"Through Being Cool" is a song by American new wave band

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

, written by

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 2 ...

Gerald Casale Gerald Vincent "Jerry" Casale ( ) ( ''né'' Pizzute; born July 28, 1948) is an American musician. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, co-lead vocalist, and bass player of the new wave band Devo, which released a top 20 hit in ...

, and

Bob Mothersbaugh Robert Leroy Mothersbaugh, Jr. (; born August 11, 1952), or by his stage name "Bob 1", is an American songwriter, composer, musician and singer. Mothersbaugh's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as lead ...

. It appears on the album ''

New Traditionalists ''New Traditionalists'' is the fourth studio album by the American new wave band Devo, released on August 26, 1981, by Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded over a period of four months between December 1980 and April 1981, at the Power ...

'' (1981). The song was a direct attack on new fans who didn't understand Devo's message. The song was also featured in the 1981 animated film '' Heavy Metal'' as well as the 2005 superhero comedy '' Sky High'', with the latter version performed by

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...

. The song is also used as a throwback in ''

NBA 2K8 ''NBA 2K8'' is a 2007 basketball simulation video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports and Spike (company), Spike. It is the ninth installment in the NBA 2K, ''NBA 2K'' franchise and the successor to ''NBA 2K7''. It was rel ...

''. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said that "a boss bass groove sets the pace for dancers while the rhythm guitars add a funky flavor and keyboard melodies go after pop ears."

Promotional music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

had Devo taking a limited role, focusing on a team of kids clad in Devo "Action Vests" attacking arrogant and ignorant people with "spudguns."

Chart performance

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1981 singles 1981 songs Devo songs They Might Be Giants songs Songs written by Gerald Casale Songs written by Mark Mothersbaugh Warner Records singles