Calling it “flawless,” and “rife with sci-fi paranoia and doomed futures,” Popmatters today celebrates the reissuing of Devo‘s Duty Now for the Future.  I love that ‘79 album dearly, but looking back at that era now, I can still remember the absolute, utter contempt some of my fellow Angelenos reigned down upon Akron’s spud boys.

Being a time when authenticity seemed prized beyond all other attributes, it’s not hard to see why.  Devo had uniforms, a mythology, tightly orchestrated playing.  But Gabba Gabba Hey, so did these guys.  And whatever doubts I had about the band were quickly and forever banished by this. 

So, here we are today.  With authenticity no longer a concern, like, at all, are we not better poised, err, evolved, for Devo’s return?  And, more importantly, will the world switch with them from Whip It red to Winter Olympic blue? 
 

 
Devo’s upcoming album, its first in 20 years, comes out June 15th.  And perhaps mocking, perhaps embracing, this focus-grouped-to-death time of ours, the band’s calling it, Something For Everybody:

Though the 12 songs on Something for Everybody are built on Devo’s signature mechanized swing, the recording and presentation of the album saw the band experimenting with an entirely new approach.  Greg Scholl was brought in to serve as COO for Devo, Inc., and—working with the advertising agency Mother LA—conducted a series of studies through the Club Devo site to help the band with its creative decisions, from color selection to song mixes.

“We decided to actively seek comment and criticism from outside people and use that as a tool, rather than shunning or ignoring it,” says Gerald Casale.  “Our experiences participating in secondary creativity—things like corporate consensus building, focus groups—make you appreciate the connection that an artist has to society.”

An amusing “touch test” for Something For Everybody follows below:

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds: Devolympics, Jerkin’ backwards and forwards with Devo