This article contains spoilers.

It’s taken decades for me to fully (?) understand Devo. In 1981, the band spun into my life with “Whip It,” the third song on the first side of the K-Tel compilation “Full Tilt.” My sister and I spent a long winter rollerskating in our basement with Full Tilt in constant rotation. At 11, I was robustly robot-voicing “Whip it, good!” with a sense of subversiveness, but completely missing all innuendo.

Devo’s “Whip It” – and a few other of their videos – aired on MTV the same year. I wouldn't see them for a couple of years, when my family finally “got cable.” Thanks to zero parental controls and unlimited screen time, MTV schooled my early teen self on myriad age-inappropriate topics. And I couldn't get enough.

Over the years, I gleaned some of Devo’s back story, like the band was based on a concept of “de-evolution,” meaning the human race was getting dumber, thus “de-evolving.” At some point, I also learned that “Whip It” – both the song and the video – was satire.

For much of my life, Devo was a riddle, wrapped in a conundrum, topped with a four-tiered, red plastic hat. This weekend, I watched Chris Smith’s documentary, simply called “Devo,” and it unearthed much new information and confirmed what I already believed: Devo was one of the most eccentric, sardonic and revolutionary bands of the 1970s and 1980s.

“Devo” premiered at Sundance in January 2024 and started streaming on Netflix on Aug. 19.

Here are 13 thoughts on Netflix’s “Devo”:

1. “The most misunderstood band on the planet.” From the beginning, it’s made clear that Devo was a multi-faceted art concept eventually whipped and stripped down by the music industry – specifically, MTV. This might sound like a familiar story, but I guarantee by the end of the documentary, no one will think, “I heard that one before.” The Devo story is unique, inspiring, funny, frustrating and indeed, misunderstood. 
    
2. “There would be no Devo without Kent State.” Prior to watching this documentary, I was unaware of the connection between the Kent State Massacre – when the Ohio National Guard shot four unarmed students in 1970 during an anti-Vietnam War protest – and the evolution of Devo. Devo co-founders Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh were students at Kent State at the time. Casale was at the protest and knew two of the victims personally. The tragedy took the band, then more of a performance art troupe, in a new direction, one that reacted to the violence of war. Technically, Devo started out as a reimagined protest band, even though "protest artists" of the time were identified as primarily folk musicians. 
    
3. Does director Chris Smith drop us an Easter egg? The documentary features brief archival footage in front of the Oriental Theatre, presumably before their concert on July 10, 1980. Smith has strong ties to Milwaukee, so it's highly possible he favored this particular clip over others. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s graduate film program and later made “American Movie” about the life and filmmaking of Mark Borchardt, whom he met at UWM. 

   

4. Call me "woke," but .... Two of Devo’s most popular songs are “Jocko Homo” and “Mongoloid.” These titles always bothered me, and despite the explanation in the documentary, I gotta say: they still do.
    
5. We're all still waiting for our flying car. Those born in the '60s and '70s were led to believe – thanks, “The Jetsons” – that technology was evolving so quickly, we’d soon fly around in spaceships instead of driving cars. Thus, “the flying car” became a metaphor of the future. But then it never happened. Thus, the “flying car” became one of the many symbols for Devo that represented the disappointment of the modern era. And quite frankly, I’m disappointed too. Where’s my flying car, Mr. Spacely?
    
6.  Devo is not punk, and they never were. Even though they were punk-adjacent in values, Devo had little in common with truly punk outfits of the era like The Sex Pistols. I think – and I'm sure I'm not the first person to say this – it's because they didn't take themselves too seriously. They were reacting to grave issues, but approached music with a playfulness, a wink and a nod to those of us who are in on the joke of the American Dream.
    
7.  And yet .... Props to punk pioneers The Ramones. Devo got a few breaks that led them to commercial stardom. An indie film brought them from Ohio to California; a DJ in Florida played “Whip It” even though the label was trying to promote another song on the album. But The Ramones are the real saviors here. Prior to hearing The Ramones, Devo never considered playing their performance arty songs faster. Much faster. The sheer speed transformed their songs from over-indulgent art rock to something showgoers could forcefully nod their head to. Somewhere Joey Ramone is saying, “You're welcome.”
    
8.  More energy dome! More energy dome! I was surprised that the film had minimal commentary on the band’s famous red hats – aka  “energy domes" – which have been misidentified as upside-down flower pots for decades. Perhaps Smith chose to gloss over the domes because they've been over-identified with the band?
    
9.  Delightfully strange details galore. Growing up in industrial Akron, Ohio, Devo's message reflected the forced conformity of workers. Devo often dressed in identical outfits, and according to Mothersbaugh, the band briefly considered getting plastic surgery so their faces looked more alike. “Luckily, we decided not to do that,” said Mothersbaugh. Could not agree more, Mark!
    
10. So what's the "it" in “Whip It?" When people heard “Whip It” for the first time, they thought it was about S&M and/or masturbation. Devo suggests the song was intended to condemn misogyny and consumerism, but they let listeners think what they wanted, and even played "it" up in the video. Sounds like a certain group that rhymes with Pevo was starting to sell out.
     
11. Due to conflicting views on the imagery of a French fry penetrating a donut, Devo says MTV chose to part ways with them. Historically speaking, this may be the most ridiculous and hilarious reason for a split between a band and an overlord.
     
12. After Devo, Mothersbaugh made music for Paul Reubens' "Pee-wee's Playhouse" series and "Pee-wee's Big Holiday." This is a heartwarming factoid suggesting that sometimes the world actually makes sense. 
     
13. The irony. Devo themselves de-evolved. They became the parody. They – albeit briefly – became the machine. But they also proved what they already knew: opposing mainstream culture is as much of a commodity as buying into it. Or, in their words, "rebellion is obsolete." 

For a review of Devo at Summerfest this summer, and lots of fans in creative energy dome photos go here.