Devo | The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan
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What was the significance of Devo's performance on Saturday Night Live in 1978?
That night, all the young kids who were too young to go out and have dates or whatever... Yeah.
Yeah. They were watching Devo. So, in my parlance, I call it the thing that should not be. Devo should not be, but you are.
Well, you know, we were really... controversial and polarizing back then. And there were people who loved us and people that hated us. More of them that hated us. Well, yeah, more in the beginning, you know, like anything new.
That's the beauty of rock and roll. It doesn't sleep. It's always looking for the next thing.
The only reason people are interested in us now is because we did something sincere and creative and original at that time that a lot of it has withstood the test of time.
Well, here we are. Thank you for being at Madden. This is our first ever live podcast for my podcast, The Magnificent Others. So I'm very honored to have you on my podcast. You can apply.
How did Devo's concept of de-evolution influence their music and philosophy?
It's hard to get people to visit.
And this is the first time I've met you in person.
Yes, we played together in about 2007 in Kentucky.
They kept us apart, though.
Well, you know, despite your sort of egalitarian profile, you know, it was like, don't go near them, don't talk to them, don't look at them in the eye.
You could catch something. Who said that?
Some guy wearing a flower pot.
Yeah. That's the problem.
Okay. So let's jump in. So I know where you were October 14th, 1978. Do you remember?
October 14th.
That's what it said.
Oh, I remember the 17th, Saturday Night Live.
Yes. Maybe I have the date wrong.
Well, it's all right.
What role did Neil Young play in Devo's early career?
Somewhere around there. Close. Okay, I'll go with you because you were there. October 17, 1978, Saturday Night Live. You played two songs, Satisfaction and Jaco Como. Yeah. And the reason I want to start here is because my father was a musician, hated pretty much everyone, maybe outside of Sly Stone or something. And I didn't have a bedtime when I was a kid, so I would have been, at this point, 11 years old. And I heard my father howling with laughter and glee from the other room.
Oh, okay.
And I walked in because I couldn't understand whatever he was laughing at. But it wasn't laughter or mockery. It was like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Exactly. And I came in and we had the little roller TV on color, color TV in the kitchen. And he pointed the TV and said, you have to watch this. Oh, and that was the first time I ever saw it.
Yeah. You know, the most common story we get is, I watched you guys on Saturday Night Live, and it scared the shit out of me.
Oh, really?
How did the rise of MTV impact Devo's music and public perception?
Yeah, we get that. Yeah, nobody believed it was real. I remember people telling me, did Lorne Michaels and those people, did they speed up the video? And I go, well, they couldn't because it was live. And they go, how did you guys do that?
Well... What was strange for me was I was used to my father pointing at the television saying, I hate this. I hate it because he was a musician. And it was always bad, bad, bad, worse, bad. He can't sing. She can't dance. And I couldn't quite at that moment, now it makes sense to me, understand what he saw in it because it was so different. And my natural thought would be, well, this would be something he wouldn't like.
But it was two steps ahead of difference so that he couldn't hate it.
No, I think he immediately got what you were doing. Now, he was a stoner, so that might have contributed.
No, there were people like my parents who were just like your dad about everything. But when they saw the Beatles, it kind of stunned them. They weren't able to process it.
It was sort of like, this is so awesome.
What stories illustrate the band's relationship with their manager Elliot Roberts?
What is this? Yeah.
Yeah, until then it was like, it was all terrible, stupid.
Did you feel the effect of that performance or that appearance immediately? Was that apparent to you from the inside?
Pretty much overnight, yeah.
We changed our venues. We were in the middle of a tour and our venues all changed.
You went up to the level.
We went up a step. Yeah, because you got to remember the viewership then. There were only three channels, right? National TV channels. Everybody had common experiences.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What was the significance of Devo's performance on Saturday Night Live in 1978?
0:00–1:10
2
How did Devo's concept of de-evolution influence their music and philosophy?
1:10–2:01
3
What role did Neil Young play in Devo's early career?
2:01–3:11
4
How did the rise of MTV impact Devo's music and public perception?
3:11–4:24
5
What stories illustrate the band's relationship with their manager Elliot Roberts?
4:24–5:24
6
How does Devo view the impact of AI on the music industry?
5:24–7:06
7
What reflections do Devo have on their cultural relevance today?
7:06–8:45
8
How does Devo define their legacy in relation to contemporary music?
8:45–1:09:05
Speakers
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