I recently picked up a couple of Devo albums (a twofer: Duty Now For The Future/New Traditionalists) and have been enjoying renewing my acquaintance. You'd think Devo would be the most dated of all the bands from the 70s/early 80s. They sound amazingly good; they've aged well. One of my favorite tunes from their early albums is Come Back Jonee. . .a version--it's not quite a cover (I wonder if they had to pay Chuck Berry royalties?)--but a transformation of Johnny Be Good (similar in spirit to maybe Anne Sexton's Tranformations). They pack a lot of drama into one small song.
Gerald Casale, who co-wrote much of Devo's material, along with Mark Mothersbaugh, said that Come Back Jonee uses 50s rock and roll metaphors to mourn the passing of John F.Kennedy.
On a side note, 23 seconds into the video, you'll see and hear the loudest mike bump I've ever heard. It such a weird sound, it could almost be Foley'd in...it's a clank sound--I'm used to mike bumps sounding pretty percussive with a lot of bottom end...
Come Back Jonee
jonee went to the pawnshop
bought himself a guitar
now he's gonna go far
you gotta love 'em and leave 'em
sometimes you deceive 'em
you made her cry
jonee you're bad
you're gonna make her sad
jonee jumped in his datsun
drove out on the expressway
went head-on into a semi
his guitar is all that's left now
he made her cry
now she calls his name
jonee you're to blame
---o0o---
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