first I’d just like to say that I LOVE your art!!! your style is so captivating!
I’d like to ask a very important question.. where do I start when listening to Devo?? I really would like to get into them, as someone who already really enjoys boingo. my thing is, I have trouble knowing where to start. I always end up putting it off, and I even thought about buying a Devo album on vinyl to really throw myself in, but I figured I should make better financial decisions 😬
so is there an album I should begin with? A song? Maybe even just a general era? Any help is much appreciated!!
thanks for taking the time to read my nonsensical yammering !
Hi hi yes!!! I am so glad you asked and ty!!! What I usually tell people is start with what genre you fall under more- Devos genre ultimately stays new wave but there are some shifts along the way.
Heres a general list and timeline as to what you can expect over devos style of music between 1972-present
If you like more punk or experimental styled stuff, Id recommend their first two albums: are we not men + duty now for the future
Freedom of choice is a happy medium between the punkish era + general new wave music. Devo claims to have been going for a more "funkish" vibe as well.
New traditionalists and oh no its devo are probably the most common thing you think of when you think of synth pop or post punk music.
Once you get to shout, theres a lot more midi instruments and drum machines than the rest of their discography. Shout is a controversial album because of the lore aspect, but I think its a great album if you put all that aside. Total devo (the album after shout) still keeps some of those midi instruments but this is when they kind of start shifting in their genre a bit. They bring back real drums and incorporate some backing tracks and sound effects
Around this era as well, an "ez- listening" devo disc was released. It's essentially an midi instrumental track of a lot of devos songs over the years up until the shout era! I love it! It's great for study music, and frankly a little peewees playhouse and Rugrats esque (mark did the music for those shows as well)
Smooth noodle maps, a controversial change in genre but ultimately one of my favorite albums, mixes devos style with that classic early 90s feel to it!! It's a big jump in style in terms of devo between total + snm
Something for everybody was released after the band split up for a bit, but ultimately returned m if I were to compare it to any of their other music I'd compare it to new traditionalists or oh no it's devo, except with more up to date instruments (obvs cause it's a lot newer) they also sound a tad bit older, for they were now all in their 50s-60s.
If you want some weeeiiiirrdddd highly experimental stuff I'd recommend hardcore devo and art devo. It's literally like garage and basement recordings from when they JUST started out. It's early 70s, so it can be a little dated and problematic. But i let it slide cause they recognize that now.
Hope this helps!!!!!! I wish you luck on your devo journey! Im in the car rn singing "find you" by oingo boingo rn actually so it was really hard to type and sing at the same time
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