Today I’m talking with the artist, musician, filmmaker, & sociocultural prophet GERALD V. CASALE. In the early ‘70s, Jerry co-founded the mutant-pop performance art group DEVO, who have since released 9 studio albums, 10 EPs, a soundtrack, 10 live albums, 16 compilations, 25 singles, & 9 video albums, not to mention creating some of the most distinct & unforgettable images in American music history.

DEVO are currently touring North America in celebration of their 50th anniversary. A feature-length documentary on the band will premiere on Netflix on August 19th, & recently they’ve been restoring & rereleasing their early short films, including 1976’s THE TRUTH ABOUT DE-EVOLUTION.

Most of our conversation explores Jerry’s music video filmography from the ‘90s, when he worked with bands like HUM, Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, Silverchair, & many others.

In this episode, we talk about the power of the moving image, the suffocating everyday presence of screens, & the struggle to prevent your vision from being smothered by the suits.

If you’d like to back the podcast, click “support the show” at the bottom of the notes & then “see membership options.” Donations only, no paywalls. 

Thanks for listening.

****

https://www.geraldvcasale.com

****

https://clubdevo.com

****

TIMESTAMPS:

02:31 // "Mechanical Man" (DEVO)

03:15 // Early Cinephilia

05:11 // D.I.Y. Filmmaking

07:08 // "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" Video

12:28 // Production Process

13:57 // VFX & "Girl U Want" Video

17:12 // '90s Video Work

22:57 // Foo Fighters, "I'll Stick Around" Video

27:22 // Soundgarden, "Blow Up the Outside World" Video

31:08 // Silverchair, "Freak" Video

34:44 // HUM, "Green to Me" Video

43:44 // "Auto Modown" (DEVO)

****

Support the show!

****

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.