The Complete Truth About Devolution
Encyclopedia
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
release by new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band Devo
Devo
Devo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
. It is a collection of Devo's music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s from 1976 to 1990. It was released on Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
in 1993 by Voyager and on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
by Rhino Records in 2003.
Synopsis
The Complete Truth About De-Evolution contains almost all of Devo's music video output from 1976 to 1990. The DVD does not include two notable music videos: the first is "Doctor Detroit," the theme to the movie Doctor DetroitDoctor Detroit
Doctor Detroit is a 1983 comedy film, written by Bruce Jay Friedman, Robert Boris and Carl Gottlieb. The film stars Dan Aykroyd, Howard Hesseman, Lynn Whitfield, Fran Drescher, and Donna Dixon, with a special appearance by James Brown. The film was directed by Michael Pressman.James Brown performed...
; the second is the Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
cover "Are U Experienced?
Are You Experienced? (song)
"Are You Experienced?" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience for their 1967 debut album Are You Experienced. The song was recorded on April 3, 1967 at Olympic Sound Studios in London, England; the songs "May This Be Love" and "Highway Chile" were recorded on...
," which was removed due to protests from the Hendrix estate. The films are presented in roughly chronological order and are interspersed with clips from a promotional film Devo made with Pioneer
Pioneer Corporation
is a multinational corporation that specializes in digital entertainment products, based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan. The company was founded in 1938 in Tokyo as a radio and speaker repair shop...
in the 1980s to promote the Laserdisc format. The DVD also includes many bonus features such as a commentary track by band members Mark Mothersbaugh
Mark Mothersbaugh
Mark Allen Mothersbaugh is an American musician, composer, singer and painter. He is the co-founder of the new wave band Devo and has been its lead singer since 1972. His other musical projects include work for television series, films, and video games....
and Gerald V. Casale, an interview with Chuck Statler (who directed many of Devo's videos), live footage from early Devo performances, photo galleries and more. None of the live material from "The Men Who Make The Music" is included, nor is most of the storyline from "We're All Devo!"
About the name
It is important to differentiate The Complete Truth About De-Evolution from The Truth About De-EvolutionThe Truth About De-Evolution
The Truth About De-Evolution was the first music video for the band Devo, directed by Chuck Statler. Filmed in May 1976, it contains two separate songs: Secret Agent Man and Jocko Homo. It won First Prize at the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 1977, and was routinely screened before Devo live concerts...
. The Truth About De-Evolution was a short film made by Devo in 1976 which included the videos for "Jocko Homo
Jocko Homo
"Jocko Homo" is the B-side to Devo's first single, "Mongoloid," released as a single 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....
" and "Secret Agent Man." The Complete Truth About De-Evolution is the 1993 compilation of promotional videos.
Track listing
- Logos and Titles
- Devo Corporate Anthem 1979
- In The Beginning Was The End: The Truth About De-EvolutionThe Truth About De-EvolutionThe Truth About De-Evolution was the first music video for the band Devo, directed by Chuck Statler. Filmed in May 1976, it contains two separate songs: Secret Agent Man and Jocko Homo. It won First Prize at the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 1977, and was routinely screened before Devo live concerts...
1975-1978 - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in 1965. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham. Richards's throwaway three-note guitar riff — intended to be replaced by horns — opens and drives the song...
1975-1978 - A word about laserdiscs
- Come Back Jonee 1975-1978
- The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprise 1979
- Worried Man (From the film Human HighwayHuman HighwayHuman Highway is a 1982 comedy film starring and co-directed by Neil Young under his pseudonym Bernard Shakey. Dean Stockwell co-directed the film and acted along with Russ Tamblyn, Dennis Hopper, and the band Devo...
; opens with footage from Devo's home video release We're All DevoWe're All DevoWe're All Devo! is the second home video release by new wave band Devo. Released on VHS and Laserdisc in 1984, We're All Devo! is a collection of Devo music videos from 1976 to 1983.-Synopsis:...
featuring Rod Rooter and his daughter, Donut) 1979 - Whip ItWhip It"Whip It" is the title of a 1980 single by the American New Wave band Devo. It appears on the album Freedom of Choice. There were two 7" single releases of "Whip It", one backed with a remix of the track "Snowball" and one backed with "Turn Around"...
1980 - Girl U Want 1980
- Freedom of Choice 1980
- Another word about laserdiscs
- Through Being Cool 1981
- Love Without Anger 1981
- Beautiful World 1981
- Time Out For Fun 1982-83
- Peek-A-Boo 1982-83
- That's Good 1982-83
- More about Laserdiscs
- Are U Experienced? (Does not appear on Rhino DVD) 1984
- The final word about laserdiscs
- Disco Dancer 1988
- Post Post-Modern Man 1992
- Post Post-Modern Man (Rocky Schenck remix) 1992
- Credits
- MongoloidMongoloid (song)"Mongoloid" is the first single released by Devo in 1977, on the Booji Boy Records label. It was backed with the song "Jocko Homo." "Mongoloid" also had one of the first music videos made using collage. "Mongoloid" would later be re-recorded by Devo and appeared on the album Q: Are We Not Men? A:...
(Bonus feature on Rhino DVD)
About the Rhino Records DVD
The Rhino Records DVD released in 2000 received much criticism from fans of the band. First, because of the aforementioned omission of the video for "Are U Experienced?." A comment on the back cover of the DVD addresses this: "DEVO regrets that 'Are U Experienced?' is not included in the program. The current executors of the Jimi Hendrix estate were determined to prove to us the old adage - 'To seek permission is to seek denial'." Other criticisms focused on the relatively poor mastering job. For example, Rhino simply recorded the gallery segments from the Laserdisc without making them seekable galleries. Similarly, each video's title screen was simply copied from the original Laserdisc, which means many of the chapter numbers listed on the title screens bear no relation to their chapter numbers on the DVD. Furthermore, there had been many delays in the DVD's release. However, the Rhino DVD does include the highly influential and rare video for "MongoloidMongoloid (song)
"Mongoloid" is the first single released by Devo in 1977, on the Booji Boy Records label. It was backed with the song "Jocko Homo." "Mongoloid" also had one of the first music videos made using collage. "Mongoloid" would later be re-recorded by Devo and appeared on the album Q: Are We Not Men? A:...
," made by Bruce Conner
Bruce Conner
Bruce Conner was an American artist renowned for his work in assemblage, film, drawing, sculpture, painting, collage, and photography, among other disciplines.-Early life:...
.