Freedom of choice is what you got / Freedom from choice is what you want
May 16, 2020 10:54 AM   Subscribe

Forty years ago, DEVO released their third album, Freedom of Choice. The album would be their commercial breakthrough, thanks to the hit single "Whip It" and its accompanying music video. The album peaked at 22 on the Billboard charts, with "Whip It" reaching 14 on the Hot 100.

Along with "Whip It", Freedom of Choice had two other music videos: the tv-performance pastiche of "Girl U Want", and the title track "Freedom of Choice". The latter cast the band as a Greek Chorus of aliens, commenting on human behavior, dilemmas of choice, and conformity.

Freedom of Choice brought a new sound for the group, de-emphasizing guitars, and increasing the use of synthesizers. To achieve a synthetic R&B sound, DEVO approached Robert Magouleff, who had worked with Stevie Wonder on electronic sounds. In a 2008 interview, Margouleff described meeting the band for the first time:
A Volkswagen with dark windows pulled into the parking lot and all of them got out wearing jumpsuits, black rubber boots, red helmets, tanks attached to the helmets, and hoses from the tanks running up their noses.
The album also brought with it a new look for the band, marked by the distinctive Energy Dome headwear. The hats, modeled on ancient ziggurat proportions, "collects the Orgone energy that escapes from the crown of the human head and pushes it back into the Medulla Oblongata for increased mental energy."

Audiences across the US saw the new look and sound of Freedom of Choice on a multitude of TV performances: ABC's Fridays (twice), Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, American Bandstand, The Merv Griffin Show, The Mike Douglas Show and more.

Now, forty years later, DEVO's sound and image are proving more relevant than ever, and you can celebrate the album's evolution with an official DEVO Energy Dome and Covid-19 Face Shield.
posted by SansPoint (23 comments total) 21 users marked this as a favorite
 
Forty years ago

shut UP
posted by poffin boffin at 11:07 AM on May 16, 2020 [34 favorites]


that's a LIE a terrible fib
posted by poffin boffin at 11:07 AM on May 16, 2020 [3 favorites]


Gates of Steel is the standout for me on this album. The vocals are Sting - octave high but still have a real edge to them. I often wondered if they altered Mark's voice to get that sound, but live he sounds exactly the same!
posted by wittgenstein at 11:23 AM on May 16, 2020 [5 favorites]


'Gates of Steel' filed under one of the probably five dozen songs I know of because Yo La Tengo covered it.
posted by 99_ at 11:27 AM on May 16, 2020 [4 favorites]


That Don Kirshner Rock Concert* footage is pretty amazing. I *think* I remember seeing this back in 1980. It was 400 years ago, after all.


*DKRC's shows were a godsend to me growing up in a tiny village in the forests of northern Michigan.
posted by NoMich at 11:34 AM on May 16, 2020 [3 favorites]


Snowball
posted by Windopaene at 11:53 AM on May 16, 2020 [7 favorites]


When they aired on Saturday Night live with that sound and those hats and their weirdness I was mesmerized and ran out to buy the album. Sure, I was a kid but I had taste, even back then! That album and Parallel Lines from Blondie were just so good.
posted by waving at 12:45 PM on May 16, 2020 [2 favorites]


I love Devo and I love the influence they managed to have across the decades, but I can't help but think they were one of the few bands to actually be making music videos during the vanguard year of MTV and they got a lot of exposure because there wasn't much content for the channel at the time.

Saying that does nothing to diminish my love of the band (I most recently saw them on tour with Blondie and they totally won the night), but I don't think they would have been noticed much at the time except for that Whip It video.
posted by hippybear at 1:00 PM on May 16, 2020


Most people have been listening to Mark Mothersbaugh's theme music their whole lives without knowing it.
posted by Brian B. at 1:10 PM on May 16, 2020 [10 favorites]


I assume you all have seen the magnificent circa 1982 video of Devo and Neil Young playing Hey Hey My My so I don't need to post this.

From the extremely strange Neil Young-funded film Human Highway which also stars Dennis Hopper and is probably worth an FPP all its own.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 2:01 PM on May 16, 2020 [8 favorites]


And what Devo post would be complete without a mention of Booji Boy
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 2:07 PM on May 16, 2020 [2 favorites]


This seems relevant
posted by theory at 2:36 PM on May 16, 2020 [2 favorites]


I remember suggesting on Twitter at one point that Squirrel Girl's theme song should be "Squirrel U Want". I don't know if that joke ever showed up in the comic (it seems like the sort of gag Ryan North might come up with), but I stand by it. Somebody needs to make this happen.
posted by tobascodagama at 2:52 PM on May 16, 2020 [2 favorites]


Forty years ago

And it’s fifty years ago since the founding members met (the whole devolution / Devo thing started partially in response to the 1970 Kent State shootings - where several of the founding members where studying at the time). I believe of the original / classic lineup members of the band still alive they are all 64-71 years old. So yeah. Time flys.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 2:54 PM on May 16, 2020 [6 favorites]


I don't think they would have been noticed much at the time except for that Whip It video

That doesn't map at all with my understanding of their influence and popularity; perhaps you're thinking of Wham!?
posted by aspersioncast at 3:04 PM on May 16, 2020 [1 favorite]


Freedom of Choice is a very very relevant song for right now; almost the obvious choice for the majority of the population who are not in a hurry to de-quarantine and expose themselves.
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:33 PM on May 16, 2020 [3 favorites]




Au courant.

Never mind. Just saw it in the original post. :-(
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:23 PM on May 16, 2020


I can't help but think they were one of the few bands to actually be making music videos during the vanguard year of MTV and they got a lot of exposure because there wasn't much content for the channel at the time.

This was definitely a thing, but DEVO also found success in countries where MTV didn't operate.
posted by Merus at 8:19 PM on May 16, 2020 [2 favorites]


I had the extreme privilege to be in a group that was the opener for DEVO at the Western Stock Show venue (a weird place for a show to begin with) in Denver. I had recently torn my shoulder so couldn't play an instrument, but that didn't stop me from dressing up in one of our bizarre costumes and dancing - I think DEVO would appreciate our weirdness. After the show, they signed all our records, as we're all music nerds. Extremely friendly group of people and charitable with their time.
posted by alex_skazat at 2:00 AM on May 17, 2020 [7 favorites]


Devo used to show short films during their concerts to go along with specific songs, before MTV came along. Screaming with teenage delight as Booji Boy slowly slowly pushed his fork into the toaster; but I also noticed that some songs & films* didn't quite work. It annoyed me, because it would imprint images onto songs, a visual earworm. This doesn't happen to me when watching a feature film or, now, episodic television, where the music is used to enhance an image.
* We didn't call them 'music videos' until MTV debuted in 1981.
posted by winesong at 12:28 PM on May 17, 2020


Akron-area native here, couldn't be prouder.
posted by Rykey at 8:16 PM on May 17, 2020


When they aired on Saturday Night live with that sound and those hats and their weirdness I was mesmerized and ran out to buy the album. Sure, I was a kid but I had taste, even back then!

My friends and I, aged about 12, were not ready for DEVO when they played SNL. Basically imagine Beavis and Butthead witnessing that debut.
posted by thelonius at 8:32 PM on May 17, 2020 [1 favorite]


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