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33⅓ Main Series #104
Freedom of Choice
Finally, after all that waiting, The Future arrived in 1980. Ohio art-rockers Devo had plainly prepared with their 1979 second LP Duty Now for the Future, and now it was go time. Propelled by the new decade's high-tech, free-market, pre-AIDS promise, 1980's Freedom of Choice would rocket what Devo co-founder Gerald Casale calls his "alternate universe, hermetically sealed, alien band" both into the arms of the Earthlings and back to their home planet in one scenic trip.
Before an artistic and commercial decline that resulted in a 20-year gap between Devo's last two studio records, Freedom of Choice made them curious, insurgent superstars, vindicated but ultimately betrayed by the birth of MTV. Their only platinum album represented the best of their unreplicable code: dead-serious tricksters, embracing conformity in order to destroy it with bullet-proof pop sensibility. Through first-hand accounts from the band and musical analysis set against an examination of new wave's emergence, the first-ever authorized book about Devo (with a foreword by Portlandia's Fred Armisen) explores the group's peak of success, when their hermetic seal cracked open to let in mainstream attention, a legion of new Devotees, and plenty of misunderstandings. "Freedom of Choice was the end of Devo innocence–it turned out to be the high point before the s***storm of a total cultural move to the right, the advent of AIDS, and the press starting to figure Devo out and think they had our number," says Casale. "It's where everything changes."
Before an artistic and commercial decline that resulted in a 20-year gap between Devo's last two studio records, Freedom of Choice made them curious, insurgent superstars, vindicated but ultimately betrayed by the birth of MTV. Their only platinum album represented the best of their unreplicable code: dead-serious tricksters, embracing conformity in order to destroy it with bullet-proof pop sensibility. Through first-hand accounts from the band and musical analysis set against an examination of new wave's emergence, the first-ever authorized book about Devo (with a foreword by Portlandia's Fred Armisen) explores the group's peak of success, when their hermetic seal cracked open to let in mainstream attention, a legion of new Devotees, and plenty of misunderstandings. "Freedom of Choice was the end of Devo innocence–it turned out to be the high point before the s***storm of a total cultural move to the right, the advent of AIDS, and the press starting to figure Devo out and think they had our number," says Casale. "It's where everything changes."
184 pages, Paperback
First published May 21, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
October 16, 2020
I never felt so much alike, alike, alike, alike…
(The Clash’s “London Calling,” 1979)
At the start of this book, I was immediately and viscerally pulled into my college days, discovering this Devo album and attending their concert in an “old” Milwaukee movie theater, a heady experience.
Each chapter is dedicated to a song off the Freedom of Choice album, described at its start, then used as a springboard to delve into other areas. Ideas formulated before, and intensified because of, the 1970 National Guard shootings at Kent State (where the founding band member was a student-witness) are still relevant. The group has never officially broken up (as of 2014): They’re de-evolving like the rest of humanity.
Freedom of choice is what you got,
freedom from choice is what you want
(Devo, 1980)
(The Clash’s “London Calling,” 1979)
At the start of this book, I was immediately and viscerally pulled into my college days, discovering this Devo album and attending their concert in an “old” Milwaukee movie theater, a heady experience.
Each chapter is dedicated to a song off the Freedom of Choice album, described at its start, then used as a springboard to delve into other areas. Ideas formulated before, and intensified because of, the 1970 National Guard shootings at Kent State (where the founding band member was a student-witness) are still relevant. The group has never officially broken up (as of 2014): They’re de-evolving like the rest of humanity.
Freedom of choice is what you got,
freedom from choice is what you want
(Devo, 1980)
February 6, 2017
I love many 33 1/3 books but some are just better than others; this is one of them. It's an incredible read if you love Devo as I do but it's a good read even if you're just familiar with "Whip It." It delves into the art rockers and their history quite a bit for 150 or so pages and you get a real sense in their own words of who they are and what they're all about. Devo is one of the most talented, subversive, interesting bands to exist and it's so eerie and powerful to read about their own views creating Freedom of Choice as they were heading into the Reagan 80s as we go through a very similar time in our new Trump America. This was a pleasure to read and I couldn't put it down.
May 31, 2015
I love the 33 1/3 series: focused, intense writing centered around a single album. Some have proven to be better than others, but Evie's ode to "Freedom of Choice" is excellent. Bringing the band into the conversation is a good approach, because historical context matters so much in regards to this album, and her interviews with each member of the band are nicely balanced with her own ruminations about each track.
Now, I'm weird--my personal favorite Devo album is "Shout" (I know, even hardcore fans write off this album, but when you're in the middle of a 10-mile run and that saxophone riff shatters through you, it's a beautiful thing)--but you don't have to be as obsessed as these 33/13 writers to enjoy the way they skillfully write about their own obsessions. And Evie very skillfully gives this album a Ton O' Luv.
Now, I'm weird--my personal favorite Devo album is "Shout" (I know, even hardcore fans write off this album, but when you're in the middle of a 10-mile run and that saxophone riff shatters through you, it's a beautiful thing)--but you don't have to be as obsessed as these 33/13 writers to enjoy the way they skillfully write about their own obsessions. And Evie very skillfully gives this album a Ton O' Luv.
July 21, 2017
Don't let what might be the world's worst foreword by Fred Armisen deter you - it was otherwise unusually good!
September 17, 2022
I enjoyed reading this book about one of my favourite albums by one of my favourite bands, although the focus went beyond the album itself and whilst in some respects that was welcome I don't feel that I know more about this record than I did when I started. Your mileage will vary depending on how much you've already read about Devo. A good place to start, however.
March 18, 2017
One of the best in the 33 1/3 series. Overall the series is hit or miss. Success depends as much on access to the featured band as it does on good writing. Evie Nagy writes well and got hours of interviews with Devo members.
January 14, 2018
Devo's third album Freedom of Choice is the group's most well known album, mainly due to the track Whip It. It is also the album where the band ditched traditional instruments and switched to keyboards. In true 33 1/3 fashion Nagy dissects the album to an almost fanatical precision. Not only does she focus on the recording techniques and the stories behind the lyrics and the making of the videos but within the chapters she also describes the early years of Devo and their cultural impact on alternative music.
It's a fascinating volume that is an obvious labor of love and it doubles as one of the very few official Devo books out in the market as all living members of the band were interviewed and megafan Fred Arminsen writes a glowing introduction to this book.
Essential
June 9, 2015
I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
Ah, Devo—a misfit band with a misfit fan base. They're quirky and twitchy, sarcastic and knowing, visually striking and lyrically disarming. They're not for everybody, but when they do connect with a listener, the bond is intense and lasts a lifetime. I can still remember my mom(!) coming home with their first album when I was eight years old. It blew my mind. The cover was garish and baffling, the raw-edged sounds within utterly unique. I didn't understand all the lyrics at that age, but I got the message just fine. I remember taking that LP to a friend's house and having a throwdown: I played Devo for him, he played Kiss for me. We agreed to disagree.
It was just two years later, in 1980, that Freedom of Choice dropped. If their first two albums were the sound of modern society self-destructing, Freedom of Choice was another animal. The synths had moved way up and now shared the foreground in glorious juxtaposition with Bob Mothersbaugh's angular guitar and Alan Myers's incredible cyborg drumming. The band's yellow hazmat gear had morphed into the iconic red "energy dome" hats. It was, as author Evie Nagy states in her introduction, "The Future." And the Nerd Nation had an anthem.
Now, 35 years later, the acclaimed 33 1/3 book series turns its attention to the misfit spudboys from Akron, and it's a great ride. Following the track order of the album, Nagy uses each song as a launching point for broader topics. She explores the album's creation, the sudden, unexpected elevation of the band from fringe act to mainstream hitmakers (a position they would never occupy again), and Devo's emphasis on visual direction. The book also reflects on the album as a symbol and catalyst of its time—although classified a "one-hit wonder," the strange reality is that Devo has influenced two generations of popular music.
Nagy's fan enthusiasm shines through on every page—a sharp contrast to the often hostile press coverage of the late '70s. Her narrative draws heavily on interviews with Jerry Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh, so musical analysis takes a backseat to oral history. And that's just fine. We get the usual "behind the music" stuff—the inside story on the band's internal tensions, the requisite funny anecdotes from the road. But Devo is as much an art project as a rock band, engaging a variety of popular media (music, film, graphic arts, even fashion) even as it satirizes them. You can't separate music from image with Devo, any more than you can separate their real anger with the world from their deadpan kidding/not-kidding delivery ("It's a little bit Andy Kaufman," says Mark). Nagy gets into all of that too, and it's fascinating.
Although I've heard great things about the 33 1/3 series for several years now, this is the first book I've actually read. It won't be the last.
Ah, Devo—a misfit band with a misfit fan base. They're quirky and twitchy, sarcastic and knowing, visually striking and lyrically disarming. They're not for everybody, but when they do connect with a listener, the bond is intense and lasts a lifetime. I can still remember my mom(!) coming home with their first album when I was eight years old. It blew my mind. The cover was garish and baffling, the raw-edged sounds within utterly unique. I didn't understand all the lyrics at that age, but I got the message just fine. I remember taking that LP to a friend's house and having a throwdown: I played Devo for him, he played Kiss for me. We agreed to disagree.
It was just two years later, in 1980, that Freedom of Choice dropped. If their first two albums were the sound of modern society self-destructing, Freedom of Choice was another animal. The synths had moved way up and now shared the foreground in glorious juxtaposition with Bob Mothersbaugh's angular guitar and Alan Myers's incredible cyborg drumming. The band's yellow hazmat gear had morphed into the iconic red "energy dome" hats. It was, as author Evie Nagy states in her introduction, "The Future." And the Nerd Nation had an anthem.
Now, 35 years later, the acclaimed 33 1/3 book series turns its attention to the misfit spudboys from Akron, and it's a great ride. Following the track order of the album, Nagy uses each song as a launching point for broader topics. She explores the album's creation, the sudden, unexpected elevation of the band from fringe act to mainstream hitmakers (a position they would never occupy again), and Devo's emphasis on visual direction. The book also reflects on the album as a symbol and catalyst of its time—although classified a "one-hit wonder," the strange reality is that Devo has influenced two generations of popular music.
Nagy's fan enthusiasm shines through on every page—a sharp contrast to the often hostile press coverage of the late '70s. Her narrative draws heavily on interviews with Jerry Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh, so musical analysis takes a backseat to oral history. And that's just fine. We get the usual "behind the music" stuff—the inside story on the band's internal tensions, the requisite funny anecdotes from the road. But Devo is as much an art project as a rock band, engaging a variety of popular media (music, film, graphic arts, even fashion) even as it satirizes them. You can't separate music from image with Devo, any more than you can separate their real anger with the world from their deadpan kidding/not-kidding delivery ("It's a little bit Andy Kaufman," says Mark). Nagy gets into all of that too, and it's fascinating.
Although I've heard great things about the 33 1/3 series for several years now, this is the first book I've actually read. It won't be the last.
June 7, 2020
I've been a devoted spud for more than three decades, but I hesitated to buy this book, only because it's part of a series with more than 100 titles. It smacked of the mass-produced, cookie-cutter consumerism that is the object of Devo's ire.
I'm glad I overcame my doubts, as Evie Nagy captured the essence of Devo and gathered a lot of great details.
"Freedom of Choice" might not be Devo's most interesting album -- "Are We Not Men?" is, hands down -- but it was an appropriate choice for this series, in which each book focuses on one album. For Devo, "Freedom of Choice" was both its apex and its undoing, as commercial success contributed to the band's decline.
No it wasn't as simple as that, in Nagy's perceptive telling. Internal dynamics contributed to Devo's problems.
In the end, though, Devo's soul was crushed by the record industry. Devo could not escape its own prophecy. After all, we're all Devo.
I'm glad I overcame my doubts, as Evie Nagy captured the essence of Devo and gathered a lot of great details.
"Freedom of Choice" might not be Devo's most interesting album -- "Are We Not Men?" is, hands down -- but it was an appropriate choice for this series, in which each book focuses on one album. For Devo, "Freedom of Choice" was both its apex and its undoing, as commercial success contributed to the band's decline.
No it wasn't as simple as that, in Nagy's perceptive telling. Internal dynamics contributed to Devo's problems.
In the end, though, Devo's soul was crushed by the record industry. Devo could not escape its own prophecy. After all, we're all Devo.
August 11, 2016
This short book discusses the 1980 Devo album Freedom of Choice and also uses it as a focal point around which to look at the band's rise and fall, their particular brand of humor and social commentary, and their reception. Nagy draws heavily on interviews with the band's members and on reviews and commentary written around the time Freedom of Choice came out. I found this to be an easy and informative read that shed a lot of light on one of the more interesting and subversive 80s new wave bands.
June 11, 2015
This was an interesting read without being especially engaging, insightful or ambitious. Straightforward reportage meets Devo - leaving me a little underwhelmed. Maybe my bar was set too high, but doesn't the supposed highpoint of one our greatest ongoing art projects deserve something a little more challenging? (Reed and Sandifer's superb 33 1/3 of TMBG's "Flood" would be closer to the mark.) Still, I learned some things and that's all good.
June 4, 2018
I got this for my wife as a gift a while back, and finally got around to reading it long after she did. I came into it with a pretty surface-level understanding of Devo but a healthy respect for them, and this book increased both of them. Well organized and cleanly written, with a solid set of theses and a good level of access to people in the band, this is an excellent example of straightforward, in depth criticism.
August 3, 2015
Written in a rather light, not particularly enjoyable journalistic style. Extensive quotes from band members make up for this to some extent.
April 17, 2016
Covers the Freedom of Choice album and Devo's subsequent career well, but would have liked more information on the early years of the band.
December 7, 2017
Lot's of great DEVO history and interesting how it's woven around the Freedom of Choice album song list. A few good photos as well.
November 22, 2025
To quote Jessica Hopper, "Evie Nagy's 33 1/3 book on Devo's Freedom of Choice is fantastic, nerdy, swift and meticulous, and the book you have been waiting for if you even like Devo a little bit." Gets under the hood of their current tours, the motivation behind the irony behind the curtain of consumerism and out-of-bounds enthusiam as an anthem for humankind's decline. Another good summarization" "Devo was founded on the concept of "de-evolution," the idea that humanity was regressing, not evolving. The band members, particularly Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh, developed this idea after witnessing the 1970 Kent State shootings, which solidified their anti-establishment worldview. Their approach was rooted in Dadaism and pop art, using performance art, matching uniforms, and jerky, robotic movements to portray people as cogs in a machine."
January 10, 2021
I’ve been enjoying DEVO videos with my 13 month old baby daily, so I’ve been curious. This is one of the most straightforward 331/3 books. It includes an almost full history of the band and not just the album that was their high point. The author did a great amount of research and interviewing.
What I learned: I didn’t know DEVO was such a family affair. I was surprised by the cocaine use. I learned what drum gating is. I learned you can beef up a synth sound by recording it through multiple amplifiers in separate rooms simultaneously. “Industrial” and “grunge” were being used to describe music in the 1970s. There is no poem from Ancient Rome about a dog who had two bones.
What I learned: I didn’t know DEVO was such a family affair. I was surprised by the cocaine use. I learned what drum gating is. I learned you can beef up a synth sound by recording it through multiple amplifiers in separate rooms simultaneously. “Industrial” and “grunge” were being used to describe music in the 1970s. There is no poem from Ancient Rome about a dog who had two bones.
April 4, 2019
As random but as absorbing as a Devo song
Navy's congenial overview of the Devo album Freedom of Choice shifts from the band's genesis in the early 70s to their ongoing diagnosis of a devolved and decadent America in the 2010s by revisiting each of the album's tracks in playful, distracted prose that might frighten and confuse Booji Boy but should please anyone who relishes learning about a transgressive agitprop band who became, for a short and strange while, as iconic as the corporate imagery they lampooned and railed against.
Navy's congenial overview of the Devo album Freedom of Choice shifts from the band's genesis in the early 70s to their ongoing diagnosis of a devolved and decadent America in the 2010s by revisiting each of the album's tracks in playful, distracted prose that might frighten and confuse Booji Boy but should please anyone who relishes learning about a transgressive agitprop band who became, for a short and strange while, as iconic as the corporate imagery they lampooned and railed against.
April 30, 2020
This 33 1/3 series is hit and miss -- very heterogeneous collection. Some, like this, focus on the songs and the personalities and the relationships between the players. Others go off on the social environment of the time, and how the record affected, and was affected by that environment, and so on. I like knowing how each song came about, hearing about how the members feel about each other, and what they thought of each song. It was nice to read a chapter, then listen to the track, then reread the chapter.
November 19, 2017
Really really great 33/3. Evie segments the book into chapters based on each of the tracks on the album, I know, that sounds like a bad idea... but somehow it just works. This format allows for a deep analysis of each track, be it its themes, recording anecdotes or composition. Each chapter also has a general bit of writing on Devo and the culture of the time. A really thorough and incredibly enjoyable read. Probably the best Devo book out there.
August 9, 2022
Loved reading about a band from my hometown! Great history lesson of their career, especially around the time that Freedom of Choice was released. Evie Nagy interviewed the surviving members of the band and longtime friends and collaborators, so you know you're getting some good information. Devo more than any other band has a way with describing the state of humanity that I am just in awe of and in agreement with. Recommended to fans of the band.
January 29, 2023
Successfully goes against my notion of Devo as an apolitical band of goofballs, even if I don't find the music itself entirely convincing. Plus, I find the chapter-by-chapter delivery---brief song analysis followed by separate historical context---to be great pacing even if the two halves don't necessarily dovetail into each other. The anecdotes themselves are a great little tour of early 80s excess, in particular their romp in Italy. All the ingredients necessary for an effective 33 1/3 entry.
December 18, 2017
It's been some time since a book in this series was so rewarding. Little bits of author's personal insight into album tracks, but then an arching narrative involving the demo-lution of the band. The tidbits from band members furthered the book's aim, leaving a lasting piece of music journalism on a band that need such a book to cement their legacy.
August 22, 2018
I was really enjoying this book and then I didnt pick it up for about a month. Then reading the last few chapters took forever. This is one of the better 33 1/3rd's stylistically. I like the way it is written. I just need to read faster.
December 6, 2020
I've read about 12 titles in this (wildly uneven) series, and this was the best so far. Or maybe tied with the Fugazi "In on the Kill Taker" one. Thorough, educational, and far from hero worship. Evie Nagy sure knows her stuff.
February 22, 2022
An entertaining potted history for all you ageing spuds. Actually it doesn't concetrate overly on the album which is odd (maybe a de evolution thing), but that's not a bad tactic . Are we not old men?
July 2, 2023
One of the better 33 1/3 books for sure. It balances stories from the studio with details on songcraft and places the album in historical, social and artistic context.
I guess I don’t give it five stars because there’s a tad too much navel-gazing and diversions from the album, but it’s great.
I guess I don’t give it five stars because there’s a tad too much navel-gazing and diversions from the album, but it’s great.
January 27, 2018
This book is fantastic,
and it is in my opinion the best Kind of 33&1/3 book there is,
in terms of approach and whatnot.
and it is in my opinion the best Kind of 33&1/3 book there is,
in terms of approach and whatnot.
December 9, 2020
Great book on a great album
December 30, 2022
LOVED this 33 1/3 book!! One of (if not) the best ones I’ve read!!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews