Recombo DNA: The Story of Devo, or How the 60s Became the 80s

Kevin C. Smith – 2013 

This is a very interesting and thoroughly researched book about the formation and early years of the band Devo in the 1970s.  It’s neither a biography nor a work of standard criticism, which may be what most fans are looking for.  It’s a history that’s about context as much as its primary subject; the point being, in Devo’s case, that the political and cultural milieu of its time are inextricably linked with its genesis and philosophy.  As begun by Akron, Ohio natives Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh in the early 70s, Devo was initially more of a performance art project before progressively focusing on music.  Casale was one of dozens of students shot at by National Guardsmen at Kent State in 1970; an event that permanently altered his perspective and was a fertilizing moment for his future career.  Devo was from the beginning envisioned as a vehicle for highly provocative ideas to be delivered in the form of pop songs played by a tight five-man unit who may or may not be from outer space, the future, or perhaps from a mental asylum.  Devo’s songs are generally focused on encouraging people to see through the matrix of mainstream culture – its politics, its religion, and its consumer priorities – and to think for themselves and embrace a humbler view of mankind’s role in the universe; to stop thinking of themselves as the center and masters of all.  Casale and his bandmates’ mission would have dried up fairly quickly were it not for their abundant creativity and humor, which allowed them to adapt into the roles of unwitting rock stars while always providing a satirical glimpse into the corruption and stupidity of the record business.  By cutting themselves off entirely from bloated 70s rock culture – symbolized by their short hair, uniforms and stripped down sound – Devo prefigured Punk as much as their contemporaries The Ramones did, though they were quickly reclassified into the generic genre label New Wave too.  Smith documents how the band was influenced in equal parts by radical politics, 1920s Dadaism, television, and a book of dubious scientific merit called The Beginning Was the End (1974), by Oscar Kiss Maerth, which complimented Devo’s absurdist concepts and its theory of “de-evolution.”  Smith also goes into great detail about various other phenomena taking place around Devo throughout the 70s, such as Kent State, the Punk scene in New York, California and England, and fellow avant-garde musical artists like Captain Beefheart and The Residents.  As the title suggests, Devo was one of the key groups who presided over the slow transference of 60s activism and guitar virtuosos to the era of synth pop and music videos that defined the 80s.