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Devo — Beautiful World
Album: Greatest Hits
Avg rating:
6.7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 802









Released: 1980
Length: 3:22
Plays (last 30 days): 2
It's a beautiful world we live in
A sweet romantic place
Beautiful people everywhere
The way they show they care
Makes me want to say
It's a beautiful world
It's a beautiful world
It's a beautiful world
For you
For you
For you

It's a wonderful time to be here
It's nice to be alive
Wonderful people everywhere
The way they comb their hair
Makes me want to say
It's a wonderful place
It's a wonderful place
It's a wonderful place
For you
For you
For you

Hey!
Tell me what I see

Hey you with the new clothes on
You can shake it to me all night long
Hey hey

It's a beautiful world we live in
A sweet romantic place
Beautiful people everywhere
The way they show they care
Makes me want to say
It's a beautiful world
It's a beautiful world
It's a beautiful world
For you
For you
For you

It's not for me (It's a beautiful world)
For you (It's a beautiful world)
For you (It's a beautiful world)
For you (It's a beautiful world)
Not me (it's a beautiful world)
(It's a beautiful world)
(It's a beautiful world)
(It's a beautiful world)
(It's a beautiful, beautiful world)
(It's a beautiful, beautiful world)
(It's a beautiful, beautiful world)
(It's a beautiful, beautiful world)
Comments (136)add comment
I just realized the lyrics are ironic. 
The video for this (Beautiful World Video - Youtube) - still relevant today as it was  in the  xenophobic era of late. Or is it still?
So happy to hear this on RadioParadise!!!
Devo at the old Met Center in Bloomington, MN (Northstar's hockey arena). They were on treadmills and showed movies. Best image from the movies was the stop-action Barbie doll ripping Ken's legs off.
Recorded winter 1980-1981... this is definitely one of the works that pioneers THE carefree 1982-1986 synth pop sound.  Easy to picture this as a soundtrack in Revenge Of The Nerds or Weird Science.
More D-E-V-O, please.
 SinisterDexter wrote:


Same here, I thought it was Flock of Seagulls at first. {#Surprised}



Funny, about 15 years ago, saw Bow Wow Wow, Flock of Seagulls, and Devo in Irvine, CA.  Great show!  Three completely different sounds and all three rocked after all these years.  
Crazy to admit, but this band’s satirical lyrics really helped shaped my formative years 🤔 ?!
Why is Devo's 1st album ignored here (produced by Brian Eno)...I still play it 35 YEARS LATER!




    
Wow, the sarcasm is dripping now!
tame, but still Devo. . .
So uplifting...
Ah nIce. From mediocre new Cars to great old Devo. I love you guys' sense of humor! What's next? Wall of VooDoo?
Who sez Bill doesn't listen?

 
MartinN wrote:
Ha ha! Fantastic! Way to go, Bill!  {#Dance}
 
 nmcvaugh wrote:
Strange - it's like a Devo/Cars hybrid.
  
NOTE: The nmcvaugh comment is from the previous song: The Cars' "Blue Tip."
Yo Gabba Gabba!!
just seconds ago read  about "Don't Roof Rack Me Bro'" in Rolling Stone, true Prophets of Devolution
 coloradojohn wrote:
INCREDIBLE! especially coming after The Cars...  I remember seeing these guys' debut way back in the crazy day... (ARE WE NOT MEN?!)
 
I saw them in Oct. 1978 at The Bottom Line in NYC, I had to borrow a friend's driver's license to get in since I was under-age.  Fortunately, NYS licenses didn't have photos back then.  Great show.
Ha ha! Fantastic! Way to go, Bill!  {#Dance}
 randyblew wrote:
Only two Devo songs on RP? Hmph - Uncontrollable Urge? Satisfaction? Through Being Cool? And many more...They were a great band, who actually rocked really hard live. I saw them in 1989 at a banquet room at the Naval Station Long Beach Harbor, for FIVE BUCKS. So close we were high-fiving them from the tiny stage they were on. Got picks, drumsticks, and begged for a hat. And they flat tore up the joint, hard, edgy, attitude. Still one of my top live music memories. FIVE BUCKS! True story. And Mothersbaugh and the band have been doing interesting things ever since.
 
Man, I would have loved seeing that show.  

I've never been a rabid fan of Devo, but I've never heard a Devo song I didn't like.  They really do pack a heavy sense of irony in their music.  This song is an obvious example of this.   
INCREDIBLE! especially coming after The Cars...  I remember seeing these guys' debut way back in the crazy day... (ARE WE NOT MEN?!)
We are DEVO!   love their version of Satisfaction.  I had it on a 45 that was "marble" vinyl...
Only two Devo songs on RP? Hmph - Uncontrollable Urge? Satisfaction? Through Being Cool? And many more...They were a great band, who actually rocked really hard live. I saw them in 1989 at a banquet room at the Naval Station Long Beach Harbor, for FIVE BUCKS. So close we were high-fiving them from the tiny stage they were on. Got picks, drumsticks, and begged for a hat. And they flat tore up the joint, hard, edgy, attitude. Still one of my top live music memories. FIVE BUCKS! True story. And Mothersbaugh and the band have been doing interesting things ever since.
https://youtu.be/e0MtvJZU920
 w3weasel wrote:
Devo is just another jangly pop band in exactly the same way that Dexter Morgan is just a good neighbor.
I've always loved their way of delivering an anti-establishment punchline within such a socially digestible song structure.
Devo is SOOOOOOOOO underrated.
 
{#Clap}

Mothersbaugh FTW!

 CMax wrote:
What about 'blockhead' and 'mongoloid'! If you must play DEVO.
 
Great tunes!  This is a good one too.  I'll take any DEVO I can get here.

 CMax wrote:
What about 'blockhead' and 'mongoloid'! If you must play DEVO.
 

Classic!
I love Devo! I think Devo was far more successful and cool in the way they stuck their middle finger to the music establishment than all of those punk bands such as Sex Pistols or The Ramones. They were the true rebels!{#Clap}
What about 'blockhead' and 'mongoloid'! If you must play DEVO.
Saw Devo in concert in Portland March 16th.  Awesome show!  50-60 foot video screen behind with various video snippets and other messages.  They know how to put on a show.  Took my college age daughters who have listened to Devo since birth.  My oldest daughter said, "I expected a lot, and they exceeded."  If you get a chance to see them on tour.  It is a fun, fun show.  They rock!!!  Guess I'm just a spudboy, looking for that real tomato.
Knew nothing about these guys but went to a show in 1978 or 1979.  They projected movies behind them as they played!  Unheard of at the time!  The movies were great, because they mostly showed a baby sticking a fork into an electric socket — and the consequential electrocution-like jiggling, and diapers catching on fire, and forks melting, and what all else.

It was hilarious to us insensitive, callous folks in the audience who saw great humor in the repetition of baby/fork/voltage interaction.  My buddies and I were immediate Devo converts.  "Better living through chemistry."  Amen.
I HATED "Whip It" but it grew on me with time. And I really love this song, so I guess I must be getting old.

Gotta go dance now. {#Dancingbanana}
 1wolfy wrote:
first I thought Flock of Seagulls then Stan Ridgeway...Then Ric Ocasek..DEVO, I should have known {#Stupid}

 

Same here, I thought it was Flock of Seagulls at first. {#Surprised}
 Art_Carnage wrote:
Why do I feeled compeled to go buy something at Target?
 
I do too!  Even 2 years later.....

 splooge wrote:
Great song. Went to a DEVO concert in the early eighties, was great fun.
 

Devo is going to be playing a show here in my town in two days from *now*, along with Ben Folds and the Silversun Pickups, and so SO wish I was going...
Great song. Went to a DEVO concert in the early eighties, was great fun.
Devo is just another jangly pop band in exactly the same way that Dexter Morgan is just a good neighbor.

I've always loved their way of delivering an anti-establishment punchline within such a socially digestible song structure.

Devo is SOOOOOOOOO underrated.
Akron, Ohio: the home of LeBron James, the Goodyear Blimp, and Devo—or, as we sometimes say, the city of "two out of three ain't bad."

Under-rated: bumping up.
DEVO were always God Tier Trolls; mad respect.
MUCH better than David Head/Talking Byrne...
B52ish
I admire this song for its sincerity and honesty {#Angel}
 chyk5 wrote:

The snide lyrics still make me laugh after all these years; great band.

 
Yep.  Classic stuff.

The snide lyrics still make me laugh after all these years; great band.


first I thought Flock of Seagulls then Stan Ridgeway...Then Ric Ocasek..DEVO, I should have known {#Stupid}

 WonderLizard wrote:

{#Lol} Ditto. Too funny.

 
The Target marketing Execs didn't listen to all the lyrics, before they signed up. 
Another win by Devo.  I can see them in the meeting with Rod Rooter of Target (watch their original videos) discussing the usage of the song, and finally getting the last laugh.


 
Art_Carnage wrote:
Why do I feeled compeled to go buy something at Target?


Have a look at the original video produced as a companion to this song,
then come back and tell us whether you still feel like shopping.

 Art_Carnage wrote:
Why do I feeled compeled to go buy something at Target?
 
{#Lol} Ditto. Too funny.

 Art_Carnage wrote:
Why do I feeled compeled to go buy something at Target?

LMAO 
{#Lol}  Thanks, I really needed that laugh, and I am still giggling! heeheh


I love seeing Mark Mothersbaugh on Yo Gabba Gabba! What a cool guy!
This is actually how I feel sometimes when shopping in Target and see all the plastic suburban wives, they all look the same!
And I realize, it's a beautiful world for them, not me.
Then I  remember to take my meds.

The irony of this song is that it makes the world considerably less beautiful.
Why do I feeled compeled to go buy something at Target?
siandbeth wrote:
This should be Dick Cheney's theme song, the guy seriously just does not care: Raddatz: Two-thirds of Americans say it's not worth fighting (in Iraq), and they're looking at the value gain versus the cost in American lives, certainly, and Iraqi lives. Cheney: So? Raddatz: So — you don't care what the American people think? Cheney: No, I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls.
Cheney is right, the USA is not a democracy, it is a representative republic. Which is very good! A democracy is equal to two wolves and one sheep. A representative republic is equal to those same two wolves and one well armed sheep. The founding fathers of the USA vision of a successful country was exceptional. Even if they where white slave owning rich guys with lots of land. My point: The hell with the polls, most of the american people would not know the truth if it stared them in the face.
It's a shame that so few people realize that Devo we're more than just some guys in funny hats who did that "Whip It" song. This one gets an 8!
Devo 20 years later...
Do I detect a bit of sarcasm in this song, eh? Marvelous Devo work ...
Just bought a new car and decided I needed some new music to go with the new car, so I bought this greatest hits disc. Great stuff. College days were filled with Devo. Q: Are we not men? A: We are Devo.
meatbee wrote:
Where did we go wrong? DEV2.O
Now this is a talented bunch.WTF is going on?Good idea Disney.
(click here)
I was like in Grade 6 or 7 when they came out and I remember seeing a spot about them in Life Magazine with information on the Talking Heads, Joe Jackson and a few other bands that were rattling the cages of the music scene at the time. I grew up in an isolated fishing & logging town on the West Coast of Canada and had limited exposure to media and music except for "Brave New Waves" a CBC late night radio show that would play music like this and obscure music from Europe and Eastern Canada. I fell in love with this music then, Gary Numan, Devo, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark and the list goes on. Thanks for the great memories RP, Maybe RP can be that igniter of imagination and exposure to new sounds and music that Brave New Waves was to us all huddled around the stereo listening to sounds from the outside world.
lmic wrote:
I prefer the Louis Armstrong version.
now THAT'S funny
digging this! 8
I prefer the Louis Armstrong version.
fredriley wrote:
Great stuff! I've not heard Devo in a couple of decades, so this is a welcome reminder of how good they were (or are? are they still going?). Sounds like Duane Eddy's got a bit of a guitar cameo in the background... ;-)
Hmm. I felt almost the opposite. Loved them in the Eighties but now the production seems bland and tired - at least on this song.
Wizzuvv_oz wrote:
Always liked this. Maybe "Satisfaction", Bill?
I second that. All the Devo tapes are gone.
High school cringe moment: our cheerleaders did a routine to "whip it" and thought they were so new wave and crazy. Probably had a Bartles&James later that night. That's when I left high school for community college. I love DEVO
Always liked this. Maybe "Satisfaction", Bill?
Great stuff! I've not heard Devo in a couple of decades, so this is a welcome reminder of how good they were (or are? are they still going?). Sounds like Duane Eddy's got a bit of a guitar cameo in the background... ;-)
hippiechick wrote:
Now when I hear this song, I think of the Target commercial. Bummer! Growing up in Cleve, OH, they were hometown boys.
I was going to say, this sounds like something used for a Target ad, and lo! Hippiechick confirmed it. Thanks!
nice
In one song doses, Devo is great. I think my head would explode if I had to listen to a whole CD.
Devo is very underrated. Neil Young even worked with them.
daveesh wrote:
i actually SAW these guys live in 1982(3?). didn't expect much but it was one of the first truly interactive/multimedia shows i had ever seen. i was blown away!
yeah... I did too -- back in early 80-something in San Francisco.. really minimal set-up. each with a keyboard on a single pole. no wires in sight. they really affected that whole fururistic emotionless scene. really stuck in my mind. i wasn't a huge fan of their music but, after seeing them live, I gained a real respect for them..
67nj wrote:
Sounds a lot better to me now, not being at work and having a few beers and wines under my belt and still high off getting married last night! It truely is a beautiful world right now!!! I'm doubling this from a 3 to a 6!!!
MickMan wrote:
I don't remember the video to this song, but Nightflight was an excellent show.
Nightflight rocked. Cable was a lot more fun before it got all growed up. But then, I'm all grown up myself. Would I still like Nightflight? I remember in college a bunch of us were eagerly awaiting the new Highlander movie, so before that weekend we watched the first two. And they were terrible. We just sat there looking at each other and asking how we could have liked something so...so...bad. But, you know, I'm pretty sure I would still like Nightflight. Oh, and this song is pretty good, too.
el post de italia es bellisimo! translation--ARE WE NOT MEN?!
Gimme a C. Gimme a R. Gimme an A. Gimme a P.
I had no idea Devo could be this good, at least for one song. My impression was that they were for the most part a joke...
Great song! Still very meaningful today. Excellent video.
RabbitEars wrote:
what crap, especially in lieu of the natural XTC followup
Taking those "get smart" pills again?
It's a beautiful world!!!
MickMan wrote:
I don't remember the video to this song, but Nightflight was an excellent show. I remember seeing a Midnight Oil concert on Nightflight and I was blown away. Had never heard of them prior to that.
I love YouTube - here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWMJ8mtAus0 (don't worry about the content warning - contains some quick images from riots, war movies, and the KKK) Wonderful subversive song from a wonderfully subversive group Duty now for the future!
It's a beautiful world. It's a beautiful world. It's a beautiful world. For you. For you. For you. It's not for me! For you. For you. For you. Not me. Too many people dismissive of this song, and this band. Screw it. I'll take XTC and Devo back to back.
meatbee wrote:
Where did we go wrong? DEV2.O
VERY disturbing!!
I was really comfortable, but i had to get up to say i think this song is retarted. Personal opinion of course, but wow, that just sucked.
Pheral wrote:
I love, love this song, but boy does it send me back.... Anyone remember the video that accompanied it? Used to run on the old Nightflight show.
I don't remember the video to this song, but Nightflight was an excellent show. I remember seeing a Midnight Oil concert on Nightflight and I was blown away. Had never heard of them prior to that.
meatbee wrote:
Where did we go wrong? DEV2.O
Now when I hear this song, I think of the Target commercial. Bummer! Growing up in Cleve, OH, they were hometown boys.
meatbee wrote:
Where did we go wrong? DEV2.O
:( why did you show that to me
Where did we go wrong? DEV2.O
i actually SAW these guys live in 1982(3?). didn't expect much but it was one of the first truly interactive/multimedia shows i had ever seen. i was blown away!
Pheral wrote:
I love, love this song, but boy does it send me back.... Anyone remember the video that accompanied it? Used to run on the old Nightflight show.
Boy how I miss the old "Nightflight". They played some great stuff including "Rude Boy" by the Clash.
When I had my 15-year-old daughter listen to this, she simply shook her head and mumbled something about "old" people doing drugs or having drug flashbacks, and wandered away. Shame she can't yet see the fun in stuff like this. "How do you know where you're going if you don't know where you've been?"
I love, love this song, but boy does it send me back.... Anyone remember the video that accompanied it? Used to run on the old Nightflight show.
Thank you!One of my favorite bands of all time.
Brilliant! "...the way they comb their hair!" Precious stuff and great to hear for the first time in years! Thanks yet again Bill !
I would love to hear "Gut Feeling" on here. I loved hearing a bit of it on Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
RabbitEars wrote:
guess the emoticons aren't working yet. i was amused... mark m's soundtrack for The Royal Tenenbaums is brilliant. difficult to see the connection to Devo, other than it being rather quirky. Devo just reminds me of the whole wave of gimmicky music that came out when Reagan came into office.
Hot potatos! You're not implying ... no, I can't say it. Respect for the dead and all that.
NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:
Objection your honour! Rabbitears is not coming out of his hole!
guess the emoticons aren't working yet. i was amused... mark m's soundtrack for The Royal Tenenbaums is brilliant. difficult to see the connection to Devo, other than it being rather quirky. Devo just reminds me of the whole wave of gimmicky music that came out when Reagan came into office.
RabbitEars wrote:
what crap, especially in lieu of the natural XTC followup
Objection your honour! Rabbitears is not coming out of his hole!
And to thing that these guys, or at least Mark Mothersbaugh, has gone on to score cartoons and tv shows (Rugrats comes to mind firstly). pbm
charming.
what crap, especially in lieu of the natural XTC followup
Spuds of the World UNITE!!! :propeller.gif:
First few notes and I thought we were being hit with Rod Stewart "Young Turks", glad I was wrong, but I never noticed the similarity before.
Great tune. Thanks, RP!
big_sb wrote:
Are these guys retarded? I'm picturing the dudes on Revenge of the Nerds.
And that would be a bad thing?
For some reason I keep imagining a video for this song, cut with news stories from Iraq.
Hey cool! So the 80's weren't a total loss after all! 7/10.
big_sb wrote:
Are these guys retarded? I'm picturing the dudes on Revenge of the Nerds.
The whole Cocept of Devo was the Devolution of men turning into mongoloids and Devo was the example...that is why the "simplistic" music...you need to catch the sense of irony and parody
qbee wrote: Agh! what a great song to follow "summer's cauldron"!! This is why RP rocks. Not only do we get the artistry of such a great diversity of musicians, but we also get the constant, changing and creative talent of the DJ's artistry as well. Yeah, that took me too, but then (tweak it out with Devo...still a great twist) It's a beautiful world-NOT! Song is perfect tongue in cheek!
We are not men.
topcat wrote:
Certainly one of the better groups out of Akron.
Are there others?
Certainly one of the better groups out of Akron.
It's a beautiful song. But some of us cannot see beauty. Or hear it.
qbee wrote:
Agh! what a great song to follow "summer's cauldron"!! This is why RP rocks. Not only do we get the artistry of such a great diversity of musicians, but we also get the constant, changing and creative talent of the DJ's artistry as well. yay.
No. 'Grass' is supposed to follow 'Summer's Cauldron'. It's by design, sheesh. Philistines.