Half a goon and half a god

Heather's and my pumpkins.  Wonder whose is whose...

I was just driving and saw a woman walking with a cane with a tennis ball at the bottom of it.  I've seen this before, of course, especially on old people's walkers.  It is very weird.  I wonder who was the first person to slice open a tennis ball and stick it on their walker or cane.  Are the instruments so mediocre that they wear out and you need to jerry rig tennis balls to them for proper balance?  Either way it is an unfortunate fate for the tennis balls, who would rather hit the court than be dragged along the sidewalk by some geriatric.  Anyway, enough of that racket.

I'll keep this post short.  Any Devo fans out there?  I see everyone raised their hand, excellent.  Well, Gates of Steel is one of their best songs so I'd like to dedicate this post to the various hardcore/punk covers of it. Gotta start with the original to set the stage.

We pay to play the human way The song starts with that opening synth, sort of like a bizarro-The Who, before getting into a driving tempo where simple power chords establish the melody.  The vocals, always one of Devo's high points, fit perfectly over the music.  From the classic Mark Mothersbaugh voice quiver of "twist and shou-ou-out" to the acrobatic singing throughout the verses, to the spoken declarations that "a man is real," this song is virtually perfect at 3 and a half minutes.  
This is one of the quintessential Devo songs with its commentary on man and his place in he world.  "Half a goon and half a god" sums up man pretty damn well: what we really are and how we often perceive ourselves.  I could do some extensive googling and try to determine the exact meaning of the lyrics, but I think that the song is in large part about man's eagerness to embrace the very technology that is making him obsolete.  33 years later, we have yet to twist away the gates of steel.  "A man is real, not made of steel" is Devo's warning and reminder that people are not expendable like we appear to be to the government and corporations that rule us.
As for the covers, first up and most recent is by Slapshot.   This was recorded in the last year or two and I was thrilled when it was first posted.  This is a very faithful cover, but still sounds like Slapshot.  Well, Choke is definitely trying to hit those Devo highs, but ultimately this is Devo gone old school Boston hardcore.   Next up is the Groovie Ghoulies.  GG play some pretty damn good Ramones-worship pop punk.  This recording comes from 1996, from "The Island of Pogo" 7" on Lookout! Records.  They up the tempo a little bit, but otherwise this is basically Devo done Ghoulies Style.  The vocals are one of the Ghoulies' strong points, and it's cool to hear this song with those snotty old school pop punk vocals.   In Your Face was a Long Island band around from 88-93.  This cover came out on a compilation in 1990.  Once again I will point you guys to the incredible Blogged & Quartered blog where you can download the entire In Your Face discography.  This is my favorite cover of the three.  Lots of energy here, and I think the vocalist really nails it, remaining faithful to many aspects of the original, but having a more straightforward hardcore punk delivery throughout as well.  
Well, that about does it.  Three good covers of a damn good song.  There is a Skankin' Pickle cover as well, but I will let you find that yourselves.  Although I had a brief ska period as a young punk at the height of the ska trend of the late 90s, I never made it to Skankin' Pickle (although I did have a CD by the other condiment-named ska band Mustard Plug) and I'd rather end this post with two great Devo-related clips.  Truly subversive And to conclude, Spazz's incredible tribute to the spudboys: JOCKO HOMO SPUD MANCHILD!! Till next time....