The MARK’S VINTAGE VINYL page features something from Mark’s collection of recordings from over the years. Most of it is on vinyl – hence the name – though there will be a few entries from his CDs (remember those?).
Oh, No! It’s Devo by Devo
- Fifth studio album by avant garde/new wave band Devo released in 1982.
- Eclectic to say the least, Devo appealed to me in college as I kept looking for new wave music that stretched the bounds of 70s rock music. Their 1978 album Q. Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo was as strange an album as anything I had heard at the time. In fact…a little too strange. Then, Whip It hit MTV in 1980, and Devo’s strangeness hit the mainstream.
- Still, I was intrigued, and in 1982, when they released Oh, No! It’s Devo, I took the plunge and bought the CD. It still was weird (very), but by 1982 Devo (and New Wave music in general) had evolved to mostly synth-pop. They hired Roy Thomas Baker to produce the album – Baker had earned solid credentials with his production work for acts such as Queen, The Cars, Foreigner and Journey.
- The album wasn’t particularly successful – it peaked at #47 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and neither single – Peek-a-Boo and That’s Good – made it into the Hot 100 (though Peek-a-Boo reached #13 on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart, and That’s Good peaked at #6 on the same chart). No surprise – Devo’s sound was not radio friendly anyway (it’s remarkable to me that Whip It made it to #14 on the Hot 100, competing with the likes of Kool & the Gang, Christopher Cross, Donna Summer and Eagles). I liked it though – it was silly and fun.
- Devo was definitely different. They wore goofy costumes, including their signature red “energy dome” headwear (you can buy one on Amazon for $62) and their performances included gyrations and other jerky motions. You can buy all kinds of Devo stuff at their website, including Devo Vodka, Energy Dome Socks, tee shirts, umbrellas and a “Honk If You’re Devo” bumper sticker. And in March 2023, you can take a cruise from Los Angeles to Cabo and Puerto Vallarta and watch Devo perform a show on the ship.
- Here’s the controversial video of That’s Good. It was banned by MTV because of the image of a cartoon french fry plunging into the hole of a donut, followed by smiling, writhing woman. I dare to show you the video here!