Public Commander Keen Forum

Q: Are we not men? A: We are DEVO!

Seriously though for the last year or so i just can’t get enough DEVO in my ears. They’re a pretty divisive band, people either love them or hate them and I totally get it when someone says they don’t like their music. DEVO is a very strange band indeed with their bizzare costumes and weird 80s synthesizer new wave sound… but for me that’s what I can’t get enough of. Everyone has no doubt heard their main hit Whip It, but I’ve been on a deep dive of all their albums plus the story of the band itself.

Their early 70’s music was more rock/punk based with guitars and real drums and as they progressed into the 80’s synthesized tones and electronic drums became more and more the focus of the sound.

What really speaks to me is the message in the music, the (joke) theory of De-evolution that life on earth has always evolved to be better, stronger and smarter but modern humans are getting slower and lazier. De-evolving if you will, DE-VO. It’s a joke theory but sometimes it seems to ring true in this modern age, maybe their message is simply helping me understand and process this crazy world we live in? I seem to find comfort in some songs, other times it’s just fun to listen to!

Favorite songs: Blockhead, Gates Of Steel, Smart Patrol/Mr DNA, Whip It, Beautiful World, Gut Feeling, Uncontrollable Urge, That’s Good

Anyways just wanted to share that, cheers to everyone and the music that inspires and comforts us through our lives!

“Twist away, now twist and shout! The Earth it moves too slow! But the Earth is all we know, we pay to play the human way. Twist away the gates of steel”

I second this... DEVO are such good fun, probably the most fun and least self-important of all the post punk bands. I find their colourful visuals and their jaunty square wave synths are almost a bit Keenish in a way.

Some of the songs you picked are great. "Gut Feeling" is surely one of the best. "Beautiful World" is lovely, and the RATM version (a band about whom I generally hold mixed feelings) adds a layer of poignancy.

My first exposure to DEVO was vis Nirvana's cover of their B side "Turn Around". The original is a great track.

Addendum: one other band from that era that I'm particularly fond of is the Vapors, whom I previously mentioned. They too have an amusing take on the issues of that time, delivered through high quality music. Their albums don't have quite the same punchy sound engineering as DEVO but are highly worthwhile.

Well, didn't know that this topic existed! Would have commented way earlier.
I enjoy lot of different genres, but my go-tos are Rock/metal.
Bands I like/listen to often: Rush, R.E.M, Metallica, Wintersun (only know one album but it's awesome powermetal), Rhapsody (of fire), Foo Fighters, Weezer, Iron Maiden, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Billy Joel, Yes, Pink Floyd, ZZ Top, Van Halen, Blind Guardian, Nightwish, Smashing Pumpkins, Blue Oyster Cult, Styx, The Cars, and Black Sabbath. Probably a bunch I'm forgetting, too!

And I just realized that I listen to a LOT of different bands, lol!

Here is an updated list:

Clutch, The Bakerton Group, The Company Band, Dunsmuir, Deep Swell, Delco Detention, Planet of Zeus

Metallica, Motorhead, Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves, Cyco Miko

Jinjer, Infected Rain, Death Dealer Union, Seas on the Moon, Morphide, Monochromatic Black

The Pretty Reckless, Halestorm, Lacuna Coil, Arch Enemy, Nita Strauss

Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror, Benediction

Cannibal Corpse, Corpsegrinder, Voodoo Gods, Paths of Possession, Serpentine Dominion, Monstrosity

Pig Destroyer, Suffocation, Immolation, Dying Fetus, Incantation

Overkill, AC/DC, Van Halen, Beastie Boys, Tool, A Perfect Circle, Slayer, Kerry King

Decapitated, Butcher Babies, Rob Zombie, White Zombie

L7, Donita Sparks and the Stellar Moments, The Shocker, Once Human, Machine Head

Intense Hammer Rage, Pulverized Cranial Matter, Agoraphobic Nosebleed

Crowar, Kirk Windstein, Kittie, Stitched Up Heart

After Life, Unbreath, Biohazard, Circle of Dead Children, Coalesce, Death, Dehydrated

Emasculator, Nidorous, Abnormality, Parasitic Extirpation, Castrator

Jimi Hendrix, The Machinist, Meytal, The Midnight Ghost Train

Obituary, Tardy Brothers, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell, Primus, Les Claypool

Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy, Killer Be Killed, Sepultura, Nailbomb

Suicide Silence, Type O Negative, Carnivore, 7 Year Bitch, 20 Lb Sledge

Benvolio wrote: Sat Aug 17, 2024 16:27 I second this... DEVO are such good fun, probably the most fun and least self-important of all the post punk bands. I find their colourful visuals and their jaunty square wave synths are almost a bit Keenish in a way.

Some of the songs you picked are great. "Gut Feeling" is surely one of the best. "Beautiful World" is lovely, and the RATM version (a band about whom I generally hold mixed feelings) adds a layer of poignancy.

My first exposure to DEVO was vis Nirvana's cover of their B side "Turn Around". The original is a great track.

Addendum: one other band from that era that I'm particularly fond of is the Vapors, whom I previously mentioned. They too have an amusing take on the issues of that time, delivered through high quality music. Their albums don't have quite the same punchy sound engineering as DEVO but are highly worthwhile.

I had not heard “Turn Around” so I looked it up and it led me to a DEVO B Sides album with songs I haven’t heard before! Thank you for helping me dive even deeper in the rabbit hole and discover awesome new music! I gotta check out the Vapors next

An updated list:

Clutch, The Bakerton Group, The Company Band, Dunsmuir, Deep Swell

Delco Detention, Planet of Zeus, The Midnight Ghost Train, Meytal, Sledge X

Metallica, Motorhead, Megadeth

Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves, Cyco Miko

Rollins Band, Henry Rollins, Black Flag, State of Alert

Jinjer, Infected Rain, Death Dealer Union, Anotherkind, Vervain St. Project, Seas on the Moon, Morphide

Lacuna Coil, Arch Enemy, Nita Strauss, Type O Negative, Carnivore

Monochromatic Black, After Life, Unbreath, Dehydrated

The Machinist, The Pretty Reckless, Halestorm

Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror, Benediction

Cannibal Corpse, Corpsegrinder, Voodoo Gods, Paths of Possession, Serpentine Dominion, Monstrosity

Pig Destroyer, Circle of Dead Children, Suffocation, Immolation, Dying Fetus, Deeds of Flesh, Incantation

Overkill, Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy, Killer Be Killed, Sepultura, Nailbomb, Prong

AC/DC, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell, Fight, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Beastie Boys

Tool, A Perfect Circle, Coalesce, Primus, Les Claypool

Sausage, Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel, Oysterhead, Les Claypool's Frog Brigade

Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, Les Claypool's Duo de Twang, The Claypool Lennon Delirium

Butthole Surfers, Gibby Haynes and His Problem, P, Paul Leary, The Jackofficers

Slayer, Kerry King, Anthrax, Exodus, Hatriot, Dublin Death Patrol, Testament, Kreator

Death Angel, The Organization, Swarm, Metal Allegiance, Dark Angel, Nuclear Assault

Decapitated, Suicide Silence, Obituary, Tardy Brothers, Destruction, Death

Butcher Babies, The Violent Hour, Rob Zombie, White Zombie, M.O.D., S.O.D., Mastery, Biohazard

L7, Donita Sparks and the Stellar Moments, The Shocker, 7 Year Bitch, Once Human, Machine Head

Intense Hammer Rage, Pulverized Cranial Matter, Crowbar, Kirk Windstein, Down, Pantera

Kittie, Castrator, Vicious Blade, Stitched Up Heart, Agoraphobic Nosebleed

Hello! I apologize if this is not the thread to post in, but since it's about music (and I see a lot of metal here), perhaps you won't mind as my stuff might be interesting for you.
I have a project called Berserk Bard that is essentially 90s-inspired instrumental metal music I write specifically for playing retro games (including Commander Keen mods, of course). The music is meant to not become a distraction while playing, but is still composed well enough to listen to on its own. And with titles like "Terror from the Outer Space" and "Aliens Ate My Babysitter", I guess my influences are rather clear...Anyway, I just released a new album, so hopefully some of you might find it enjoyable! You can listen to Berserk Bard here:

https://open.spotify.com/embed/artist/1 ... =generator
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1qgGlaP9iVjEwvtk3OoIXn
https://berserkbard.bandcamp.com/music

I like it, Berserk Bard! Really well played and produced! Is it all performed by you (as in one person?) It's paying back into metal the debt owed by the composers of Doom, Duke etc. Great to have keen references too! At first I struggled to search you on my Spotify but realised I was writing Berzerk Bard for some reason. But actually Berserk is the correct spelling!