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Devo, a band that actually started in Ohio, was formed
way back in 1972. They are widely recognized as the band that wore
strange outfits, including the plastic red hats. The band name "Devo"
is short for "de-evolution", which is how band members view the
progression (or regression, if you will) of mankind. Original band
members included brothers Mark and Bob Mothersbaughs, brothers Gerald
and Bob Casales, and Alan Myers. Early on, the band called
themselves Sextet Devo, and they first played at an arts festival at
Kent State in 1973.
Devo did receive some notoriety in 1976 when a short
filrm about them won an awarded at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, and Neil
Young asked the band to participate in his film, Human Highway.
The band released a couple of self-produced singles in the mid 1970's
and an EP (Be Stiff) in 1978. The EP caught the attention
of Iggy Pop and David Bowie, who helped them land a contract with Warner
Brothers. Their first album, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are Devo!,
was released in 1978. Devo was known for doing some strange things
during their shows, such as changing their appearance and performing as
their own opening act (a Christian soft-rock band called Dove (the Band
of Love) and playing self-performed Muzak versions of the material prior
to concerts.
Although Devo released songs prior to 1980 that our fan
favorites, such as "Jack Homo" and "Secret Agent Man", it was the band's
1980 release,
Freedom of Choice,
that brought them their biggest hit, "Whip It". Although Devo did
have some minor hits post 1980, they were never able to reproduce this
success. The rest of the 1980's brought us
New Traditionalists (1981),
Oh, No, It's Devo
(1982),
Shout (1984), and
Total Devo (1988).
Devo's 1990 release, Smooth Noodle Maps, would be their last new
album for 20 years.
In 1995, Devo was back in business, and shortly found
themselves as the Lollapalooza headliner as well as contributing to
various soundtracks. At the time of this writing in 2013, the band
was still very active. Don't fret, ladies and gents, you can still
get a devo hat, right here on ebay.
The Devo Discography is as follows:1978: Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
1979: Duty Now for the Future
1980: Freedom of Choice
1981: New Traditionalists
1981: DEV-O Live
1982: Oh, No! It's Devo
1984: Shout
1987: E-Z Listening Disc
1988: Total Devo
1989: Now It Can Be Told: DEVO at the Palace Live
1990: Smooth Noodle Maps
1990: Hardcore Devo: Volume One
1990: Devo's Greatest Hits
1990: Devo's Greatest Misses
1991: Hardcore Devo: Volume Two
1992: Devo Live: The Mongoloid Years
1993: Hot Potatoes: The Best of Devo
1998: Greatest Hits
2000: Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology
2000: Recombo DNA
2002: The Essentials
2003: Whip It & Other Hits
2005: Devo Live 1980
2005: Live in Central Park
2008: This is the Devo Box
2009: The DEVO-LUX Edition
2010: Something for Everybody |
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1980
Freedom of Choice
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WHIP IT:
[chorus]
now whip it, into
shape,
shape it up, get straight, go forward,
move ahead, try to detect it, it's not too late,
to whip it, whip it good [etc] |
1982
Oh, No, It's Devo
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