The Truth About De-Evolution (1976) Online

Several factory workers finish their day at work and get into a car. They drive to a club where they perform the song "Secret Agent Man" as a rock quartet...

There are two problems with this film: one, it is a bit low quality. And two, it is a bit short. The first can be explained away by not only the budget but also by suggesting anything "devo" would have to be less than perfect. And the second point is covered by saying this was a marketing strategy -- basically a ten minute advertisement. And it worked.

Love them or not, Devo was and remains a hugely influential part of culture. You might say, "but they only made Whip It". And to the general population, that may be all they are ever known for. But the list of great songs is long, not to mention Mark Mothersbaugh's outstanding career as a film composer.

In the Beginning Was the End: The Truth About De-Evolution (1976)

*** (out of 4)

If you want to see the start of Devo then look no further than this 10 minute promotional piece that features a number of songs but the highlight being Secret Agent Man. I will gladly and freely admit that I'm not a fan of Devo but I ran across this on Fandor and every once in a while I just like trying new things. Overall I thought the film had a pretty interesting and good visual quality that certainly helped capture the band. As far as the music goes, obviously your mile is going to vary depending on your thoughts of the band but it wasn't too bad. Again, I thought their Secret Agent Man was quite fun to listen to.

. . . if you watch the other Devo band DVD extra on Criterion's 2011 release for the classic horror film, ISLAND OF LOST SOULS. In their retrospective, titled CASALE AND MOTHERSBAUGH ON ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, these rock group co-founders explain their band's symbiotic connection to a film released decades before any of them were born. Furthermore, the pair relate how the "Tricky Dick" inspired Kent State Massacre forced them to see the mindless rubber-molding drudges taking up most of the space around them in Akron, OH for the existential threat that they were. The gunning down of unarmed teenagers within their safety zone compelled Devo to become Vice President Spiro Agnew's Worst Nightmare. When one rogue party in America has continued even up until Today to shed crocodile tears over foreign leaders that they lynch in order to steal oil (think Leader Hussein) by claiming that "He murdered his own people," these Nazi-like hypocrites should have rushed to become the firing squad for the USA's own version of Richard III. However, these Devo guys knew that such a thing would never happen; that America's Tiananmen Square victims would never be avenged, so they did the next best thing: When you watch these videos, collectively labeled THE TRUTH ABOUT DE-EVOLUTION, you'll see how they would don monkey masks to mock the murderous local "Nixon Democrat Silent Majority" racist rubber molders during gigs at their "happy hour" bars, singing to their faces that they had sunk lower than the Ape Men of Dr. Moreau's ISLAND OF LOST SOULS.