Originally published at: Neil Young and Devo's deeply weird early version of "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" | Boing Boing
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I like the instrumentation here, but not the singing. I’ve also never cared for Neil Young’s voice anyhow (give me a smokers cough Bob Dylan over it any day).
I like the Chromatics cover better than the original.
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This is one of the best things I’ve ever seen on the internet.
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Sounds good to me. 
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That’s pretty bad ass.
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The amount of stimulants can practically be seen in the video. But this was way ahead of its time.
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Musically, it’s too true to the original for me. Here’s Devo being Devo:
and Neil being weird:
'Wow, right off they wrote better lyrics than I did." – Neil Young
“I was in shock. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. He sort of re-sculpted that song into something else and… I hate him for it, basically.” – Devo’s Mothersbaugh, about Weird Al’s Devo pastiche “Dare To Be Stupid”
I wonder whom Al looks up to, lyrically?
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He-he! That certain got chaotic.
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Booji Boy!
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That’s real good. I miss live music.
I think part of this is from the Human Highway film
I think so. IMDB states a director’s cut was edited and released to film festivals in 2015, with added digital effects.
What I’m noticing is that Devo needed more Neil Young influence. He brings somethings they lacked, which are spontaneity and risk, major components of any lively art. I loved Devo when they showed up. Wow! that’s different and so fucking funny, but they went nowhere. They seem now like an offshoot of Zappa’s punching down style of “humor.” Where is the outrage at the causes of the decline of our culture? Just smug disapproval of people not lucky enough to be “smart” like them. In that regard they are emblematic of their time, sure. Young brought them a chance to learn from performing. To give in to the moment. To give up control. They failed to understand the most basic lessons of art. (They had the same problem working with Eno.)
Love Devo, but have huge respect for an artist like Neil Young who gives it up every time. Symptomatic of the dichotomy ; at the end Neil tries to engage them in the rave up he ends every live song with and they just can’t do it.
I love your take. I took it the other way - that Neil Young could use more Devo. He always strikes me as so serious and could be pushed to take it down a notch (I know - This Note’s for You, etc.). But, again, I totally love your take.
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