1. You'd think someone who's been a fan of Killing Joke for three decades would be used to musicians saying outrageously disreputable things (do not *EVEN* get me started on the recent Jaz Coleman kerfuffle -- too much has been said already), but today's news about statements made from the stage in Singapore by Dave Mustaine of Megadeth really blew a new part in my hair. While I'd never consider myself an ardent fan of the band (they're easily the weakest of "the Big 4"), I've always absolutely adored "Peace Sells." Suffice to say, after hearing what Dave had to say, I'm ready to snap that disc in half.
2. There are certain bands that I'll always forgive, no matter how many missteps they make. I'll overlook bad albums, botched tours, ill-conceived collaborations and even turn a blind eye to the odd commercial endorsement out of sheer loyalty. Devo is one of those bands. They nearly lost me over that whole Devo 2.0 thing several years back, but I was willing to chalk it up and stay the course. This week, the band made news by announcing that they're releasing a song that essentially denounces Mitt Romney for his infamous mistreatment of the family dog some number of years ago. I have no problem with that necessarily, although it does seem like they're taking an easy, opportunistic shot. If anything, I commend Devo by taking a stand, even if it's ultimately somewhat silly. It's certainly not the first time they've done that.
No, my problem with Devo this week comes with the announcement that they "infiltrated" Urban Outfitters by allowing the company to sell pre-shredded Devo t-shirts to malnourished teens who wouldn't know Devo's music if their very lives depended on it. Beyond that is also the objectionable fact that Urban Outfitters (who I've expressed hatred for before) is owned by a hardcore conservative.
I sympathize with the fact that Devo needs money, but I would have thought that -- of all bands -- they'd have been the first to turn this type of thing down. Oh well.
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