Devo's first album in 20 years is to be determined by focus group. The de-evolved new wave band will choose their new record's songs, instrumentation, and even the colour of their "power dome" hats, in consultation with the public.

"In the spirit of trying to bring the best possible content to a world that seems to be reaching a boiling point, Devo wants to know what you, the hairy content consumers, really think," explained Greg Scholl, the "CEO" of Devo Inc. "[We have] initiated a series of studies to help the band determine every decision it makes regarding its body coverage, its brand colour, its graphic icons and even its choice of vocal, style and instrumentation on any given song."

Prior to last night's performance at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Devo's Gerald Casale explained the concept to the Los Angeles Times. "It's an art experiment," he said. "The experiment is the business of art. It's always there, but nobody ever talks about it." Besides working on consultations with the marketing firm Los Angeles Mother, the band have announced a major merchandise, tour and album deal with Warner Music.

"It's just fun to use business as part of the creative process, even if it's satirical," Casale said. Devo plan to put the whole process online, revealing all of the focus groups' decisions. "People will see what happened, and then we'll also put out bonus tracks of the non-focus-group-approved music," he explained. "For anyone who is interested, we'd like to let them examine this as an open book. Here's our first demos, and here's the songs that never reached anybody, and here's the ones the focus group didn't like."

In recording the album, Devo turned to a variety of producers who have been influenced by the band. These included Santigold, the Dust Brothers' John King, and Greg Kurstin, who plays with the Bird and the Bee. "[We wanted to understand] their idea of Devo," Casale said.

"Devo has remarked that the typical artist feels 'special' because he or she invents his own world and sticks to it," Scholl said in his mock-infomercial. "Instead, the band feels it's much more special actually to listen to others' ideas and feelings and take them into account."

"Devo is real now," Casale said. "Devo is not ahead of its time. Devo is not scary or shocking ... We're the house band on the Titanic, and we're here to entertain as we all go down."

The as yet untitled album will be released in May.

Recently, tabloids and gossip blogs have been speculating on whether Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan and pop star Jessica Simpson are an item. The two were spotted in December, and last month of the pair working together in the studio.

On Thursday, Corgan opened up to The Chicago Tribune about the reason behind the pairing: Simpson apparently wanted the alt-rock titan to help her write the theme song for "The Price of Beauty," her forthcoming VH1 show about cultural ideas of attractiveness.

"She asked me to help her out on the theme song for her new TV show," Corgan said. "[The show] has an interesting concept. She goes around the world to show how different people perceive beauty. In some cultures, bigger is better. In some, smaller is better. It's interesting."

Simpson has dabbled in both the pop and country worlds musically, but it seems that Corgan has been helping her explore her inner rock god. "I ended up writing part of [the theme song]," he told the paper. "It has a little bit of an alternative-rock edge, but it's still very poppy."

While Corgan was clear about his musical collaborations with Simpson, he was vague about his possible romantic involvement with the pop singer. But he was forthcoming on what it was like to be a focus point of tabloid culture: "The stuff that I've seen doesn't have any bearing to the reality that I'm in," he said. "It's like being in a cartoon. It has nothing to do with what's really going on or how I feel."

Corgan is currently working on the Pumpkins' Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, a planned 44-track collection he's gradually releasing over the course of three years via free download from his Web site.

INDIANAPOLIS — An online effort to draft Hoosier rocker John Mellencamp to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Indiana's Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh is building up steam.

Twitter is abuzz with the rumor and three separate Facebook groups have been set up, with the largest boasting about 2,000 members.

Mellencamp is no stranger to politics. In 2008, he recorded a radio commercial supporting Barack Obama's presidential campaign and requested that Republican candidate John McCain stop playing his songs, including "Our Country" and "Pink Houses," at his rallies.

Mellencamp's songs often have political or social themes. He is a co-founder of Farm Aid.

On Thursday, Mellencamp spokesman Bob Merlis said the musician "has no statement to offer."