Share
I’ve been listening to Devo since the ’80s and am proud to support them for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! Oh, and Happy Devo Day Akron, Ohio (this is not an April Fool’s joke)!
I knew nothing about Devo when I first heard “Whip It” in 1980 on the radio, but I loved the quirky and catchy style of the song. I called the radio station obsessively requesting the song until they finally told me, “that song isn’t in rotation anymore… stop bugging us!” Later I got into punk rock and Devo had a following with some people in that culture. I noticed that Devo was a lightning rod because they were one of the few punk/new wave bands that crossed over a little bit into the mainstream. When I started skateboarding, a parent who thought they were funny asked me, “you aren’t gonna start wearing a flower pot on your head like Devo, are you?” As I listened to more Devo and paid closer attention to their lyrics, I realized how brilliant and subversive their examinations of devolution and mindless conformity were when packaged in catchy new wave songs. The Devo albums, “Are We Not Men?”, “Freedom of Choice” and “New Traditionalists” are all amazing musically and lyrically. Devo also made really cool videos and graphic art. I now consider Devo to be one of the smartest and most fully realized art projects to infiltrate pop culture.
– Shepard
#DeVOTE at https://vote.rockhall.com/
