Devo

Devo is a New Wave musical group

Musical works

Jocko Homo, 1977

• God made Man, but he used a monkey to do it
• Are we not men? We are DEVO!

Other songs

• A victim of collision on the open sea / Nobody ever said that life was free.
• Freedom of choice is what you got / freedom from choice is what you want.
  • Freedom of Choice, 1980

• None of you would help me when I baked my bread / Now all of you would help me eat it / I can see that you are very well fed / This indicates that you don't need it.
  • Enough Said, 1981

• The way that we weren't is what we'll become.
• Laugh if you want to / Or say you don't care / If you cannot see it / You think it's not there / It doesn't work that way.
  • Peek-A-Boo!, 1982

• Beautiful mutants I can see in the distance / I think they're calling our name.
  • R U Experienced?, 1984

• You only punch yourself out when you start swinging blind.
  • Plain Truth, 1988

• Besides, God isn't dead / He's in your head / Right where he ought to be.
  • DEVO Has Feelings Too, 1990

• But wishin' is for chumps/ High hopin' is for fools / They'll hunt you down / and taze you bro / for playin' with the rules
  • Don't Shoot (I'm a Man), 2009

Members

• What we seek then, is that transcendent state most fully engendered by Fred Flintstone -- technologically sophisticated cave-man.
  • Bob Lewis 1972 L.A. Staff Magazine

• Like the Bible, devolution is basically an extended joke. One man's doughnut is another man's death.
  • Gerald V. Casale

• People accuse us of trying to be glamorous! We don't wear these because we like them. We have to! They're protective gear.
  • Gerald V. Casale, about the Yellow Suits (The Men Who Make The Music, 1979)

• We're sucking the gooey cellulite from modern music. Reductive synthesis. We do it all for you.
  • Mark Mothersbaugh (The Men Who Make The Music, 1979)

• (On performing) We do this because we have to. Do we look like we're having fun?
  • Mark Mothersbaugh (Television interview, 1980)

• We do give straight answers, but nobody believes them.
  • Gerald V. Casale (American Bandstand interview, 1980)

• We think anarchy and rebellion, as stances, are obsolete, and dishonest. As a matter of fact, they're designed to keep people where they are.
  • Gerald V. Casale (Interview, 1981)

• We were taking our inspiration from the high and the low; the biggest ideas, and the dumbest ideas.
  • Gerald V. Casale (Television Interview, 2004)

• Being in a band is really great when you're 20. When you're 30, it's kind of 'Spinal Tap,' and when you're 40, it's just pathetic.
  • Mark Mothersbaugh (New York Times, Make a Myth, Whip It Good, 2001)

• We've been called a "no-hit wonder." We don't care.
  • Gerald V. Casale (2005 Newspaper Interview)

• We denounce this as impostors playing with fire.
  • Gerald V. Casale in reference to the band Korn's use of Devolution to promote a single.

"The Devolutionary Oath"

This was created by members of the band and appeared on various printed material, including the label of the CD release of "Dev-O Live".

1. Be like your ancestors or be different, it doesn't matter.
2. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live.
3. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one, so shall your species survive.
4. Wear gaudy colors or avoid display, it's all the same.
5. We must repeat!