Originally published at: Watch Devo on the Merv Griffin Show in 1980 | Boing Boing
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These interviews are always so awkward! Fascinating… but awkward. It’s like the original cringe TV. 
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Are we not men?
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Wow, they played it just like it sounds on the record!
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I think the most awkward thing was the way the guest (sidekick?) stood with his back to the camera in front of the band.
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Much like when they appeared on The Mike Douglas show, the band members are in the crest of their fame tidal wave (thanks to the mega-hit “Whip It,”) and are just starting to realize the path ahead; many many interviews filled with inane banter and oblivious celebrities, the very things they mocked in their songs.
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Griffin had a public image of being mild mannered and politically conservative, but in his shows he gave early platforms to people like Dick Gregory and George Carlin (and even Bertrand Russell).
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I came here to mention the weird outfits and awkward behavior of the folks talking to Devo, but everyone else was there already. So I’ll just mention that this is a great soundtrack to read this previous post from today by: The U.S. locks up far more people than any other nation. Check out this incredible infographic | Boing Boing .
Particularly relevant, because 1980.
Counting all my toes, I guess I was 12 when this came out.
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The people who threw bottles? Oh, no those were the people who liked us.
Now this is a video that needs to be upscaled to 4k.
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Another great DEVO interview from October 1981:
“A musical laxative for a constipated society”
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I’ve never even seen this movie but from it just seeing it on the video store shelf for years whenever someone around me says “urrgh!” or “arrgh!” I have to suppress the urge to exclaim “a music war!”
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it’s definitely worth watching imo
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We are DEVO!
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Liquorish WHIIIIP!
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