are we not men?

itunes music store is great. one of the best things is that you can find obscure stuff you thought you'd never hear again. recently while browsing i ran across itune's partial DEVO catalog. yes, DEVO. one of my favorite bands. most only know them for their one "hit" -- 'Whip It' --which came late in their career. DEVO wrote plenty of other great songs, along with alot of crap. once you sift thru the silly crap [like Speed Racer], listeners discover that DEVO was sarcastic, ironic, and very cerebral, in an mutant sort of way. the perfect answer to Reaganomics and the Moral Majority [remember them?]. judging by the daily press, its like 1980-88 all over again. God help us.

in tribute to the current stifling moronic conservative political atmosphere, here are some of my favorite DEVO lyrics ~

JOCKO HOMO
They tell us that
We lost our tails
Evolving up
From little snails
I say it’s all
Just wind in sails
Are we not men?
We are DEVO!
We’re pinheads now
We are not whole
We’re pinheads all
Jocko homo
Are we not men?
D-E-V-O
Monkey men all
In business suit
Teachers and critics
All dance the poot
Are we not men?
We are devo!
Are we not men?
D-E-V-O
God made man
But he used the monkey to do it
Apes in the plan
We’re all here to prove it
I can walk like an ape
Talk like an ape
I can do what a monkey can do
God made man
But a monkey supplied the glue
We must repeat
O.k. let’s go!

FREEDOM OF CHOICE
a victim of collision on the open sea
nobody ever said that life was free
sank, swam, go down with the ship
but use your freedom of choice
i'll say it again in the land of the free
use your freedom of choice
your freedom of choice
in ancient rome there was a poem
about a dog who found two bones
he picked at one
he licked the other
he went in circles
he dropped dead
freedom of choice
is what you got
freedom of choice!
then if you got it you don't want it
seems to be the rule of thumb
don't be tricked by what you see
you got two ways to go
i'll say it again in the land of the free
use your freedom of choice
freedom of choice
freedom of choice
is what you got
freedom of choice!
in ancient rome
there was a poem
about a dog
who found two bones
he picked at one
he licked the other
he went in circles
he dropped dead
freedom of choice
is what you got
freedom from choice
is what you want
(repeat)

BEAUTIFUL WORLD
it's a beautiful world we live in
a sweet romantic place
beautiful people everywhere
the way they show they care
makes me want to say
it's a beautiful world
for you
it's a wonderful time to be here
it's nice to be alive
wonderful people everywhere
the way they comb their hair
makes me want to say
it's a wonderful place
for you
hey
tell me what i say
boy 'n' girl with the new clothes on
you can shake it to me all night long
hey hey
it's not for me


LOVE WITHOUT ANGER
love without anger
he picked up the phone and took the call
a long distance voice just started to bawl
i don't care if you feel small
love without anger isn't love at all
why can't you have your cake and eat it too
why believe in things that make it tough on you
why scream and cry when you know it's through
why fall in love when there's better things to do
barbie and ken in a great big fight
seems ken forgot to make it home one night
you know what you are seeing simply can't be right
looks like love's bark is worse than its bite
he was young and in love
so he just couldn't see
and it compelled him to ask
are you kidding me?
you must be kidding me!
love without teardrops isn't the same
he asked to be counted out of her game
she thought it him who was so insane
love is what it does by any other name

ENOUGH SAID
none of you would help me when i baked by bread
now all of you would help me eat it
i can see that you are very well fed
this indicates that you don't need it
enough said
stop and let me tell you what tomorrow holds for you
stop and let me tell you 'bout a plan i have for you
take all the leaders from around the world
put them together in a great big ring
televise it as the lowest show on earth
and let them fight like hell to see who's king
gather up the pieces when the fight is done
then you'll find out living really can be fun
you wanted a world you could figure out
but something happened while you were asleep
you wanted a good life you could brag about
too bad they took the parts you wanted to keep

DEVO HAS FEELINGS TOO
young hunks
cyberpunks
and sweet things
trying hard to change your luck
baby thugs
bad spuds
and mean things
living for today or maybe even yesterday
look around
shakey ground
do the right thing
in this world you're just a guest
do it now
time's run out for the pig thing
living for today stealing from tomorrow
law and order puppets remote-controlled by greed
and tv preacher robots won't give you what you need
use your head
sidestep the traps
snake through the chaos with a smooth noodle map
besides the king's been dead
they blew off his head in '63
big bucks
energy sucks
and dumb things
make it hard to live and breathe
add it up
no matter what
there's one thing
living for today there's maybe no tomorrow
subhuman bloodless leaders fed on lies and fear
and tv anchor news teams trim all we see and hear
use your head
sidestep the traps
snake through the chaos with a smooth noodle map
besides god isn't dead
he's in your head
right where he ought to be