How Rock Iconoclasts Devo Became Leaders Of The 1980s Nerd Nirvana

In an excerpt from her new book, Evie Nagy describes how the new wave pioneers fought corporate control with Freedom of Choice.Ohio art rockers Devo, cofounded by Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale, gained national acclaim with their 1978 album debut Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! But it was their third album, 1980's Freedom of Choice, that broke them into the mainstream, thanks to a perfect union of pop sensibility and subversive appeal. Songs like "Whip It" and "Freedom of Choice" weren't just MTV hits—they advanced Devo's theory of de-evolution, which was that people would regress to conformist automatons, and corporate and literal machinery would consume free will. At the same time, they confronted capitalism by embracing it, maintaining as much creative and financial control as they could in a major label system, and building an undeniably strong, unique brand. This excerpt of staff writer Evie Nagy's book about Freedom of Choice, out today as part of Bloomsbury's 33 1/3 series on important albums (with a foreword by Portlandia's Fred Armisen), describes how Devo spoofed commerce for profit, and found an audience of outsiders that set them apart from equally theatrical—and commercially minded—contemporaries like Kiss.Read Full Story Continue reading at 'Fast Company'

[ Fast Company | 2015-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Report Urges Library Leaders to Address Decline in Public Library Usage Stats

In 'The Freckle Report 2021,' veteran London-based bookseller, library advocate, and former Waterstones managing director Tim Coates warns that U.S. public library usage is in decline—and he suggests library leaders must do more to reverse the slide. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-05-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Show Your Nerd Pride With These Bookstore Pins

10 swoon-worthy bookstore pins that'll show off your nerd cred -- and make you want to hit your local indie ASAP. - Kelly Jensen Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-03-30 10:38:00 UTC ]
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Allen & Unwin snaps up Ryder's 'sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll' memoir

Allen & Unwin to publish How to be a Rock Star by Shaun Ryder, a memoir that promises to lift the lid on what it's like to be a rock star. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-25 01:13:37 UTC ]
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Industry leaders look at what lies ahead in 2021

Senior figures in the trade have said support for bookshops is a high priority in the coming year, while promising further steps to improve diversity across the industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-08 04:59:16 UTC ]
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Small Axe: what Steve McQueen got right and wrong about lovers rock

Centred around a Blues Party in London, the second film from the Small Axe anthology captured the excitement of setting up a party but missed things about sound system culture in the UK. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2020-11-30 15:04:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #steve mcqueen #anthology


BookTok rocks

The social media platform of the moment is TikTok, where generation Z is now spending an extraordinary amount of time. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-26 06:05:16 UTC ]
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My nightstand runneth over: A proud nerd recommends new intellectual and cultural histories

New works by Anthony Grafton, Peter Burke, Richard Ovenden quench many a curiosity. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-18 15:00:00 UTC ]
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A rock photographer who captured John Lennon, Mick Jagger and Gene Simmons looks back on a charmed life

Bob Gruen’s “Right Place, Right Time” is a low-key chronicle of a man going with the flow. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-04 14:40:16 UTC ]
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YA thriller about Native American teen to Rock the Boat

Oneworld imprint Rock the Boat has signed a "unique and compelling" YA thriller and coming of age story centred on a Native American girl, Firekeeper’s Daughter, by debut author Angeline Boulley.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-01 23:11:25 UTC ]
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Katie Jennings joins Oneworld's Rock the Boat

Katie Jennings has been appointed senior commissioning editor for Oneworld children's imprint Rock the Boat.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-21 08:52:00 UTC ]
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Library lockdown success could threaten physical services, leaders warn

Heads of library services fear the success of digital and remote lending during lockdown could threaten their physical facilities, with the potential for “brutal” cuts on the way, according to a new report. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-12 13:22:14 UTC ]
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Chris Rock on Joining Fargo and Avoiding ‘the Eddie Murphy Handbook’ for Black Comics

For Chris Rock, who has spent his career trying to avoid what he calls "the Eddie Murphy handbook" that Hollywood has for breakout Black comedians, Fargo was the perfect opportunity. Season 4 of FX's anthology crime series, inspired by the 1996 film, is set in 1950 Kansas City, where the head of... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2020-09-24 12:00:46 UTC ]
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Sparking joy: Alan Kohler's walk on the wild side rocks ABC | The Weekly Beast

ABC’s finance reporter turns heads with Lou Reed and Patti Smith books. Plus: Jon Faine becomes accidental ad manMany television reporters and presenters have been working from home since the pandemic struck but none have nailed the home-based TV set quite like Alan Kohler. The ABC’s finance guy... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-08-28 00:33:53 UTC ]
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Publishing Leaders Issuing Warning over Amazon’s Market Power

If Amazon's market power over book publishing is left unchecked, competition in the industry will continue to diminish, the heads of the AAP, ABA, and Authors Guild wrote in a letter to the chairman of the House Antitrust Subcommittee. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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John Lewis, Heroic Civil Rights Leader, Dies at 80

Rep. John Lewis, a fearless leader during the Civil Rights Movement, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Honor, and the author of the March trilogy, a graphic memoir of the Civil Rights Movement and the first work of comics arts to receive a National Book Award, died on July 17. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Libraries could be leaders once again

As they try to re-open, public libraries have two big problems and three large advantages. The first problem, obviously, is that they have to be so safe that people actually want to work in and visit them. I don’t think anyone anywhere has solved that problem yet - but I’m sure there are... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-16 06:10:47 UTC ]
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Ahead of Postponed NewFronts, Industry Leaders Talk Virtual Format, Adapting to Covid-19

Just four months ago, the Interactive Advertising Bureau heralded an overhaul of its annual Digital Content NewFronts slate, which it was calling the "new NewFronts." But the IAB had no idea just how "new" this year's event would become. In mid-March, Covid-19 shut down the industry, and the... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2020-06-22 00:00:40 UTC ]
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Turmoil Rocks NBCC Board

A handful of members of the National Book Critics Circle's board of directors have resigned following the publication of an email sent by one of its members, former NBCC president Carlin Romano. The email was sent in opposition to the board's efforts to draft a statement in support of the Black... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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New & Noteworthy, From a Rock Memoir to Chinese Surrealism

A selection of recent books of interest; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-05-19 09:00:05 UTC ]
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Time for Nerd Jeopardy! (A Literary Trivia Game Show)

Ryan Chapman hosts Nerd Jeopardy, the online literary game show. Tonight Ryan is joined by Kristen Arnett, author of Mostly Dead Things, and Katie Whittemore, translator of Sara Mesa’s Four by Four. This week’s indie bookstore spotlight is on Magers & Quinn. Sign up for next week, May 20,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-15 15:43:54 UTC ]
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