pic nicked from here

DEVO is the only band that I’d leave the house to see.  That part of your heart that’s filled by whatever band you like is, in my heart, filled by DEVO.  I’ve been a fan since I realized that they weren’t making music so much as they were making fun of music; that not only were their songs catchy and interesting, they were part of a whole fucked-up world-view.

A world-view I share and they help express.

Devolution is real.  Just look around.

On the Youtube comment thread for Gates of Steel, Scylaxx perfectly describes part of DEVO’s  philosophy.  And since I prefer cutting and pasting to thinking:

The “wild rebellious abandon” of rock shows had become formulaic and ritualized by then as well as faux-rebellion and childish defiance commercially-packaged and sold, so Devo decided to be obviously formulaic and ritualized in their musical style and straight-forwardly mercenary. On his daily variety show in 1980, Merv Griffin asked Mark Mothersbaugh if having a big commercial hit would be against the group’s philosophy, and he said it would be a vindication of it.

What Laibach is to eastern totalitarianism, DEVO is to western Corp.POPillism.  They satirize it without anyone being completely sure where/when/if the satire ends.  There’s no bullshit line about authenticity.  They don’t guarantee the reality of their product, only the freshness and flavour. The main difference between Laibach and DEVO is that DEVO plays songs you actually want to hear.

Their songs are perfectly efficient.  They get right to the point of the song with no fucking about.  No extra notes added.

When I told a friend of mine who is a devoted Grateful Dead fan (I can look past almost any personal deficiency in my friends) that I was seeing DEVO perform their first album, Are We Not Men?, and expressed concern that the show would be short, he suggested that they might “jam” to increase its length.

I regarded him with gape-mouthed horror.

“If they do that, I’m walking right the fuck out.”

I would prefer it if they just started on the first note of the album, played through to the last note, came to dead stop and ended the show.  No chit-chat and no encores. Just the product delivered in its plastic package.  Vacuum sealed.

Although they played a two song encore, that’s pretty much what they did.  DEVO went through the correct motions, played the songs right and were incredible.

The opening act was no slouch either.  JP Inc. played commercial jingles and television theme songs for imaginary products and shows.  Though some of the sasquatch-philistines in the audience were chanting for DEVO throughout, I loved his shit.  If all music was like Jazzbot Xtreme, I might like music more.

It’s strange and wiggly world.  Back in the day, DEVO opened for Sun Ra.  They repeated the part about “We Must Repeat” until most of the audience left and the others fought  DEVO.  DEVO were finally forced from the stage.  (Or something like that.)  Long before all that, Sun Ra was routinely heckled and Dizzy Gillespie even told him: “Keep it up, Sonny, they tried to do the same shit to me”

Back to this day, Monday November 23 2009, the DEVO fans are trying to get rid of JP Inc. You do the math.

My algebra tells me that in twenty years, they’ll all be on his dick and booing his opening act.  It’s funny how some people need a long time to get used to weird.

While they were booing and chanting “DE-VO” like a bunch of goons, I was hoping JP Inc.’s act would continue for another hour and half.  He should have done it.  Kids today just don’t want to completely alienate their audience, no matter how stupid their audience is.  But fuck those people.  Make their life a misery, I say.  They’ll thank you for it when they finally catch up.

As for me, I could listen to songs about “Bowl Noodle Hot”  and “Lt. Custard and His Banger of Time” all day. (As a matter of fact, I have been.)  But I love songs about things like that.  You know, food and tv — stuff I can relate to.

Sadly, all good things come to an end and JP Inc. was no exception.  Usually when a good thing comes to its end, it isn’t replaced by DEVO.

And, my God – they are old!  But who gives a shit?  For my money, it deepens their cover of a Rolling Stones song. Because if DEVO is old, then those guys are dead.

The only person I heard complain about their age and weight was as old as DEVO.  People only hate to see rock stars getting old because it reminds them that they’re getting old and, much sooner than they ever expected, they’re going to die.

Well, we’re all going to die.  Hopefully, most of us will get old before that happens.  If we get old, hopefully we’ll still have the energy of DEVO.  I doubt I will.  I never had that much energy.

Like, I’m 31 or 32 or something [born May 03, 19 78 -- if you  have your calculator handy, figure it our and get back to me]  and I was tired after watching them.  My ears hurt too.  After the show, I went home and straight to bed.

Looking at the age of the audience –not surprisingly, it was mainly old white guys with glasses– I doubt I was the only one.   We all have jobs and bills.  We’re too old for this shit. That is, we’re too old to believe there’s a way out of this shit.

Life is just the lottery.

DEVO is probably the last concert I’ll ever attend.  I just can’t think of any other band that I’d bother to see.   Most of the groups I liked are so invested in teenage rebellion that they’re either dead or would be a comical bore.  The rest are so small that seeing them is more of a night at the bar than a concert. Everything else is classical because classical is fucking awesome live.  You get to sit down.

As for this sort of concert –the type where you have to pay to meet the band– I don’t even take drugs any-more and you can’t smoke indoors.  Not even at a rockshow!  What sort of bullshit is that?   You used to see a huge cloud of pot smoke the moment the band hit the stage.   Cigarettes provided the cover.   These days, it’s sanitary.  The kids are missing out.  I just hope they’re off inventing their own shit.  You can’t have a bunch of old fuckers controlling your space.

What can I tell ya?  I’m a dinosaur.  And we are DEVO.  I don’t need to believe that.  I know that.