Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

The first two albums are both 10/10 for me but the second one just has the edge, it's such a strange album (even for them) but the songs really get in my head. Smart Patrol/Mr DNA is my favourite song of theirs.

I have a hard time separating the first 2 albums, and whenever I'm in the mood to listen to them, I block out enough time to listen to both.

I mentioned this on the album poll thread but just in case anyone has an incredible memory or even better somehow can find the issue, I remember reading a feature story on Devo in a kiddie scholastic magazine, sometime around 1978-79. Possibly National Scholastic, but not sure. I just think it's funny that it got through the editors probably because of their funny hats, given the very *adult* themes in some of their lyrics!

but wasn't that always the point re devo ?

their cartoonish overtones vs their adult f*cked'upness ..

hence why they are one of the few bands you can fall for hard when a young'un and still appreciate as you enter your more mature years ..

or is that just a heavy dose of transference on my side ?

They started off mocking paternalism (appeaaling and exciting to youth). Then post Whip It they continually dished out advice in a fairly paternalistic way. Perhaps mirroring this idea that we all get more conservative as we get older?

Devo was the first band I ever really loved, at the age of 6...my parents went to high school with those dudes!!

Devo was the first band I ever really loved, at the age of 6...my parents went to high school with those dudes!!

mind. officially. blown.

gotta love the wired world we now live in.

man this is impossible, maybe mongoloid?

i will throw down hard for new traditionalists, i love that album

i will throw down hard for new traditionalists, i love that album

totally.

There's a great stretch in the middle - "Going Under", "Race of Doom", and "Love Without Anger" - all three are all-timers for me. I never hear anyone mention "Race of Doom" but the chorus on that one - "Is it on? Is it off? Re-ply!" probably stuck with me more than anything else they did.

haha .. now that is one seriously good call ..

time to dig in the archive ..

i need to hear that now.

well, time to order the New Traditionalist re-issue...but I'm a little shocked that this doesn't include "Working In a Coalmine" and "Mecha-Mania Boy"! I mean the former's basically a part of the album (IIRC all the LPs had it as a bonus 7") and the latter is one of their greatest rare tracks. I thought they'd take the opportunity to give it a real official release here.

re new traditionalists yeah .. i got the 7" when i picked up the vinyl edition in miami in '84 when i was on a solo mad young man trip

and now that you mention it, its not good that the track was not part of the remastered edition.

humph.

well, time to order the New Traditionalist re-issue...but I'm a little shocked that this doesn't include "Working In a Coalmine" and "Mecha-Mania Boy"! I mean the former's basically a part of the album (IIRC all the LPs had it as a bonus 7") and the latter is one of their greatest rare tracks. I thought they'd take the opportunity to give it a real official release here.

― frogbs

I actually have a spare copy of a reissue of this as I originally got most of my Devo stuff on CD but then replaced it all on vinyl (for no good reason) Is this the version you're after? http://www.discogs.com/Devo-New-Traditionalists/release/2884028 I think it has a hole punch in the bar code but I must have only played it once. You can have it if you want, just drop me an email.

thats the one i have ..
i seriously scoured chicago for the other ones while i was there, but other than 'q: are we not men', to no avail ..

Just listening to New Traditionalists now, yeah this is a really good album. It might still be my least favourite of the first five but it's solid. Love that guitar that comes in at 1.14 on Love Without Anger, probably one of my favourite Devo moments.

thats the one i have ..
i seriously scoured chicago for the other ones while i was there, but other than 'q: are we not men', to no avail ..

― mark e

Yeah when I was in America (Minnesota and Chicago) the first few times I was there I got all their albums on CD but they always had different versions/reissues. I hardly ever saw those 2010 issues anywhere, think I actually ordered New Traditionalists in the end. When I went back a year later I was on a vinyl mission and you could always find their albums around, reissues and second hand copies. Freedom of Choice in particular used to pop up all the time second hand.

Appreciate it KP but I just found a real cheap copy on Amazon

Okay no worries.

Has anyone heard the reunion album from 2010? I kept seeing it around and being tempted by it at one point. It's on spotify now, was thinking about giving it a go.

more detail kp !
i love their last studio album, something for everybody.
i think there are specific ilm threads re this return-to-form, but suspect you don't mean that !

btw : if on spotify .. then surely the 'tude is :

'f*ck it, i have to listen to this ... '

Yeah that's true, just wondering if it was worth my time listening through it really. I actually spent full album price on that B-52's reunion album from a few a years ago and it totally wasn't worth it so Spotify really does help me now buying things I actually enjoy. I just seem to have spent a lot of time recently thinking of albums by bands that I love that I've never heard and going through them on Spotify. I listened to Crash by The Human League yesterday, easily one of the worst albums I've ever heard.

ooooh .. the devo album is seriously way better than that

satisfaction

Something for Everybody is definitely pretty good but a couple things annoy me about it - one is that a few of the songs are really awful (I'm thinking of "Cameo" here), and two, really, really loud production that makes it a tough listen. But there are some really neat songs there. "No Place Like Home" is really unlike anything else they did.

Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy

gut feeling all the way

they're still good live

devo and gang of four, old ppl who will not make you sad if you see them live

Listened to this on the walk to work, going to have to go with 'Uncontrollable Urge', flawless opener.

Uncontrollable POLL: Best Track on Q: Are We Not Men?

man i KNEW we had done this, pretty sure i voted 'gut feeling/slap yr mammy' last time so voting 'uncontrollable urge' this time

all those posts wasted for nothing..

I wish it were possible to add keywords to threads to make searches more productive.

I think I voted for Gut Feeling as well, thinkin about Prayin Hands or the Satisfaction cover

a little surprised by the lack of "space junk" chatter on here

outside of Shrivel Up and maybe Too Much Paranoias I think every song here is pretty defensible

as a choice for this poll, that is. every song is good but so many of them are really good

yeah, I get that. but "space junk" rules.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

"Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy" for me. SO glad to hear that the Hardcore Devos are being reissued - and by the same label that's doing the MX-80 reissue program! I LOVE THE MIDWEST!!

everything bonty just said, down to the second exclamation point.

wish there was a 20:10 gut feeling out there somewhere...

Ha yeah

Hey does anyone know where to get the tracks they did with Neil Young from the Human Highway soundtrack? Used to have those and can't seem to find them anymore.

'Mongoloid'

I love this, but Jocko Homo has to be the one.

Oh man, it's got to be 'Space Junk' really. Such a joyful bounding sprint of a song. Subject matter set against that totally not-arsed delivery and the call-response backing vocals... oh boy. Totally exhilarating song.

xxxpost re Human Highway, it's just two songs: "It Takes a Worried Man" which was on a 7 inch and comped a couple of times such as on the Pioneers Who Got Scalped comp and the "We're All Devo" video comp; and "Hey Hey My My" which has never been released except on but you can get it from bootlegs available from Booji Boys Basement. But hey, good old youtube.

This album is so top-to-bottom brilliant that I went with what I think summarizes its greatness: Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy. (And does ILX like/not like Shrivel Up?)

i was wondering why nobody's mentioned Jonee itt. voted for it on account of how it was used in the movie rock'n'roll high school.
but yes, shrivel is kinda tucked away there and is a groover

Late vote for Gut Feeling.

this has nothing to do with the topic at hand, but this is an amazing photo

https://i.imgur.com/7Ws29C0.jpg

http://ireallylovemusic.co.uk/blog/?p=2134

still the best live album i have.

That was actually the first Devo album I bought!