DEVO documentary on Netflix

[bry4321]

Trailer is at the link. 

A review: We hear about how Devo first made their mark by becoming part of the extended punk family at CBGB, where the Dead Boys welcomed them by beating them up, and where, under the influence of the Ramones, they realized that their songs sounded better when played faster. There were celebrities in the audience (like Jack Nicholson), and Mothersbaugh tells a great story about how after a performance of “Uncontrollable Urge,” John Lennon came up to him and sang right into his face, “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-YEAH!,” mimicking the song’s “She Loves You”-in-the-loony-bin hook. David Bowie became interested in the band in 1976, and said he wanted to produce them, but he didn’t follow through, maybe because he was in the middle of his own lost weekend. Their first album was ultimately produced by Brian Eno, who did a masterful job of coaxing out their subversive catchiness.

Edited August 19, 2025 by bry4321

[velorush]

Thanks for the heads-up. It was in my My List on Amazon forever, but by the time I got around to it they had taken it off Free With Prime and it was a rental.

I have to save these (music documentaries) for the odd occasion I'm home alone. NOBODY will suffer through them with me. 😑

[kizanski]

Thanks!  Watching it now!

[Disturber]

Thanks. Will watch. I read about this doc and wanted to see it. I've had this uncontrolable urge.

[kizanski]

Very well done documentary! Highly recommended.

I've been a DEVO fan since I saw them on SNL back in '77, so I'm surprised how little I knew about them.
I knew they were from Ohio, but had no idea that they went to Kent State and witnessed the National Guard/"4 dead in O-Hi-O" incident.

More importantly, I had no idea how cerebral they were.  I always knew a lot of what they were doing/singing was meant to be funny, but so much of it was dark humor and a commentary on the US and humankind in general.

I just thought they were being clowns and at the time, that's what I liked about them, beside the music, of course.

Saw them in Central Park on a miserable August day in 1980 with my brother and sister. One of my fondest memories of the three of us being together and having fun.
Some months later WPLJ (New York rock radio) aired the concert, so I did what every teen in the '80s would do - I recorded it off the radio.
I wore out the tape over the years, but thanks to the wonderful world of the Internet, I was able to find the concert.

DEVO - Live in Central Park - 08-21-1980

[alantig]

This is on my list for sure.  I've been a DEVO fan for a long time, but they're one of the few bands I want to see but haven't yet.  I went to a concert once, but it was canceled due to weather concerns that never fully panned out.  The next (and as far as I know, last) time they were here, I had tix to another show.  Still hoping to catch them at some point.

[soli'd]

On 8/19/2025 at 7:17 PM, velorush said:

Thanks for the heads-up. It was in my My List on Amazon forever, but by the time I got around to it they had taken it off Free With Prime and it was a rental.

I have to save these (music documentaries) for the odd occasion I'm home alone. NOBODY will suffer through them with me. 😑

It's like we live in the same house

[tommy p]

On my list too.  I hope I can get to it this weekend.

[alantig]

We watched it the other night.  Excellent doc.  Some great footage in there that I had never seen before.  Definitely worth the time.

[Brooks]

On 8/21/2025 at 9:32 AM, kizanski said:

Very well done documentary! Highly recommended.

I've been a DEVO fan since I saw them on SNL back in '77

 

Me too. Great doc, watched it a few days ago. I saw DEVO on the New Traditionalists tour (w/ the Elvis rubber hair) when I was in jr high ~81 and they were a lot more heavy & rockin' in concert compared to their albums. 

I really dig late 70s/early 80s mainstream new wave stuff like Devo/Cars/Pretenders/Talking Heads/Joe Jackson/Elvis Costello/etc. This stems from an older punk rocker pal, who introduced me back then to a great local DFW band called the Telefones. We covered one of their tunes at my 8th grade talent show, which led to me sitting in w/ them at some punk dive bar when I was in 9th grade. Good times.

All these bands are represented in my new wave-ish spotify playlist (that's the Telefones b&w pic from their 2nd album);

 

Edited August 25, 2025 by Brooks