Devo – Something For Everyone, Thomas Dolby – Amerikana
on June 19, 2010 at 12:27 pmI’m happy to see two of my favorite artists from the 80′s still making good music. Both haven’t released new material in quite some time and they deserve a review. While the 80′s seem quite far away, these both Thomas Dolby and Devo still seem relevant in today’s music world.
Devo’s album ‘Freedom of Choice’ was the first record I ever got as a kid. My young mind was completely taken in by the song Whip It when it was performed live on a TV show called Fridays. I first got excited about Devo making a comeback when they did a new song for a Dell commercial a couple years ago. When I heard that they were going to be releasing a full album of new material in near future, I knew that I would be buying it on the day it was released.
The concept behind ‘Something For Everyone’ is rather interesting. While the album was being made, the band had set up some focus groups to help determine what songs would be on the album as well as what artwork would be used. The result is a bunch of new songs that are definitely Devo but with an undeniable modern flare. Let’s just say that this album has been sitting in my iTunes rotation since the day it came out.
While I loved ‘She Blinded Me With Science’ back in the day, I didn’t really become a big fan of Mr. Dolby until I saw him in concert a few years ago. Since then, I’ve been following him via his blog of which he updates fairly often. Well, this week he released Amerikana on his website and it’s only available to those who sign up there.
Amerikana is the first of three EPs worth of music that Dolby will be releasing. Like with Devo, the new material by Thomas Dolby certainly has his a familiar quirky nature but it still seems relevant. I truly admire him for his creativity in weaving together a story with these songs. Just as he proved that he can still put on a great concert, he has shown that he is still a modern day troubadour. Bravo!
