'Through Being Cool'

When I was back there in seminary school....

Oh wait, that’s a different story. How about “when I was back there in high school...”

... I saw Devo make their network television debut on Saturday Night Live. Although many of my tastes were very white bread and mainstream, I was also drawn toward music that was outside of that box. In the harsh world of high school, those tastes were seldom met with approval.

Such was the case when, the Monday after their October 1978 appearance on SNL, I went to school raving about this band who had quirkily covered “Satisfaction” and had the gall to appear dressed in yellow jumpsuits like some freaks from another planet, while preaching de-evolution. And all this just a week after the Stones themselves had graced the stage at Studio 8H.

SNL was still relatively new and hip then, so everyone watched it and everyone had seen Devo and everyone hated them. Those of you who are still just a few years removed from high school will remember how fear of the unknown and different is a potent virus that pervades every school, everywhere. So of course a couple of weeks later, when I showed up at school sporting a Devo t-shirt, it was greeted with hatred and derision by the cool kids rocking their Mahogany Rush tees.

tl;dr? I’m posting Devo, not Mahogany Rush.

This is a collection of live Devo, recorded at various venues and at various dates, from the 1978 SNL appearance through a 1988 performance of “Girl U Want.” Unfortunately, other than rough dates, I don’t have any additional information on where the songs come from.

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.mp3 ~ SNL, 1978
Mongoloid.mp3 ~ 1978
Uncontrollable Urge.mp3 ~ 1978
It Takes A Worried Man.mp3 ~ 1980
Gates of Steel.mp3 ~ 1980
I Saw Jesus / Through Being Cool.mp3 ~ 1981
Working In A Coalmine.mp3 ~ 1981
Smart Patrol / Jerkin’ Back and Forth.mp3 ~ 1981
Patterns.mp3 ~ 1982
Girl U Want.mp3 ~ 1988
That’s Good.mp3 ~ 1988

Labels: covers, live music, new wave, TV

posted by aikin @ 11:32 AM