On February 18, Devo (and music enthusiasts everywhere) suffered an unfortunate loss. Co-founding member and guitarist Bob Casales died of heart failure at 61, leaving an emptiness in the Devosphere that can’t be filled or replaced. All we can do is mourn and take a moment to appreciate some of Devo’s best work. And so, here are a few among many of the band’s most important songs (and one very important TV cameo).
“Mongoloid”: The song title alone makes Devo revolutionaries of their time, as very few people had the courageousness to tell the tale of someone who was a mongoloid by simply repeating “He was a mongoloid” over and over again.
“Jocko Homo”: Immediately following the perfection of “Mongoloid” on Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo, “Jocko Homo” asks that very same question as stated in the album title–and with so much passion, too.
“Girl U Want”: A New Wave spin on a love song, “Girl U Want” suddenly made those weird red hats seem even sexier.
“Whip It”: Not just an overt homage to S&M, “Whip It” practically defined the 80s in terms of espousing getting what you want–by force if necessary.
“Through Being Cool”: Mainly because having the gumption to open New Traditionalists with a song title like that showed just how few fucks Devo gave about living up to “Whip It.”
http://youtu.be/PKrgXiH6jNk
“That’s Good”: Which leads us to the final great moment from Devo’s lengthy, multi-faceted career.
Performing “That’s Good” on Square Pegs: This is easily one of the most underrated television cameos in history–mostly because Square Pegs was one of the most underrated television shows in history.
While Devo may have many other incredible musical offerings to choose from, the above are merely the crème de la crème of their impressive and robust oeuvre.
