When it comes to misunderstood bands, they don't come much more misunderstood than Devo. As part of that bizarre phenomenon of art-punks who became MTV superstar staples in the early '80s, Devo has always been a bit hard to pin down. Were they one-hit wonders? Well, probably. ""Whip It"" is probably the only Devo song that 99% of the population could name. Were they punks? Well, sure. They did put out records on Stiff and they certainly held tightly the antagonistic tenets of punk rock. Were they high-toned conceptualists? Well, certainly. Everything about Devo -- from their name to their lyrics to their stage presentation and album covers -- was hewn closely to the ideas behind their origination. Were they a novelty act? Absolutely not. Although Devo most assuredly had a sense of humor, they were far from a joke. And just because they dished up their political/social ideas in ways that were quite far removed from their didactic, fist-waving punk counterparts, didn't make those ideas any less clear or noteworthy.
However, what's most perplexing about Devo is that though quite a few parallels can be drawn between them and Talking Heads (in addition to both bands being championed by Brian Eno and finding remarkably unexpected success on MTV, the similarities in their sound and overall musical/lyrical approach cannot be denied), David Byrne & Co. are perpetually considered ""important"" and ""revolutionary,"" while Devo has always been treated as a bit silly. And that is not only unfair, but also egregiously incorrect. Maybe it's because Devo hailed from Akron instead of Manhattan. Maybe it's because Devo wore flowerpots on their heads instead of oversized suits. Who knows? But it's clear upon listening to this double-disc anthology that Devo is certainly overdue some respect.
As part of their mission to protect the ""spuds"" from ""the ninnies and the twits,"" Devo repeatedly beseeched their listeners to take note of the crass de-evolution going on around them in the form of overhyped marketing and grotesque consumption. And, to do this, they sang simple-sounding songs about not-so-simple things. The songs were catchy (""Mongoloid,"" ""Freedom of Choice,"" ""Beautiful World""), but the ideas weren't so easy. So, they gave the spuds cute little characters (Nu-Tra Man, General Boy) that helped explain things. However, the best way to understand de-evolution is to listen. And Pioneers Who Got Scalped makes the listening quite an enjoyable education. With rare (make that very rare) single tracks, long-lost soundtrack contributions (anyone remember ""Meet Wally Sparks?"") as well as snippets from their numerous short films, the whole Devo story is precisely and concisely told here in two-and-a-half hours.
Hmmm, an entire two-decade artistic career compressed into two CDs, priced right for your consumption? How Devo
