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Devo's Freedom of Choice
Series: 33 1/3
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Devo's Freedom of Choice
$2199
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
This book suits readers interested in alternative music, 1980s pop culture, new wave enthusiasts, and fans of Devo looking to deepen their understanding of the band’s pivotal album and cultural impact.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
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Description
Finally, after all that waiting, The Future arrived in 1980. Ohio art-rockers Devo had plainly prepared with their 1979 second LP Duty Now for the Future, and now it was go time. Propelled by the new decade's high-tech, free-market, pre-AIDS promise, 1980's Freedom of Choice would rocket what Devo co-founder Gerald Casale calls his "alternate universe, hermetically sealed, alien band" both into the arms of the Earthlings and back to their home planet in one scenic trip.
Before an artistic and commercial decline that resulted in a 20-year gap between Devo's last two studio records, Freedom of Choice made them curious, insurgent superstars, vindicated but ultimately betrayed by the birth of MTV. Their only platinum album represented the best of their unreplicable code: dead-serious tricksters, embracing conformity in order to destroy it with bullet-proof pop sensibility.
Through first-hand accounts from the band and musical analysis set against an examination of new wave's emergence, the first-ever authorised book about Devo (with a foreword by Portlandia's Fred Armisen) explores the group's peak of success, when their hermetic seal cracked open to let in mainstream attention, a legion of new Devotees, and plenty of misunderstandings.
Freedom of Choice was the end of Devo innocence—it turned out to be the high point before the storm of a total cultural move to the right, the advent of AIDS, and the press starting to figure Devo out and think they had our number," says Casale. "It's where everything changes."
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Evie Nagy's book is praised for being fantastic, meticulous, and perfect for fans of Devo. Jessica Hopper from Pitchfork calls it "nerdy and swift." Reviews highlight its thorough storytelling with new interviews, anecdotes about the band’s studio and tour experiences, and its cultural significance in alternative music and 1980s pop. It is noted for effectively capturing Devo’s mix of humour and political commentary, offering valuable insights into the band's influence on nerd culture and the era’s music scene.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781623563448
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 16 July 2015
Country: United States
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Contributors:
- Foreword by Fred Armisen
Audience: General / adult, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 10.0mm
Width: 120.0mm
Height: 164.0mm
Weight: 156g
Pages: 184
Collections
About the Author
Evie Nagy is an arts and business journalist who has been a staff editor and writer at Rolling Stone, Billboard and Fast Company. She lives in Oakland, CA.
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