WANT LIST: DEVO Craft Hefty 40 Year Historical Tome

Posted on March 22, 2018 by postpunkmonk

Mark and Gerry wheeling and dealing in Akron, Ohio, presumably. [Note: strong liquor in foreground]

I couldn’t exactly remember where I first caught wind of the DEVO book being prepped for publication this year, but records show I signed up for “more information” on the Rocket 88 publications website over two years ago. Last week, the details were finally forthcoming and the DEVO coffee table book of your dreams as written by the band [read: most likely Mothersbaugh + Casale] is coming… some time this year. The book has been in pre-order status since last Friday and heads up: anyone who would like to have their name printed in the book by pre-ordering has until midnight tonight, GMT, to have that honor. And right now there’s about six hours left for that little perk.

Galley proofs: The Birth of DEVO [click bigger]

More Galley Proofs: Eno and Plank cavort in pix with Spuds [click bigger]

Publisher Rocket 88 is a subdivision of the Essential Works UK book production concern. The big question is this one: is this a book for the middle class or strictly the ruling class? Goodness knows that there are some music publishers that see no problem with printing a few hundred copies of a book that might be of interest… but would it be £695 [$982] per copy. Fortunately, the price breakdowns are as follows:

Standard Edition is a Mutant pair of books, joined at the spine

Standard edition will be a unique “topsy-turvy” book with 320 large format pages; 160 pages comprised of “DEVO: The Brand” and the other 160 pages [which are flipped 180 degrees] comprised of “DEVO Unmasked.” It’s got over 500 images throughout culled from the DEVO archives. Given that their arresting visual design was always equal to their groundbreaking sonics, this should be one to savor – at least, if one is attuned to their decidedly pungent satirical aesthetic. I know that I certainly am and have been for 40 years. The book will be printed on heavy art stock with a rubberized cover. Buyers of this edition will pay £50/$65. Certainly within the sweet spot for me. I was hoping that this would not be a $300+ elitist tome and it’s not…technically.  That doesn’t mean that they are not also making one of those.

Signature Edition is 2 separate volumes in signed, numbered slipcase

The Signature edition differs in its physical characteristics will be two separate 160 page hardcovers in a slipcase, embossed with the logo from “Duty Now For The Future” on it. All editorial content is otherwise identical, but there are trinkets added to further differentiate this edition.

  • numbered edition of 500
  • signed by DEVO
  • includes print of vintage artwork by Mothersbaugh and Casale

Price for that one is what I was afraid of up front: £250/$330 but at least that’s not our only option, and for that I give thanks. There are many bands I would gladly pony up $50-75 for a coffee table book detailing their history and DEVO is certainly solidly within that camp. Pre-order is still underway even after midnight tonight, so we have an unspecified window in which to act. But remember: order before midnight tonight and get your name in the book…along with this fabulous set of Ginsu Knives®! The book is only on sale at the Rocket88 DEVO book microsite.

– 30 –

About postpunkmonk

graphic design | software UI design | remastering vinyl • record collector • satire • non-fiction
This entry was posted in Core Collection, Want List and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

8 Responses to WANT LIST: DEVO Craft Hefty 40 Year Historical Tome

  1. Tim says:
    March 22, 2018 at 5:00 pm

    Thanks for the heads up on this. Does it have to be ordered though a specific site or will it hit Amazon? I have no interest in having my name in the book however the $65 edition, well steep, I gotta say I am inclined to buy. If the text is anything like the audio commentary on their video collection this is going to be a fun read.

    Like

    Reply
    • postpunkmonk says:
      March 22, 2018 at 6:04 pm

      Tim – If you click through to the microsite, they have a helpful FAQ. Reading between the lines, the book may be discounted somewhere down the line via third party Amazonians, but no promises. Otherwise, it will only be available at the Rocket 88 store. Helpful hint: “Spud15” nets your a 15% discount in pre-order.

      Like

      Reply
  2. Tim says:
    March 22, 2018 at 6:51 pm

    I really appreciate your help with all of this, sadly, right now i can’t do it. My youngest son, who has ASD, broke his tablet on Saturday night and I had to do an emergency Best Buy run for a replacement. This thing is his one stop shop for entertainment, books, games, media, all of it is consumed through one thing. It was a $200 expense that I didn’t expect right on top of replacing my old and konking out laptop (notice the rapid decrease in typos? Yeah I’m not working on a wonky keyboard anymore). So unless there’s a PPM community kickstarter I’m out of contention on this one until sometime in May.

    Like

    Reply
  3. SimonH says:
    March 23, 2018 at 2:45 am

    Thanks Monk, the discount was the final push I needed!

    Like

    Reply
  4. slur says:
    March 24, 2018 at 10:34 am

    So yeah. Now we’re old enough to dive into sweet memories…. As I already have the ‘We Are DEVO’ Book and this is rather expensive I will miss out on this – as much as I like the early Records up to (and including) ‘New Traditionalists’ and some of the newer ones like ‘E-Z Listening Disc’ and ‘Something Else For Everybody’. Still it looks very promising and I hope you’ll enjoy it.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.