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We Are Devo!: Are We Not Men? by Jade Dellinger, David Giffels
Book Summary InformationAuthor: David Giffels, Jade Dellinger Editor: Jeff E. Winner Edition: Paperback Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 2008-11-30 ISBN: 0946719764 Number of pages: 254 Publisher: S a F Pub Ltd
Book Reviews of We Are Devo!: Are We Not Men?Book Review: Devo: The Early Years Summary: 5 Stars
The emphasis of this book is on the formation and early success of Devo, so maybe another book is in order to cover the band's decline. It's a generous amount of info about a rather obscure era and place, and anyone genuinely interested in Devo should read it.
As someone who has tracked with the band from their earliest days in the public eye (as many people of a certain age who grew up in Akron have), I have to say that this book changed my perception of Devo dramatically. I always thought that they were just brainy, midwestern, suburban smart alecks who figured out that acting demented and sardonically subversive attracted attention and annoyed jocks and Steve Miller Band fans to death. That they wore their diapers and monkey masks on stage, but it was pretty much a hilarious joke at the expense of record companies and critics gone too far. That in the off hours they probably wore slacks, penny loafers and high thread count oxford shirts. I was wrong. They were sincerely demented.
Summary of We Are Devo!: Are We Not Men?"This book is as close as anyone will ever come to explaining where Devo's brilliant absurdity came from?and more importantly, why that absurd brilliance was so culturally essential."?Chuck Klosterman ?Extensively researched. . . . The mostly untold story of Devo?s beginnings makes this book so fascinating.??The Wire ?Given the propensity of Devo to propagate misinformation about themselves, it is comforting to finally have a book that appears to draw all threads of these men, who lived so deliberately, into a knot of actual events. Inspiring stuff.??Rock Sound Magazine The first paperback edition of the highly successful illustrated biography of America?s pioneering art rock spud men, Devo.
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