Devo's Whip It is a New Wave classic

Devo : Whip It

[Purchase]

On August 6, 1980 Devo released their most successful single, the US#14/UK#51 "Whip It". While the title might suggest masturbation or S+M, Jerry Casale says he wrote the lyrics as a Dale Carnegie style pep talk for President Jimmy Carter. Casale tells Evie Nagy, author of the 331/3 series book on Devo's Freedom of Choice:

We were afraid the Republicans were going to get in there [in 1980], and they sounded very nasty all the time.They were running this guy, Ronald Reagan, that seemed like a total--he seemed like he didn't even had a brain. We were like, "how could that be our president? That's impossible, that they choose him to run for president". So we were writing this music that was like "You can do it, Mr President". And then, of course, we were doing lots of interview back then, and we'd have to get up at seven so we could go be on a morning talk show while people are driving to work. And we'd be sitting in the other room waiting to go in and talk to the disc jokey, and he's be on the air, going, "You know, I whipped it just the other day, haw haw haw haw" and we're like "What an asshole". We felt very misunderstood. And then it just gave us more reasons to be crabby."

When it came time to do the video, Devo went full board on the S+M theme. Warners provided $15,000. Set on a dude ranch, Mark Mothersbaugh whips a hat, cigarette and finally the clothes off a striking woman as cowboys and girls cheer. The woman, Shaylah Spitz-Kalmus was a 20 year old dancer who worked as a cashier at a bakery in Venice, California. She is still recognized as the woman in "Whip It".

The non LP B-side, "Turnaround" achieved fame ten years after the single's release when Nirvana covered in on John Peel's BBC radio show. 

CREEM Magazine's Top 15 Singles of 1980

1. Devo- Whip It 

 2. Queen- Another One Bites The Dust 

 3. AC/DC- You Shook Me All Night Long 

 4. Bruce Springsteen- Hungry Heart 

 5. Rolling Stones- She's So Cold 

 6. Clash- Train In Vain 

 7. Vapors- Turning Japanese 

 8. Rolling Stones- Emotional Rescue 

 9. David Bowie- Ashes To Ashes 

 10. B-52's- Private Idaho 

 11. Blondie- Call Me 

 12. Pretenders- Brass In Pocket 

 13. Clash- London Calling 

 14. Pete Townshend- Rough Boys 

 15. Van Halen- And The Cradle Will Rock

"Whip It" cracks Devo's Freedom of Choice into the US Top 30

Devo : Whip It

[Purchase]

On May 14 1980, Devo released its third album, Freedom of Choice, which featured their biggest hit, at US#14, "Whip It".  The album marks Devo's transformation into a nearly all electronic outfit, with the help of co-producer Robert Margouleff, famous for his synthesizer work in Tonto's Expanding Head Band and with Stevie Wonder. 

The band also introduced a new look featuring its red plastic energy domes, which are apparently making a comeback during the pandemic as is the notion of freedom of choice. As Mark Mothersbaugh recalls:

 "We were influenced both by German Bauhaus movement and geometric fashion, and Aztec temples. We just liked the look. It looked good, and it didn't look like any other bands out there. We weren't interested in wearing groovy hats or groovy clothing. We kind of looked like Lego toys or something by the time we got those on our heads, and that was a positive thing."

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Some critics seemed to appreciate the music more than on he sophomore album New Traditionalists Here's Robert Christgau of the Village Voice, who graded the album a B+ :

Hey now, don't blame me--I insulted them every chance I got back when your roommate still thought they might be Important. But now that that's taken care of itself we can all afford to giggle. Robot satire indeed--if they ever teach a rhythm box to get funky, a Mothersbaugh will be there to plug it in.

But others didn't care for the smug joke that Devo had been telling for so many years:

 Rolling Stone's Laura Fissinger said the band was "creepy" and "uncomfortable":

And we’re supposed to take this stuff straight? C’mon! The adenoidal lead vocals sound like they’re being delivered while held at arm’s length, as Devo’s mechanically pitched rhythms click in coldly all around them. When the band heats up or the singer sounds like someone’s actually inhabiting his vocal chords or a thick, loud guitar forces its way to the forefront, there’s a momentary ring of truth. It just doesn’t happen often enough to eradicate the record’s suspicious emptiness. 

Doesn’t everyone feel dumb enough about love without encouragement from a bunch of guys with red flowerpots on their heads?

On May 23, Devo performed two songs on ABC's Fridays, "Gates of Steel" and "Girl U Want", which was the first single from the album.  Revisiting the album and Devo websites have led me to my favorite of the face masks so far,: