"Through Being Cool" | ||||
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Single by Devo | ||||
from the album New Traditionalists | ||||
Released | September 18, 1981 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:14 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Devo | |||
Devo singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Through Being Cool" on YouTube |
"Through Being Cool" is a song by American new wave band Devo, written by Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale, and Bob Mothersbaugh. It appears on the album New Traditionalists (1981). The song was a direct attack on new fans who didn't understand Devo's message. The song was also featured in the 1981 animated film Heavy Metal as well as the 2005 superhero comedy Sky High , with the latter version performed by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. The song is also used as a throwback in NBA 2K8 .
Record World said that "a boss bass groove sets the pace for dancers while the rhythm guitars add a funky flavor and keyboard melodies go after pop ears." [1]
The music video had Devo taking a limited role, focusing on a team of kids clad in Devo "Action Vests" attacking arrogant and ignorant people with "spudguns."
Chart (1981–1982) | Position |
---|---|
US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 [2] [3] | 7 |
US Hot Dance Club Songs | 32 |
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. 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. The band supported the album with a North American tour.
"Whip It" is a song by American rock 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 "Jerry" 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 main composers of Devo's music and directed most of Devo'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.
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 the Warner Bros. label. 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 rock band Devo, released in 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.
Booji Boy is a character created in the early 1970s by the American new wave band Devo. The name is pronounced "Boogie Boy"—the strange spelling "Booji" resulted when the band was using Letraset to produce captions for a film, and ran out of the letter "g". When the "i" was added but before the "e," Devo's lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh reportedly remarked that the odd spelling "looked right."
"Jocko Homo" is the B-side to Devo's first single, "Mongoloid", released in 1977 on Devo's own label, Booji Boy Records and later released in the UK on Stiff Records. The song was re-recorded as the feature song for Devo's first album, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! on Warner Bros. Records in 1978. The original version peaked at No. 62 on the UK Singles Chart.
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.
DEV-O Live is a live EP by American new wave band Devo. It was recorded during the Freedom of Choice tour on August 16, 1980, at the Fox Warfield Theatre in San Francisco.
The discography of Devo, an American new wave band formed in 1973, consists of 25 singles and 9 studio albums. Devo was founded by Gerald Casale, Bob Lewis and Mark Mothersbaugh. Devo currently consists of brothers Mark Mothersbaugh and Bob Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale, Josh Hager and Josh Freese (drums). The band rose to prominence in the US during the new wave era with their single "Whip It". The band have released nine studio albums, ten extended plays, fourteen compilation albums, ten live albums, one soundtrack album and twenty-five singles.
"Beautiful World" is a song by American new wave band Devo, written by Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh. It appears on their fourth studio album New Traditionalists.
Something for Everybody is the ninth studio album by American new wave band Devo. It was originally released in June 2010 on their original label Warner Bros., and 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.
Theme from Doctor Detroit is an EP by American new wave band Devo, released in 1983 by MCA Records. It includes the two songs from the Doctor Detroit movie soundtrack recorded by the band, plus a dance mix of the title theme. A music video for the song, containing scenes from the movie as well as footage of the band, was released on the We're All Devo home video in 1984 and also appears on the 2014 re-release of The Complete Truth About De-Evolution video collection.
"Peek-a-Boo!" is a song by 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). The single features the non-album track, "Find Out" as its B-side, which was also released as a bonus track on the Infinite Zero Archive/American Recordings CD reissue of the album. "Find Out" was later re-recorded by Devo's bassist Gerald Casale's solo project Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers for the studio album Mine Is Not a Holy War (2006). According to Gerald Casale from the audio commentary for their film, The Complete Truth About De-Evolution, "Peek-a Boo! was a song about Devo's circus-like look and the dark side of human nature, the side we try to keep secret, the side we try to deny, in this Christian world where we're only supposed to have happy endings and only supposed to be good, and instead Devo is dealing with what evil is here in a very light-hearted manner."
David Kendrick is an American musician who is currently a member of the experimental pop band Xiu Xiu. A former member of Gleaming Spires and Devo, he has recorded and toured with Sparks, Andy Prieboy and Revolushn. He is based in Los Angeles, California.