# Who is DEVO **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2003, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-devo/212199 "2003-11-09T06:29:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![smersh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/54ee81/32.png) [@smersh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smersh)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-devo/212199/1 "2003-11-09T06:29:04Z")
I have read things about something called DEVO. What is it? Is it contagious? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-devo/212199/2 "2003-11-09T06:46:23Z")
Assuming we’re talking about the same thing, Devo is a new wave rock band that was formed back in the 70’s. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-devo/212199/3 "2003-11-09T06:46:24Z")
Devo was a band in the late 1970s-1980s that made one hit\* in the US but produced quite a few good songs. Like The Talking Heads and The Velvet Underground, they were an art-rock band that never struck a big chord on the Top-40 scene but had important influences on music in general. \*Their hit was _Whip It_, a rather absurd piece of pop fluff that both captures the essence of the band and enables people to ignore the better work they did. Their name is an acronym of sorts: It’s a shortened form of de-evolution, which dovetails with a general theme of their music. They routinely sang about how humanity was going down the toilet and turning from sophistication to absurdity. They often acted like robots to emphasize their point. Of course, their music was often absurd: Some of their best tracks were over-the-top parodies of pop music staples, like their absolutely classic take on _(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction_ (originally by the Rolling Stones). I don’t think Devo’s been contagious since the end of the 1980s. 😉 [A Devo fansite.](http://www.freedomofchoice.com/devo/) ---
**Author:** ![smersh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/54ee81/32.png) [@smersh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smersh)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-devo/212199/4 "2003-11-09T07:08:18Z")
Thanks. I do know the song Whip It but never knew who the artist was. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-devo/212199/5 "2003-11-09T08:20:58Z")
- - - Just so’s ya know: the lead singer of DEVO, Mark Mathersborough (sp?) has done the music and songs for a lot of US kids shows --particularly animated cartoons-- over the last ten years or so. One of the other band members frequently joins him in this work also, but I forget who it is. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Emperor\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@Emperor\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emperor_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-devo/212199/6 "2003-11-09T11:04:59Z")
Are we not men? We are DEVO D-E-V-O Sorry, couldn’t resist. I would add more, but the above posters have done a wonderful job already. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-devo/212199/7 "2003-11-09T13:05:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\* Like The Talking Heads \*\* THE NAME OF THIS BAND IS TALKING HEADS! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-devo/212199/8 "2003-11-09T17:07:54Z")
“When a thread comes along, _you must whip it_. . .” Tripler I want one of them red, “circular ziggurat-like” hats. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Mahma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@Joe\_Mahma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Mahma)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-devo/212199/9 "2003-11-09T17:38:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tripler \* > \*\*“When a thread comes along, _you must whip it_. . .” > > Tripler > I want one of them red, “circular ziggurat-like” hats. \*\* I’d heard that those hats were actually flower pots. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-devo/212199/10 "2003-11-09T17:54:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joe Mahma \* > \*\*I’d heard that those hats were actually flower pots. \*\* Apparently, they were [Energy Domes.](http://www.trashvilleusa.com/devodome1.html) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-devo/212199/11 "2003-11-09T18:09:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chandeleur \* > \*\*Apparently, they were [Energy Domes.](http://www.trashvilleusa.com/devodome1.html) 😉 \*\* Oh man . . . What’s even better, is that I have glasses like they did. 🆒 Tripler Great Falls is in for a serious 80s flashback next weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-devo/212199/12 "2003-11-09T19:07:29Z")
Buh-LOW me away. They sell those things for FORTY BUCKS? I still HAVE one! They’re cheap vacuum-molded plastic! ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-devo/212199/13 "2003-11-09T19:17:18Z")
Yeah, but now they’re _retro_, so they up the price. Ugh, I feel old. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-devo/212199/14 "2003-11-09T19:53:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DougC \* > \*\*- - - Just so’s ya know: the lead singer of DEVO, Mark Mathersborough (sp?)… \*\* [Mark Mothersbaugh](http://entertainment.msn.com/artist/?artist=111307) You’re welcome. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-devo/212199/15 "2003-11-09T19:58:56Z")
Are we not cows? B-E-V-O!