DEVO - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO

I would have been a strange kid in 1978. I can't imagine my hairstyle or choice of fashion, but I am pretty sure I would have listened to DEVO. Which means I probably would have kept my virginity long past high school, but made a lot of money before I lost it.

It's been long enough since this album came out that it is safe to say it is one of the downright coolest things to happen during the disco era. Here was a band full of visual artists/musicians/super nerds blatantly insulting the reigning morons of Disco and Rock, and they were all too dumb to get the joke. They are a band that flew right over the head of a large percentage of music fans, but had such a niche fan base that they were hugely influential in their own circle. This obliviousness from the majority allowed them to have songs like "Mongoloid" and "Jocko Homo" become anthems for the computer science majors and robotics engineers of their time, without offending anyone or creating a huge stir of controversy. Maybe people were just less touchy back then.

DEVO were not only one of the first groups to incorporate wireless technology into their stage show, they built the fucking mechanisms to do it. If that's not Rock and Roll, I don't know what is. Since DEVO were writing strange, technical art rock with brand new technology, they needed a drummer who could equal their innovative and technical (but mostly weird) ideas. Thank god Alan Myers was around.

Alan matches their quirky keyboard and guitar patterns with punk rock fury and precision. One thing I love about this record especially is that he never over plays, most of his drum patterns consist of single hits strategically placed all over the kit. It all seems so simple once you hear it, but so many drummers fail to reach his level of tastefulness. He was the perfect drummer for this band at this particular time, and that is something that doesn't happen often.

Besides, anyone who listens to I Can't Get No Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones, then puts their own twist on it and comes up with the beat that Alan came up with, deserves to be noted.

Audio/Visual evidence: I Can't Get No Satisfaction, Mongoloid, Uncontrollable Urge