Devo Interview (1984) Nightwatch with Charlie Rose

[@friedchicken297]

Devo is one of the few bands that actually, really understood what both "Irony" and "Subversion" meant.

[@Brewzerr]

And satire. Those were their hallmarks. Sadly, we now live in times where those things are hardly appreciated or even understood at all.

[@selftrepanation1098]

Precisely

[@jqueen1380]

I always admired how well spoken Casale was/is in these interviews. Mark comes across quieter, but his comments complete the discussion.

[@SpaceAce1993]

Mark is the genius of the band but Casals is the leader. All 5 members honestly were incredible musicians

[@dkyelak]

I think they are glad we're experimenting and they're not. Nicely said.

[@somattalistenta]

We never misunderstood you Mark and Jerry, we know exactly what you mean by your explanation "Musical laxative for a constipated society'. Australia has a constipated society too.

[@witchblade1969]

Devo deserved more acclaim than they got.

[@simone4993]

They spoke of the times and undercurrents that were not mainstream. Opened our eyes to a new reality. They are Awesome

[@stapler942]

Closing on the image of Devo drinking Diet Coke after talking about choosing your mutations carefully is brilliant.

[@TheGreatAlan75]

Diet Coke is better for you

[@narq5099]

Mothersbaugh and Casale - one of the greatest songwriting duos in music history. Certainly, the most underrated music duo ever.

[@sexobscura]

*CHOOSE* *DEVO*

[@jdpro2222]

Very underrated band.

[@derekwilliams1660]

It's thirty some years later and I think there is massive de-evolution going on today. So Devo was right.

[@RCAvhstape]

"It's important that people choose their mutations carefully." I've been saying that for years. Or minutes. Or whatever. I want that on a T shirt.

[@GoldandAppel]

Helium Road SUBGENIUSNESS$

[@rooseveltbrentwood9654]

Mike Salazar they do a lot of movies too :)

[@jeffdawson2786]

On shows like this they came off as a cult. Americans were spooked, and the “Whip It” video was scary. Way ahead of their time. Bravo, Akron!

[@pjmuck]

Good interview. Devo always had a clear sense of who they were and what they were about, never imitating or rehashing some previous style or genre. Side note: There's a split second of a Devo Diet Coke commercial here that I've never seen before.

[@joanpelpinosas]

Hahahaha... I knew someone was going to say that. But yes, I'll give you the time of your life. *keeps quiet and smiles*

[@afrobane12]

Well some have said that they imitated Kraftwerk a little bit.

[@homefront3162]

afrobane 1 And some are Morons

[@Dorelaxen]

Well, it's a beautiful world. For you.

[@roninscholar4515]

i love DEVO more than I can say. The guiding light of my adolescence, and beyond. omg charlie is so square and lifeless

[@MrSeezero]

You all should watch Devo's music video for their cover of "Secret Agent Man" from 1974. It is awesome.

[@kantstenchonthemel5641]

I saw it today 1hour before reading your suggestion !!

[@joker-mo8cb]

That's what really got me into devo

[@noisepuppet]

Thank you Jesus cause I, I'm a secret agent man

[@dfangirl72]

I just remember them " whip it good " want to really listen to them because of the movie " human highway" I get onto music movies tv shows " late "

[@jmcieslak0]

lol Mark's "in character" like he was in so many interviews during DEVO's heyday

[@AmericaTheEnslaved]

i knew it was gonna cut out, but i was still upset when it did. :( great interview thought.

[@joanpelpinosas]

What did?! What cut out?!

[@creepyskulldini581]

4:16 MTV stoped playing Devo by 1984 because THAT became dominated by ohhhh Michael "King of Pop" Jackson, Madonna, Sting, Phill Collins, Def Leopard, Huey Lewis, Prince, Kenny Loggins, u2 and Bon Jovi and just kind of abandoned them along with all the other new wave acts of the earlier part of that decade ( 80 to 82 ) like Blondie, Talking Heads, B52's and so on.

[@GoldandAppel]

Creepy Skulldini THE CONSPIRACY!

[@homefront3162]

Creepy Skulldini MTV is a fucking joke

[@InfiniteRhombus]

i love devo and talking heads and most new wave but i cant stand the b52s, the only band worse is aerosmith.

[@markrago5024]

Iggy Pop too, the new wave artists were far more talented than the pretty pop stars and boring hair bands

[@Brewzerr]

Creepy Skulldini - yes, because by 1984 MTV had accomplished their goal of sucking in enough regular youthful viewers to finally start showing their true colors... which was that they were just another voice of authority for the horrible bottom-feeding corporate music industry. It was planned from day one. MTV never once had any intentions whatsoever to promote anything creative or substantial. They just wanted to fulfill their goal of dominating and mass-marketing youth culture, and they definitely accomplished just that, in spades. What’s really sick and sad, is that DEVO helped them get their start... obviously unaware of what their true intentions were. And then once MTV was huge, they completely turned their backs on DEVO.

[@roccotool]

"We think that's important that people choose their mutations carefully; rather than have them foistered upon them". Truer words.

[@nickprohoroff3720]

"the most misunderstood band on the Planet"...indeed.

[@estebansteverincon7117]

Charlie Rose was old back then too

[@joanpelpinosas]

Radioactivity? Mark's face shows he's not so sure what that means. You can tell he's a shy type. He looks just likr his father. :)

[@noisepuppet]

Next: Walter Cronkite interviews General Boy

[@zhiracs]

2:21 In other words, performance art.

[@PedroPetracco]

Recovering DEVO talk show interview addict here! Just kidding I'm not recovering.

[@Tokiofritz]

To think there was a time when a mainstream chat show could get an intelligent and insightful interview out of a band. Mutations on a global scale, since 1984, have gone badly. This must be rectified.

[@somattalistenta]

Devo should be running the White House, they'd make a great job of creating a beautiful world.

[@anonymoushuman8344]

"Choose your mutations carefully."

[@alpinetarn4603]

This whole "what is your image" kind of line of questioning is so... ahh... kind of like, old fashioned and seems to be such a 70s and 80s trope...

[@kzinful]

Charlie, lighten up < lol>. By the way, if you go exploring for DEVO find their concert that they played on French TV, they take no prisoners with their blistering set, simply amazing. So yes, there are the videos, but never overlook their musicianship.

[@musicloverchicago437]

Charlie Rose isn't much older than Jerry Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh but he was decades behind here, and the brilliance of Casale and Mothersbaugh seemed to whoosh right over his head. IT'S ART, Charlie.

[@musicloverchicago437]

I just listened to this interview again. Right at the very end Casale mentions the Sex Pistols as having produced significant/imaginitive/creative advances in music. I'm glad he said that, I wish the video hadn't cut off, I'd like to hear the full statement.

[@rbrookswilliams1689]

Charlie is so hilariously serious here.

[@christopheresker8542]

Has to be 1986 - Shout was released in 1984, and Jerry says that this is 1 year and 9 months 'after the release' of Shout.

[@GeorgeSorass]

Christopher Esker Those suits scream "A Night At The Roxbury". Devo is always ahead of the curve.

[@superlove35]

it was a year and nine months since they had an album out: Oh No! It's Devo. SHOUT had just come out. This was 1984.

[@ronaldsimmonds1002]

Choose your mutations carefully. Damn right.

[@peytonbass5396]

Man. These guys were so misunderstood and AHEAD of their time.

[@Bipbop66]

MTV!!!!!!....We are DEVO!

[@josef2012]

Devo's intelligence is still over people's heads.Acidic satire of The American Way.

[@BrianSATX79]

I know most fans see Shout as one of Devo's weaker albums, I like it, for a synth-pop album it's pretty solid.

[@joanpelpinosas]

So we have two guys from Devo: one guy from an Italian descent and the other, German. Their basically Anglo-Saxons... Great juxtapocation.

[@joebananatube]

MTV never plays ANY music video's any more. They should change the name to "Lame reality shows" TV.

[@sanicyouth6540]

I think MTV also became infested with SJW bullshit as well.

[@ingenito919]

This group made kick ass music videos before MTV existed and it sucks how MTV doesn't care about music anymore but lame, sappy media shit

[@joebananatube]

Peter Ingenito If you compare today's "talent" or lack thereof, to the bands of the past, no wonder MTV is just as lame. Taylor Swift just looks like a no talent two bit whore.

[@creepyskulldini581]

MTV had abandoned DEVO long before Taylor Swift you asshat. Like the man even SAID in the video at 4:16, MTV stopped playing Devo by 1984 because they became dominated by ohhhh Michael "King of Pop" Jackson, Madonna, Sting, Phill Collins, Def Leopard, Huey Lewis, Prince, Kenny Loggins, U2 and Bon Jovi and just kind of forgot about them along with all the other new wave acts of the earlier part of the 80's like Blondie, Talking Heads, B52's and so on.

[@ericcrapton2623]

I hated videos rather see live band

[@redmenacetv]

Are we not men?

[@ylookhere]

D-E-V-O...

[@SirHatchporch]

I agree. I enjoy every track on there except for the the Hendrix cover. "Growing Pains" was a really good b-side, too.

[@bosybert2999]

Love the Hendrix cover. The video is awesome! Hello from 2019!

[@joanpelpinosas]

Will Mark ever say something?

[@ralphmunn1685]

Poor Charlie never had a snowball's chance of "getting" these guys.

[@AndieZ4U2]

DEVO Smart Patrol.

[@keffinmckn3602]

Starting an effing DevO tribute

[@Nickm32797]

Casale`, its Italian!

[@joanpelpinosas]

Is that for real or... Was this one of their many fallacies? They did say he lived upstairs in a pizza shop. :) and oh! That one with the glasses, his father says they're german of descent.

[@Nickm32797]

Jabby Napigkit i have no idea, I've heard another interviewer refer to jerry as casale', but perhaps it was just a mispronunciation. Sounds to me like he was just trying to be funny there but who knows

[@joanpelpinosas]

Aww.. That's okay Nick. :) but acutally, i found out that people usually address Gerry as Ca-sa-le' and not Ca-sale as in "sale". So i thought he was italian. The mothersbaugh name being german is true; their father admitted it.

[@joanpelpinosas]

And you know what? I find it weird yet funny at the same time as to why it's such a big deal to me. Probably because im a huge sucker for anglo-saxon history and all that music trivia stuff. But hey, that's just me. Anyways, thanks for the reply. :D have a nice year ahead!

[@carloslozada2121]

Charlie Rose is toast Devo was a act a smart act with a good gimmick

[@badmonkey2222]

If the spud fits, wear it...

[@thecitizenjoan]

We are DEVO! RIP Charlie

[@bradlong4251]

Damn, Charlie Rose used to be a great interviewer ...who knew? They try to throw him, and he stays focused and re orients to get the answer he asked instead of moving on..Kudos

[@TheNewNumberTw0]

IT'S ITALIAN.

[@MarcioSilva-ssiillvvaa]

He looks Italian.

[@desmirage]

charlie rose asks some goofy questions some times.

[@WThomas66]

Sounds like the perfect band for the year 2021. ONLY, they would be "cancelled" due to giving out "alternative" information.

[@keithgrillo8096]

Funny how alternative news did an 180 since 1983.

[@TheRantingMarauder]

"Shout" is an okay album, but it's the runt of the industry. Dont get me wrong.

[@joanpelpinosas]

I guess devo got tired or fed up with the whole music industry. And just produced an album for the sake of producing an album, satisfying people demands or just for commercial promotional reasons. So sad.

[@homefront3162]

The Rant Kid I like that album!

[@Brewzerr]

I love DEVO, and have ever since I first saw them on SNL back in either ‘78 or ‘79... but I’ll be the first to concede that they haven’t made a truly great album since “New Traditionalists” in ‘81. “Oh No...” had a few decent songs, but it was the first time I heard a (then) new DEVO album and felt a bit let down. “Shout” was a huge step down from “Oh No...”. I just chalked it up to the band staying true to the whole de-evolution theory. After “Shout” there was what? “Total DEVO”? I had pretty much lost all hope of another great DEVO album by then, so it didn’t really matter. They were still great live though.

[@madmaniac2552]

Brewzerr also something for everybody was great.

[@Brewzerr]

Madmaniac - Eh... it was definitely an improvement over stuff like Shout, Total DEVO, and Smooth Noodle Maps... but not really what I’d consider as great as their first 4 albums.

[@simone4993]

You must devolve to become a spud

[@slam44]

Charlie just doesn’t get it.

[@mikejett2733]

This is back when mark stil looked like booji boy

[@washitawmoor8657]

Devo.....Revolutionaries Of The " Outside -Of-The-Box " Movement...........

[@BusyAir]

Choose mutations with very low half-life. Got it.

[@marts41]

SHOUT is a good lp now in2013 than most crap out in this world

[@michaelanderson9792]

True artist band MTV used them then through them away too bad music TV lost the mission of the founding of the channel

[@TheGreatAlan75]

Devo is the anti-Led Zepplin , if you know what I mean

[@andrewhopkinson8736]

Charlie Rose was the worst interviewer of all time. He wasn't even listening to their answers, clearly didn't care anything who they were or what they were saying. Didn't even know that Are You Experienced was a cover.

[@djeurosham]

How TF could you ever consider Devo fascist?

[@scootmcgoot570]

They are weird and confusing as hell but I love them so much. Their interviews are cringeworthy in the fact that they talk in circles and try to project the image that they are over your head then act smug and pissy when anyone attempts to put their finger on what's going on....in short, yes they are over your head

[@carrite]

There are actually a few good interviews out there where they're serious and not taking the piss out of their interviewer, but just about everything when they were young and brash is a put-on.

[@scootmcgoot570]

@@carrite i love me some Devo

[@InfiniteRhombus]

shout is the worst devo album, it was fucking crazy how everything just sort of tanked around that time. Dont get me wrong, im a huge huge fan but i think anyone thats a fan can hear when it was just an overabundance of jerry doing stuff (this was almost evident on something for everybody, go and listen to the standard version and then go and listen to the demo version they released. Almost every fuckin song sounded exactly the same and was just dumb pop culture references that dont go anywhere. That being said, i do like the record, and i liked the song study version as well but as neil hamburger has famously said, "they cant all be zingers" (unrelated but a few days ago i came upon the realization that seeing devo when "oh no" came out must have been the coolest thing, im 28 but ill never ever ever get over the fact that i not only wasnt around to see a lot of the stuff in the 80's, ill never get to experience that tour, or actually any tour ever because i missed my only chance a few years ago, i regret it every day)

[@DirtyDayMix]

Are we not men?