Devo-tion?

[talktooloose]

Okay, buying the Devo video was totally worth it. They were brilliant live and it's a surprisingly well recorded show for 1980.

I've been listening through their albums and I'm disappointed. I started with Q: Are We Not Men which left me breathless, excited, damp and weak. The rest has been a let-down. Flat, more guitar oriented, kooky and poppy rather than hard and nasty.

Basically it ends for me with the Q: album other than a few great singles. The early material heard on Hardcore Devo Vols. 1 and 2 is also remarkable.

The band's delight at selling themselves out upsets me, too. Not only did they record the version of Whip It! heard on the Swiffer commercial, but they whored themselves to Disney which is as low as you can go.

I once met a woman who was devoted to Disney and it made her glad in every possible way. She took my attacks on the corporation's evil as personal attacks so I backed off. I wouldn't back off anymore. Disney=evil.

Comments

[quirkstreet.livejournal.com]

Yep. Devo pretty much fit their own paradigm by steadily devolving over the years. There were good songs on most of the second through fifth or sixth albums, but as whole albums they generally don't hold up for me (I've got 1-4).

I'll agree with you on Disney=Evil. I will also say that the "kid" version of Devo, Dev2.0, was kind of weirdly awesome. If you didn't have that first album to compare it to, especially, and just took it as a bunch of warped pop songs being done by tweens, it would be totally fresh and original.

Not a patch on that first album, though.

[talktooloose.livejournal.com]

Mark Mothersbaugh, on the other hand, has done some great stuff including the Steve Zissou soundtrack and the music for the first season of Big Love (the second season's music is by David Byrne).

You would love the Devo 1980 video, btw.

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

I think I've met her too. "But Disney MUST be a classic, because so many people like it!" and she a was totally angry we might not agree.

[talktooloose.livejournal.com]

Therefore McDonalds is the best food and Windows the best OS.

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

That was her argument, believe it or not.