Saturday, May 12, 2007

DEVO: Still eliminating the ninnies from the twits

DEVO, the famed Akron, Ohio rock band return to UK shores for the first time in 15 years.

The very idea of DEVO peforming a string of concert dates in the welfare states in intriguing. Just when Tony Blair was on his way out...

DEVO play Jarvis Cocker's Meltdown on June 19th at the Royal Festival Hall in London. They also plays dates in Brighton, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and a second London show on June 26th at Shepherds Bush Empire.

I recall a video they made for the single "Through Being Cool" which included the lyric "Separate the ninnies from the twits." The sentiment is quite apt today. I'm subjected to working with a lot of twits. It's nice DEVO wrote a song about it.

The "Through With Being Cool" promo is hilarious as it depicts American teenagers dressed up in DEVO gear jumping around in what looks like the backlot to Michael Jackson's Thriller video. There's even a breakdancing sequence towards the end. This is pre-Beastie Boys without the hip-hop element.

Kids with guns. Video stars. Young alien types (you know the kind).