Devo

Great update, Devlin, but I disagree with you on a couple of points. I think the new album is great -- more fun that I've had with an album in a long time. And I don't think you can take the album out of its context: the audience testing, the voting on tracks, and the theme of marketing something for everybody. Devo always works best when it's energetic, and when it hits a topic and stays on it. "Fresh" is ultra ironic and funnier in this context, since it just repeats everything they've done before, and then they make fun of THAT with the next song. Agreed, "Cameo" is awful, but "Step Up" is a lot of fun, and I loved the "It's D-E-V-O" moment -- it reminded me of the fun I used to have when I was a kid, listening to Devo albums. And, as you point out, it ends with the strongest tracks, where they move further away from the irony and into something legit. And, damn, it's great to hear Mark and Gerald's voices together again.

And I really like the 1989 live album. There are some klunkers on it, to be sure -- "Baby Doll" and the end medley are boring as can be, although "Happy Guy", from the same album, is really good. It does pale next to those older Hardcore albums and the Mongoloid Years is amazing.

Fine writing, sir. Appreciate it.

I'm confused. I didn't see the new stuff (2010) mentioned in the review. I have the new album and also saw Devo a couple of weeks ago. First, I think you really need to see them live to get it--there is a slamming techno beginning followed by the more guitar stuff ("...urge," "jocko homo," "mongoloid," "satisfaction").

Seeing them live connected a lot of dots for me. They are a tight and multi-media sort of act. But the songs on the new album--"fresh," "what we do," "don't shoot, I'm a man"--are pretty damn good. I also have a certain affinity for Bob (not Mark) Mothersbaugh, the guitarist. He is a cool and serene dude on and off the stage. Mark is the overweening genius, but seeing Bob on and offstage and seeing how he conducts himself really connected with me.

Also, most folks don't realize that Devo come from a very urgent political background. Jerry Casale was only feet from one of the young women killed at Kent State (the band's home college). I really appreciate what Devo are still doing in this day and age, frankly. These art students really had more of a concept in mind than a band (they thought that others would perform their tunes early on). At any rate, I was highly impressed with the 60-year-old Mark Mothersbaugh and his crew days ago when I saw them in concert.



Post Edited (08-10-10 23:42)

Thank you for the encouragement, Blas. I do like Something for Everybody a lot, too; perhaps that didn't come across so clearly in my writing. But I did hope for more, considering that the band had 20 years to come up with an album. I certainly didn't expect them to top Are We Not Men? — a band is lucky if it has even one album of that caliber up its collective sleeve.

Like I said, though, it's a very energetic album. (Did I say that? Let me look ... Yep, I did say that.) Actually, considering that the band had pretty much relegated itself to being a nostalgia act, most of the songs on the new CD will stand up alongside the classic tunes very well in concert. But it's still something for the devoted fan, rather than for "everybody."

For me, the best part about writing that review was (1) exploring their side projects — I really dig the Wipeouters, and I love Mark M.'s Xmas CD; and (2) reconnecting with Devo's classics. I've been on a big Devo kick ever since submitting that review ... which is fine, since my current work schedule makes it damn hard for me to move on to my next writing project. After Labor Day weekend, I'll get to it. Again, thank you for the kind words.

BTW, I didn't critique Now It Can Be Told. That paragraph is part of the "legacy" review.

The new CD is covered in the review, Erik. And believe me, if Devo comes to Colorado, I will definitely be going to see them. (I saw the band last on the New Traditionalists tour; that's far too long ago.)

Quote

And I really like the 1989 live album.

I was actually at that show, at the Hollywood Palace, so I can't be too objective, but the album's a nice reminder of the good time I had.

I returned to the Wipeouters album quite a bit after it came out, more then any Devo album since "Oh No", the last one I liked. I was surprised - I'd pretty much written them off since "Shout". And as a surf music fan I really appreciated how they took the genre into strange new places.

And re: those "legacy" reviews, "New Traditionalists" and even "Oh No!" deserve better. "Going Under" and "Beautiful World" are hardly just "attention-getting," they're classics, with "Jerking Back and Forth," "Love Without Anger," and the freaks'n'geeks anthem "Thru Being Cool" not far behind. "Oh No" has a few goodies, e.g. the rousing opener "Time Out For Fun," and "Speed Racer," almost as engagingly weird as anything the Residents did.

Oops, missed it the first time around. I went to the final paragraph, assuming it would be there. Nicely done, Delv. Another song that really struck me in concert was the late 1980s nugget "Peek-A-Boo."

I like New Traditionalists a lot (although its energy level falls a bit short at times, compared to its predecessors), and Oh No! has more going for it than just the two singles, IMO.

I chose to end the review with Devo 2.0 because (a) it's somewhat more "separate" from the band than its other projects, and (b) it's pretty strong evidence of de-evolution.

"(b) it's pretty strong evidence of de-evolution."

This is true! Especially the Disney connection...

Another bit of evidence for de-evolution is the fact that I spent 30 dollars on an energy dome hat from the merch table (that the kids actually wear quite a lot). I don't think I would have done that 20 years ago. I did get a free CD in the mail for buying my ticket online--sort of made up for the absolute drubbing LiveNation/Ticketbastard gave my credit card.

Ok, not really.

Sure, Devo 2.0 is crap to listen to from a musical standpoint, but from a practical joke standpoint, it's awesome. G. Casale pretty much admitted it was one in an interview with the AV Club a few weeks ago.

And I, too, have been hitting the Devo stuff since the new one came out, and upped my own opinions of Oh, No -- lots of energy, some great hooks, but it is pretty shallow (which might be the point), and Freedom -- went down a bit, but that's because it starts off really strongly and then fades a bit down the stretch. Need to repurchase Traditionalists.

I've seen them 3 times -- Freedom, New Trad. and Oh No tours. They've never failed to make me existentially happy each time. They might be one of the 2-3 bands I would still be willing to go see, given my problems with crowds these days.

And, again, well written stuff, sir.

I will also admit to watching the cat-only release party all day long the day it happened.



Post Edited (08-11-10 21:29)

The best part about the cat party was the energy-dome shaped scratching post/climbing thingy. [www.ustream.tv]

What a great stunt.

This --

"energy-dome shaped scratching post/climbing thingy."

-- is one of my favorite descriptions of anything, ever.

My last observation on the recent Devo tour--the young drummer they have sitting in for Josh Freese, Jeff Friedl (sp?), was remarkable. M. Mothersbaugh occasional broke from deadpan to catch his eye and flash appreciative grins in his direction. (Freese, I believe is out there with Weezer now.)