• 11 months ago
We Are DEVO! And they made us all FEEL as though we were, creatively having the long line of awaiting press wear the iconic red construction hats the band is known for before Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale, and Bob Mothersbaugh (DEVO) made their way in, for the premiere of their documentary at Sundance last night. Acclaimed filmmaker Chris Smith ( American Movie, Wham! ) takes us through the amazing 50-year career with never-before-seen archival footage and interviews of this legendary band, which perfectly captures the gloriously radical spirit that is DEVO, with high-energy montages, lo-fi video, and a charging rhythm that leaves you mesmerized by their wild rise. Band members are honest and open with their memories and archives--finally sharing their full story. They are a rare band founded by a philosophy--a Dada experiment of high art meets low, hellbent on infiltrating American popular culture, and they relish every freakish moment of their story. It's a must-see.
Transcript
00:00 [music]
00:02 Hey, we're Devo.
00:03 And you're watching Life Minute TV.
00:06 [music]
00:08 We played here 28 years ago for the closing ceremony in 1996.
00:19 And all the heat went out that day. All broke.
00:22 And we came out in 1920s prison outfits that I had rented.
00:26 And it was hilarious because we were freezing and had to pretend like we were really having a good time.
00:32 We did as good as we could with a vision and a message that resonates with kids today, which is fantastic.
00:40 Hopefully, it liberates them from feeling depressed or feeling powerless.
00:47 Yeah, all the things that make you feel like you're crazy and that the world is too much.
00:51 It gives you a place to find solace and re-energize.
00:55 We gave voice to disenfranchised people and marginalized people, artists, musicians, and people that weren't fitting in.
01:03 And they were getting, you know, threatened and beat up by jocks.
01:07 And Devo was suddenly there for them to give them hope.
01:10 I think it was just like how relevant they feel looking back.
01:15 You're looking at it with a 2023 lens, they still feel as like current today as they did 50 years ago.
01:21 The spirit that they had in the 70s and 80s is still there today.
01:24 It's one of those things that I remember them.
01:26 I mean, it was one of the VHS tapes that we had when we were growing up that was incredibly inspiring.
01:31 But to see the material again and really live in it, you just appreciated it in a new way.
01:36 The earlier footage, the better. When we were very young and...
01:41 Everything that we saw out there, the world, it was both insane and wonderful.
01:47 [MUSIC PLAYING]

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