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neiromaru t1_jd7uwjn wrote

All that I really want from this is more detail about the time Mark Mothersbaugh (lead singer of Devo) had an existential crisis after hearing Weird Al's style-parody song 'Dare to be Stupid' because he thought it was a better Devo song than anything they had ever written.

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Detroit_Cineaste t1_jd7y98e wrote

When I saw that Behind the Music episode I thought Mothersbaugh was being dryly ironic. Besides, nothing tops "Beautiful World".

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[deleted] t1_jd8rtzi wrote

[removed]

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frozenvanillacoke t1_jdaca7c wrote

Someone saw a rough cut and said that Mark kept turning it down cause it only focused on the band for a portion of it then kept on talking about Gerry's kinks and sexcapades and it's like dude, I don't give a shit about that side, the Devo image and ethos and music could fill a whole mini-series and the fans want to hear about that.

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citanaF_Fanatic t1_jdaac74 wrote

The whole New Traditionalists Album is fantastic. My two favorite songs of theirs are Worried Man and Come Back Jonee.

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Detroit_Cineaste t1_jdaco0n wrote

I remember the group saying how happy they were to be in the movie Human Highway because they got to keep the costumes they wore for their performance of Jonee. All those years spent busting their butts and they couldn't afford to buy new threads.

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lizzie1hoops t1_jdbeu8s wrote

Ooh, it's a good one but I'd offer my favorite, in contrast. "Planet Earth"

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Fleaslayer t1_jdb2khd wrote

I'm not sure that it's their best song, but I do think it's their best song/video combination. After hearing the song s number of times, the video made me hear it and understand it much differently.

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PKMKII t1_jd926vp wrote

What could better express cultural devolution than a parody of a band about cultural devolution?

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ATribeCalledQueso t1_jd9dsis wrote

This feels pretty reductive to Weird Al and his music.

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PKMKII t1_jd9f3dl wrote

No, see, that’s the genius of Weird Al, he’s not just making parody songs, he’s taking the piss out of an industry that sorely needs the piss taken out of it on a regular basis. It’s a mockery of the pretensions of popular music.

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Howunbecomingofme t1_jda57rt wrote

Also Mark Mothersbaugh went on to compose a whole bunch of music for film and tv. He did the score for Regular Show, Rugrats, Thor Ragnorok and the 4 best Wes Anderson movies. Maybe the was something to those Energy Dome hats

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paradisegardens2021 t1_jd9qrgd wrote

That’s effing adorable. I am so glad all the different music I listened too permeated all of my kids. My 30 yr old son is such a huge fan of Both of them! The movie Weird was amazing imo

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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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Fryceratops t1_jd8cf6e wrote

Let me guess Mark Mothersbaugh is doing the soundtrack.

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Emperor_Zar t1_jd8ja6c wrote

It’s amazing how many Movies and shows his music prowess’s has reached!

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BostonTERRORier t1_jd8q378 wrote

gates of steel is one of the greatest songs

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katfromjersey t1_jda07t6 wrote

Uncontrollable Urge is my favorite.

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bugxbuster t1_jdaoox2 wrote

That song gets me hyped. I’ll never not be happy when that song comes on.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeahyeahyeahyehyayayayeah! 🤘🏻

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Writer10 t1_jd941wi wrote

I went down a Devo YT hole a couple weeks ago and laughed my ass off. “Through Being Cool” is a masterpiece.

Now that I think about it, “Through Being Cool: the Devo Story” is a great title for a documentary. You’re welcome, Mr. Big Hollywood Producer Guy.

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afterthegoldthrust t1_jd936bf wrote

I already loved DEVO but after listening to Mark Mothersbaugh’s episode on the Marc Maron podcast they became one of my favorite bands of all time. I’m not even always a huge Marc Maron fan but that episode is a gem!

Even just from Mark’s perspective they have a fascinating history, so I can’t wait for further contextualization and a visual element since the latter is a huge part of their legacy.

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So3Dimensional t1_jd9j5g0 wrote

If you can ignore Maron’s sometimes annoying quirks, you’ll realize his interviews are often brilliant conversations. He asks questions most people would never think of. He often admits he doesn’t know much about the guest, which makes it so much better.

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afterthegoldthrust t1_jda4esz wrote

Oh I don’t dislike him at all! Just not always in the mood for him. Absolutely agree about his skills as an interviewer though

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So3Dimensional t1_jda9z9b wrote

I know what you mean. I can usually settle in for the whole interview if the guest is interesting enough, even if I’m not in the mood to listen to him.

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drew2u t1_jd80heg wrote

Not only experienced but mutated.

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Ru4pigsizedelephants t1_jd96fv8 wrote

Their cover of "Can't Get No Satisfaction" on the Casino Soundtrack is fantastic.

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H1Racer t1_jdafrvt wrote

Fun story behind that cover. Apparently their record company wanted them to get Jagger's blessing. Gerry and Mark found themselves in a New York hotel room playing the tape on a boom box for Jagger. Jagger sat "stone-faced" for a bit, then got up and started to dance.

One of my favorite covers of all time and a great example of a truly creative interpretation.

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personplaceorplando t1_jd9bx5s wrote

Gut Feeling is one of the greatest rock songs ever. Also I love Devo.

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theravemaster t1_jd8lb6k wrote

My life changed first time I heard DEVO, such a cool fucking band

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evilfollowingmb t1_jd8ucvx wrote

OMFG can’t wait. I was but a lad when they went on SNL and crushed it with satisfaction. That one song was like hitting a reset button on my musical tastes which to that point had been Lynrd Skynrd etc. It opened my eyes. I like a lot of different stuff, but was like “ok that’s me”

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stomach t1_jd97gym wrote

i don't see anyone heaping praise on American Movie (one of my top 10 of all time) - so i'm dutifully mentioning it being an incredible, life-changing movie that you may not even believe is real at times (it is, i promise).

amazingly, i was not aware he had also directed Tiger King(!), which totally makes sense now.

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envynav t1_jdaeenl wrote

>i was not aware he had also directed Tiger King

He didn’t, he was just an executive producer

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stomach t1_jdafj3a wrote

shit i meant to say Fyre. that and tiger king are recent, and i hadn't kept up with him since like '99. just glad to see he's still doing it

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Taskerst t1_jdaf77j wrote

I was so bummed when Mike Schank died last year. Everyone in that movie seemed so earnest and inspiring. I’d put it up there with Crumb as a quirky docu character study.

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poketom t1_jd9bghx wrote

A documentary about a chav from Hull?

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Faces_of_Darth t1_jd9dh67 wrote

It’s Never Straight Up And Down

Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle

Wiggly World

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Clavister t1_jd9wyby wrote

How long will it spend on Devo 2.0?

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AcusTwinhammer t1_jdadixb wrote

That's a good question, as it is kind of fascinating. I've heard people complain about them changing some lyrics around to better suit Disney, but still, they got Disney to pay for a 14-year-old girl to cover "Uncontrollable Urge," which is pretty amazing.

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Bears_On_Stilts t1_jdax6ao wrote

Devo will usually record their own cover versions since they’re getting made anyway so they might as well get paid while doing ironically insincere corporate shilling. Nineties kids will remember the commercials for Pringle Packs, which were a Devo-created parody song of “Whip It.”

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Large_it t1_jd9xvru wrote

God made man, but a monkey supplied the glue. Utterly fantastic.

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MrX16 t1_jd89ib6 wrote

I'm excited! I've been waiting for a proper Rock Doc on Devo for a while. Apparently Mothersbaugh commissioned one a while ago and the filmmakers turned it in to the band and they just never released it.

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maliciousorstupid t1_jd8mwrr wrote

But there's already a 'the complete truth..' Not exactly a documentary, though.. still entertaining.

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mikeD707 t1_jd8wi9k wrote

I’ve loved these guys since I was a kid in the ‘80s but honestly don’t know much about them. This is will cool. Can’t wait.

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MGPS t1_jd98x0r wrote

I swear I saw a really cool Devo doc like 12 years ago…

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BORG_US_BORG t1_jd9dipi wrote

Will they cover the Bob 1 (?) murders?

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sirwestofash t1_jd9l48q wrote

What does tiger King know about devo?

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Bears_On_Stilts t1_jdax9df wrote

I’d love to see an Oingo Boingo documentary, better than the one on the Farewell album DVD.

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pmp412 t1_jdaztrx wrote

Love the story of Mothersbaugh meeting John Lennon after the show

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AdmiralCharleston t1_jdcgdaa wrote

No one acknowledging their actual best song smart patrol/mr dna smh

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amyxzing t1_jdch4dc wrote

I read this too quickly and first thought it was going to be directed BY the tiger king? Somehow from prison?? But in rereading it, I'm excited!

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pseudo_pacman t1_jdct9hl wrote

TIL that Tiger King was directed by the same guy as American Movie

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