"Don't Shoot (I'm a Man)" Released: April 10, 2009
"Fresh" Released: February 27, 2010
Something for Everybody is the ninth studio album by American new wave band Devo. It was originally released in June 2010 (being their first studio album in two decades, since 1990's Smooth Noodle Maps) on their original label Warner Bros., and it was their first issued on that label since their sixth studio album Shout in 1984. The album was recorded between July 2007 and mid-2009, at Mutato Muzika, in West Hollywood, California. The album is the last Devo album to feature Bob Casale, who died in February 2014.
The album cover depicts a woman the band refers to as the "Sexy Candy Dome Girl",[1] portrayed by the Russian model and musician Natasha Romanova of the band Discrete Encounter,[2] holding a miniature blue energy dome to her mouth.
Background
Although a new Devo album had been considered as far back as the band's 1996 reunion, efforts by Devo's co-founder and bass guitarist Gerald Casale to get one off the ground were repeatedly unsuccessful. Devo produced some new material in the late 1990s and early 2000s, mostly for soundtracks and commercials, and toured regularly, but a new album had not been forthcoming. In interviews, Casale described the situation as "a cocoon of silence" and his solo project Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers was an attempt to spawn new Devo material. However, following the 2007 release of the non-album single "Watch Us Work It", Casale indicated that the band might be ready to work on a new album. That same year, LA Weekly, in an article on lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh's production studio Mutato Muzika, reported that, "After touring sporadically over the past decade but not releasing any new material, Devo are spending December at Mutato trying to create an album's worth of new material and contemplating a method of dispersal in the post-record-company world."[3]
In a later interview, Mark Mothersbaugh revealed a song title from the in-progress album ("Don't Shoot (I'm a Man)"),[4] but hopes were briefly deflated when Jerry stated that Mark had "killed the project" and that there would be no new Devo album.[5] Casale eventually stated that Devo would "finish what we started"[6] and later interviews confirmed that Devo would complete their new album.[7] The "Studio Notes" section of the November 27 issue of Rolling Stone stated that "Devo are working on their first album of new material since 1990's Smooth Noodle Maps. 'We have about 17 songs we're testing out,' said Mark Mothersbaugh. 'We've already been contacted by 20 producers—including Snoop Dogg, Santigold, and Fatboy Slim.'" Fall 2009 was confirmed as a possible release date at the time.[8][9]
Devo announced in early 2009 that they would be performing at the South by Southwest International Conference (SXSW) in Austin, Texas on March 20 with a warm-up show in Dallas on March 18. At these shows, Devo performed a new stage show utilizing synchronized video, similar to the technique they used for their 1982 tour. They also debuted new costumes and three new songs: "Don't Shoot (I'm a Man)", "What We Do" and "Fresh". All of these songs included a video backdrop, with the band performing in front.
On Friday, April 10, 2009, Devo debuted the music video for "Don't Shoot (I'm a Man)" on their website, through Vimeo.[10] In an interview for the website "Subba-Cultcha", Casale stated that "regardless of the final [album] title, it will be 'Fresh'!"[11] This statement led to speculation among fans that Fresh would be the new album's title. According to the "In the Studio" section of the June 2009 issue of Rolling Stone, the album was pushed back to 2010 to allow for "radical remixing".[12]
In late 2009, Devo announced that it had signed a new contract with their original label, Warner Bros., to release their new album. In an interview with Gerald Casale in late October 2009, he announced that Devo's new album would be picking up from where they left off: "We think it's the best record that we'd ever done although we're not certain that Fresh will be the title. There are more good songs on this album than any other record that we've made. We're aiming for a spring release."[13] In January 2010, Billboard published a preview of the upcoming album, stating that it would be released in April 2010. In the interview, it was stated that Casale hoped to call the album "Something for Everybody, despite the publicized working title of Fresh."[14] The final track listing was still being decided but was likely to feature the high-energy (and "focus group-approved," according to Casale) "Please Baby Please" as well as tracks produced by Greg Kurstin and John Hill.
On April 17, 2010, the same day as both their Coachella performance and Record Store Day, Devo released a 12-inch vinyl single of "Fresh" backed with "What We Do". A sticker on the sleeve confirmed that the title of the new Devo album would be Something for Everybody. On April 20, Devo released the Song Study EP on iTunes, which contained the same tracks as the "Fresh" single, along with the addition of the "Song Study Video". That night, Devo performed "Fresh" and "Whip It" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where it was announced that the album would be released on June 15. For one week, beginning on June 10, the album was streamed online through Colbert Nation.[17] Devo also performed "Fresh" on the Late Show with David Letterman on June 16, 2010.
Promotion
Starting in early 2010, Devo began marketing the new album through a series of satirical videos and communiques from Greg Scholl, former CEO of music and video marketing and distribution company the Orchard, now billed as the Chief Operating Officer of "DEVO, INC." Devo also began working with a newly opened Los Angeles branch of New York City-based marketing group Mother New York to produce a number of videos designed to satirize the use of focus groups in marketing research and radio programming. The first of these was released in February to determine the new color for the band's famous energy dome headgear and asked participants what sound colors made and how they made them feel. Ultimately, blue was the color that was selected. Other videos used focus groups to arrive at conclusions like "'Fresh' alleviates aches and pains" and "3 out of 5 people would hold 'Fresh' with their feet for more than 3 minutes."
On February 22, "Fresh" was made available as a free download, following the band's performance at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Devo returned to the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas on March 11, 2010, to conduct a panel entitled "Devo, The Internet & You". During this panel, a "focus group study" was conducted in which a total of four potential titles for the album were revealed: Fresh, Something for Everybody, Devolution and Excuse Our Mess.[18] It was also announced at SXSW that Devo would be conducting a "Song Study", an interactive online survey created to determine the final 12 songs (out of 16 total) to be included on the new album.[19] The survey ended on May 3, 2010, and the results were revealed on May 18, 2010, via Ustream at 12 p.m. Pacific Time. The track listing of the Song Study Version was announced.
On April 19, 2011, a video based on "What We Do" was released on Mashable's website.[20] The video features an interactive 360° camera, which can be set on "auto pilot" or controlled by the viewer, allowing them to choose which part of the scenery to watch and to click on items to buy at the band's merchandise website. A non-interactive version was released to YouTube on April 20. The song "Human Rocket" was later featured in the U.S. trailer for the film Paul (2011).[21]
In August 2012, Gerald Casale announced plans to release a collection of demos from the sessions for Something for Everybody, with potential titles being Devo Opens the Vault, Gems from the Devo Dumpster, or Something Else for Everybody.[22]
Barry Walters of Rolling Stone stated, "Combining the punk-funk fury of Devo's earliest recordings with synth pop, this ninth disc is frantic and wall-to-wall catchy", singling out "Human Rocket" as a highlight.[27] Marc Masters of Pitchfork opined that while "The first few songs verge on self-parody [...] the rest of Something For Everybody contains some pretty good music--the kind that actually sneaks up on you a little rather than ham-fisting you over the head." While he felt the lyrics were "rife with clichés", "dated politics" and "self-conscious Devo-isms", he added that "when the band is locked in sonically, those lines sound better than they read", and ultimately compared the album favorably to Oh, No! It's Devo (1982).[28] David Jeffries of AllMusic called the album a modern update of New Traditionalists (1981) combined with the hooks of Freedom of Choice (1980), comparing "Later Is Now" and "No Place Like Home" to the "sarcastic grandeur" of "Beautiful World". Citing "Fresh" and "Don't Shoot" as further highlights, Jeffries ultimately concluded that the album was "proudly not a nostalgia trip and is, instead, filled with age-appropriate subversion, right up to its ironic title."[23]
Andy Fyfe of the BBC wrote, "Something for Everybody isn't a return to the halcyon days, but neither is it a deluded grasp for relevance". He selected "Fresh", "What We Do" and "Step Up" as highlights, but ultimately concluded the album was "an inconsistent world of quirk over content", noting that "their former sense of ironic fun seems to be slipping into bitterness."[29]The Independent featured two reviews. Andy Gill noted, "pleasingly, at its best their punchy 'mechanized swing' electropop has lost none of its appeal since the masterful Freedom of Choice."[24] Simon Price felt the album "exudes pure joy", adding, "The plantpot-headed sextet's comeback is the sound of bright brains having fun."[25]
At DEVOtional 2008, Mark Mothersbaugh indicated via a video conference that the already released "Watch Us Work It" might be included on the album.[32] Three songs, all of which were performed at SXSW in March 2009, were confirmed for inclusion: "Fresh", "Don't Shoot" and "What We Do". At DEVOtional 2009, several new tracks were aired, including versions of the three songs performed at SXSW. A fifth song, "Step Up", was also played during a radio interview.
The following day of the press conference, the album was put up for pre-order through Club Devo with a different track listing than announced, noting that it was "88% focus group approved".[33]
Further confusing the issue is an article and interview published in the Los Angeles Times on May 18, in which Gerald Casale reiterates that the final album will consist of the 12 songs voted on by fans.[34] A posting on Devo's official website later explained the change in the track listing. It stated that "'March On' and 'No Place Like Home' were undervalued in the study" and that Devo felt they should be included. "Cameo" was also included due to the band's feelings that "it is the new Devo and will prevail in the end".[35] It was later revealed that the album as determined by the Song Study would be released as an MP3 album available only through online retailers, while the physical CD release would have the "partnership-approved" track listing. The posting also announced the release of a deluxe edition with all 16 songs. It includes the four excluded tracks: "Signal Ready", "Let's Get to It", "Watch Us Work It", and "Knock Boots". The Japanese edition contains 13 tracks with "Watch Us Work It" as a bonus track. Only the iTunes version of Something For Everybody (Deluxe) contains the track "Knock Boots".
On July 23, 2013, Devo released Something Else for Everybody, a digital collection of eleven tracks from the Something for Everybody sessions that did not make the final album. The death of Alan Myers, Devo's third and most prominent drummer, came just a month before the release of the album. Something Else for Everybody was released on CD by Booji Boy Records on May 20, 2014.
To promote the album, Devo embarked on their longest album-supported tour ever, lasting for nine legs from February 2010 until June 2013, playing in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Following the conclusion of the tour, the only song from the album to be performed again would be "Don't Shoot (I'm a Man)", which was included in most shows after 2019. Some tour dates in 2012 included a performance of "Come Back Jonee" featuring Debbie Harry.
The last show took place on June 9, 2013, at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, featuring a one-off performance of an older song, "Jerkin' Back 'n' Forth". This tour marked the final time Bob Casale played with the band before his death in February 2014.
Related Research Articles
Devo, often stylized as DEVO, is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales, along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", the song that gave the band mainstream popularity.
Mark Allen Mothersbaugh is an American musician and composer. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose "Whip It" was a top 20 single in the US in 1980, peaking at No. 14, and which has since maintained a cult following. Mothersbaugh is one of the main composers of Devo's music.
Freedom of Choice is the third studio album by the American new wave band Devo, released in May 1980 on Warner Bros. Records. The album contained their biggest hit, "Whip It", which hit No. 8 and No. 14 on the Billboard Club Play Singles and Pop Singles charts, respectively. Freedom of Choice peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.
Oh, No! It's Devo is the fifth studio album by American new wave band Devo, released in 1982 by Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded over a period of four months, between May and September 1982, at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles and was produced by Roy Thomas Baker.
"Whip It" is a song by American new wave band Devo from their third studio album Freedom of Choice (1980). It is a new wave and synth-pop song that features a synthesizer, electric guitar, bass guitar, and drums in its instrumentation. The apparently nonsensical lyrics have a common theme revolving around the ability to deal with one's problems by "whipping it". Co-written by bassist Gerald Casale and lead vocalist Mark Mothersbaugh, Devo recorded "Whip It" with producer Robert Margouleff at the Record Plant in Los Angeles.
New Traditionalists is the fourth studio album by the American new wave band Devo, released in 1981 by Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded over a period of four months between December 1980 and April 1981 at the Power Station in Manhattan, New York City. It features the minor hits "Through Being Cool" and "Beautiful World".
Gerald Vincent Casale is an American musician. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, co-lead vocalist and bass player of the new wave band Devo, which released a top 20 hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It". Casale is the main lyricist and one of the primary composers of Devo's music, as well as the director of most of the band's music videos. He is one of only two members who have been with Devo throughout its entire history. Casale's brother Bob also performed with the band.
Robert Edward Casale Jr., or "Bob 2", was an American musician, composer and record producer. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as the rhythm guitarist and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, which released a Top 20 hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It". The band has maintained a cult following throughout its existence. He was the younger brother of their co-founder and bass guitarist Gerald Casale.
Alan Myers was an American rock drummer whose music career spanned more than 30 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as the third and most prominent drummer of the new wave band Devo, replacing Jim Mothersbaugh.
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! is the debut studio album by the American new wave band Devo. It was originally released in August 1978 on Warner Bros. in the North America and Virgin Records in Europe. Produced by Brian Eno, the album was recorded between October 1977 and February 1978, primarily in Cologne, West Germany.
Duty Now for the Future is the second studio album by American new wave band Devo, released on June 1, 1979, by Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Ken Scott, the album was recorded between September 1978 and early 1979 at Chateau Recorders in Hollywood. The majority of the songs on the album had been performed in Devo's live set as early as 1976.
Shout is the sixth studio album by American new wave band Devo, released on October 8, 1984 by Warner Bros. Records.
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E-Z Listening Disc is a compilation album by the American new wave band Devo, originally released in 1987 by Rykodisc. The album is a compilation of all but one of the tracks from Devo's two E-Z Listening Muzak Cassettes, which had been available only through Club Devo in 1981 and 1984, respectively, consisting of instrumental versions of Devo songs performed in the style of easy listening Muzak or New-age music.
Robert Leroy Mothersbaugh Jr., or by his stage name Bob 1, is an American musician, singer, songwriter and composer.
Robert Curtis Lewis is an American composer and musician. He is best known as a co-founder of the new wave band Devo. He graduated from Kent State University shortly after the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970.
Smooth Noodle Maps is the eighth studio album by the American new wave band Devo. It was originally released in June 1990 and would be their last album released through Enigma. The album was recorded over a period of three months between October 1989 and January 1990, at Master Control Studios, in Burbank, California. Smooth Noodle Maps was Devo's last full-length studio album until the release of Something for Everybody in 2010, as well as the last Devo studio album to feature David Kendrick on drums.
Devo 2.0 was a pop group quintet, created for Walt Disney Records, of child actors who sing, dance, and mime playing instruments along to songs re-recorded by some of the original members of Devo. Jerry Casale directed all nine of the videos. Actress Jacqueline Emerson, who later appeared in The Hunger Games, was a member. The band split up in 2007 when lead singer Nicole Stoehr and lead guitarist Nathan Norman quit.
Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers is the solo project of American musician Gerald Casale, best known as a founding member of the new wave band Devo. Jihad Jerry also includes contributions from fellow Devo members Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh and Bob Casale, Jerry's brother. It also features drummer Josh Freese, who had toured with Devo before becoming a member of the band.
"That's Good" is a song by the American new wave band Devo, written by Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale. It appears on their fifth studio album, Oh, No! It's Devo (1982). According to Casale, "the lyrics deal with the ambiguity that if everybody wants what you want, how can everybody have it if everybody wants it and what happens when everybody tries to get it, and maybe you should change what you want."
References
↑ Trunk, Russell A. "'80s – Gerald Casale (DEVO)". annecarlini.com. Retrieved February 18, 2014. And please tell us more about the Sexy Candy Dome Girl on its front cover! 'Mother found her in NYC. Her name is Natasha Romanova. She's a singer songwriter who models as a day job. BTW, she's smart as well. It hurts.'
↑ Williams, Jonathan (April 17, 2008). "Access Atlanta Article". Accessatlanta.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
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