no its devo and the single here to go but otherwise nothing after that!

Theme From Doctor Detroit is really great

their 2010 comeback album is good, it's just so fucking brickwalled that I almost can't stand to listen to it

Found the two Hardcore Devo comps in a shop a few weeks ago and was surprised to find they're even stranger than I remembered. Especially Vol. 2, it's like some of the most alien music I've ever heard. Also some of the grossest. I think this may be the only time an archival release radically changed my concept of what a band was about. Also Volume 2 has some bonus tracks on it which I've never heard before. "Doghouse Doghouse" is at least kinda funny (the person wailing like a dog, not the lyrics).

one thing though - is "Fountain of Filth" really from the same sessions? it feels like something that could've been on Freedom of Choice! its also cleaner and better recorded than anything else on there. I think someone messed up.

Supposedly 1974 but yeah it doesnt sound like it. It is Ton o' Luv from Freedom of Choice in an early version.

"Fountain of Filth" was in the reunion live set for awhile - stoked to hear it when I saw them!

I think this may be the only time an archival release radically changed my concept of what a band was about.

so otm. the hardcore comps simultaneously upended my idea of who they were while also helping everything else make even more sense than i previously thought it did. like doing a puzzle and fitting all the pieces together correctly, but then realizing that you accidentally had the image spun 90 degrees sideways the whole time

xp - according to the liner notes on my copy, it's 1977. but I still think that's wrong - it sounds like it was recorded in a different place entirely. its like one of those Recombo DNA demos where they changed all the lyrics. not that I'm complaining, the tune is great

Found the two Hardcore Devo comps in a shop a few weeks ago and was surprised to find they're even stranger than I remembered. Especially Vol. 2, it's like some of the most alien music I've ever heard. Also some of the grossest. I think this may be the only time an archival release radically changed my concept of what a band was about.

― frogbs

i got some complicated feelings about the hardcore devo stuff. i was really into them when i was in college, how raw and primitive they were, and i still fucking love the original cover art.

but it's misleading cover art, because that photo set (i can't remember the name of the photographer who put them together, but she did an amazing job) is absolutely the queerest shit devo ever did, and the whole thing about them is that they _weren't_ queer, they were angry disaffected nerds who couldn't get laid. i mean devo have changed and evolved since then, i don't really believe they're like that now, even if mothersbaugh has only ever _ironically_ committed to anti-capitalism, "biting the hand", doing ads with words like "obey" and "consume" worked into them and acting like he's getting one over on his corporate overlords. still, the members of devo overall, i get the feeling they've grown and changed a lot since the '70s.

so first off there's the thing about their whole ethos being a gloss on an overtly racist conspiracy theory. once they got signed to a record label they _mostly_ took the racism out - sure, there was the occasional song called "triumph of the will" or what have you, but nothing nearly as openly _ugly_ as some of the songs on the hardcore albums. i mean, irony isn't a valid defense at this point, whatever they _intended_ some of those songs, and i won't name them but if you've heard them it's pretty obvious, _are_ racist.

and then of course there's the misogyny. i don't know if this was inherent in oscar kiss maerth's work. singing about sexual assault and domestic violence and all sorts of other abuse and particularly, particularly, they seemed...

i remember reading this one anecdote once about devo where they were at some sort of party, sometime around '77-80, and some scene lady dismissed them as "queers", and one of the members of devo responded to that by saying "i'll fuck you right here on the table"

like that is super fucking gross, you know, whether or not devo were queer, whether or not this lady was being homophobic, fucking _hell_

there's also this recording of devo's second concert ever, from the 1974 kent state creative arts festival:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDNPe8u_3eM

that last song there, "androgyny", is uncomfortably terfy, and i don't get the sense that it's meant ironically - these folks aren't exactly super queer. to be clear, i don't think that these sentiments or terf sentiments in general would be endorsed by _any_ living member of devo. i'd be really disappointed if any of them did turn out to be "gender critical". but this is where they started, you know?

i mean devo have changed and evolved since then,

the fuck?!

haha good catch :)

My first experience of the band was seeing the short film for "Mongoloid" on TV, so I went out and picked up Hot Potatoes, a compilation, and that led me to check out the rest of their catalogue. This was during that horrible period in the 1990s when back catalogues were re-released on CD with two albums per disc with generic packaging. But I do still have a Q: Are We Not Men picturedisc, because at the same time vinyl was dirt cheap.

I find the early history fascinating because there was an expectation they were going to be the next big thing. They were on one level tailor-made for MTV. They anticipated it. They had an image. I was surprised to learn that Stiff Records put out a Devo tribute album as early as 1979:
https://www.discogs.com/release/482351-Various-Be-Stiff-Tour

It had a bunch of Stiff acts doing covers of "Be Stiff". But of course Devo didn't sell any records until a few years later, and then not many, and here in the UK they didn't sell any records at all ever. The music industry rejected them for several years until, as if a switch had been flipped, suddenly their brand of image-led modern pop was hip, and furthermore David Bowie put in a good word, so they ended up being signed to Stiff and then Warners, a major label. The problem is that on the surface their image was tailor-made for the UK market circa 1980, but on a deeper level there was a massive world of difference between Devo and Culture Club, Adam Ant, Japan etc. I imagine the executives who signed them couldn't perceive that tonally they were a kind of sci-fi Stranglers in boiler suits. And of course Stranglers fans would probably have rejected them for being weird, so they fell between two stools.

Their career arc was a lot like The B-52s, down to having (a) a classic debut with songs that had been toured for several years (b) a second album that felt like out-takes from the first, although in the case of the B-52s the quality drop wasn't as great (c) and then they were a different and much slicker band entirely. The B-52s worked with David Byrne, albeit briefly, and Devo worked with Brian Eno, but in both cases they were rejected. They never became part of the Eno-Byrne-Fripp-Gabriel-Bowie continuum. They were auditioned, but found wanting, and ultimately they didn't get the nod. That must have hurt.

They get dug up every so often because, as mentioned above, the surface is appealing. Also Mark Mothersbaugh did the music for The LEGO Movie. He must chords, and counterpoint, and stuff. Leitmotifs. That's not something the average new wave-era guitarist would know about. And yet his dad was a defence contractor, or something. How did that happen? Practice, or genetics?

They never became part of the Eno-Byrne-Fripp-Gabriel-Bowie continuum. They were auditioned, but found wanting, and ultimately they didn't get the nod. That must have hurt.

I think they distanced themselves from that bunch, actually. Eno had lots of ideas when producing their debut, but they rejected most of them and told him to produce the songs the way they had been planning them for years. I bet their ideas of infiltrating the mainstream led them to believe they could do it better than the older musicians (though Talking Heads always outsold Devo).

He must chords, and counterpoint, and stuff. Leitmotifs. That's not something the average new wave-era guitarist would know about.

There's a quote, I think from Jerry, in one of the Devo biographies, roughly: "In 1972 Mark had hair down to his ass and was playing keyboards in a prog-rock group for money".

Reminding me of a related quote: "if it wasn't for punk, Colin Newman would still be where he was in 1975 - sitting in a meadow with an acoustic guitar writing songs about horses".

Reminding me of a related quote: "if it wasn't for punk, Colin Newman would still be where he was in 1975 - sitting in a meadow with an acoustic guitar writing songs about horses".

Disagreeing fully with the above. They had to stop eno from trying to have too much influence on their sound. And their influence was huge even before selling records with freedom of choice. Every city had their answer to Devo.

i mean the start of jocko homo is in 7, they had prog-rock chops for sure

regarding the way their sound changed in freedom of choice, that was more down to, as i understand it, dynamics within the band - mark and jerry were pissed off at one or both of the guitar players.

It had a bunch of Stiff acts doing covers of "Be Stiff". But of course Devo didn't sell any records until a few years later, and then not many, and here in the UK they didn't sell any records at all ever.

Wtf the first album went to number 12 in the uk. They were on the covers of the uk music press dozens of times 1977-79 and playing in big venues. Incidentally, the first "tribute" album to Devo is this, which came out slightly earlier than the Stiff one. https://www.discogs.com/release/1570542-Various-KROQ-FM-Devotees-Album

for a late era album, i happen to think that 'something for everybody' is f$cking great.

Yeah it is the best of the lot after the classic first 5.

Probably go: Something for Everybody!>Smooth Noodle Maps>Shout>Total Devo.

If I'm going to listen to Devo nowadays I almost always go for live stuff. There are so many brilliant concert recordings in great quality.

& at their peak as a live band around 1980/81. The hardcore/first album/second album/3rd&4th albums periods all come together when performed live. They are closing the show with Jocko Homo/Smart Patrol/Mr DNA/Gut Feeling/Gates of Steel, all performed in power pop rock band mode and it works perfectly.

IMO Something For Everybody is the only post-Oh No! thing worthy of the Devo name. though I do have a real soft spot for "Doctor Detroit". good album, just wish it hadn't been mastered so hot. also wtf with all the different tracklistings, how does "Watch Us Work It" get relegated to a bonus track

btw I appreciate that perspective rush. I do think the members of Devo skew quite liberal but more than that they're total edgelords. Casale had a 9/11 themed wedding for Christ's sake. they were also horny motherfuckers by the sound of it. so whatever queer themes they might've used were probably meant to be ironic. I kinda feel a lot of the Devo concept was bullshit in general, like wow so cool that the concept of your band is to do as much commercial shit as possible

Hey, the Devolution agenda needs to be paid for!

Casale had a 9/11 themed wedding for Christ's sake.

gerry is all sorts of cringe

yeah he had some kind of ill conceived terrorist-themed group in the 2000s that just seemed like the worst fuckin thing ever.

They never became part of the Eno-Byrne-Fripp-Gabriel-Bowie continuum. They were auditioned, but found wanting, and ultimately they didn't get the nod. That must have hurt.

to me all those stories of people like Bowie Eno Lennon et al courting Devo always sounded like the opposite of "auditioned & found wanting". more like 70s stars with reps as innovators trying to get in on the ground floor with a hyped Next Big Thing band. see also: Johnny Rotten asking to join as lead singer. i never got the impression that Devo wanted or were seeking any of that.

"Jihad Jerry and the Evildoers"? yeah the concept was in bad taste but the album itself is actually pretty good, better than the prior 3 Devo albums at least. though it does lose points for recycling a few obscure Devo tunes.

xpost. Bowie wanted to produce the first album but Devo didn't want to wait until he was available so went off and got themselves set up with Eno instead. They have been explicit on numerous occasions that they removed most of Eno's artistic contributions to the album - synth parts etc. and also backing vocals by Bowie.

see also: Johnny Rotten asking to join as lead singer. i never got the impression that Devo wanted or were seeking any of that.

This was a bit of Machiavellian manouvering from Richard Branson, who was trying to persuade Devo to hire Lydon as lead singer. I don't think anyone has ever claimed Lydon himself asked to join Devo.

ah youre right, did a quick google and it seems that mothersbaughs telling is that branson said he was passing along a request from lydon, but lydon in his memoir says he never heard a word about it and would never have done it. (which is funny bc iirc branson had music press nearby and was like "lets go downstairs and announce johnny rotten is now the singer for devo right now". hilarious to imagine devo saying yes and lydon hearing about it at the same time as the rest of the world.)

Doesn't seem like something Lydon would ever do.

Re some of the comments about the Hardcore material, I don't see so much of a contrast except Alan Myers joined and that's when they "became" Devo. The arrangements don't change much but the songs are faster and they sounded like a proper band that a record label could sign.

And by the time Myers joined they dropped most of the nasty, ugly stuff that Rushomancy refers to. By the end of 1976 their set was songs that ended up on the first two albums. In a small way, they actually distance themselves from it in "The Men Who Make The Music" video. The record company executive plays them "She Didn't Know I Was a Midget", by "Parcheezi" - presented as the epitome of unit-shifting corporate rock. But it is actually their own song "Midget" from three or four years earlier, one of their most retrogressive attempts at Zappa-style humour. The manager tells them they should come up with stuff like that and Bob Mothersbaugh, who wrote Midget responds "I guess we like ideas".

Gerald's newest song (he appears as the Jihad Jerry character in the video) is actually super rad. Guitar solo by Steve Bartek from Oingo Boingo!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kv2UMoynOw

Hey, that IS pretty good! I see he's got a few other recent-ish singles/collaborations on Spotify, will check out.

yeah, not for me.
i'll stick with the devo i know and love.

I'd keep these imo.

Without glancing at the date, you’d think Marsh had responded to Gamergate

HA!

there's something about Duty Now For the Future that irritates me too. I don't know what it is. I think they became really synth heavy one album too early. has some great tunes though.

Wiggly World is like their best song

Duty Now is awesome.

It is but even then I'd rate the first 3: Q:AWNM? > FoC >>> DNftF

frogbs otm about either the sameness or thinness of Duty Now that puts it on a lower tier than the others, at least from a fidelity standpoint.

re David Marsh, "inspired amateurism". Forget that. Shows what certain people must've prioritized back then. I can't imagine listening to those three records and thinking "amateurs".

yeah, as much as some of their stuff rubs me the wrong way, i can't say that any of it being "amateur" ever crossed my mind.

(and so what if they were amateurs? gatekeepers can fuck off imo)

must admit that i always considered duty now kind of a dud, especially coming between the two albums that it does. always thought freedom was their one "BIG" album. and even though i have a soft spot for oh no, i'd have no issue with taking freedom and leaving the rest.

well I think it's like a lot of sophmore albums in that it draws from the same early writing sessions but all the real killer stuff was on the debut. so it doesn't really have a great single. and it boasts some tunes that are either really annoying ("S.I.B.", "Pink Pussycat") or dull ("Blockhead", "Triumph of the Will"). what I notice when I hear it now is all the spacey synth noises and sequenced bass parts. which I don't think was quite right for them just yet - none of that was on the debut.

it's still a fine album though! I mean "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA" is arguably their best tune and everything on it is pretty catchy. just wish it rocked harder! I dont think "Penetration in the Centerfold" should be a B-Side!!

also wanna point out I really do like "Pink Pussycat", but the cover of "Secret Agent Man" is like...20% as clever as them doing "Satisfaction"

What the hell, "Blockhead" is great.

But, other than that, I largely agree with you about this album - in fact I think I prefer "New Traditionalists".

also wanna point out I really do like "Pink Pussycat", but the cover of "Secret Agent Man" is like...20% as clever as them doing "Satisfaction"

"freedom of choice" has grown on me over the years, when i was younger i was more into the guitar-based stuff and apparently they got mad at their guitar player between the second and third albums because he got laid or something

my first exposure to a lot of the songs on duty now was from the "mongoloid years" release so i've always had a softspot for a lot of those songs. and yeah they do have amazing b-sides, penetration in the centerfold, soo bawlz, mecha-mania boy, turn around (which i guess most people these days know through the nirvana cover!).

eno really didn't have a huge influence on the first devo album - he was willing to sit back and let them do their thing - but kind of like bill bruford on "trio", i'm gonna give him credit for what he _didn't_ do. he didn't get in the way and facilitated devo being able to give the songs they had their best possible airing. i think you can see this on a song like "secret agent man", which just has a panache on the original video version that imo the _duty now for the future_ version lacks. (haha while i was putting this post together i see someone else mentioned this, gmta)

personally i love annoying devo - i dig the shit out of a song like "peek-a-boo!" with its stupid siren in the middle, and shit, so much of the early songs are annoying in the extreme. obnoxious art terrorist devo is one of my favorite devos. shit, that WMMS recording from '75 on the "mongoloid years" release with them doing "jocko homo" into their fellatio anthem "i need a chick" into ... (tmi stuff) i mean, them knowing about vibrators in '75 is kind of cutting edge, isn't it? even if they didn't know how to use one properly. still, before i transitioned i never thought about using a vibe and i was missing out, those things aren't just for women.

fuck "triumph of the will" though, fucking edgelord nazi shit. it wasn't all casale, either, mothersbaugh had a self-published autobio in the '80s that he called "my struggle".

i guess _duty now_ kind of lives in the shadow of the albums surrounding it but it really does have a lot going for it imo.

i actually was listening to "speed racer" last night after watching the wachowskis' film (about which i'm on team "hell yes this is underrated", it's like watching picopop rollerball). anyway there's a bootleg of demos for _oh no!_ which are mostly like the original, except in the original the lyric goes "i'm a barbie doll and i like to fuck", which i think has more panache than the released version.

fuck "triumph of the will" though, fucking edgelord nazi shit.

It's an evisceration of fascist sexuality, though.

maybe, and maybe "androgyny" was an evisceration of traditional gender roles, but the message is significantly less clear than that of, say, "beautiful world" - you know, the song where mothersbaugh and casale are always complaining about how nobody "gets it" like it's a masterpiece of subtlety or something.

i don't trust their "ironic" incel posture. not after what one of them said to that lady who called them queer. i do think they've probably grown as people since that time, though.

in the original the lyric goes "i'm a barbie doll and i like to fuck", which i think has more panache than the released version.

Day My Baby Gave Me a Suprise rocks and was a single but obviously didn’t make it.

Wasn't aware of that different version of "Secret Agent Man". Much better than the album version, which I'd probably rank below the Johnny Rivers version

personally i have a fondness for "high wire" myself but i'm weird that way

Wasn't aware of that different version of "Secret Agent Man". Much better than the album version, which I'd probably rank below the Johnny Rivers version

as well as the version on the Now It Can Be Told film and the Duty Now version, there's also this third version of Secret Agent Man:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1tXTF_5keE

I really dig this demo version of Race Of Doom, I don't know when it was recorded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM3y01jb504

there's a 1980 demo called Time Bomb that appeared on Recombo DNA that sounds like an early version of Race Of Doom, but that Race Of Doom demo sounds like it might have been recorded earlier than Time Bomb, so maybe they reworked it into Time Bomb and then reworked it back into the version of Race Of Doom that then appeared on New Traditionalists? Blow Up from Total Devo sounds like it's a reworking of Time Bomb as well

Puppet Boy is at 2 million plays on youtube when the other tracks on the Shout album have view-counts on the tens of thousands, it's also showing as the second most popular Devo song on spotify. Has it become a meme song like Temporary Secretary, or was it used in a show or a tiktok video or something?

apparently it's something to do with this?

https://knowyourmeme.com/editorials/guides/who-is-wally-darling-and-what-is-welcome-home-arg-the-viral-horror-game-explained

https://www.tiktok.com/discover/puppet-boy-meme-welcome-home

Box set of early stuff on the way: https://shop.clubdevo.com/products/art-devo-1973-1977-box-set-akron-gold-vinyl-dev

Tracklist

Exhibit (A) 1973-1976
Boojis Industrial Death
Total Love
Auto Modown (Early version)
Space Girl Blues (Early version)
Live Forever
Androgyny (Live at Kent Kove 74)+
Fraulein (Kent Kove 1974)

Exhibit (B) 1973-1975
Bicentennial Birthday
Man From The Past
Midget/My Lai Mama (Kent Kove 74)
Shimmy Shake
All Of Us
Hubert House
The Tinkle Tune

Exhibit (C) 1973-1975
Private Secretary (Kent Kove 74)+
I Don’t Know Why
Dixie
Pigs Waddle (Kent Kove74)+
Death Of Lt. Casanova (Kent Kove 74)

Exhibit (D) 1975-1977
U Got Me Bugged (Instrumental version)
I Don’t Know What I Do Do
Huboon Stomp
Can U Take It (Early version)
Uncontrollable Urge (Early version)
Everything’s Gonna Be Alright
Falling In Love Again

Exhibit (E) 1975-1977
Devo Corporate Anthem (Early version)
Shrivel Up (Early version)
Smart Patrol (Early version)
I’m Lost at Home
Untitled
Never Go Back
Secret Agent Man (Mark vocal)

Exhibit (F) 1975-1977
Social Fools (Early version)
A Plan For U (Early version)
Nutty Buddy (Live at JB’s 76)
Dogs Of Democracy
Race Of Doom (Early version)
Space Junk (Early version)
Primal Satisfaction*
End Message

Exhibit (G) 1975
Untitled Montage (Harlan Hall)
Untitled Montage (Harlan Hall)

Exhibit (H) 1975-1977
Untitled Montage (Harlan Hall)
Untitled Montage (Greenwood)

Probably some overlap with the Hardcore releases, but can't really tell from the vague "early version" description. Honestly, I'd just rather have some more complete live shows from 1978-1981

I'm guessing they won't be the exact same recordings, if something is an "early version" of a tune that only appeared on Hardcore then I assume it's even earlier than that. I've heard the fanmade Hardcore 3 & 4 comp and although some of the material is interesting the recording quality is so low it's pretty much unlistenable. idk it's kinda hard to imagine there's anything worthwhile left in the vault after both the Hardcore & Recombo DNA releases (the latter of which really needs a repress), plus this is limited to 500 copies which implies it's for the hopelessly Devoted only. still worth a download I guess.

Race Of Doom (Early version)

assume that this is the version below which is very good and doesn't appear on Hardcore 3 and 4 comps, so maybe there is still some interesting stuff left to release?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM3y01jb504

interesting, looks like none of the pre-mark stuff here so no "columbo dick", also i guess they don't have a recording of beehive from this era? a lot of these songs aren't really good (many of them are on bootleg), but there's certainly some historical interest here. my gut here is that there isn't any overlap with the "hardcore" releases, that it's all stuff that wasn't on the hardcore records. we'll see tho! it would also be interesting to see the full "sextet devo" video see release.

anybody know where that long rehearsal take of "freedom of choice" is from and if there's any more where that came from?

All all thread spuds aware of this site? https://boojiboysbasement.com Just checking...

anyone hear the boxset yet? I think most of the tracks have been compiled here:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhWOj_4g_IpLiFuOzjGKNQxfpi1iEFNie

wondering if the sound has been cleaned up at all because most of these sound pretty rough. fun clicking through these though, feel like half their studio output has roots to that 1973-1977 period. even a couple of the songs on Total Devo!

also, regarding the rough sound quality: I've kind of wondered if parts of the Hardcore comps were actually re-recorded since noticing that "Fountain of Filth" sounds like it was from a much later session. "I Need a Chick" specifically, the drums on that are nothing like the other tracks, and surely that sample at the end isn't from the 70's?

listening to it now. really happy that the version on here is much less ambiguous than the previous version i heard - this is _definitely_ a satire on people who see androgyny as a threat, people who think it, I don't know, disfigures the face of man and woman, or something. it's actually really interesting because the attitude it's parodying _does_ strongly resemble the stupid shit bigots say about gender non-conforming people today.

sound quality is predictably rough but is _way_ better than the bootlegs of a lot of this material.

Consumer alert on the new 50 Years Of De-Evolution LP box set just released (via the Hoffmanites). Apparently "Smart Patrol" fades out at the end and "Mr. DNA" is dropped, which is just plain crazy to me. Also, all the New Traditionalists tracks are running fast.

whoa yeah, "Smart Patrol" is listed at 3:43, that's a baffling decision. I have never really thought of them as two separate tracks.

wonder if speeding up the NT stuff is because they felt it was too slow to begin with? I'd heard the tapes were damaged, or something...wonder if the CD's like that

anyway, I'm not really interested in this, looks to be very little new there. if you ask me they need to reissue Recombo DNA and/or Something For Everybody

basically just some single edits and a '74 version of "i'm a potato"?

Re: New Tradionalists tape damage

New Traditionalists was the band's first fully self-produced album. It was recorded on a then-new brand of 2-inch tape from 3M. Unfortunately, when Devo began recording the vocals for the album, the edges of the tape had begun to disintegrate. After asking Warner Bros. if they could start over and re-record the album from scratch and being denied, Devo transferred all the work they had done to digital reel-to-reel tape and finished the album via digital recording at the Record Plant in Los Angeles, California.

Which IIRC caused the original vinyl/cassette release to sound a little muddy, and hich they were able to correct on the last CD master.

Anyone else see Mark Mothersbaugh, Peter Conheim and Gerald Casale premiere the new restorations of their films at MoMA tonight? It was pretty nice - sold out but luckily they squeezed in a lot of people waiting in the standby line. (Spotted Steve Shelley in the audience - didn’t realize he was a big Devo fan.)

At one point, someone mentioned Gerald’s brother, Bob, and he said even though it’s been nearly ten years since his passing, he still hasn’t removed his number from his phone. Thought that was pretty sweet.

Wow @ this. Jerry Casale interviewed on the BBC... in 1970!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqiMHbvpQQg

"Next: UFO Expert"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1AdD6EfVuQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-aQkQrZP24

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKvYRDhPt_0

THAT'S where it came from!

Always time to post this again. 100% wholesome that everyone should watch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thy0gQzqgY0

Great watch, sad to see he passed on a few days.

Saw the new Devo documentary last night, felt like a 5 star music doc to me on first watch, as someone who had some of the records but not read too deeply about all the history I learnt a lot about the band and it was full of great footage with lots of laugh out loud moments.

a lad i know did devo x slipknot years ago. i still crack up hearing this. : https://soundcloud.com/savaloy/devknot-girl-u-left-behind

I really enjoyed it but it was a bit bittersweet for me. I'd heard of Devo but just thought they were another new wave band until I started talking to my late wife around 2002 and she was no you gotta listen to them, they're amazing, and telling me about Booji boy and Bobs 1 & 2 and General Boy, so seeing all of that on screen really took me back. Just after we got together I found Are We Not Men on vinyl and they were definitely one of "our bands".

Seems to be a theme this week as I finally saw Redd Kross (who were fucking great btw) which was another band she told me I needed to listen to, that she grew up seeing in LA

Expanded Recombo DNA incoming: https://www.futurismoinc.com/product/devo-1

That’s lovely Colonel!

So what *is* up with that Devo doc? I know it's played some film fests, and last I heard, months ago, they were (obv.) trying to sell it to streaming. But it's been over a year since Sundance.

Meanwhile, I guess there is a tour, a continuation of a farewell tour (they're playing Soldier Field this summer, opening for My Chemical Romance, wtf). Who is playing drums? You'd think Josh Freese now has Foo Fighters conflicts. (Or maybe Grohl is taking some time off for whoopsie-daddy duty.)

Peter Conheim, Devo's archivist, regularly talks to fans in this thread on the Steve Hoffman forum. He went by "Wayne Neato" for a while, then finally revealed his true identity in order to address questions related to the archival screenings Devo had at MoMA, AFI in Silver Springs and elsewhere, and since then he's regularly communicated with the fans who post in that thread. Someone asked him about the doc and this was his response:

Wouldn't we all like to know. Unfortunately, it has still not been sold to any distributor yet. The movie business is in total freefall, with documentaries particularly hard sells. Terrible timing. And the fires certainly won't help matters over the next couple years.

*He's gone by "Wayne Neato" for a while

Awww I remember when he was in Negativland!

I saw him today at a memorial for a mutual friend and he said there’s going to be a screening of restored films at Ann Arbor soon.

Conheim just posted this:

Good news: the DEVO documentary has apparently been sold and so will be available soon. Details will follow eventually.

As mentioned by Sara, the restoration program is coming to the Ann Arbor Film Festival with some new additions to the program. Only FOUR days away and Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald V. Casale will be in attendance in conversation with archivist Peter Conheim.

The doc is up on Netflix and it is pretty great