Steve Reynolds Program - Gates of Steel
Short Month, Long Wind
Heaven-o! Never mind the lame heading above this and never mind the tardiness of this missive. I’m in a weird “what are even words?” stage right now where writing is even more stop-start and hesitant than ever. I should do like The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and do a freeflow write every morning. Maybe that would undam these thoughts and concretize them on a page. But that would entail getting up early and I like sleeping like, a whole lot. But who knows? This acknowledgement could be just the thing to get back in action.
Went back to my pal’s open mic this week. New jokes worked! New long bit could shape up to be something really fun! I just need an early mic in my town on another weeknight now to really get the work in on this. What place in Norman would be good for a Tuesday or Wednesday early mic? Golden Corral? Discount Tire? (I’m pretending you, dear reader, knows and will set it up. Sorry.)
Once again, thanks for subscribing. You make me want to complete this series. It has been a challenge to expound on little ditties like this, but as some asshole said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” That relates somehow to this, I think.
Song #24
Gates of Steel
by Devo
WARNING: LONG-WINDED OPENING SENTENCE
From 1973 when it officially formed as a sextet in Akron, Ohio until now, Devo has operated within a well-defined set of parameters based on an explicitly articulated philosophy of “de-evolution” a pessimistic view that humanity has already reached its peak and now, with the help of a technology that rewards totalitarianism in politics, economics and culture, has become more amoral and less capable of aesthetic beauty. It’s a cold stance, though one done with brilliant humor and vision, their reaction to the decline of the Woodstock generation.
Their first two major label albums exist in their own universe. The band’s deliberate image with cheap, matching industrial uniforms, synthesized vocals, and detached lyrics emphasized their disdain for popular culture and thought. By the third studio album, Freedom of Choice, they relax the paradigms a little. The music relies less on staccato rhythms and actually gets a groove in edgewise. The lyrics get more poppy with lines about girls, dancing and, well, bodily functions (“Whip It,” anyone?).
Still, “Gates of Steel” off that album is an anomaly among their songs. Sure, like other Devo songs, it relies on a very basic structure and instrumentation, almost Ramones-level, but the lyrics make it almost a protest song with, gasp, optimism. “Twist away the gates of steel.” --the choice of that word “gates” shows Devo at their most optimistic. If released on an earlier album, it would’ve been a “cage” or “wall” of steel. Gates imply another side that can be reached. Was it their move to sunny industry town Los Angeles or touring the world to find others like them, or that appreciated them, that slightly changed them?
“Now twist and shout.” Devo already made their mark on contextualizing rock music—their cover of “Satisfaction” on Saturday Night Live in 1978 blew people’s minds, even more than host Fred Willard’s sketch performances! Here, using the title of the Isley Brothers song famously covered by the Beatles as a command to rebel against the vague forces of tyranny instead of hitting the dance floor (or doing both, why not?) has given me chills one or three times.
Come to think of it, what makes the optimism so noticeable is the sincerity the lyrics are sung. Devo can give off a Frank Zappa attitude of “I’m an artist and I’ll deign to play this childish and simplistic music so I can succeed in this unappreciative world” at times. Not as much as Zappa of course, but de-evolution does imply that everybody is dumb. So when Mark Mothersbaugh, now an eminent figure, exhorts “A man is real/Not made of steel!“ and you connect with that idea, though a sense of self-doubt sinks in—is the joke on me?
If it is, it doesn’t matter. The idea of individuality constricted by mechanization and immense, heartless systems can be witnessed every day and in many ways. Getting away from that feeling, even temporarily, keeps me sane. And that’s what happens for the three minutes and twenty-eight seconds “Gates of Steel” plays.
denouement
This week’s Song I’m Mad I Forgot To Put On The List is “Preservation” by Wu Tang Clan, Del The Funkee Homosapien and Aesop Rock. A meeting of formidable wordsmiths turns out a song that is all the best of hip hop.
Depot TV Live! at the historic Santa Fe Depot in Norman is on the 25th. It should be a hoot. The trivia questions I’ve written make it feel like Norman is the center of the universe. The real guests are good too.
And Feb. 27th, I’ll be the feature on the Fair-Weather Friend mic. This mic has the goodest vibes of any mic I’ve gone to. You’ll love it. In fact, go next week when The Martin Duprass features because they rule.