DEVO -
go on click it!
Showing posts with label Devo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Devo. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Monday, January 08, 2024
MONDAY MORNING MISSIVE : Handy Guide . . . . . (you’re welcome!)
A Public Information Service . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . you’re very welcome!
Tuesday, October 24, 2023
ARE WE NOT MEN? AQUARIUM DRUNKARD Interview with Mark Mothersbaugh | WE ARE DEVO!
Mark Mothersbaugh :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
On the eve of the new 4-LP Devo retrospective, Mothersbaugh caught up with us from his Los Angeles studio. We discuss the experimental beginnings and future of Devo, the group working with Brian Eno and David Bowie, his fascination with early animation soundtracks, auditioning for Mick Jagger, the NYC scene that brought the band’s breakthrough, the death of the album format and much more…
Thursday, June 22, 2023
Devo: Pioneers Got Scalped - The Anthology 2000 :: URBANASPIRINES
MO’ DEVO
"Devo's music and visual presentation (including stage shows and costumes) mingle kitsch science fiction themes, deadpan surrealist humor and mordantly satirical social commentary. The band's namesake, the tongue-in-cheek social theory of "de-evolution", was an integral concept in their early work, which was marked by experimental and dissonant art punk that merged rock music with electronics.” Kostas
DEVO - Pioneers Got Scalped [Anthology] 2000 - Urbanaspirines
Devo – Pioneers Who Got Scalped - The Anthology
Label: Warner Archives – R2 75967, Rhino Records – R2 75967
Format: 2 x CD, Compilation
Country: US
Released: May 16, 2000
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop
As ever Kostas excels here and has done another tribute to the boys from Akron Ohio. The text as ever is well worth a read and as brief blogs go he is always fascinating.
There are more pictures and down load links available on his brilliant bog web site page!
Live in 1980 taken at “Akron speed”! WBCN BOSTON BROADCAST
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
ON THIS DAY:: 2nd Album Release || DEVO : FREEDOM OF CHOICE
ARE WE NOT MEN?
WE ARE DEVO!
Devo second album
On this date in 1980, DEVO released their third studio album FREEDOM OF CHOICE, (16th May, 1980).
NOTE: The video here is DEVO performing to a playback of GIRL YOU WANT on French TV in 1980.
Sex in DEVO’s third studio album FREEDOM OF CHOICE was disguised and euphemised, but only very thinly. In many ways, this was the perfect Devo album — for, if dealing with humanity as a collection of biological blobs, this was a mechanical soundtrack for a mechanical pursuit.
Musically, the album was more of a whole than previously, and stripped of the quirky spikiness which characterised Q: Are We Not Men? Packed with eminently danceable rhythms and eminently memorable melodies, FOC found Devo eschewing lead-guitar breaks for bursts of punctuative rhythm guitar.
On the surface, ‘Freedom of choice’ looked to be a song celebrating personal freedom. But no. This was Devo fearful of man’s regression to a preliterate society, back to the herd.
"We loved that song very much when we were creating it,” said Jerry Casale in 2003.
“It was about how people were throwing away their freedom of choice into meaningless choices like between Pepsi and Coke, or pink fur shoes or blue suede shoes. Just mindless consumerism. They'd rather not be free, they'd rather be told what to do, because that's what appeared to us was the case, especially in the Reagan years. That was a very Devo position: Freedom of choice is what you've got, freedom from choice is what you want.”
The video here is single GIRL U WANT, toying with the advertising campaigns that depict must-have buys, framed by the words ‘WANT IT’ with the question mark deliberately left out.
FROM: Decade Club 77-87 FACEBOOK
Thursday, April 27, 2023
Friday, December 09, 2022
DEVO’S GERALD V. CASALE TALKS ABOUT GOING MANO A MANO WITH ‘THE INVISIBLE MAN’! | DANGEROUS MINDS
The poster that came with DEVO’s 1981 New Traditionalists album depicts the band sheltering an ethnically diverse triad of babies from the worst elements in American society: a horde of pirates, pushers, concert promoters, and Puritans looking to instrumentalize these newborns for their own unspeakable ends. Arrayed against this mob in matching JFK pompadours and Nutra work outfits, the men of DEVO face the challenge with poise and sangfroid, ready to open a cold can of whup-ass on these would-be baby-wreckers.
In the background, the uncredited artist represents the USA as a rolling lawn ornamented with a few topiary trees, their branches shaped into stacked orbs that taper like the steps of the DEVO energy dome, three leafy cocktail onions of descending size impaled on toothpicks stuck in the horizon. This is the landscape on which DEVO’s Gerald V. Casale stretches his legs in the music video for his latest solo release, “The Invisible Man.”
Gerry Casale Interview - Dangerous Minds
Friday, June 03, 2022
Mark Mothersbaugh’s Insomniak Flora (A Mixtape) - AQUARIUM DRUNKARD
“Please play at low volume.” That was the greeting in the liner notes of a peculiar rarity called Muzik for Insomniaks, a Japanese cassette release from the mid-eighties. The reminder came a couple years back, when Mark Mothersbaugh was doing bizarre live performances with, what else, but a brand new instrument he created: a six-sided keyboard. Immediately, memories triggered of this charming, strangely infectious two volume set. Recorded entirely with an eight-bit synthesizer, the instrumental soundscape playfully evokes the concept of minimalist background “muzak” (similar to Devo’s E-Z Listening experiments around this era). Self-proclaimed “audio aromatherapy”, the ambient tracks are reminiscent of Esquivel, Steve Reich or even Roedelius.
The prolific Mothersbaugh recently estimated that he has worked on a combination of over 180 film, television and video game projects. These early experiments, though, were responsible for the musician’s early collaborations involving animation (having been previously inspired by composers like Cab Calloway of classic Fleischer cartoons). Reminiscing on a scene from Devo’s “The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprise” music video, Mothersbaugh recalls that “the ironic thing is I actually did animation for music before I did music for animation.” Animator and experimental music collector Gábor Csupó came calling, asking to use the Insomniaks cassettes as the soundtrack to his new production called Rugrats. Mothersbaugh would instead create an original piece, and Csupó would go on to release music by the likes of Eno and Holger Czukay, via his own label.
The following is a one hour compilation of assorted Mothersbaugh muzak, from Insomniaks cuts to highlights from 2017’s 45 RPM box set Mutant Flora. Sprinkled in are other rarities, musical pieces composed for some of the musician’s visual art exhibitions. The weirder the better. | m neeley
1. Osoy 2. Anona Tribola 3. Chechi 4. Niberia 5. Echinops Riiro 6. Slactime 7. Mayoma 8. XP1010 9. Trebrene 10. Syntax Error (Sedandundundun Edit) 11. Anthericum Liliago 12. XP137
A lifelong fan of Devo from the first single here and then the solo work on TV (Rugrats a work of genius) I admired Mothersbaugh so much and have everything the band produced so this is a rare treat . . . . . .
Monday, November 29, 2021
DANGEROUS MINDS - DEVO’S GERALD V. CASALE TALKS ABOUT HIS NEW MUSIC VIDEOS AND THE VERTIGINOUS PACE OF DE-EVOLUTION!
JOCKO HOMO!
GERALD V CASALE [DEVO] = DANGEROUS MINDS
Great interview with Gerry Casale from DEVO . . . . . . . . . over at Dangerous Minds!
With the human species seemingly hurtling toward the center of a body-pulping, dream-pulverizing vortex, Dangerous Minds sent one of its bubble-eyed dog boys from the recombo DNA labs in the Valley for a briefing from Jerry Casale. DEVO’s chief strategist, film director, songwriter, singer, and bassist shed light on our dire predicament as few others could. He also discussed his new solo music video, “I’m Gonna Pay U Back,” and revealed his plans for its upcoming 3D sequel, “The Invisible Man,” news that is balm for our awful hurt. A lightly edited transcript follows the link [above].
Gerald V. Casale as `The Hero`
Josh Freese as `Street Drummer`
Jihad Jerry as `The Villain`
Animations based on the artwork of TOMO77 • Rendering Services: Smearballs | Generic Versatility | RNDR/OTOY • Cinematography: Davy Force • Studio Services: InfoChammel Network Studios Hollywood
_____________________________________________
Gerald V. Casale: vocals, bass guitar, synthesizers
Josh Freese: unparalleled percussion, synth
Josh Hager: guitar, synth programming
Steve Bartek: wild guitars
”I’m Gonna Pay U Back" published by Protar’s Music/Slip N’ Bleed Music. • Mastered by Mike Bozzi at Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood, CA. • Recorded with Josh Freese at Studio Freese in Long Beach, CA. • Add’l recording, engineered & mixed with Paul David Hager, Toluca Lake, CA. • Steve Bartek’s guitar recording engineer: Christopher Bartek
PRODUCED BY GERALD V. CASALE
Executive Producer: Jeff Winner
DUTY NOW FOR THE FUTURE!
https://shop.clubdevo.com
Monday, August 09, 2021
VOODOO WAGON - DEVO LIVE - BOSTON MASS 1980!
I somehow missed mentioning the brilliant set from Devo at Voodoo Wagon and I have been playing it since they posted it t'other week! It is exceptional and somehow they are a band who more than many (heavy metal?) needs to be good quality to enjoy properly! So this well worth the effort and most enjoyable. Quite how the guys maintained such a pitch playing such complex songs live with such difficult structures and fascinating time signatures is gobsmacking frankly!
Thankfully this is radio broadcast quality from WBCN-FM. Thanks Enoch!
DEVO - LIVE IN BOSTON 1980 - Voodoo Wagon
Devo
Orpheum Theatre
Boston MA
1980-07-17
01. Freedom Of Choice Theme---
02. Whip It
03. Snowball
04. It's Not Right
05. Girl U Want
06. Planet Earth
07. S.I.B. (Swelling Itching Brain)---
08. Secret Agent Man---
09. Pink Pussycat
10. Blockhead
11. Satisfaction
12. Uncontrollable Urge
13. Mongoloid
14. Be Stiff
15. Gates Of Steel
16. Freedom Of Choice
17. Jocko Homo
18. Smart Patrol---
19. Mr. DNA---
20. Gut Feeling
21. Slap Your Mammy
22. Come Back Jonee---DJ Outro
Bob Mothersbaugh - Guitar, Vocals
Bob Casale - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Mark Mothersbaugh - Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals
Gerald Casale -Bass, Bass Synthesizer, Vocals
Alan Myers - Drums
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
DEVO
But we will end the day with a favourite band from the late seventies. Enoch over at Floppy Boot Stomp has posted a fine fine set from Bristol's Coltson Hal (yes that one!) (I think I saw Captain Beefheart there and T Rex just gone electric boogie boy too)
Great quality and great time signatures (Satisfaction, Jocko Homo etc)
Devo
Colston Hall
Bristol UK
1978-12-07
Soundboard @320
01. Wiggly World
02. Pink Pussycat
03. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
04. Too Much Paranoias
05. Praying Hands
06. Uncontrollable Urge
07. Mongoloid
08. Jocko Homo
09. Smart Patrol---Mr. DNA
10. Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin')---Encore Break
11. Come Back Jonee
12. Gut Feeling (Slap Your Mammy)
13. DEVO Corporate Anthem---Encore Break
14. Red Eye
15. The Words Get Stuck In My Throat
Bob Mothersbaugh - Guitar, Vocals
Bob Casale - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Mark Mothersbaugh - Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals
Gerald Casale - Bass, Vocals, Bass Synthesizer
Alan Myers - Drums
PLAY IT LOUD!
Sunday, August 04, 2019
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
DEVO- DUTY NOW FOR THE FUTURE
Of course we had to go for the second album unheard! Love Devo and still believe the on point message . . . . . .still
On this day in music history: June 11, 1979 - “Duty Now For The Future”, the second album by Devo is released. Produced by Ken Scott and Devo, it is recorded at Chateau Recorders in Hollywood, CA from September 1978 - Early 1979. Less than a month after their debut album “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!” is in stores, Devo quickly begin recording the follow up. The band work with Ken Scott, best known for his work with The Beatles, Pink Floyd and David Bowie. Much of the material on “Duty” has been performed live since 1976, penned mostly by Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale (with writing contributions from Bob Casale (aka “Bob 1”) ). The lone cover is of Johnny Rivers’ 60’s classic “Secret Agent Man”, featuring a guitar solo that has been distorted through microphone preamps, then fed into headphones and recorded with a mic taped to them. The album features more of an emphasis on guitars, with the band and Scott employing various techniques to alter their texture and sound. The opening track “Devo Corporate Anthem” is inspired in part by the sci-fi film “Rollerball”. The cover for “Duty Now For The Future” is designed graphic artist Janet Perr (Cyndi Lauper, Run DMC), satirizing the use of UPC codes (Universal Product Code), on the back of album covers. At the time of their inception, many musicians feel they distract from carefully conceived artwork, and stand out like a sore thumb. However, Devo respond by having them positioned all over the front and back of the colorful album cover, reacting to the “Orwellian” look of the UPC symbols. The original covers feature an illustration of the band in the center, that is perforated and can be removed. Issued only ten and a half months after their debut, the initial reaction to “Duty” is largely mixed from both fans and critics. Many feel that it is “transitional” and darker, lacking the same type of humor and tongue in cheek attitude of the first album. Though in time, it is re-evaluated and is regarded as a “seminal new wave synthpop album”, and one of Devo’s best. Other tracks like “The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprize”, “Pink Pussycat” and “Smart Patrol”/“Mr. DNA” all become part of the band’s classic canon, and are performed live frequently in later years. Largely neglected by Warner Bros. due to its meager original sales, the album isn’t reissued on CD until 1991, with subsequent reissues in 1994 (w/ two bonus tracks), and 2010 (w/ five bonus tracks). Out of print on vinyl since its original release, it is also reissued briefly in 2010, and again in 2019 as part of the limited edition Record Store Day release “This Is The Devo Box”. The latter is pressed on purple vinyl, matching the shade of the LP’s inner sleeve. “Duty Now For The Future” peaks at number seventy three on the Billboard Top 200.
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Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Definitely bought this when it came out after 'Jocko Homo' (which probably stands as one of the strangest singles I ever bought) but 'Satisfaction' was a hoot . . . Great stuff I miss them . . . . .various folks went on to work on The Rugrats cartoon which I adored and watched with my kids . . . . . .
On this day in music history: August 28, 1978 - “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!”, the debut album by Devo is released. Produced by Brian Eno, it is recorded at Conny’s Studio in Köln, Germany and Different Fur Studios in San Francisco, CA from October 1977 - February 1978. The groundbreaking first album by the Akron, OH based new wave band quickly establish their unique sound and visual image. The band record the album with producer Brian Eno before they are actually signed to a record label. Their demo tape is heard by David Bowie and Iggy Pop (by way of Tin Huey bassist Michael Aylward’s wife). After seeing Devo perform in New York, an excited Bowie initially plans to produce their album, but scheduling conflicts prevent him from taking more than a minor role in its creation. Working with Bowie during this period, Eno steps in and takes over the main production duties, financing the project himself. The album is anchored by their innovative cover of The Rolling Stones “Satisfaction”, which earn the band a large and loyal fan base. The albums iconic cover art features a caricature of pro golfing legend Chi Chi RodrÃguez. In 2009, when “Q: Are We Not Men?” is reissued by Rhino Records (on CD and clear yellow vinyl), Devo performs it live in its entirety when they embark on a tour to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of its release. The CD edition also includes a live performance of the complete album recorded at the HMV Forum in London in May of 2009. “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!” peaks at number seventy eight on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified Gold by in the US by the RIAA.
Not sure entirely what the notes from Jeff Harris' blog 'Behind The Grooves' are going on about the cover here but it came out first in the UK and singles on Stiff and Virgin picked them up after the interest from Brian Eno and Bowie.
The album looked like this:
The first single I bought was on Stiff and looked like this . . . . . .
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
another bought when it came out . . . . . but not the first 'Devo' single by any means and perhaps their most commercial single ('Whip it'? 'Working In A Coalmine'? . . . well alright) but bought the ethereally strange 'Jocko Homo' which though I bought when I first heard it is the strangest track ever committed to vinyl in some oddly personal way. From the album 'Q: Are We Not Men A: We are Devo!' which I bought too and only the extraordinarily uncomfortable 'Mongoloid' sticks in the craw now (still). Was this satire about a society that mocks the afflicted or was this something more sinister, either way it has come real and the attacks on the disabled and the mentally ill have become a regularly reported atrocious sign of the times. The band's message is a diatribe if one were needed (it was back then) that the nations were dumbing down so fast we were de-evolving back into a redneck bunch of knuckle dragging mouth breathing bottom feeding Neanderthals picking on the weak and the vulnerable and the Devil take the hindmost (ring any bells? strike a resonance today? )
On this day in music history: August 28, 1978 - “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!”, the debut album by Devo is released. Produced by Brian Eno, it is recorded at Conny’s Studio in Köln, Germany and Different Fur Studios in San Francisco, CA from October 1977 - February 1978. The groundbreaking first album by the Akron, OH based new wave band quickly establish their unique sound and visual image. The band record the album with producer Brian Eno before they are actually signed to a record label. Their demo tape is heard by David Bowie and Iggy Pop (by way of Tin Huey bassist Michael Aylward’s wife). After seeing Devo perform in New York, an excited Bowie initially plans to produce their album, but scheduling conflicts prevent him from taking more than a minor role in its creation. Working with Bowie during this period, Eno steps in and takes over the main production duties, financing the project himself. The album is anchored by their innovative cover of The Rolling Stones “Satisfaction”, which earn the band a large and loyal fan base. The albums iconic cover art features a caricature of pro golfing legend Chi Chi RodrÃguez. In 2009, when “Q: Are We Not Men?” is reissued by Rhino Records (on CD and clear yellow vinyl), Devo performs it live in its entirety when they embark on a tour to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of its release. The CD edition also includes a live performance of the complete album recorded at the HMV Forum in London in May of 2009. “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!” peaks at number seventy eight on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified Gold by in the US by the RIAA.
Friday, June 16, 2017
Friday - celebrate the end of the week with anther single I bought when it came out and still have . . . . I bought everything by DEVO and thought them the cleverest, funkiest and most sardonically cryptic band I have ever heard . . . . . . I even followed the Mothersbaugh Bros and admired their work on TV shows like Rug Rats!
It ain't Lee Dorsey!
DEVO- Working In A Coal Mine
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