1. Did you miss last night’s MTV Movie Awards? Spoiler: Teenagers think Twilight was the best movie made last year. But as for what you really care about, you can still check out a preview of Jersey Shore‘s new season online. [via MTV]
2. Nerds, rejoice: Apple‘s Worldwide Developers Conference takes place today at 10 am PT/1 pm ET. And you know what that means — most likely an official iPhone announcement. [via Wired]
3. Simon Cowell is looking to take his Got Talent franchise global, with winners from all 36 (count ‘em!) countries who air the series competing for world domination. [via Deadline]
4. Sir Elton John performed at Rush Limbaugh‘s wedding Saturday. Let’s hope he donated his $1 million fee to America’s fight for same-sex marriage, eh? Also, where can we find video of Ann Coulter rocking out to “Tiny Dancer”? [via Movieline]
5. Devo is slated to guest star on an episode of Futurama. They’ll be campaigning for mutant rights. Natch. [via Clash Music]
June is here, and everyone has commenced arguing about what’s going to be the jam of the summer. We wouldn’t kick a good beach-party anthem out of bed, but, call us old-fashioned — we haven’t given up on albums yet, either. The next three months boast a dizzying array of promising records, from indies like Ariel Pink and Lower Dens to legends like Laurie Anderson and Devo to rap stars like Big Boi and Drake. Check out our top 25 picks after the jump.
In anticipation of a new release this spring (their first album in two decades), the dudes from Devo are incorporating a very involved color-study poll to determine every aspect, from instrumentation and vocal style to “body covering and brand color.” Tonight, they’ll post “Fresh,” a new song for free download, in conjunction with their performance at the Winter Olympics, allowing fans to see firsthand how well the system works.
Thanks to the internet, buying for that beloved music lover of yours can be next to impossible. Chances are your friend already knows about — and has the albums of — every current notable band worth listening to. That’s why, when stuck with the conundrum of what to get him or her, the solution comes in looking backwards. Many fans are so busy trying to keep up with the current trends that they forget to check out the fantastic acts of yore. We’ve rounded up ten recently released reissues, from Devo to Robert Wyatt, with suggestions for which of your music loving friends to give them to.
1. Twitter trumps the mainstream media in its streaming coverage of the Iranian protests, in which 7 people were killed yesterday. (The service even postponed an important upgrade.) Also, read this. [via Brietbart]
2. After losing an advertiser and on the verge of a 2-year contract renewal, David Letterman apologized to Sarah Palin on his show last night — for reals this time. (video) [via The Live Feed]
3. James Murphy isn’t producing the new Devo album, but he’d like to work with them. So would Justice and Fatboy Slim. [via Pop & Hiss]
4. Next month Taschen will release Norman Mailer’s first posthumously published book, Moonfire. It will cost $1000, and comes with a signed photo of Buzz Aldrin. Twelve copies will also come with a chunk of the moon. [via Publishers Weekly]
5. Architect Richard Rogers, who was fired from the multibillion pound Chelsea Barracks project in London last week, wants an investigation into Prince Charles’ “unconstiutional” involvment. [via The Guardian]
Scrunchies. Jazzercise. The Gremlin car, in all its hatchback deformity. Cone-shaped bras. Jell-o fruit salad. Members Only jackets. Hammer pants. Over the course of a decade, countless trends have lit the pop-culture landscape and receded into obsolescence. What is it, then, that endures about Devo? Why does their 1978 album, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo, still sound timely nearly 40 years later. Why do their energy-dome hats still look awesome? We met with Devo’s Jerry Casale over several months to find out. In this, the third installment of our exclusive Devo interview series, Sara Jayne Crow delves into the origins of “energy-dome” hats, explores the pending McDonald’s lawsuit, and encounters the ghost of lawsuits past.
Your lunch is long gone, the work day is almost over (or maybe that’s just us), and that that rumble in your stomach isn’t calling out for art. Admit it: you’re hungry son. After the jump, three more hilariously food-obsessed videos to download just in time for dinner (including a doozy of a Taco Bell commercial featuring Johnny Cash).
Even today, some 30 years after the band’s debut, there are legions of Devo-tees. Perhaps it’s due to the philosophy of De-evolution and the precocious employ of musical, visual and philosophical elements before it was in vogue. Perhaps it’s an inevitable outcome of years spent releasing daring records bound to off-the-wall antics, to court popularity and success while simultaneously shunning it. Perhaps it’s just the magnetism of the yellow-jumpsuit-”energy-dome” combination. Read More »
This commercial explaining the tiered pricing structure for his new album would imply yes. Because who wouldn’t shell out $5,000 for a package that includes “a letter from Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam telling you about his favorite song on the album.” Or $10,000 for the album, a day at Disneyland and Freese’s old Volvo. And as far as mini-golf with Mark from Devo goes — in our book that’s priceless, no matter what Freese’s latest sounds like…
The narrative of Devo follows a labyrinthine maze through the shattered idealism of the ’60s, the record-label monopolies of the ’70s, and the cocaine-addled New Wave scene of the ’80s. Recently reemerging for present-day collaborations with artists like Adam Freeland and Teddybears, the sometimes famed, sometimes infamous Devo have been busy of late. After completing a 2006 tour clad in the requisite yellow jumpsuits and creating “Watch Us Work It” for a Dell campaign, the band sued McDonald’s for use of its trademarked “flower-pot” or “energy-dome” hats in Happy Meal toys. Now on the cusp of releasing a new album after 19 years of silence, the band will be performing new songs at SXSW‘s BMI showcase on March 20 in Austin, Texas.
Earplug’s Sara Jayne Crow met with Jerry Casale — co-founder, vocalist, bass guitarist, and synthesizer maestro of Devo — in his Santa Monica home over the course of several months. The following interview is the first installment in a series covering the long Devo history, De-evolution as a philosophy, the nature of the new album, and the real meaning of “Whip It.”
