Henry Rollins once said, "There are two kinds of people: those who get Devo, and those who don't."
Devo is my favorite band. It's hard to describe Devo, not because it's terribly difficult to determine what Devo is, but because so much of the story involves what Devo isn't.
Devo is a band. Devo is an art collective. Devo is an experiment in performance. Devo is a state of mind.
But also, Devo still is a band. And I'm just a guy with headphones. Like, I used that Henry Rollins quote earlier. I don't even know who the hell Henry Rollins is. I just used that quote because it's on every single biography of Devo, and every single biography of Devo mythologizes them as this big cultural lodestone that people stepped over. People like to pin the blame on someone. Every choice at Nintendo is personally made by Shigeru Miyamoto. Every political failing and cultural issue in America can be pinned directly on whoever the sitting President is. It's just easier to spin a yarn when you have a tack to hold it up.
Why did bands start using synths and making music videos?
It's a long story, but let's pretend the answer is Devo.
This isn't going to be some blind tribute to Devo, proclaiming how they pioneered several milestones of music history and were underappreciated at the time and are only finally getting their due. This also isn't a hit piece meant to tear them down and try to paint them as some sort of overrated preachy group of incels, presumably intended to validate people who just don't like their music. I've read my fair share of both, and I'm not interested in either.
I've done a lot of research about Devo. Not even for this, just because they're my favorite band and I like learning about them. I guess they would be called a "special interest", though I don't really use that term because it makes me sound like a politician. I've read more than one book about Devo, I've listened to probably a couple dozen hours of interviews, and I've read a lot of articles. If anything is wrong, please do let me know and I will correct it and then kiss you on the lips.
As stated in the title, this will be a discussion of Devo's albums song-by-song, but it will also be a discussion of their live performances, branding, and really just anything else I find interesting that they did. Items might be added to the list sporadically, so don't be afraid of change.
Devo is my favorite band, and I have a lot to say about them. So I'm just gonna do that.
Preface - How I Found Devo << this one is optional reading. actually this is all optional but this one especially
Part 0 - The Story of Devo, or: Potato Seeds
Part 1 - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
Part 2 - Duty Now For The Future
Part 3 - Freedom of Choice
Part 4 - New Traditionalists
Part 5 - Oh No! It's Devo
Part 6 - Shout
Part 7 - Total Devo
Part 8 - Smooth Noodle Maps
Part 9 - Something for Everybody