The Batlord

CLEVELAND ROCKS!!!: Proto-Punk and Art Rock In the Land of Drew Carey - Part III

Devo: Be Stiff EP

Alright, so Devo are from Akron and not Cleveland, but it'd seem wrong to not include them. I actually remember being disappointed the first time I ever listened to them. I'd heard some story that at Devo's first performance it was just one dude in a gorilla mask who played a repetitive riff on a piano over and over again just to see how long 'til everyone got annoyed and left. So, I was hoping for something truly bizarre. Instead I got "Jocko Homo". Which is weird, but you know, not gorilla mask weird. I've never really listened to them since. So, here I go...




Alright, Tin Huey's attempt at being self consciously silly sounding on their debut EP blew, but these guys are both fun as hell and catchy. So take that Tin Huey. I've already listened to the whole EP, and am trying to get through the rest of it, but I'm stuck on the cover of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". It's fucking awesome that they've used a dance beat to give that song as much energy as the original. I'm gonna have to listen to the Stones version some time, cause the Devo version might just be better.

"Jocko Homo" and "Mongoloid" sound like the sort of new wavey pop that I sort of associate with Devo through their reputation: quirky pop, with simple-as-Pauly-Shore rhythms. Weird as hell sounding, but fun. The rest of the album is pretty much power pop/punk of amazing to pretty damn good quality. "Be Stiff" might just be one of the best power pop songs I've ever heard and has enough power to run Jenna Jameson's vibrators for the better part of a year. I've already played this album at least five times and will definitely be checking out their debut LP for a review soon.

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