History Music / DEVO

* TheEighties

* RefrainFromAssuming: Their biggest hit is just "Whip It," not "WhipItGood" in spite of the trope name.

The band soon attracted the attention of celebrity fans like Music/DavidBowie, Music/IggyPop, and Music/BrianEno, the first two having been in the audience at the Ann Arbor festival. They eventually signed with Creator/WarnerBrosRecords in America (which they later regretted) and Creator/VirginRecords in England. Their Eno-produced debut album ''Music/QAreWeNotMenAWeAreDevo'' was released in 1978; that same year they appeared on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' in yellow jumpsuits and dark 3D glasses, playing "Jocko Homo" and their infamous cover of Music/TheRollingStones' "Satisfaction". They followed up their debut with ''Duty Now For The Future'' in 1979, featuring more songs from their underground years, such as "Wiggly World" and "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA" (the latter being a six-minute synth-punk fest that only picks up in intensity).

* CoverVersion: They've covered: Music/TheRollingStones "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (''Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!''), Johnny Rivers' "Secret Agent Man" (''Duty Now for the Future''), Lee Dorsey's "Working in the Coal Mine" (non-album single, on the ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal'' soundtrack, later added as a bonus track to ''New Traditionalists''), Music/JimiHendrix's "Are You Experienced?" (''Shout''), Music/ElvisPresley's "Don't Be Cruel" (''Total Devo''), Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody" (Present on the demo collection, ''Recombo DNA'') [[Theatre/WestSideStory "Somewhere"]] (part of a medley on the live album ''Now It Can Be Told''), Bonnie Dobson's "Morning Dew" (''Smooth Noodle Maps''), Music/NineInchNails' "Head Like a Hole" (for the soundtrack of ''Supercop'').

* NiceHat: Energy Domes. They claim the domes are "orgone collectors" that gather energy released out of the top of one's head and redirect it back into the body. Mark once said that they don't wear them all the time, but some people do and will [[BlatantLies probably live 150 years because of it]].

* TheSeventies

->''"We thought the things that we'd seen would justify a whole new generation of Music/{{Bob Dylan}}s or Music/{{Woody Guthrie}}s, and it wasn't happening; instead we were getting {{disco}}, and [[ArenaRock concert rock]]. Y'know, Music/{{Foreigner}} and Music/{{Styx}}. Nobody was really talking about the issues, and the arts. We thought, well this is the time for us to do something; to say something. And that's how we began."''

* BastardGirlfriend: "Space Girl Blues" and "Soo Bawlz."

* GenreBusting: While many of their albums after ''Duty Now'' may be accurately described as New Wave or synthpop, the earlier one goes back in Devo's history the harder they become to classify. Their pre-Warner Bros. style seems to defy a specific genre; the band used to jokingly refer to it as "[[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly Chinese digital rock and roll]]."

The story does not end there, though: Devo reunited and started touring again in 1996, replacing Kendrick with acclaimed session drummer and PromotedFanboy Josh Freese. That same year the FullMotionVideo PC game ''The Adventures of the Smart Patrol'' was released in collaboration with Inscape, and it was pretty ill-received. The reunion tour was, however, a success, and Devo would continue during sporadic tours for the next many years to come. In 2006, Devo 2.0, a collaboration project between Disney and Devo, saw the light of day. It featured a band of preteens, playing some of Devo's songs with altered lyrics, as Disney hoped to peddle the band to a kid audience. The old Devo fans was pretty unhappy about this, and Devo 2.0 never really managed to catch on with their intended audience, and when their first album, ''[=DEV2.0=]'', tanked, the band dissolved. Devo took it all in stride, musing that the whole affair perhaps was the ultimate proof of de-evolution.

Devo (often spelled DEVO or DEV-O), is a new wave/post-punk group hailing from Akron, UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}}. Most people remember them for their red Energy Dome hats and the 1980 single "Whip It", but their catalogue and achievements extend well beyond that. "Devo" stands for "De-evolution", the band's part-satirical, part-serious take on social and political corruption, bigotry, increasing dependence on consumerism and willful surrender of freedom among the common individual (a.k.a. the "spud"). They were formed by Music/MarkMothersbaugh, Jerry Casale, and Bob Lewis in 1973 partly as a response to the Kent State shootings (which Casale and Lewis personally witnessed).

* BaldOfAwesome: Josh 2 has one.

* Creator/{{MTV}}
* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Their more synth-heavy material usually settles around a 3, but their first album is closer to 5, and the ''Hardcore Devo'' compilations are all over the place.
** Penetration In The Centerfold is probably a 6 or 7, being close to hardcore punk, with frequently yelled vocals.

* OneSteveLimit: Averted with the inclusion of both Bob Mothersbaugh and Bob Casale, who as mentioned above, are referred to as Bob 1 and Bob 2 respectively. Also averted with the current lineup with Josh Freese and Josh Hager.

* David Kendrick – drums (1987–1991, 2002-2004, filing in when Freese was unavailable)

The band went through a couple of incarnations as time passed by; Bob Lewis was edged out of the band shortly before the recording of their first album, and a couple of temporary members were loosely attached to the group in the early days, but in 1976 a consistent core group was established, consisting of Mark Mothersbaugh, Jerry Casale, their respective brothers Bob Mothersbaugh and Bob Casale (Bob 1 and Bob 2) and a drummer, most prominently the late Alan Myers (1976-1985) and more recently Josh Freese (1996-present).

** "Gut Feeling" and "Slap Your Mammy" on "Q: We Are Not Men A: We Are Devo". Some CDs separate the tracks, and some don't.

* NotableMusicVideos: Mostly entering SurrealMusicVideo. (they were even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMhwddNQSWQ&ob=av3e parodied]] by Music/WeirdAlYankovic, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_rTTsZZ9KE&ob=av3e copied]] - specially because the director was Jerry Casale - by the Music/FooFighters)

* AntiLoveSong: "Love Without Anger". ''"Why fall in love when there's better things to do?"''

** "The Day My Bay Gave Me a Surprize" used the Creator/{{Atari}} [[http://www.atarihq.com/dedicated/videomusic.php Video Music device]], a primitive music visualizer, device to generate electronic patterns for some of the backgrounds.

* David Kendrick – drums (1987–1991, 2003-2004)

* David Kendrick – drums (1987–1991)

The band soon attracted the attention of {{Big Name Fan}}s like Music/DavidBowie, Music/IggyPop, and Music/BrianEno, the first two having been in the audience at the Ann Arbor festival. They eventually signed with Creator/WarnerBrosRecords in America (which they later regretted) and Creator/VirginRecords in England. Their Eno-produced debut album ''Music/QAreWeNotMenAWeAreDevo'' was released in 1978; that same year they appeared on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' in yellow jumpsuits and dark 3D glasses, playing "Jocko Homo" and their infamous cover of Music/TheRollingStones' "Satisfaction". They followed up their debut with ''Duty Now For The Future'' in 1979, featuring more songs from their underground years, such as "Wiggly World" and "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA" (the latter being a six-minute synth-punk fest that only picks up in intensity).

* ChristianRock: Parodied with Devo's alter-ego band, "[[SignificantAnagram Dove]] (The Band of Love)".

** "Satan", an earlier version of "Baby Doll", has the line "Oh, you little bitch."

** "The Day My Bay Gave Me a Surprize" used the Creator/Atari [[http://www.atarihq.com/dedicated/videomusic.php Video Music device]], a primitive music visualizer, device to generate electronic patterns for some of the backgrounds.

** "The Day My Bay Gave Me a Surprize" used the Creator/Atari Video Music, a primitive music visualizer, device to generate electronic patterns for some of the backgrounds.

* OffTheShelfFX: In some of their early videos. And then there's their "mascot" character [[http://www.devo-obsesso.com/images/photos/candid/jlens-booji-slash77.jpg Booji Boy]], who is effectively unnerving specifically ''because'' he's clearly a grown man in a creepily disproportionate store-bought rubber little boy mask speaking in a high pitched voice.
** It's worth noting Booji Boy represents the de-evolution of Man to ManChild, hence the high-pitched voice.

* ItAmusedMe: The interviews with the band about Devo 2.0 strongly indicates that their main reasons for approving of the project was that they found the idea of Disney trying to sell kid-friendly versions too absolutely hilarious to pass on.