Q: Are we not men?
A: We are Devo 2.0.
I bet all you parents out there have been wondering how to get your kids interested in the music of Devo. Well, Disney came up with a solution: get the original members of Devo together to re-record some classic songs from the band's catalog, and have the vocals sung by 5 kids billed as Devo 2.0 (or possibly DEV2.0, if you go by the banner on the site). Check out the Devo 2.0 site for a bunch of videos that have been posted to the site (coming soon: Downloads! Games! Devo 2.0 Shop!), and get ready to buy the CD in March.
Although it's good to see Disney continuing where the Mini Pops left off, and it's amusing to come up with a list of songs that Devo 2.0 probably isn't going to cover ("I Need A Chick", perhaps?) I have to confess that I prefer my pop-songs-remade-with-child-vocals a bit more on the incoherent side. Which is why I was reminded of this Dutch version of "Rock Me Amadeus" (RealAudio link) that Mark G. of the Evolution Control Committee played on $mall ¢hange's show back in 2002. And more recently, of course, Deva (the female-fronted Devo cover band) played on Music to Spazz By last October. Not as kid-friendly as Devo 2.0, of course, but then again they play their own instruments.
We are all Dev2.0
Thats so great, the slightly changed lyrics, the videos...
And I thought hearing Beautiful World in a car commercial was going to be the high point of my life.
Posted by: Ed Word | January 24, 2006 at 01:18 PM
I'm guessing no "Penetration of the Centerfold" then...
Posted by: Sam | January 24, 2006 at 01:48 PM
I have a feeling this DEV2.0 will be releasing an album on June 6 of this year. Whilst viewing their site, this date just kind of popped into my head (06/06/06)!
Posted by: vanjulio | January 24, 2006 at 03:36 PM
This was an excellent idea that was poorly executed. Disney didn't have the guts to have normal or even ugly kids fill the roles. And Nicole sucks on vocals.
Posted by: tristero | January 24, 2006 at 03:46 PM
Things like this are terrifying, and along the lines of mentioning them:
http://www.reggaeton-ninos.com/
Posted by: john | January 24, 2006 at 04:51 PM
It makes perfect sense. The spud boys now have truly de-volved, splitting into two different mutants:
--The middle aged Devo re-union band
--Devo 2.0, which swaps Mark's unique voice for the devolved sound of an average girl singer...
At least give her a Booji boy mask to even everything out....
Posted by: eclecticmuzakman | January 24, 2006 at 05:55 PM
What I love is the slightly changed "Uncontrollable Urge". Instead of "Yeah yeah yeah yeah ..." it's now "Yah yah yah yah ..." which makes the kids sound German and the song sound kinda threatening. German kids singing Devo: I'd buy that cd.
Posted by: Saskatoon Dave | January 24, 2006 at 08:50 PM
Good news: Two new songs (Cyclops sounds awesome, by the way) and DEVO providing the real backing tracks.
Bad news: De-subversified lyrics. Nicole can't bloody sing.
At least Jihad Jerry & The Evildoers doesn't suck.
Posted by: Rich Anderson | January 24, 2006 at 10:11 PM
I like the vocals! Two new Devo tracks!
Posted by: Jeff T | January 25, 2006 at 01:00 AM
The backing tracks are uninspired, even though DEVO plays them. They're squashed flat, devoid of life. The front-kids can't sing. They sound like playground chatter. All in all, a truly DEVO effort. How unfortunate that DEVO itself participated. Is this self-recursive ultimate DEVO, a mirror looking at itself in the back of a darkened refrigerator? Or is it "Oh shit I'm 60 - better pile up some money to pay for my new hips?"
Posted by: Clyde Frog | January 25, 2006 at 01:35 AM
The nice thing about being Devo is that you can the de-evolution philosophy to anything, and the crasser, the better. So Devo can sell "Whip It" for a Swiffer ad and pretend that they're actually subverting the medium of television commercials. Or they can hire a Radio Disney-friendly preteen lineup to sing and mime to their songs, and they can pretend that it's more than an easy money grab. Either way, geeks like us get to add layers of philsophy and meaning that may not actually exist.
Posted by: mike | January 25, 2006 at 01:07 PM
don't forget the changed lyrics:
"It's a beautiful world, for you, not me"
becomes
"It's a beautiful world, for you, and me"
Posted by: ortsed | January 25, 2006 at 07:14 PM
i wonder if disney realizes that devo has an extremely pessimistic view on life. i don't know about you but i personally don't want any teenie boppers screwing up the music of one of my all time favorite bands...
Posted by: rotten ralph | February 27, 2006 at 07:19 PM
Yo DEVO is a good band! I wanted to have my own Rock band for VERY LONG and i CAN'T even play my guitar! Do any1 of you know where theyr on tour or something?
Posted by: Holla back | September 10, 2006 at 03:36 PM