![]() While some continued to dismiss Devo as unserious, others with a less-nuanced grasp of satire began throwing around labels like “misogynist” and even “fascist.” (Frank Zappa and Laibach faced similar accusations throughout the humor-impaired 1980s.) Indeed, the great comedienne and feminist Lily Tomlin refused to host The Midnight Special unless Devo was cut from the bill!Īlthough “Whip It” was followed by more hit singles and the brilliant New Traditionalists album , Devo never reclaimed the popular success of Freedom of Choice. While the fusion of upbeat lyrics and music with provocative imagery was nothing new for Devo fans, the public frequently failed to understand their subversive aesthetic. Even today, the “Whip It” video manages to disturb, with its reliance on forced artificiality, its exploitative use of a severely cross-eyed actress, and of course, its central conceit-a woman having her clothing whipped from her body as the crowd cheers on. The band’s biggest hit, the song introduced Devo to millions of new listeners, some of which were surprised to discover the “joke band” had a dark side. Now recognized as one of the 80’s most iconic pop songs, “Whip It” mocked the American spirit of can-do optimism by setting its hyper-peppy platitudes against an undercurrent of violence and sadomasochism. While Devo’s studio albums featured taut production values, their live shows tore up the stage with raw energy, and they began to develop a cult following outside their native Ohio and the New York CBGB crowd. Partly because of their quirky costumes and gleeful shtick, the media labeled Devo a “joke band” and often referred to them as “clowns.” It didn’t help matters that Devo seemed in on the joke, expressing their contempt of capitalism by whole-heartedly embracing a marketing strategy that literally called their followers “spuds.” Their reputation as a novelty act only solidified when their third album, Freedom of Choice, produced the smash single, “Whip It.” In 1978 they released their major label debut, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! Produced by Brian Eno, the album announced the arrival of, in Bowie’s words, “The band of the future.” ![]() The film caught the attention of David Bowie, who helped Devo secure a recording contract with Warner Brothers. ![]() In 1976 they hired Chuck Statler to film a surreal musical manifesto, The Truth About Devolution, which won the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 1977. With an emphasis on electronics, they anticipated New Wave, but Devo has always resisted categorization. Inspired by a diverse group of musicians including Morton Subotnick, Soft Machine, Captain Beefheart, and the Residents, early Devo shows were an eclectic blend of prog, punk, and performance art. Known for their satirical demonstrations, bizarre publications, and even an occasional musical performance or two, Devo eventually coalesced into an art-punk band organized around a Dadaist mythology of its own creation, complete with masked alter-egos, cult-like manifestos, and their own Devolutionary Oath. The fact that much of their aesthetic was derived from comic books and crackpot religious pamphlets was half the fun, but the intent was serious, in part an artistic response to the social derangement of the Kent State shootings. Formed by Kent State University students Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale, Devo started as a guerrilla art project based around the idea of “devolution,” a kind of regressive evolution by which humanity were degenerating back into apes.
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