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Typical_Humanoid t1_jd7zt3t wrote

Exciting, they deserve to be known for much more than being the Whip It guys.

And to be 100% clear even if that was their sole contribution to the arts they'd still be world class visionaries.

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Emperor_Zar t1_jd8j3c2 wrote

What surprised me about listening to most of DEVO’s albums is how anti-establishment they are. I really quite like it.

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sanspoint_ t1_jd8zbed wrote

Do you know why they're so anti-establishment?

The founding members of the group were students at Kent State and were witness to the shooting of students engaged in an anti-war protest by the National Guard. That'll make anyone anti-establishment.

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Emperor_Zar t1_jd943c5 wrote

I knew about that event, but I did NOT know they were there/witness to it. TIL.

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sanspoint_ t1_jd97lxt wrote

Yeah, it blew my mind when I first heard about it too. Gerald Casale even knew two of the students who were killed. He’s said in interviews that he “quit being a hippie” and “got mad” after that. He gave a speech at the 40th anniversary of the shootings, and you can find it on YouTube.

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Mosenji t1_jdahmpc wrote

Chrissie Hynde and Joe Walsh were there too. All dropped out and founded bands.

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MonksHabit t1_jd8mw4l wrote

I was listening to “Girl U Want” and “Freedom of Choice” the other day and it struck me how much of a straight ahead rock band they were. We all had the impression that they were new wave electronica, but they sound pretty organic by today’s standards.

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stevencastle t1_jd9axxo wrote

Check out their Hardcore compilations, it's demos from before they got a record contract. They were pretty punkish back then, before punk was a thing.

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stomach t1_jd96x00 wrote

i agree - the tempo and vibe was very 80s, but the band was mostly relying on synths as substitute guitar parts, whereas lots of other new-wave bands were trying to make 'synth music.'

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Emperor_Zar t1_jd93yn9 wrote

“Some Things Never Change” which was featured as the title song to the 1988 game Nueromancer (based on the 1984 Novel by William Gibson), is a VERY good song and is just as relevant today, as it was then. Scarily so.

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healthandefficency t1_jd91leo wrote

IMO theyre up there in the top tier of punk / post punk bands.

First 4 albums are perfect, 5th is pretty damn good, and their early rarities are insane. Very few bands are as forward thinking as them while being so melodic. In addition to this whole conceptual universe they created on top of that.

Im a huge homer but I genuinely think theyre probably the best American band, or at least the most American band.

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