I’ve been wondering what was going to come after postmodernism, but have I already missed an entire post somehow?
Rock and Roll is all about faith. You can sing the most ridiculous lyric ever written, and get away with it as long as you absolutely believe in it.
Devo worked for a similar reason. They took the rules of music and performance, and knocked them on their ear in very specific ways. But they and their audience had to know what those rules were so that breaking them was obvious and emphatic.
And that’s why Devo 2.0 doesn’t work. The kids are too young, and Disney is too hidebound, to think that either of them understand what Devo was trying to break away from.
I’m not thinking “Why, Disney, Why?” so much as “Why, Devo, why?” Apparently the original band is collaborating on this. While Disney doing it doesn’t surprise me (nothing they could possibly do to anyone’s heritage in the pursuit of profit would surprise me), Devo’s participation does.
Ah. Now I can look for a whole new generation of kids altering road signs along PA 202.*
*Mandatory explanation: When Devo was hot, road signs along PA 202 in the King of Prussia area showing exits for and distance to Devon were treated to a dollop of green paint to cover the ‘n’.
Well, let me say as a card carrying spud/devo fanatic, I like it.
I just watched every one of the videos. It’s different, but yep, and it works. Robot Arm said :
I respectfully disagree: this breaks the rules that Devo created in the first place, and yet follows them as well. The 2.0 band works because they are using the conformist system to carry on the non-conformist message. I wonder what everyone’s reaction would have been had they included “Jocko Homo”* in their reptoir as well, since that would have framed the concept.
I actually had a more negative reaction when They might be Giants did “Here come the ABC’s”. To me that seemed more “selling out” than the Devo 2.0. I see the 2.0 project as being more a way to replace some of the krap that kids have forced upon them musically. I find the song selection interesting as well. They of course did “whip it”, basically the Devo fluffernutter, but I like that they also did some of the songs that have some better messages behind them - “Freedom of Choice” being an excellent song for a tweener to listen to, IMHO.
I’ll be curious to see where they take this. I hope they are successful with it. If I had freinds of that age, I’d certainly buy it for their kid. I’ll take a Devo 2.0 listening kid over Britney anyday.
i wonder if this is successful, will they create new songs or grab some more out fo the Devo vault. I will find it quite interesting if they ever get down to some of the more hardcore songs like “Penetration in the Centerfold” or “Pink Pussycat” :eek:
*“Jocko Homo” being their first song, which basically laid out what Devo was about and included the phrase “Q. Are we not men? A. We are Devo!”
Everyone just calm down. It’s obvious that somehow we’ve all just slipped through a tear in the time-space continium and this is from an alternate reality. Right?
Considering that the orginal band is involved, producing the music and directing the videos, I’m holding out hope it’s subversive. Anything that gets Jocko Homo back into the public eye is a good thing, IMHO.
My first old fart reaction was horrors – but as I think about it, I’d rather the kids be listening to this than Brittany Aguleira’s Atomic Pussycat 'n sync and others of that crowd. Who, knows, this could breed a whole generation of Deveolutionists.
Not that I trust Disney to do that, but I can’t see it as all bad, just bad for me.
It’s a joke on the clean cut preteen kids who’ll be listening. Kids today need some de-evolution to get them out of their overparented veal-pens.
It’s a joke on the people who were horrified by Devo back in the 80s, Devo is now classic rock and as mainstream as Lawrence Welk and the Beatles.
It’s a joke on the Devo fans who took the message of the band seriously. Devo was one long prank.
It’s a joke on the people who were in on the joke that Devo was one long prank and appreciate the meta-irony, because this project is seriously stupid.
It’s a joke on the people who were in on the joke who were in on the joke that Devo was a joke, because Devo was actually serious.
“I’m doing it the hard way, like a post-post-modern man.” --Devo, Post-post-modern Man
So, uh, what did you think about EZ Listening Disc?
Personally, I think it was one of Devo’s most sublime efforts. The Muzak version of “Mongoloid” makes my nipples tingle with glee. I’m sure there were many people who thought something terrible had happened.
This is positively SubGenius. (Not merely “below genius,” but far, far below genius.)
A bunch of kids performing “Peek-a-Boo?” How freaking subversive can you get?
Lemur866. Thank you. You’ve made me feel better about this.
There must have been some sort of glare coming off my shiney black plastic Spud Collar.
After digging around I found out Mark Mothersbaugh is in on this. I just hope he slowly moves the kids out of basic “safe” clothes and into black garbage bags with used TV dinner trays as hats.
As a couple people have pointed out, I’d rather have pre-teen teeny boppers listening to Devo covers over the crap shoved on them now.
