History YMMV / Devo

** An overlap with Music/TalkingHeads fans also exists, given that the two bands were the biggest and most prominent members of the American side of the otherwise British-dominated PostPunk movement.'

** Before they signed with Creator/WarnerBrosRecords and had a hit with "Whip It" in the U.S., several of their independent singles charted in the U.K. and they were a highly anticipated band in Europe and Australia. In fact, the easiest Devo singles to find in the UK are by far those from the period of their first and second albums, whereas it is the opposite way round in the US. At the time, the UK got the exclusive b-sides, "Penetration In The Centerfold", the rerecording of "Social Fools" and "Soo Bawls".

** An overlap with Music/TalkingHeads fans also exists, given that the two bands were the biggest and most prominent members of the American side of the otherwise British-dominated PostPunk movement.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment:
** In this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZRmcxKl_oI 1981 interview]], when questioned about the [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy JFK-inspired]] ''New Tradionalists'' plastic hairdo, Mark replies "Chemotherapy, Jack." Bob 2 died of heart failure while undergoing treatment for cancer. Alan Myers also died of cancer.
** In the music video / ''Human Highway'' segment for "Worried Man", skulls are rotoscoped onto the faces of Alan and Bob 2. (Also Bob 1, but he's still alive.)

* NightmareFuel: The two ''Hardcore Devo'' compilations. As mentioned above, they're demos from 1974 to 1977, and they are some seriously creepy sounding stuff ("U Got Me Bugged" in particular seems to call forward to the disturbing electronic environments of early industrial music).

* WinBackTheCrowd: Their DorkAge in the late 80s and early 90s dwindled their fanbase down to only the most hardcore, but then they reemerged in the mid-90s as a nostalgia act (mostly playing their hits from 1978-1980) to great fan response, leading to Devo becoming a reliable touring band and their influence growing ever since.

** While Music/DireStraits' [[Music/BrothersInArms "Money for Nothing"]] may have been the first music video to have computer-animated characters, it was ''not'' the first music video to use CGI. That would be "Peek-a-Boo," which Devo released three years earlier.

* HarsherInHindsight: Their very name and idea becomes harsher in hindsight a lot. The name stands for "de-evolution" and the idea that we've evolved to out max and now we're going to de-evolve into monkeys. While we might not de-evolve, scientists have said we're pretty much not going to get any smarter than we are now. See, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkuCtIko798 this video]] for an explanation given by an expert.
** In their 1980 music video, for ''Whip It'' the band performs with turtlenecks over their faces. Lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh later caught COVID-19 and it nearly killed him.

* AwardSnub: The band has never won a Grammy and has yet to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

** Before they signed with Creator/WarnerBrosRecords and had a hit with "Whip It" in the U.S., several of their independent singles charted in the U.K. and they were a highly anticipated band in Europe and Australia. In fact, the easiest Devo singles to find in the UK are by far those from the period of their first and second albums, whereas it is the opposite way round in the US. At the time, the UK got the exclusive b-sides, "Penetration In The Centerfold", the rerecording off "Social Fools" and "Soo Bawls".

* GeniusBonus:
** "Whip It" is based on the songs in Creator/ThomasPynchon's ''Literature/GravitysRainbow''.
** The band's signature [[CallAndResponseSong Call And Response]] line "Are we not men?" in "Jocko Homo" is actually from ''Film/IslandOfLostSouls'', an adaption of ''Literature/TheIslandOfDoctorMoreau,'' by Creator/HGWells with Creator/BelaLugosi.

** In "Speed Racer" the pirate's EvilLaugh sounds a lot like Okabe Rintaros Hyouin Kyouma persona in ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate''.

** Devo 2.0 (aka DEV2.0) takes the stand, with a bowdlerized version of an anti-George Bush song from Jerry's solo project Jihad Jerry & The Evildoers. They also were tied into several Disney-oriented projects, most notably covering Annette Funicello's "The Monkey's Uncle" for a Disneymania CD.

--->'''[[http://www.avclub.com/articles/devos-gerald-casale,42649/ Jerry Casale]]''': You went beyond getting mad to just like going, 'This is proof of devolution. This is it.' We thought it was really funny."
** The band has fallen back on the "proof of de-evolution" line of reasoning more than once, particularly in reference to the SeasonalRot mentioned above. They ultimately mused that even Devo is not immune to the effects of de-evolution - decay was inevitable, according to their genetic imperative - and life marched on.
* SophomoreSlump: ''Duty Now For the Future'' is often considered an underrated fan favourite for devoted spuds, but commercially and critically it wasn't quite as successful as ''Are We Not Men?'' or ''Freedom of Choice''. Members of the band have expressed disappointment in the recording process and the final sound of 'DDeuty Now''. Jerry claims that there was too much second-guessing involved when it came to recording their second album - they scrapped original plans for the album by writing some new material which wasn't road-tested and hadn't had time to cook. He also feels that Ken Scott's production "neutered" songs like "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA".

** Devo, being the de-evolution band, would frequently invoke genetics and mutations in their music, and sometimes even disability, such as "Mongoloid" - a term you would ''not'' use to describe a disabled person today. In the case of "Mongoloid", the theme of the song [[FairForItsDay is actually quite progressive for the day]] -- the titular character has a job and pays the bills and his friends don't treat him any differently...but the joke is derived from the idea that the TV and Media has made people stupid. It's probably worthy of note that "mutants," "beautiful mutants" and "mutations" were treated as terms of endearment for their listeners, and "Mongoloid" is a sympathetic song that's clearly meant to evoke a 'working class hero' image.
** The 'Barbie doll' part of the song "Speed Racer" can come across as a bit sexist these days.

** When they first appeared, Devo's cynicism was genuinely shocking. The band's "de-evolution" stance was a TakeThat against the WideEyedIdealism of the '60s and early '70s.

** While Music/DireStraits' [[Music/BrothersInArms "Money for Nothing"]] may have been the first music video to have computer-animated characters, it was ''not'' the first music video to use CGI. That would be "Peek-a-Boo," which Devo release three years earlier.

** Devo used CGI in the video for "Peek-a-Boo" in 1982, three years before Music/DireStraits' [[Music/BrothersInArms "Money for Nothing"]], which is often touted as the first music video to use CGI.

** Music/NeilYoung was the first major artist to work with the band, having been inspired by them to write "Hey Hey My My" and even having them appear in his film ''Human Highway'' all before they even recorded their first album. All of this will have no doubt lead to Neil's fans admiring Devo as well.

** In an amusing instance of TechnologyMarchesOn, the video compilation ''The Complete Truth About De-evolution'' was originally released on UsefulNotes/LaserDisc and featured interstitials from a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g92Zma7dBsg 1984 film]] they'd made with Pioneer advertising their [=LaserDisc=] technology. When Rhino ported ''The Complete Truth'' to DVD, they made the curious decision to keep the [=LaserDisc=] ads in place. Especially ironic is Jerry's line, "The technology that simply won't wear out!". The format turned out to be highly susceptible to "laser rot", with a number of faulty discs becoming unplayable due to the oxidation of the aluminum layer. Strangely enough, the DVD was in some places worse off than the [=LaserDisc=] - the galleries, for instance, require you to pause your DVD player and go frame-by-frame, or else you will see a barrage of images zip by in a matter of seconds. It wasn't until 2014 when MVD re-released ''The Complete Truth'' that some of these quirks were corrected and the [=LaserDisc=] ads were put aside as a bonus feature.

** Before they signed with Creator/WarnerBrosRecords and had a hit with "Whip It" in the U.S., several of their independent singles charted in the U.K. and they were a highly anticipated band in Europe and Australia. In fact, the easiest Devo singles to find in the UK are by far those from the period of their first and second albums, whereas it is the opposite way round in the US. At the time, the UK got the exclusive b-sides Penetration In The Centerfold, Social Fools (rerecording) and Soo Bawls.

** Devo used CGI in the video for "Peek-a-Boo" in 1982, three years before Music/DireStraits' "Money for Nothing", which is often touted as the first music video to use CGI.

* SophomoreSlump: ''Duty Now For the Future'' is often considered an underrated fan favourite for devoted spuds, but commercially and critically it wasn't quite as successful as ''Are We Not Men?'' or ''Freedom of Choice''. Members of the band have expressed disappointment in the recording process and the final sound of 'Duty Now''. Jerry claims that there was too much second-guessing involved when it came to recording their second album - they scrapped original plans for the album by writing some new material which wasn't road-tested and hadn't had time to cook. He also feels that Ken Scott's production "neutered" songs like "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA".

* EarWorm: ''Oh No! It's Devo,'' their first full-on SynthPop album, has a plethora of those as a result.
** Of course, the riff from "Whip It" will live forever.
** "Jocko Homo" is one of the catchiest songs to ever be written in a 7/8 time signature.
** "Girl U Want" was reportedly inspired by "My Sharona" by The Knack. Which is better is a matter of taste, but "Girl U Want" is one of Devo's best "bob around like an idiot" songs.
** "Mongoloid" might not be a song you want to get caught singing in public. Too bad it's impossibly catchy.

* NightmareFuel: The two ''Hardcore Devo'' compilations. As mentioned above, they're demos from 1974 to 1977, and they are some seriously creepy sounding stuff ("U Got Me Bugged" in particular seems to call forward to the disturbing electronic environments of early [[Main/Industrial]] music).

* NightmareFuel: The two ''Hardcore Devo'' compilations. As mentioned above, they're demos from 1974 to 1977, and they are some seriously creepy sounding stuff ("U Got Me Bugged" in particular seems to call forward to the disturbing electronic environments of early [[Industrial]] music).

* NightmareFuel: The two ''Hardcore Devo'' compilations. As mentioned above, they're demos from 1974 to 1977, and they are some seriously creepy sounding stuff ("U Got Me Bugged" in particular is little more than a loop of high-frequency noise).

* MisattributedSong: A lot of "quirky" NewWaveMusic songs are attributed to the band. The most notable one is definitely "Dare To Be Stupid" by Music/WeirdAlYankovic which is a spot-on parody of their work, even down to the video. Mark Mothersbaugh thought it was so good that he was jealous of Yankovic for coming up with it.
** These include "Mexican Radio" by Music/WallOfVoodoo and "Pop Muzik" by M.