Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

Ooooh, this is a tough one

"Jocko Homo" is all-time for me

ive got an uncontrollable urge to vote for Sloppy

I'm torn between "Uncontrollable Urge" and "Gut Feeling" but think I'm going to go for the latter because it rocks so much harder than anything Devo ever did and has such a cool ending. "Urge" is just such a perfect New Wave power pop gem though. God damn this album is great.

go with your gut feeling

i think i prefer be stiff version of sloppy. could easily vote for any one of these except praying hands, too much paranoia and the closer. always get chuckles from the lyrics in space junk

Sloppy.

Gut Feeling with Sloppy right beside it. But Gut Feeling gets the vote.

Texaaas
Kansaaas

Voted for Jocko, but it's gonna get enough votes - should have gone with my other near fav Praying Hands since it might not get any love.

Tough but "Sloppy"

Gut/Slap

Debbie Harry doing "Come Back Jonee" on SNL in 1981 was pretty cool.

"Jocko Homo" just because of that time that they trolled a Sun Ra audience with it.

Jerry Casale describes the event in his liner notes for DEVO LIVE-The Mongoloid Years: "Full fledged aliens without a clue. DEVO is hired as a practical joke to open for Sun Ra at WHK FM's annual Halloween bash. The used-to-be famous, now infamous, radio personality, Murray The K displays a thinly veiled contempt as he introduces us to the invitation only crowd. Dressed as witches, gangsters, and hunchbacks, and high on nitrous oxide (provided by the station), hash and liquor, they are eagerly awaiting a slick cover band who can deliver precise, immaculate, renditions of Bad Company hits. Instead, they are subjected to DEVO. Appearing as four theatrical characters (Booji Boy: Mark Mothersbaugh; Clown: Bob Mothersbaugh; Jungle Jim: Jim Mothersbaugh; and Chinaman: Gerald V. Casale) and using homemade electronic drums, a mini-moog, a clavinet, a customised lobotomized Hagstrom guitar, and bass, we proceed to torture stoned urban hippies with "performance art" way before that label even existed. Playing "Jocko Homo" here for the first time, we incite members of the hideously costumed audience to invade the stage. They threaten to 'beat the shit out of you assholes.' We, of course, decide it is our duty to keep going. By the time Sun Ra opens his set with '25 Years To The 21st Century,' DEVO has managed to clear the entire auditorium. Only the band and a half-dozen friends from Akron are there to hear Sun Ra's incredible performance."

(Note: The "Murray the K" Casale refers to there is actually legendary WMMS DJ Murray Saul, famous for his Friday afternoon "Get Down!" rants.)

How weird it must have been for that crowd to see those dudes become big MTV stars five years later!

Советский спутник!!!

"Space Junk"

Original single version of "Jocko Homo" changed my life, so that.

Oh good lord, this is a Sophie's Choice if ever was there one. I have to go with "Jocko Homo," with STRENUOUS apologies to "Uncontrollable Urge" (which my kids love) and "Praying Hands"....and "Mongoloid"....and "Gut Feeling"....and...

weird.

i thought we had done this one before !?!

impossible to answer.

hang on : hello alex !!

oh, and yesterday they announced that the hardcore devo albums are getting the reissue treatment having been out of print for years.

personally, i've never heard the pre debut material ...

kinda scared to do so, as i love the production detail on 'q:are we .. ', and a bunch of lo-fi scratchy recordings by my heroes does not appeal all that much.

or am i a misguided fool and need to pick up the reissue as soon as ?

I even found a "Hardcore Devo 3" and "Hardcore Devo 4" on Soulseek but man are they rough

Those first two volumes are essential and it's a real shame that they've been OOP for so long

"weird.

i thought we had done this one before !?!"

i searched under every rock

its only vol 1 and 2 getting the reissue treatment ..

xpost : no worries nostormo .. i aint complaining :-)

mark e, you've never even heard "Mechanical Man?" Not all of the early stuff is deathless classic, and there's a lot I haven't heard, but it's mostly pretty interesting and fun. Certainly lacks Eno's production polish, true.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eChq9mTnZFU

The Hardcores are essential imho. Some of their best stuff. Beyond the officially released ones there is a huge amount of other quality unreleased stuff from that era. I assume the Hardcore 3 and 4 are bootlegs/fan-made things made from the other material that the band has made available semi-legally over the years, mostly via the "Boogie Boy's Basement" website. Lots of great later stuff too, such as the CDs that came out on Rhino Handmade.

I don't think Eno's production is particularly auspicious BTW. The six songs that were previously recorded and released on their early singles are all better than the Eno-produced versions. The strength of the album is in the great songs and the performances.

...and of course the image of the band, cover etc.

no not heard 'mechanical man' prior to a few minutes ago ..
and to be perfectly honest, i aint convinced i need to again really.
different strokes ..

How about this - this is more representative of their sound 1973-1976ish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyHnwnpum4o&noredirect=1

now that i like !

awesome stuff!

Devo meets Pere Ubu sort of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs9_tcGmxzc

I love Goo Goo Itch

Wham-o

I assume the Hardcore 3 and 4 are bootlegs/fan-made things made from the other material that the band has made available semi-legally over the years, mostly via the "Boogie Boy's Basement" website.

I have no idea - they're certainly not official, but whoever put it together used sources that I hadn't heard on any other collection of rare early material (of the 2 or 3 you can find floating around). I assume he/she has an in with someone close to the band? I dunno. I'm sure there's only like 50 people who have it and IMO it's not really interesting as anything more than a curiosity. But man, early Devo was one weird, weird group. Like a catchier version of the Residents, they were.

This is too hard. My instinct is to go with Jocko Homo but I need to play it through before voting. Looking at the tracklist I could go for almost anything apart from Satisfaction.

Am I on my own in loving the second album just a little bit more?

Oh yes, 2nd album is boss. There's an album with superb production.

Uncontrollable Urge or Homo.

Did they ever surpass this album? Please edify me. I was not a huge fan but have loved this for , that long

Apologies..too late agin. I'm gonna source the second

I prefer the first to any of the others, but they're all worth hearing. Even Total Devo and Smooth Noodle Maps.

The first two albums are both 10/10 for me but the second one just has the edge, it's such a strange album (even for them) but the songs really get in my head. Smart Patrol/Mr DNA is my favourite song of theirs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UKtZwWLMp8

I must have watched this clip a hundred times.

I prefer the first to any of the others, but they're all worth hearing. Even Total Devo and Smooth Noodle Maps.

― Johnny Fever

I think you're the first person I've seen say anything positive about those albums. I stopped at Oh No It's Devo which is really great.

second album needs a remaster.

after hearing the debut given a makeover, the second sounds weak.

when i was ih chicago a couple of years ago i sourced the expanded remasters of q:are we not men.., and new traditionalists, and they sound fantastic in comparison to the cheap and cheerful uk available virgin cd issues ..

For me it's Q: Are We Not Men > Freedom of Choice > Duty Now but all three are great and "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA" is probably the best thing they ever did. Disagree with Johnny on the later albums - some good tracks here and there but after Oh, No they really really lost their way and seemed to not really even want to be a band anymore. New Traditionalists is where the slide really starts but I think that album has enough great songs to power through it.

oh wow, I didn't even know New Traditionalists had a remaster. the original mix is pretty flat.

exactly ..
they all are ...
hence why the remasters are sooo much better.
us based releases only.

I think you're the first person I've seen say anything positive about those albums.

Well, they're certainly not documents of the band at their creative best, but they aren't abominations either.

Listening through the album now, the production on Too Much Paranoias is just so amazing, that going into Gut Feeling is my favourite bit on the album.

I always thought Shout! got kind of unfairly destroyed because it's just a stupid fun digital synth album and the catchiness is mostly still there. Total Devo and Smooth Noodle Maps both struck me as being really terrible though there were some songs I liked on the latter. It's been years since I listened to either though. Only thing I liked on Total Devo was "Happy Guy" which totally lifts Numan's "Bombers"!

The first two albums are both 10/10 for me but the second one just has the edge, it's such a strange album (even for them) but the songs really get in my head. Smart Patrol/Mr DNA is my favourite song of theirs.

I have a hard time separating the first 2 albums, and whenever I'm in the mood to listen to them, I block out enough time to listen to both.

I mentioned this on the album poll thread but just in case anyone has an incredible memory or even better somehow can find the issue, I remember reading a feature story on Devo in a kiddie scholastic magazine, sometime around 1978-79. Possibly National Scholastic, but not sure. I just think it's funny that it got through the editors probably because of their funny hats, given the very *adult* themes in some of their lyrics!

but wasn't that always the point re devo ?

their cartoonish overtones vs their adult f*cked'upness ..

hence why they are one of the few bands you can fall for hard when a young'un and still appreciate as you enter your more mature years ..

or is that just a heavy dose of transference on my side ?

They started off mocking paternalism (appeaaling and exciting to youth). Then post Whip It they continually dished out advice in a fairly paternalistic way. Perhaps mirroring this idea that we all get more conservative as we get older?

Devo was the first band I ever really loved, at the age of 6...my parents went to high school with those dudes!!

Devo was the first band I ever really loved, at the age of 6...my parents went to high school with those dudes!!

mind. officially. blown.

gotta love the wired world we now live in.

man this is impossible, maybe mongoloid?

i will throw down hard for new traditionalists, i love that album

i will throw down hard for new traditionalists, i love that album

totally.

There's a great stretch in the middle - "Going Under", "Race of Doom", and "Love Without Anger" - all three are all-timers for me. I never hear anyone mention "Race of Doom" but the chorus on that one - "Is it on? Is it off? Re-ply!" probably stuck with me more than anything else they did.

haha .. now that is one seriously good call ..

time to dig in the archive ..

i need to hear that now.

well, time to order the New Traditionalist re-issue...but I'm a little shocked that this doesn't include "Working In a Coalmine" and "Mecha-Mania Boy"! I mean the former's basically a part of the album (IIRC all the LPs had it as a bonus 7") and the latter is one of their greatest rare tracks. I thought they'd take the opportunity to give it a real official release here.

re new traditionalists yeah .. i got the 7" when i picked up the vinyl edition in miami in '84 when i was on a solo mad young man trip

and now that you mention it, its not good that the track was not part of the remastered edition.

humph.

well, time to order the New Traditionalist re-issue...but I'm a little shocked that this doesn't include "Working In a Coalmine" and "Mecha-Mania Boy"! I mean the former's basically a part of the album (IIRC all the LPs had it as a bonus 7") and the latter is one of their greatest rare tracks. I thought they'd take the opportunity to give it a real official release here.

― frogbs

I actually have a spare copy of a reissue of this as I originally got most of my Devo stuff on CD but then replaced it all on vinyl (for no good reason) Is this the version you're after? http://www.discogs.com/Devo-New-Traditionalists/release/2884028 I think it has a hole punch in the bar code but I must have only played it once. You can have it if you want, just drop me an email.

thats the one i have ..
i seriously scoured chicago for the other ones while i was there, but other than 'q: are we not men', to no avail ..

Just listening to New Traditionalists now, yeah this is a really good album. It might still be my least favourite of the first five but it's solid. Love that guitar that comes in at 1.14 on Love Without Anger, probably one of my favourite Devo moments.

thats the one i have ..
i seriously scoured chicago for the other ones while i was there, but other than 'q: are we not men', to no avail ..

― mark e

Yeah when I was in America (Minnesota and Chicago) the first few times I was there I got all their albums on CD but they always had different versions/reissues. I hardly ever saw those 2010 issues anywhere, think I actually ordered New Traditionalists in the end. When I went back a year later I was on a vinyl mission and you could always find their albums around, reissues and second hand copies. Freedom of Choice in particular used to pop up all the time second hand.

Appreciate it KP but I just found a real cheap copy on Amazon

Okay no worries.

Has anyone heard the reunion album from 2010? I kept seeing it around and being tempted by it at one point. It's on spotify now, was thinking about giving it a go.

more detail kp !
i love their last studio album, something for everybody.
i think there are specific ilm threads re this return-to-form, but suspect you don't mean that !

btw : if on spotify .. then surely the 'tude is :

'f*ck it, i have to listen to this ... '

Yeah that's true, just wondering if it was worth my time listening through it really. I actually spent full album price on that B-52's reunion album from a few a years ago and it totally wasn't worth it so Spotify really does help me now buying things I actually enjoy. I just seem to have spent a lot of time recently thinking of albums by bands that I love that I've never heard and going through them on Spotify. I listened to Crash by The Human League yesterday, easily one of the worst albums I've ever heard.

ooooh .. the devo album is seriously way better than that

satisfaction

Something for Everybody is definitely pretty good but a couple things annoy me about it - one is that a few of the songs are really awful (I'm thinking of "Cameo" here), and two, really, really loud production that makes it a tough listen. But there are some really neat songs there. "No Place Like Home" is really unlike anything else they did.

Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy

gut feeling all the way

they're still good live

devo and gang of four, old ppl who will not make you sad if you see them live

Listened to this on the walk to work, going to have to go with 'Uncontrollable Urge', flawless opener.

Uncontrollable POLL: Best Track on Q: Are We Not Men?

man i KNEW we had done this, pretty sure i voted 'gut feeling/slap yr mammy' last time so voting 'uncontrollable urge' this time

all those posts wasted for nothing..

I wish it were possible to add keywords to threads to make searches more productive.

I think I voted for Gut Feeling as well, thinkin about Prayin Hands or the Satisfaction cover

a little surprised by the lack of "space junk" chatter on here

outside of Shrivel Up and maybe Too Much Paranoias I think every song here is pretty defensible

as a choice for this poll, that is. every song is good but so many of them are really good

yeah, I get that. but "space junk" rules.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

"Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy" for me. SO glad to hear that the Hardcore Devos are being reissued - and by the same label that's doing the MX-80 reissue program! I LOVE THE MIDWEST!!

everything bonty just said, down to the second exclamation point.

wish there was a 20:10 gut feeling out there somewhere...

Ha yeah

Hey does anyone know where to get the tracks they did with Neil Young from the Human Highway soundtrack? Used to have those and can't seem to find them anymore.

'Mongoloid'

I love this, but Jocko Homo has to be the one.

Oh man, it's got to be 'Space Junk' really. Such a joyful bounding sprint of a song. Subject matter set against that totally not-arsed delivery and the call-response backing vocals... oh boy. Totally exhilarating song.

xxxpost re Human Highway, it's just two songs: "It Takes a Worried Man" which was on a 7 inch and comped a couple of times such as on the Pioneers Who Got Scalped comp and the "We're All Devo" video comp; and "Hey Hey My My" which has never been released except on but you can get it from bootlegs available from Booji Boys Basement. But hey, good old youtube.

This album is so top-to-bottom brilliant that I went with what I think summarizes its greatness: Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy. (And does ILX like/not like Shrivel Up?)

i was wondering why nobody's mentioned Jonee itt. voted for it on account of how it was used in the movie rock'n'roll high school.
but yes, shrivel is kinda tucked away there and is a groover

Late vote for Gut Feeling.

(Although now feeling sorry for Praying Hands which is another of the great ones that I tend to overlook).

mongoloid

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I voted for "Space Junk," but that was one of a half dozen possible choices. I remember first hearing this album in 7th grade or thereabouts and being just blown away by it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYwL3SmcnB4

Missed it but I'd have voted Mongoloid. My first ever band did a cover of it when I was 13 or 14. I'm sure it was awful.

Stoked that Satisfaction got some votes this time. Its weird how all time covers get short shrift in these (see also: Killing Me Softly in the Fugees poll)

I could have easily voted for 'Satisfaction', but man, all the originals on this album are just so strong.

I know but Satisfaction is practically an original itself

i voted for "Space Junk," and then felt right about that choice later that day when i saw the phrase in the U.S. Space and Rocket Center

I know but Satisfaction is practically an original itself

Seconded - and it's the song that keeps me coming back to this album. When I do I remember how great it is overall, but the other songs don't stick with me like this one does.

for me the archetypal Space Junk will always be an exhortation breathed by Fred Schneider during Channel Z

There's something about the guitar line, the vocal delivery and the chord progression in 'Shrivel Up' which sounds to me like a very obvious influence on The Pixies.

True

40 years old today.

...and still great. I know their early "Hardcore" material has its fans but I prefer the versions on this album.

Checked a few Devo threads including two for this album and the unconpollable urge and couldn't see this posted.

The story behind the (US) cover image. Interviews with Jerry, Mark and other players. Also added Langley School Project.

https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/devolutionary-design/

Chi Chi Rodriguez is one of the most famous golfers in history.

Er, I don't think so, I'd never heard of him - he only played in one Open Championship in 18 years, that probably explains it.

explains why the face looks so "off" - though I would disagree with the "hideous" descriptor, I think the altered photo looks better!

Any excuse: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7WmTsLO-hUI

this has nothing to do with the topic at hand, but this is an amazing photo

https://i.imgur.com/7Ws29C0.jpg

http://ireallylovemusic.co.uk/blog/?p=2134

still the best live album i have.

That was actually the first Devo album I bought!