Alan's drumming back in the 80's spawned an argument between me and some friends of mine who told me that there was no way that was not a drum machine. Alan Myers had mechanical precision on nearly every song he drummed on using an acoustic drum set. If I remember right he even won an all drummer drumming competition where he blew everyone away for speed and precision.
I've heard members of Devo claim that "very little musicianship" was employed in their music and I think that's total bullshit. Their complex rhythms, strum patterns, and use of unusual scales tell a different tale.
Modesty prevented them from agreeing. I bought their product because it was sophisticated sonics, something John Cage might achieve with excellent musicians and singers intetested in exploring the limitd of Top 40 pop pop pop muzak. Andy Warhol must had loved DEVO. The sonics subverts status quo. Add their lyrics. Content you are, JOCKO HOMO, whether you get the joke, or there is a joke.
@@TheBigMclargehuge as i recall the other members put him through a bunch of practice early on to sort of un-learn complex drumming and become more precision-perfect instead
I played the song through the liveBPM app and the tempo does change slightly from 137 BPM to around 140. This is not an indication of a bad drummer. For example he deliberately increases tempo slightly during the pre-chorus to rave it up. It's called being in the "pocket" and why a good human drummer is preferred, IMO.
This was the first time I saw Devo. I was 7, almost 8, and my family always used to watch Solid Gold on Saturday evenings if we were home. During the intro when they announced the lineup of performances, they showed a clip of this and announced Devo would be performing live. At the same time, both of my parents said "OH, NOT DEVO!!" and I was instantly interested. I couldn't wait to see why my parents didn't like these guys. When Devo performed, they looked and sounded weird, my parents kept commenting about their weirdness--music, dancing, look, everything. I was hooked. I remember watching them perform That's Good on the series Square Pegs (when they played at Muffy's bat mitzvah) a year later.
Probably the best live band I've ever seen - saw them about 30 years apart and they were still every bit as energetic and crazy in their own controlled unique way, and of course musically brilliant as they were first time round.
I saw them about 3 years ago in Seattle. It wasn't the original drummer but I never realized how intense the drum parts were in there songs until I saw them live. This guy was constantly beating the hell out of his drum kit. Awesome show.
They made perfect sense to us back in the Rust Belt in Ohio in the mid-late '70s. "The sound of things falling apart." One of the first songs I saw them do live was PRAYING HANDS in a dive in Kent. I knew there'd be some trouble ...
I loved them immediately as a 14 year old kid because they were so different. Then over time I started to realize how smart it really was. And as I have evolved into an amateur musician myself, I have come to appreciate the musicality of Devo. Just saw them for the first time live in Austin last month. They rock out live too! What uderappreciated genius!
s video is FREAKING AWESOME!!! Those back-up dancers just NAIL IT!!!!! ROTF! I keep coming back to to watch this again & again! LOL They were SO DAMN COOL!!!
First time I saw DEVO was on this tour. It's still one of the best concerts I've ever seen. A friend of mine got to work with their road crew that day and he told me the band did 30-45 minutes of cardio/exercise before the show.
Once I heard them, I was hooked. Always loved the lyrics. Always sensed something sinister in the attitude and lyrics that was absolutely compelling. My folks never understood the music that I liked. God bless them.
I am one of those "older people", most older people listened to disco, country and western, and pop muzak at the time, they have now totally devolved. There has always been a price to pay for listening to subversive music. We need new Spuds now more than ever, so keep listening to DEVO, their message is still current!
i went to see DEVO when i was a teen ...many many moons ago ....love the treadmills in the concert ,there hair pieces, red cone hats and yellow suits where thrown into the crowd ,AWESOME still ...from CHRSTCHURCH ,NEW ZEALAND
Devo's music was so experimental, at times it sounded dischordant, but that's what I liked about them, good to see that they are still performing. The drummer at the time was Alan Myers, he is a fantastic drummer, very under rated.
Devo was the very fist concert I ever attended in Austin, Tx in the early 80's... One of the best concerts in a small venue I have ever seen to this day. I saw Metallica in that same hall shortly aftwerwards another great one.
I was on overseas holiday, found out they were touring Oz at short notice. Cut my trip short to fly back home to see them live and saw the best concert ever!
New Traditionalists was my first DEVO concert. Their Romanesque set was trick. This was a SUPER SHOW! (even though it was in Bakersfield California). When I asked Mark Mothersbaugh if they would come back to Bakersfield, his reply was a simple "NO!"
Devo is superior because they are one of a kind unique band who are still ahead of their time, have always written great songs and perform them to a degree of perfection as talented musicians. The futuristic and mutated edge to the music is also basic and primal, setting them apart and in their own category. And, they totally rule!..
They defined an aspect of the era like no other, actually changed music and design. PLUS - their latest album (2010 at this time of writing) is amazing. This is one of those bands that lives inside so many other bands, shows, and cultural areas that we don't even know!
what a fuckin' great band. Seriously no band EVER put more effort into trying to entertain people. And they tried to make them THINK while they were at it!!!
@sports444life FM was a band from the 60's that had a 70's super hit album out of the blue with Rumors , wasn't even the original line up of the band except for the bass player and one of the singers, if I remember correctly. All around the time with Super Tramp, ELO, Steve Miller, et al. Devo was cutting edge, totally original and just plain weird. Gotta love 'em. Any band that can still look bizarre 30 years later has got to be doing something right.
Sucks to get "old" like myself (45),but like yourself,I was into bands like this back in the day.DEVO,Boingo,Sparks to name a few,and still listen to them......I know there's a reason I kept all that vinyl over the years........
I loved them back when they came out! still play it in my truck. My daughter thinks they are futuristic. They freaked out the parental units and siblings. "I don't understand them!"
I saw Devo play live twice. The second concert, was followed with an after party in Greek Town with Our Daughter's Wedding. dancandell, It was Awesome! (P.S.- I also remember that VH-1 Show)
So Devo were on this show with alot of country western acts ! I mean, did you catch all that at the very end there ? .. Mickey Gilley and The Little River Band ?!! Not that I have anything against country music, but Devo must've really stuck out here and blown alot of mindes !
Yeah, nice job. I don't know why I passed them up here recently in NYC! I'm now regretting it immensely. I understand they did a 2-part concert show to play their entire catalogue.
The Linn LM-1 is a drum machine and it's used on this song and a lot of other hit songs around 1981-82. I think Bob 2 is playing a Mini-Moog here, on the right side.
@GrantTarredus The show is "Solid Gold". It was one of those music shows like "American Bandstand". The thing I remember most about the show is the "Solid Gold Dancers" (the dancers you see in the video).
They used to sell those things at their fan club. I don't know whether or not it still exists. You might be able to find one of them for sale over at eBay under "Entertainment Memorabilia".
"Oh No! It's DEVO" was their last album for Warner Brothers. They released another album for an independent label (I cannot remember the name) in 1990 (I think), then they went their separate ways working on different projects for different companies. DEVO never broke up, but the members are making more money doing other things than making records and touring as DEVO.
It was great to show up & support them in Ohio way back when. There's be like a dozen of us on folding chairs. Come to think of it, that pretty much describes the music scene there, which produced some incredible stuff, but it was really ... this wasteland ... Good for you, that's a good story! Things were so nuts w that recession in NYC in '88, maybe you should have gone. A cab driver told me his business was down by half & I thought, uh oh ... this isn't gonna be pretty. It wasn't.
@GrantTarredus Saturday Night Live (30 something years ago?). I remember watching specifically for DEVO. They also played Through Bein' Cool. Great use of the treadmill waaaaay before OK Go!
Perhaps the most subversive band to crack the Top 10. These guys were on the radio with Peaches & Herb and Sheena Easton. When I was growing up, anyone weird, anarchic or alternative was called Devo by the pinhead jocks. I think that says a lot. Are there any more surprises in pop music left?
Saw them in N.Y.C in 2005,still excellent after 27 yrs,although for $55 they only played for @70 min. I was dancin and sweatin my ass off in my dirty work clothes,pretty good for 45 yrs. old!!!!!!!
at the time (when I was young) they were techno punk. devo stood for de evolution, big brother, everyone is homogenous kind of thing. like Rush, they were loved or hated. Devo casettes sat along the Clash, ELO and Foghat in my room.
Alan's drumming back in the 80's spawned an argument between me and some friends of mine who told me that there was no way that was not a drum machine. Alan Myers had mechanical precision on nearly every song he drummed on using an acoustic drum set. If I remember right he even won an all drummer drumming competition where he blew everyone away for speed and precision.
I've heard members of Devo claim that "very little musicianship" was employed in their music and I think that's total bullshit. Their complex rhythms, strum patterns, and use of unusual scales tell a different tale.
Modesty prevented them from agreeing. I bought their product because it was sophisticated sonics, something John Cage might achieve with excellent musicians and singers intetested in exploring the limitd of Top 40 pop pop pop muzak. Andy Warhol must had loved DEVO.
The sonics subverts status quo. Add their lyrics. Content you are, JOCKO HOMO, whether you get the joke, or there is a joke.
Jerry nicknamed Alan the 'Human Metronome.'
@@TheBigMclargehuge as i recall the other members put him through a bunch of practice early on to sort of un-learn complex drumming and become more precision-perfect instead
I played the song through the liveBPM app and the tempo does change slightly from 137 BPM to around 140. This is not an indication of a bad drummer. For example he deliberately increases tempo slightly during the pre-chorus to rave it up. It's called being in the "pocket" and why a good human drummer is preferred, IMO.
This was the first time I saw Devo. I was 7, almost 8, and my family always used to watch Solid Gold on Saturday evenings if we were home. During the intro when they announced the lineup of performances, they showed a clip of this and announced Devo would be performing live. At the same time, both of my parents said "OH, NOT DEVO!!" and I was instantly interested. I couldn't wait to see why my parents didn't like these guys. When Devo performed, they looked and sounded weird, my parents kept commenting about their weirdness--music, dancing, look, everything. I was hooked. I remember watching them perform That's Good on the series Square Pegs (when they played at Muffy's bat mitzvah) a year later.
Probably the best live band I've ever seen - saw them about 30 years apart and they were still every bit as energetic and crazy in their own controlled unique way, and of course musically brilliant as they were first time round.
one of my favorite songs, too many of their songs are completely underrated.
Where do you get these ratings from? Please explain.
I saw them about 3 years ago in Seattle. It wasn't the original drummer but I never realized how intense the drum parts were in there songs until I saw them live. This guy was constantly beating the hell out of his drum kit. Awesome show.
They made perfect sense to us back in the Rust Belt in Ohio in the mid-late '70s. "The sound of things falling apart." One of the first songs I saw them do live was PRAYING HANDS in a dive in Kent. I knew there'd be some trouble ...
Great band; great memories. How I miss the good old days of punk rock/post-punk, new wave, synthpop, etc.
Y...TECNO !!!!
synth pop is back tho
I went to their concert back in the day ( late 70's). still loving them. Wish there was more fun,new ,visonary music and imagery!! DEVO ROCKS!!
I loved them immediately as a 14 year old kid because they were so different. Then over time I started to realize how smart it really was. And as I have evolved into an amateur musician myself, I have come to appreciate the musicality of Devo. Just saw them for the first time live in Austin last month. They rock out live too! What uderappreciated genius!
What amazes me is how edgy the music still sounds. Saw them last night in SF and they still sound really, really wonderful.
s video is FREAKING AWESOME!!! Those back-up dancers just NAIL IT!!!!! ROTF! I keep coming back to to watch this again & again! LOL They were SO DAMN COOL!!!
+BrianGarzonio actually their through being cool
The choreography is spot on. Great use of treadmills
First time I saw DEVO was on this tour. It's still one of the best concerts I've ever seen. A friend of mine got to work with their road crew that day and he told me the band did 30-45 minutes of cardio/exercise before the show.
during tours they also refused to eat any processed foods
Love it. They were/are so different and fresh. Can listen to a whole bunch of other stuff and always come back to Devo and be amazed.
Once I heard them, I was hooked. Always loved the lyrics. Always sensed something sinister in the attitude and lyrics that was absolutely compelling. My folks never understood the music that I liked. God bless them.
Always loved DEVO. New Traditionalists was one of their best albums ever. This one one of the highlights. Right along with Soft Things
The energy is so real and free - this is so many things it's quite lovely
genius. a rare combo of music, art, social commentary, philosophy and mutant fun.
I am one of those "older people", most older people listened to disco, country and western, and pop muzak at the time, they have now totally devolved. There has always been a price to pay for listening to subversive music. We need new Spuds now more than ever, so keep listening to DEVO, their message is still current!
i went to see DEVO when i was a teen ...many many moons ago ....love the treadmills in the concert ,there hair pieces, red cone hats and yellow suits where thrown into the crowd ,AWESOME still ...from CHRSTCHURCH ,NEW ZEALAND
they synth sound on this album is so unique. i bought this when it came out and have loved it ever since.
Devo's music was so experimental, at times it sounded dischordant, but that's what I liked about them, good to see that they are still performing. The drummer at the time was Alan Myers, he is a fantastic drummer, very under rated.
I seen Devo Live Twice. The second concert was followed by an After Party with Our Daughter's Wedding playing live in Greek Town. It was Awsome!
Devo was the very fist concert I ever attended in Austin, Tx in the early 80's... One of the best concerts in a small venue I have ever seen to this day. I saw Metallica in that same hall shortly aftwerwards another great one.
I remember this song so well. I used to have the record and I would play it over and over again.
Devo's Jerking back and forth on Solid Gold no less
I’m 25 and me and my buddy love Devo especially in high school. I looooove the dancers in this vid. So cool.
thats cool mang. my dad showed me DEVO when I was like 4 or 5 yrs old and i was hooked lol. Im 27.
I was on overseas holiday, found out they were touring Oz at short notice. Cut my trip short to fly back home to see them live and saw the best concert ever!
I miss the days when Devo were on TV ALL OF THE TIME!!!
New Traditionalists was my first DEVO concert.
Their Romanesque set was trick.
This was a SUPER SHOW! (even though it was in Bakersfield California). When I asked Mark Mothersbaugh if they would come back to Bakersfield, his reply was a simple "NO!"
There is a time and place for everything. Devo is everything any time or place. Akron and all of us love you!
Not a hair out of place.
I saw this concert tour for "New Traditionalists" in 1983, one of the best concerts ever and I have seen them all.
Thank you guys.
We are all DEVO!
What a deep statement. Truly profound. And so, so original. Bless you, honey. My heavens, you really have put a bee in my bonnet.
Devo is superior because they are one of a kind unique band who are still ahead of their time, have always written great songs and perform them to a degree of perfection as talented musicians. The futuristic and mutated edge to the music is also basic and primal, setting them apart and in their own category. And, they totally rule!..
I just saw them last month at the 9:30 Club here in Washington, DC. They were great!! I just wish I could have seen them back in day in their prime.
R.I.P. Alan Myers. :(
They defined an aspect of the era like no other, actually changed music and design. PLUS - their latest album (2010 at this time of writing) is amazing.
This is one of those bands that lives inside so many other bands, shows, and cultural areas that we don't even know!
what a fuckin' great band. Seriously no band EVER put more effort into trying to entertain people. And they tried to make them THINK while they were at it!!!
@sports444life FM was a band from the 60's that had a 70's super hit album out of the blue with Rumors , wasn't even the original line up of the band except for the bass player and one of the singers, if I remember correctly. All around the time with Super Tramp, ELO, Steve Miller, et al. Devo was cutting edge, totally original and just plain weird. Gotta love 'em. Any band that can still look bizarre 30 years later has got to be doing something right.
this is one of the most epic things i have ever seen
Devo are the only great modern artists who also rock. Really!
Amazing music, aesthetics, showmanship, stage presence.
We are devo! I first saw them in Glasgow in 1980 and then in 2008. Same energy, same set! Haha.
These guys are excellent! I love them!
Haha, The Little River Band followed them up. Oranges, meet apples.
these guys are really good. i just got into them recently and they continue to impress. A+
EXCELENT!! THE BEST!!!! THANKS, DEVO, VERY THANKS!!!
Sucks to get "old" like myself (45),but like yourself,I was into bands like this back in the day.DEVO,Boingo,Sparks to name a few,and still listen to them......I know there's a reason I kept all that vinyl over the years........
indeed, they're pioneers of the electronic music scene
@4tuneagent I could not agree more, good call buddy, saw them in Philly at the Chestnut Cabaret in 1988, and the blew the roof off the joint!
DEVO. genius.
just great, best band EVER EVER EVER.
Im only 20 but this is still one of my favorite songs and video of all time.
The lyrics for this song are just so great and singalongable.
I loved them back when they came out! still play it in my truck. My daughter thinks they are futuristic.
They freaked out the parental units and siblings. "I don't understand them!"
The dancers off to the right and left are kinda KILLING it in this one!
I saw Devo play live twice. The second concert, was followed with an after party in Greek Town with Our Daughter's Wedding. dancandell, It was Awesome! (P.S.- I also remember that VH-1 Show)
So Devo were on this show with alot of country western acts ! I mean, did you catch all that at the very end there ? .. Mickey Gilley and The Little River Band ?!! Not that I have anything against country music, but Devo must've really stuck out here and blown alot of mindes !
Yeah, nice job. I don't know why I passed them up here recently in NYC! I'm now regretting it immensely. I understand they did a 2-part concert show to play their entire catalogue.
The Linn LM-1 is a drum machine and it's used on this song and a lot of other hit songs around 1981-82. I think Bob 2 is playing a Mini-Moog here, on the right side.
This video is DEVO Inc. approved. Duty now, spuds!
@GrantTarredus
The show is "Solid Gold". It was one of those music shows like "American Bandstand". The thing I remember most about the show is the "Solid Gold Dancers" (the dancers you see in the video).
Jerry's dancing = legendary
One of my top 4 fav devo tunes! I think Speed Racer is my fav!
Devo is timeless!!!
They used to sell those things at their fan club. I don't know whether or not it still exists. You might be able to find one of them for sale over at eBay under "Entertainment Memorabilia".
NuTra was my first DEVO show.
They're SUPER! The SUPER THING.
Oh! We're all DEVO!
love these dudes.
Yes, this is from Fridays. I remember I had to watch it when it aired and was so proud of them.
"Oh No! It's DEVO" was their last album for Warner Brothers. They released another album for an independent label (I cannot remember the name) in 1990 (I think), then they went their separate ways working on different projects for different companies. DEVO never broke up, but the members are making more money doing other things than making records and touring as DEVO.
this song is beast!
GREAT ALBUM!!!
Devo is in a different league that Fleetwood Mac, with all due respect to Stevie and the boys. This is art...nuf' said.
@MrKregan Ya classic saw Devo once & Oingo & Madness & The Police together back in the 80's after a day of surfing in San Diego. What Great memories
Devo were great, they remind me of the group OK-GO
This is my favorite Devo song.
Oingo boingo rule! But i never saw concert video. Devo are so great on stage!
more days till i get to see devo live for myself!!,, in melbourne australia
fabulous!
back in the day when i was a young man in 1980 i thought these guys sucked but now i am 45 i love this shit
It was great to show up & support them in Ohio way back when. There's be like a dozen of us on folding chairs. Come to think of it, that pretty much describes the music scene there, which produced some incredible stuff, but it was really ... this wasteland ... Good for you, that's a good story! Things were so nuts w that recession in NYC in '88, maybe you should have gone. A cab driver told me his business was down by half & I thought, uh oh ... this isn't gonna be pretty. It wasn't.
It's 2013 and I'm still Jerkin' 'n' Forth.
@GrantTarredus Saturday Night Live (30 something years ago?). I remember watching specifically for DEVO. They also played Through Bein' Cool. Great use of the treadmill waaaaay before OK Go!
Devo, Fishbone, Living Colour ARE the future !
great video!
Man they were original !!
I love the jerking motion....
eyes all around!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thats correct sir i remember this too ! they also did "through being cool"
Yes the coreography is great too!
Perhaps the most subversive band to crack the Top 10. These guys were on the radio with Peaches & Herb and Sheena Easton. When I was growing up, anyone weird, anarchic or alternative was called Devo by the pinhead jocks. I think that says a lot. Are there any more surprises in pop music left?
Back when TV had good stuff on to watch.
Saw them in N.Y.C in 2005,still excellent after 27 yrs,although for $55 they only played for @70 min. I was dancin and sweatin my ass off in my dirty work clothes,pretty good for 45 yrs. old!!!!!!!
Mark is the ultimate hotness. 31 years old and still looks like a college boy. Gentlemen, look and follow.
Rad! I just ran across this LP...copyright 1981
Everyone it is an In justice these music pioneers aren't in the rock and roll Hall of Fame..some groups they put in are crap.
I love their phat azz synths!
at the time (when I was young) they were techno punk. devo stood for de evolution, big brother, everyone is homogenous kind of thing. like Rush, they were loved or hated.
Devo casettes sat along the Clash, ELO and Foghat in my room.
DEVO ROCK!
tremendous!!
Thank you for posting this comment. I thought I was the only one that was seeing parallels between DEVO and Andy Kaufman.
great song,, big fan of the new trad album this was from.