Devo Reveal Truth About De-Evolution, Part 2
Jerry Casale distances any nascent Devo comeback from
the likes of the Pistols by cautioning that they wouldn't just toss on the
flower pots and play 'Whip It,' but write new songs that would not make it
retro. "We'd still employ a lot of the ideas and wit and the strange
juxtaposition of sounds and progressions and lyrics, but it wouldn't be a
re-hash.
But, you might ask (I did), "Is there still juice left in the
De-evolution concept? "Certainly, now more than ever," laughs Casale, "when
you're commenting on human nature itself there's never any problem finding
inspiration, that's a deep well to draw from." What then, are the signs that we
are still de-evolving? "Well, seeing 'we don't give a shit,' 'die, die, die'
with 30,000 people with tattoos that say 'white power' on each arm. I'm looking
at de-evolution, it's happened. And the fact that it's done without a sense of
irony and sponsored by the corporate entertainment state. It's perfect. It's
exactly what we were talking about. We were only making a joke and we never
really wanted that to happen, but, of course you kind of have pre-cognizance
that it will happen, which is why you make the joke. Now we're really hitting
it. Now the audience really is from the 'Island of Dr. Moreau,'" he says with
snickering glee.
Since their last album, 1990's Smooth Noodle Maps
, and a disappointing European tour, the various members have gone their
own way. Mothersbaugh turned to writing music for television shows like
"Pee-Wee's Playhouse" while Casale concentrated on directing music videos
(Toadies) and spent two years trying to get his script for a movie about '50's
pin-up model Betty Page sold to a studio. "Nobody would go for it then, they
thought I was sick for pitching it, but now that a feminist director is making
it, it's okay," he says, not really trying to conceal his disappointment...
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