I have to admit to not getting Devo for the longest time. I didn't much care for "Whip It" and I didn't like it much when they screwed around with (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction as I will go to my grave a huge Rolling Stones fan. It seemed like music for geeks and shut ins. Well, I guess I'm both these days. Today I'm a pretty big Devo fan. I went to see Devo last summer and got pulled into the 2nd row by a friend of mine. I had a god damn blast. I was singing "Mongoloid" at the top of my lungs like some teenager. Sci-Fi Rock? Newer than New Wave? Synth Kings? I don't really know, but nobody sounds like Devo. When you hear Pink Floyd's Animals there can be no other band in the history of rock that sounds like that right? What greater compliment is there? I've done a complete 180 on Devo.My two favorite Devo songs are probably "Girl U Want" and "Beautiful World," but I've come to embrace their funky catalogue. I'm Through Being Cool you might say. Those yellow space suits, red hats and crazy eye wear is all part of their schtick. Their fans are inclined to wear all of that stuff to their shows and it's hilarious. Again with the comedy in my rock! I love to laugh while I'm enjoying my music. A good sense of humor is tremendously valuable in rock. No need to take yourself so seriously all the time I say. If you can mix the two (good music and humor) you have me. I really believe that is what made Van Halen such a good time and I know for a fact it makes AC/DC. It's a great combination. Hey man that suit is you!...you'll get some leg tonight for sure...tell us how you do...
Devo were complete pioneers who formed in Akron, OH in 1973. They started out on Stiff Records and graduated to major label Warner Brothers when David Bowie and Iggy Pop got on their bandwagon. Brian Eno produced their first record, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are Devo!, and off they went. They scored a gig on Saturday Night Live in 1976 and became a bit of a sensation as a result of the exposure. They appeared on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert in 1979 as well. Any young rock fan in the 70's was keenly aware of Don Kirshner's Rock Concert and The Midnight Special because in those days that was the only way you could see your favorite bands perform live, especially at 13 or 14 years of age. American Bandstand or Ed Sullivan didn't really count because they weren't real concerts. And you knew your parents were not going to let you go to NYC (in my case) and see a rock band. Not with all that Mary Jane in the air. Geesh. Talk about Reefer Madness. I remember I got my first glimpse of Kiss on one of these shows (I can't remember which one unfortunately). They did Strutter, Firehouse and Nothin' To Lose and your friend Johnny had seen enough and had to have that debut album. C'mon...Cold Gin...Deuce...Black Diamond...yeah man! All that makeup melting all over the place...it was MTV before MTV. Too bad I wasn't smart enough to invest my allowance...
In 2000 Devo put out Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology. I'm not sure this is the definitive collection, but it's got a lot of covers on it. They covered many songs including Are You Experienced?, Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Secret Agent Man, Satisfaction, Working in a Coal Mine and the song I came to post today; Nine Inch Nails' Head Like a Hole. All of their covers feel like they've been fed into a blender and synthesized, but they come away with that distinctive Devo stamp on them. I understand this cover was done specifically for the film "Supercop," but I've never seen it. In fact, if I wasn't screwing around on the Internet one day I probably never would have heard this cover. I've long been a fan of Nine Inch Nails so I was curious when Devo took a crack at their signature tune. I'm strangely OK with it, but then I already admitted to being a fan...
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