{"id":540,"date":"2013-11-18T17:29:43","date_gmt":"2013-11-18T17:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/batterymedia.com\/blog\/?p=540"},"modified":"2013-11-19T15:27:30","modified_gmt":"2013-11-19T15:27:30","slug":"rs-442-devo-q-are-we-not-men-a-we-are-devo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/batterymedia.com\/blog\/?p=540","title":{"rendered":"RS #442: Devo, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Devo,
There’s very little golf material on this album.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

#442<\/p>\n

Devo,\u00a0Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!<\/em><\/h3>\n
\n

Release Date:<\/strong>\u00a01978
\nPreviously Owned:<\/strong>\u00a0No
\nFirst Time Listen:<\/strong>\u00a0Yes<\/p>\n

Impressions:\u00a0<\/strong>Sadly, I\u2019ve never really considered these guys as, like, an actual band of musicians. Like ZZ Top and their long beards, their nerdy, red siren hat wearing image has overshadowed their tunes in my mind. This should be interesting\u2026 \u201cUncontrollable Urge\u201d blasts out of the gate with some rocking, angular guitars and their version of punk. I\u2019m impressed. They follow it up with their super-awkward, herky-jerky take on \u201cI Can\u2019t Get No Satisfaction.\u201d Coming in 1978, this sounds like a foundational record that helped set the tone for other dorky New Wave acts like They Might Be Giants or even \u201cWeird\u201d Al Yankovic, but with more bite. Weird keyboards and surf guitar riffs in \u201cPraying Hands\u201d make them sound like a nerdier version of Pixies mixed with Kraftwerk. Their music is more guitar-heavy than I would have guessed, the band plays with a blitz of nervous energy and the halting vocals might not be for everyone. At the time, I could see the cool kids who like Steve Miller Band, KISS and Cheap Trick not digging this, but this record speaking to the geeks who like Talking Heads and Violent Femmes. Still, these tunes are not merely nerdy or funny. Songs like the tightly-wound \u201cToo Much Paranoias\u201d or \u201cJocko Homo\u201d are tense and menacing in their own way. Also, has anyone ever used \u201cGut Feeling [Slap Your Mammy]\u201d as outro music for a movie? This debut album shows they were a solid punk\/new-wave\/nerd rock band before they got too deep into synthesizer-land.<\/p>\n

Starred Songs:\u00a0<\/strong>“I Can’t Get No Satisfaction,” “Jocko Homo,” “Uncontrollable Urge”
\nSneaky Tracks:\u00a0<\/strong>“Mongoloid,” “Gut Feeling [Slap Your Mammy]”
\nShould this album be on the\u00a0list?<\/strong>\u00a0Yes!<\/p>\n

Will you listen to this again?\u00a0<\/strong>Yes<\/p>\n

Verdict:\u00a0<\/b>Nerdy ’70s icons can actually play in this rocking, enjoyably spastic proto-new wave record.
\nRating:\u00a0\u2605\u2605\u2605\u26051\/4<\/strong><\/p>\n