Search - Devo :: Greatest Misses

Good companion piece to "Hits"

Sarah Bellum | Dublin, OH United States | 02/05/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There are many good songs on "Greatest Misses," making this a good purchase for the casual Devo listener. With Devo's irreverent sense of humor, most of these songs will put a smile on your face. In typical erudite fashion, they look down their noses at blockheads and mongoloids. "Hold the pickles / hold the lettuce / all that we ask is that / you let us serve it YOUR way" is their stab at our fast food nation on "Too Much Paranoias." I cannot help but find the misogyny of "Timing X/Space Junk" funny. Typical for Devo's idea of a love song, the girl is a person of reference rather than a person of address. Not so typically, however, the girl this time is killed, though not by murder. Rather, she is hit by "space junk," such as the Sputnik, which fell from the sky. ("Original" is a word that promptly comes to mind when conjuring words to describe Devo.) The "Explicit lyrics advisory" comes from one song, "Penetration in the Centerfold." (Hint: "penetration" does not refer to the staples that were used to bind magazines at that time.) Not quite misses, "Jocko Homo" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" are nonetheless slightly different versions than those appearing on the "Greatest Hits" disc. Devo is a group whose music does not appeal to all tastes, though fans cannot get enough. This is a very good choice for purchase, though a better choice for celebrating geekdom would be to get all their original releases."