Post-Punk.com
  • Home
    • Contact Us
    • About
    • Subscribe
    • Terms Of Use
    • Privacy Policy
  • Bands
    • Revival Bands
    • Labels
  • Reviews
  • Fashion
  • Log In
  • Home
  • Bands
  • Reviews
  • Fashion
  • Log In
0 Likes
0 Followers
0 Followers
Subscribe
Post-Punk.com
Post-Punk.com Post-Punk.com
  • Home
    • Contact Us
    • About
    • Subscribe
    • Terms Of Use
    • Privacy Policy
  • Bands
    • Revival Bands
    • Labels
  • Reviews
  • Fashion
  • Log In
  • Bands
  • Classic Albums

DEVO | Freedom of Choice

  • May 16, 2019
  • post-punk.com
0
0
0
Image

On May 16th, 1980 DEVO released their third studio album Freedom of Choice, an album that saw the quirky post-punk band evolve into a more synth-pop driven outfit, while still using trace amounts of stylized guitars. The album was also the debut of the band’s trademark red energy dome helmets, as seen on the record’s sleeve.

According to Gerald Casale on the Devo website:

“It was designed according to ancient ziggurat mound proportions used in votive worship. Like the mounds it collects energy and recirculates it. In this case the Dome collects energy that escapes from the crown of the human head and pushes it back into the medulla oblongata for increased mental energy. It’s very important that you buy a cheap plastic hardhat liner, adjust it to your head size and affix it with duct tape or Super Glue to the inside of the Dome. This allows the Dome to “float” just above the cranium and thus do its job. Unfortunately, without a hard hat liner, the recirculation of energy WILL NOT occur.”

Devo claimed that their iconic energy dome design was used to recycle the wasted orgone energy that flows from a person’s head. Devo co-founder Mark Mothersbaugh has said:

“We did the red energy dome, which was useful—besides being an icon—it was a useful icon. You probably know this very well, but your orgone energy goes out the top of your head and it dissipates out the top, but if you wear an energy dome it recycles that energy. It comes back down and showers back down on you and, among other things, you remain manly, shall we say, for maybe another 150 years of your life, probably. I think that’s a safe prediction to say that energy domes—if you wore them constantly, night and day—which I don’t do, but there are people out there who do, not too many of them but there are some. We get e-mails from them, so we know they’re out there, those people will probably live about an extra 150 years because of all that orgone energy that they’re saving and not wasting away.”

The title track “Freedom of Choice” was a timely critique of the brand consumerism and false dichotomies of the emerging Reagan years in the United States, rather than making complex decisions for themselves, people limited their own choices.

“We loved that song very much when we were creating it,” said Jerry Casale in 2003.

“It was about how people were throwing away their freedom of choice into meaningless choices like between Pepsi and Coke, or pink fur shoes or blue suede shoes. Just mindless consumerism. They’d rather not be free, they’d rather be told what to do, because that’s what appeared to us was the case, especially in the Reagan years. That was a very Devo position: Freedom of choice is what you’ve got, freedom from choice is what you want.”

The track “Girl U Want”, continued the theme, toying with the advertising campaigns that depict must-have buys, or how an all-male band is shown on television that the girl’s go crazy and fawn over like The Beatles on Ed Sullivan.

And finally, the band’s most well-known song “Whip It”, which began as a tongue-in-cheek anthem for then-president Jimmy Carter. The lyrics were also inspired by Norman Vincent Peale’s 1952 book The Power of Positive Thinking.

Devo co-songwriter and bassist Gerald Casale also has said that the lyrics were written by him “as an imitation of Thomas Pynchon’s parodies in his book Gravity’s Rainbow”.

The video for Whip It” was based on a 1962 issue of “Dude” magazine that lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh had found in an antique store, with a story about a man who ran a dude ranch who would whip his wife’s clothes off.

Please support Post-Punk.com! You can do so via:

  • Patreon:

  • or directly via Paypal:

  • Or by using our new Contact form here:

 

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Related Topics
  • Devo
post-punk.com

From the Editor at Post-Punk.com

Previous Article
  • Video Premiere

The Ocean Blue Play Chess With Death in Their Ingmar Bergman Homage “Kings and Queens”

  • May 16, 2019
  • post-punk.com
View Post
Next Article
  • Song Premiere

Post-Punk Stalwarts The Membranes Unveil “A Murmuration Of Starlings On Blackpool Pier”

  • May 17, 2019
  • post-punk.com
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • Album Streaming
  • Bands

Scars Mended with Gold — Listen to Italian Shoegaze Outfit Human Colonies’ “Kintsukuroi” LP

  • Alice Teeple
  • September 20, 2023
View Post
  • Bands
  • Concerts
  • Festivals
  • Video Premiere

Watch Darkwave Duo NNHMN Perform “Hungrige Liebe” at Amphi Festival

  • Alice Teeple
  • September 19, 2023
View Post
  • Album Streaming
  • Bands

Listen to Klime Kovaceski’s “Illumations” Featuring Svetlana Jovanovska

  • post-punk.com
  • September 19, 2023
View Post
  • Bands
  • Video Premiere

OMD Debut 3D Animated Video for “Slow Train” and Announce EU and UK Tour

  • Alice Teeple
  • September 19, 2023
View Post
  • Album Streaming
  • Bands

Listen to the Experimental Dredge Ballads of Itch Princess’ “Filler Guise” LP — Watch Video for “Held”

  • Alice Teeple
  • September 19, 2023
View Post
  • Bands
  • Song Premiere
  • Video Premiere

The Waves of Trauma and Adversity — Italian Post-Punk Outfit God in a Black Suit Debut Video for “Overcome”

  • Alice Teeple
  • September 18, 2023
View Post
  • Bands
  • Concerts
  • Video Premiere

A Live Session in Gothic Ruins — Watch Italian Dark Folk Artist Nero Kane Perform Songs from “Of Knowledge and Revelation”

  • Alice Teeple
  • September 18, 2023
View Post
  • Bands
  • Video Premiere

Walking the Tightrope’s Edge — Ottawa Darkwave Duo Violentene Debuts Video for “Thin Lines”

  • Alice Teeple
  • September 16, 2023







Post-Punk.com
© Copyright POST-PUNK.COM 2022

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

Please support Post-Punk.com! You can do so via...
  • Patreon:
  • Directly via Paypal:
  • Or by using our new Contact form here:
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT