Devo: Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

Devo: Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

1978

Warner Bros

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Uncontrollable Urge  2. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction  3. Praying Hands  4. Space Junk  5. Mongoloid  6. Jocko Homo  7. Too Much Paranoias  8. Gut Feeling / (Slap Your Mammy)  9. Come Back Jonee  10. Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin')  11. Shrivel-Up



I grew up during Devo's heyday..."Whip It" was inescapable and it seemed like you couldn't turn on the TV without seeing those damn "Energy Domes" (which as a kid, I could only process as "flowerpots")...

I found the band's robotic image and bizarre clothing (which contrasted their heated, anguished, all-too-human libido) irresistible...And my fascination with them grew with every television appearance...

After their brief moment tapping into the 80's zeitgeist, the band's popularity started to wane and eventually the public moved on, but I didn't...My love for the band grew more and more with every passing year, until one day I finally got my hands on a copy of their 1978 debut...At that moment it became clear I was going to be a DEVOtee for life...Now, this is another one of those albums that everybody on Earth agrees is one of the greatest albums of all time, so I doubt I have much to say about it that everybody else hasn't already said, so I'm gonna keep this brief and try to make it as exciting as possible...Hold onto your hats...

EXPLOSIONS!!!  FOLKS THAT ONLY KNOW DEVO FROM "WHIP IT" MIGHT BE SURPRISED BY HOW GUITAR-ORIENTED THIS ALBUM IS!! KEYBOARDS ARE MOSTLY JUST USED FOR COLOR!!! KA-BOOM!!!!

LOOK!!! HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE THEIR CLASSIC DECONSTRUCTION OF THE ROLLING STONE'S "SATISFACTION,"  THE MUTATED SURF-POP OF "MONGOLOID" AND  BRUCE WILLIS FIRING A MACHINE GUN!! RAT-A-TAT-TAT!!! I ALSO LOVE THE LONG ATMOSPHERIC BUILD INTO "GUT FEELING"...WHEN MARK'S VOCALS FINALLY APPEAR IT'S A REAL MOMENT OF RELEASE, UNTIL THE ENTIRE THING THRILLINGLY GOES OFF THE RAILS DURING THE  APESHIT "SLAP YOUR MAMMY" SECTION...ONE OF THE BEST MOMENTS IN THEIR DISCOGRAPHY! DIE, HANS GRUBER, DIE!!!

CHEETOS PRESENTS XXXTREME 90'S MOTOCROSS!!! GRUUUNNN GRUNNN!!!   OH YEA, IS "MONGOLOID" AN INSPIRING HORATIO ALGER STYLE "PULL-YERSELF-UP-BY-THE-BOOTSTRAPS" FABLE, A METAPHOR FOR THE AMERICAN WAGE-SLAVE OR A CHEAP LAUGH AT THE  EXPENSE OF THE MENTALLY CHALLENGED?!?! OR COULD IT BE ALL THREE?!?!  ALSO MARVEL AT "COME BACK JONEE" WHICH SUBVERTS THE CONCEPT OF THE ROCK N' ROLL ANTHEM WITH ITS ROTE LIST OF TIRED POP CLICHES...HILARIOUS!!  GRUUUUNNNN!!!!!

MONSTER ENERGY DRINKS PRESENTS  EXTREME TO-THE-DEATH CAGE-FIGHTING BROUGHT TO YOU BY MOUNTAIN DEW!!! POW! POW! BRUTAL BADASSERY!!! I ALSO CONSIDER THIS THE MOMENT WHERE ROCK N' ROLL EMBRACED ITS INNER NERD...SURE, PIONEERS LIKE BUDDY HOLLY LOOKED THE PART, BUT IF YOU WEREN'T LOOKING AT THE ALBUM COVER, YOU WOULDN'T NECESSARILY KNOW...DEVO'S GEEKINESS IS DEEPLY INGRAINED IN THE MUSIC, WITH IT'S ANGULAR RHYTHMS AND  PALPABLE SEXUAL FRUSTRATION. MAYBE THEY'D GET MORE CHICKS IF THEY'D DRINK MOUNTAIN DEW!!!! (A TSUNAMI OF HOT BLOOD GUSHES IN THE FACES OF THE LUSTY CROWD! THEY LICK THEIR LIPS WANTING MORE! MORE!! MORE!!!)

Oh yea, in other news, I found a chicken at the bus stop today...It walked right up to us...I was going to box it up and take it home, but the bus showed up and I had to get on it or I'd be late for work...I hope the chicken found its way back home...(I was utterly unaware you could raise chickens in the sweltering desert, BTW)...

Boy, this post was a new low...I'll make it up to you guys later this week...Anyway,  If you pick up just one Devo album, make sure it's "Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!" This particular album leans much more towards a late 70's punk-rock sound, and the resultant energy easily makes it the band's finest release..Not to mention the consistently strong song-writing..Sometimes I see "Too Much Paranoias" listed as a low-light (probably due to the noise/sound effects section in the song's center), but I don't agree...The song perfectly nails the anxious, sweaty feeling of overwhelming existential dread...I'm calling this one of the greatest debut albums of all time...Nothing would be the same after this dropped...

Here's "Gut Feeling / (Slap Your Mammy)" by Devo...Enjoy....