Fun:Devo

Devo, devolved into old men in 2010.

Devo is a band from Ohio bringing much lulz and inspiration to the listener. They bring the good news of de-evolution and perform dressed in yellow Tyvek coveralls or dressed as potatoes with flower pots on their heads. Devo has an alter-ego called Dove, "the band of luv".

Popular albums

• Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978) — includes their magnus opium, "Jocko Homo", inspired by the creationist booklets of B.H. Shadduck.
• Freedom of Choice (1980) — includes "Whip It", which may be about (depending on who you ask), masturbation, BDSM, or whippets. Lots of hits. According to Devo, it's about the opposite of all these things, Jimmy Carter.
• DEV-O Live (1980) — good concert album from the period when they had guitars and drums. Went number one in Australia.
• New Traditionalists (1981) — creeping into too-serious social commentary here. "We're through being cool". "It's a beautiful world for you, but not for me". Indeed. Lots of hits.
• Oh No! It's Devo (1982) — tons o'fun to be had here. "Speed Racer", "Peek-A-Boo", "Big Mess". Got the band into trouble for "My Desire", which includes lyrics taken from a poem by would-be Ronald Reagan assassin John Hinckley, Jr., written to Jody Foster.
• E-Z Listening Disc (1987) — surreal New Age and elevator music covers of their own material.
• Something for Everybody (2010) — after two decades they recorded a new studio album, and it ain't bad.

Not so well received

• Duty Now for the Future (1979) — too over the top with are-they-joking-or-not references to fascism. "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA" is considered the best song of their entire career by many fans. The rest of the album, unfortunately, makes up much of the Devo's Greatest Misses worst-of collection.
• Shout (1984) — boring synth-pop
• Total Devo (1988) — boring synth-pop
• Now It Can Be Told: DEVO Live at the Palace (1989) — cover and title taken from The Beginning Was the End; a 1971 pseudoscientific book written by Oscar Kiss Maerth that claims that humankind evolved from cannibalistic apes.
• Smooth Noodle Maps (1990) — boring synth-pop

Everything since the early hits, really. But still. Cool guys.

Other media

It takes a worried man...

Devo appears in Neil Young's 1982 film Human Highway as garbage men at the local nuclear power plant. They happily sing a Devo-ed up version of Worried Man Blues on the back of a pickup truck full of 50 gallon barrels of glowing radioactive waste.

Controversy

67-year-old co-founder Gerald "Jerry" Casale married 26-year-old figure skater Krista Napp, at a ceremony in Santa Monica, California on 11 September 2015 - the 14th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Both were criticised for their tasteless wedding reception which included a cake made into the likeness of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, and box cutters as party favors. Families of those killed in the attacks referred to the wedding event as "disrespectful", "disgusting", and "attention seeking". Casale had previously courted controversy by playing in a band called Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers.

Non-Devo work

Mark Mothersbaugh is an accomplished gallery artist and hosts the segment "Mark's Magic Pictures" on the Nick Jr. TV series Yo Gabba Gabba. In 1989, he founded Mutato Muzika, a music production company that has composed and recorded music for scores of motion pictures, video games, TV shows, and commercials.

Four members of the band (Mark Mothersbaugh, David Kendrick, Gerald & Bob Casale) acted in the 1990 box-office dud The Spirit of '76.

See also

• Church of the SubGenius, which has hosted Devo cover band extravaganzas ("DEVOtionals")
• De-evolution
• Evolution
• Evolutionary developmental biology ("evo-devo")
• Kent State — the band members witnessed the murders, which was influential on forming the band