posted 12/7/01:

Q: Is the following internet post the truth or a hoax?: When we heard that a Devo tribute album had been released, we had to buy it as soon as possible. Brian Eno's production work was an especially good sign; Eno is known for producing some of the best music of the past twenty years, including Devo's first album, Q. ARE WE NOT MEN? A. WE ARE DEVO! Eno did not let us down this time. Like all good tribute albums, BEAUTIFUL MUTANTS has moments of genius and brilliantly odd combinations side by side with dismal failures. Fortunately for devotees of the spud boys, the successes far outnumber the failures.

Kraftwerk kicks off the album with their rendition of "Devo Corporate Anthem." Though it is at heart a straight cover, Kraftwerk makes it essentially theirs, which makes perfect sense considering how much Devo owes to Kraftwerk themselves. Following the Corporate Anthem is one of the few real disappointments of BEAUTIFUL MUTANTS: Elvis Costello's cover of "Baby Doll." Though he rarely records covers, Elvis proved he could acquit himself on one with "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" from his album KING OF AMERICA. But unfortunately, he didn't live up to the promise of "Baby Doll." The collaboration of Suzanne Vega and DNA was a smash success for Vega's "Tom's Diner," and it works equally well when they team up to perform "Post-Post Modern Man." Expect to hear this, the first single release from BEAUTIFUL MUTANTS, in hip dance clubs everywhere. Next comes k.d. lang's powerful rendition of "Come Back Jonee." Devotees who remember Debbie Harry's lackluster performance of this song on Saturday Night Live in 1981 will find that lang has finally done "Come Back Jonee" justice. Following k.d. lang, Dolly Parton performs a lively version of "Worried Man," the little-known track Devo recorded for the film THE HUMAN HIGHWAY. This selection is one of the most bizarre on the album precisely because of its complete lack of strangeness. Brian Eno must have an inspiring effect on David Bowie: on his cover of "Mongoloid" Bowie (with his current band Tin Machine) displays more talent than he has shown since he made the album LOW with Eno in 1977. This track reminds us how good Bowie was before he went commercial, and it's nice to know that Tin Machine isn't totally devoid of talent. This is followed by a standard grunge version of "Gut Feeling" by Pearl Jam. We hear that "Gut Feeling" will be the second single release for BEAUTIFUL MUTANTS, which is a shame because it's one of the weaker tracks on the album. Still, grunge fans will probably go wild. The Japanese band Shonen Knife have become a favorite of tribute albums with good reason. The trio from Osaka belt out a fairly straightforward cover of "Girl U Want" with as much energy as the original. However, the Knife version has a raw edge reminiscent of Devo's earlier work on Q. ARE WE NOT MEN? A. WE ARE DEVO! Next, They Might Be Giants, also frequently tapped for tribute albums, give us the quirky cleverness they have become famous for with their slowed down version of Devo's cover of "Secret Agent Man." By using only an accordion and acoustic guitar for accompaniment, the two Johns give the tune a somber, almost ballad-like quality.

The Cure round out side 1 with their distinctive version of "Too Much Paranoias." This song could have been written for a younger Robert Smith, and he does his best to live up to it, leaving behind the overly polished sound of the Cure's recent material in favor of the harsher quality this little ditty deserves. They also don't waste any time: this is the album's shortest track, clocking in at a mere 56 seconds.

Side 2 begins with Tom Jones camping it up for "Beautiful World," continuing his campaign to prove to the world that he's still hip. Expect this to get massive airplay on college radio. Next comes the track that has caused the excessive controversy surrounding BEAUTIFUL MUTANTS: "I Desire" covered by REM. Fans of Devo will recall that the lyrics of "I Desire" are from a poem written by John Hinkley for Jodie Foster. Rumor has it that Devo's recording this song (for OH NO! IT'S DEVO) caused such an uproar that it eventually led to their split with Warner Bros. Records. It took the clout of REM to get "I Desire" added to this tribute, which is all the more remarkable since REM is also a Warner Bros. product. Or maybe it just proves yet again that Warner Bros. executives suddenly forget their scruples when there's money to be made. Perhaps REM should have let sleeping dogs lie, but maybe their gamble will pay off in increased sales rather than the threatened boycott.

The Sugarcubes slow the pace down a bit with their version of one of our personal favorites, "Love without Anger." We are pleased to report that Bjork and her band, as usual, do not disappoint. Her voice releases the true haunting soul lurking beneath the surface of the original, enough so that at almost 6 minutes in length it still does not grow tiresome. Following in a similar vein is the unexpected treat of this record: Joni Mitchell singing a light, jazzy version of "The Day my Baby Gave me a Surprise." Mitchell is not someone you'd expect to appear on a Devo tribute album (but we have to admit we didn't expect Dolly Parton either). For this, one of Devo's few ballads, she is the perfect choice.

Oddly, several of the female artists are clustered together on this album towards the end. But whatever the reason, the British band Lush, fronted by the vacuous yet vocally talented Miki Berenyi, next lends their shimmery wall-of-sound effect to "Jerkin' Back and Forth." While it is lovely, this cut sadly stands out due to Lush's apparent inability to see the humor inherent in Devo's music.

Neil Young is back on top again, and he lends his status of living legend to BEAUTIFUL MUTANTS with a gratifying cover of "Jocko Homo." Of all the tracks, this one displays just how much influence Devo has had on other musicians. Listen to him belt out the signature chant of "Jocko Homo," and suddenly several of Young's offbeat little albums of the mid-1980's finally make sense to us. Speaking of aging rockers, we find it somewhat ironic that over the past few years Henry Rollins has become some sort of elder statesman of hardcore, just as Young has been dubbed the godfather of grunge. Like Young, Rollins still has not lost his hard edge, which his Rollins Band demonstrates by ripping through "Clockout" with complete authority. Deplorable in comparison, The Red Hot Chili Peppers are not nearly so satisfying with their rendition of "Uncontrollable Urge." Obviously, these boys need to take more lessons from the masters who precede them.

John Wesley Harding turned out a stellar performance on the Roky Erickson tribute album with "If You Have Ghosts," and he does no less here. As he did for Erickson, Harding dug up one of the more obscure Devo tracks, "The Shadow" (from TOTAL DEVO), for his contribution. Using a less well known song allows him a better showcase for his delightfully cynical yet upbeat style.

Finally, the spud boys themselves prove that they never lost their sense of humor. The crowning acheivement of the album is a cover of "Weird Al" Yankovic's Devo parody, "Dare to be Stupid," purportedly by Dove, the Band of Love. This is known to be an alias Devo had used early in their career, and the vocals are clearly sung by Gerald Casale. Unfortunately the liner notes give no clue as to which members of Devo performed on this track, so we cannot confirm or deny that Mark Mothersbaugh had anything to do with this recording. Yet Mark or no Mark, this spirited version of what could be the perfect Devo song leaves us desperate for more.

A: Unfortunately it's a hoax. -- Gerald V. Casale

posted 11/19/01:

Q: What does Devo think of the Virgin Records compilations? - Anonymous

A: (Courtesy of a Devotee) Once upon a time, in the land of Virgin (where everybody was innocent), there lived a bargin price low-quality double-album Devo CD named Duty Now/Nutra. He was very lonely and his only friend was another bargin price low-quality double-album Devo CD named Oh No/Freedom. They shared many laughs together and hung out as often as possible, wondering what it was like to be an expensive, out-of-print high-quality Infinite Zero CD or even a regular-priced, easy-to-find normal-quality Warner Brothers CD. One morning, Duty Now/Nutra went to visit Oh No/Freedom as always, but found a horrifying sight. Oh No/Freedom had been shattered into little tiny pieces! Beside one of the shards, was a note written in blood that said "You're next!". Duty Now/Nutra wondered what this phrase meant as he buried the remains of Oh No/Freedom, choking back tears the whole time. That night, as Duty Now/Nutra was walking home, he heard a noise behind him. He turned around and saw a huge long shadow looming over him. Duty Now/Nutra screamed a girly "Good gawd!" and turned to run, but tripped over his own klutzy feet. As he struggled to his feet, the shadow engulfed the poor hapless CD. He looked up and gasped in fright! It was a 20-foot tall hammer!! Duty Now/Nutra screamed at the top of his lungs, but nobody could hear him. "Silence!", the hammer boomed. "I am Mr. Hammer! I was sent here on a mission! A mission to destroy you!! You're giving DEVO a very bad image, and frustrating many spuds and spuddesses out there! Your sound quality sucks!" Duty Now/Nutra was never more scared in his life. "Please, don't hurt me! Go into BMI Land and kill Greatest instead!!". "It's already been taken care of!", Mr. Hammer boomed. "Now shut up and die like a man instead of a Booji boy!". Before Duty Now/Nutra could wimper out another word, Mr. Hammer's head crashed down on the poor helpless CD with full force, shattering him into a million pieces. Just for added measure, Mr. Hammer peed all over the broken shards, which was an incredible feat, considering hammers don't pee. The remains of Duty Now/Nutra were left in the Virgin Forest for weeks, until the wind blew them away, never to be seen again. THE END -- Nutra

posted 11/3/01:

Q: How can I console my wife, whose next Birthday coincides with our (Australia's) next Election, which is likely to be won by a politician whose major policy is sinking refugee boats, because "We must show no signs of Weakness." Please frame your response in non-Fredian terms. PS: Who was your favourite dadaist? (Mine's Hugo Ball, followed by Johanes Baader and Richard Huelsenbeck). -- rachelandsteven@optushome.com.au

A: OK. I will not use the name Fred or any word with "fred" in it. Just tell your wife that she's lucky that her president is not George W. Bush Jr. the son of a CIA man and ex-president, the enemy of individual freedoms and the Bill of Rights, anti-choice, pro-life, anti-environment, big-oil loving militaristic demagogue moron who presides over the most wealthy, economic and military nation on planet earth without a clue, hurling all of us towards the ultimate abyss. Tell her that and be glad you don't live here. Rent a boat and paddle out on her birthday and do it her favorite way. Just make sure you don't dress like refugees.
-- Nutra

posted 9/19/01:

Post: Once again, humans prove we are incapable of responding properly to stimuli:

Stimulus: 4 airplanes hijacked by knife-wielding terrorists
Response: ask all passengers if they have knives

Stimulus: terrorists from oil-producing nations bomb us
Response: put $2 flags on our gas-guzzling SUVs

Stimulus: religious extremists kill 5000
Response: non-religious blame religion, religious blame Islam

"It's not nuclear bombs we must fear, but the human mind itself, or lack of it, on this planet." - DEVO, 1981

-- Samuel B. Larson

Response: Thanks for remembering that we addressed this long ago, yet some things never change.
-- Nutra