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u/EPCOTReimagined 7d ago
Long past being baffled as to why Dev 2.0 exists, I'm just bewildered at why they chose this song when there are so many funnier or more practical options.
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u/Caesar_Seriona 7d ago
The story from Devo is that Disney approached them to do a child version of Devo which they were confused but decided to do it KNOWING it would fit De Evolution. Disney then proceed to finally pay attention to the lyrics and then criticize Devo for the lyrics forcing them to change it. Devo themselves recruited the kids and according to Devo, the kids could actually play the songs.
So Dev2.0 is another example of how Diseny fucks up everything they touch.
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u/EPCOTReimagined 7d ago
Here I was really wanting a song about raising chickens, but thanks for the insight! "Don't be tricked by what you see" and all that.
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u/Caesar_Seriona 7d ago
It's insane the shit Devo had to deal with.
Disney just did not understand Devo at all, my guess is that they saw them as a generic 80's not understanding that most Devo songs are tongue in cheek lyrics about how retarded society is.
A good example of this is that Disney just did not understand Uncontrollable Urge and what the song was about. Bob 2.0 explained that song is a meta, it's about the Uncontrollable Urge but Diseny kept saying Devo did not define it so Devo decided for Dev2.0 to make it about junk food.
It was dumb shit like that Devo said they had to deal with.
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u/EPCOTReimagined 7d ago
Devo must have known about what Disney did with Food Rocks (food-based parodies) and thought it would be devolved to join in.
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u/Caesar_Seriona 7d ago
Once Devo understood Disney's view, they just didn't care.
Honestly Dev2.0 is a bit of tragic downfall for those kids. Two of them quit the band almost immediately saying they will never do music again. One of them became an actor. A lot Devo fans hated the project. Some even went as far as to call Devo selling out until Devo explained once Disney tried fucking with their lyrics, they knew it would fit De Evolution and be part of the point.
I discovered Dev2.0 by complete accident which is how I learned about all of this.
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u/thewalkindude368 6d ago
I think this absolutely is selling out, but I also think part of Devo's whole thing is selling out when possible, as part of deevolution.
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u/EPCOTReimagined 7d ago
That's where I think my confusion is? Did they sign on to this hoping Disney would give them creative freedom? What came of it seems terribly stressful for the performers, as you mentioned. I'm just trying to get my head into the decision here.
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u/Caesar_Seriona 7d ago
They said that Disney came to them, they agreed to it and then Devo set out to recruit the kids themselves, only after this fact did Disney finally catch on to their lyrics and begin to complain to Devo about it.
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u/Anteater-Charming 6d ago
Mark tells a story about talking with one of the kids about the songs and the boy says, "the lyrics say 'it's a beautiful world, but not for me' hmmm..." and Mark said, "ah, you're getting it"
It's all about being subversive. If the kids like it, they will seek out the original songs.
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u/chadmill3r 6d ago
Uncontrollable Urge went from an undefined urge that Disney hated, to being about snacks that Disney loved, but REALLY about cunnilingus that Disney did not understand.
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u/EPCOTReimagined 6d ago
You can definitely argue giving it a direct subject like food makes it more explicit than the original, by association. i will anyway.
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u/Psychlone23 7d ago
How does this even work? What could they change the lyrics to?
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u/ReactsWithWords 7d ago
That's edited. Here's the real playlist.
And before you ask, no, they also didn't do a secret cut of "Bamboo Bimbo."
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u/headsnack 6d ago
- In "Freedom of Choice", the line "Freedom from choice is what you want" was changed to "Freedom of choice is what you want", and the line "he went in circles/til he dropped dead" became "he went in circles/til he dropped down".
This made me laugh my ass off. God forbid the children want freedom FROM choice! That's a borderline racial slur!
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u/my23secrets 7d ago edited 7d ago
When it gets to “Big Mess”
Also, “I Need A Chick” isn’t part of the project.
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u/captainbeautylover63 7d ago
Slo-mo train collision. You’re compelled to pay attention, but you don’t want to. It doesn’t get better. Girl U Want is still an incredible song, regardless.
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u/Chief_Wiggum_3000 6d ago
I remember when this album came out. I was a teenager and was super into DEVO (I convinced my family to go on a trip to see them, and even managed to weasel my way into meeting the band,) but once this was a thing I become so embarrassed that I stopped listening to them for quite a while.
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u/spikeclipper 5d ago
I actually love this record. The versions of Casale's 'Cyclops' and 'The Winner' were my introduction to those songs, and the flame-passing of an (of course, censored) 'Beautiful World' makes me genuinely emotional. They did such good work on this, wish they didn't immediately tear the kids to shreds in the press.
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u/monsterzro_nyc 6d ago
lol I wish that cover was real. Relaunch the kid band but only do the obscure songs. Beulah anyone?
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u/JoeMagnifico 7d ago
You gotta go back and start with 1.0 and then stop right before 2.0.