What's With Those Devo Hats Anyway?
"... You will never live it down, unless you whip it."
“Whip It.” Those two words immediately come to mind for most folks when they think of Devo. The New-Wave rockers are still famous for the simplistically snappy yet sharp-witted song that peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1980. It ultimately spent a whopping 25 weeks on the chart overall.
From Devo’s only certified platinum LP Freedom of Choice, “Whip It,” which also went platinum as a single, packs the pure 1980s synth power that the band became synonymous with. The entire record does actually. It was originally released 45 years ago on this date — May 16, 1980.
Evie Nagy, author of 33 1/3: Devo’s Freedom of Choice (find it at Thriftbooks here), has asserted that the album “represents the pinnacle of them (Devo) being superstars.”
Energy Domes
Perhaps the next thing everyone thinks of when Devo comes up: those hats. Or, “Energy Domes" as they came to be known. The satirist musicians from Akron, Ohio first adorned themselves with their DIY design during the promotion for Freedom of Choice.
From Devo-Obsesso.com
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 the Orgone 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 use the foam insert (which is included with every Dome when purchased from ClubDevo.com), or better yet, get a 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, sans foam insert or hardhat liner, the recirculation of energy WILL NOT occur.
Gerald V. Casale - Devo founding member and bass player
The domes are as synonymous with Devo as “Whip It.” You cannot think of one without the other. Over the years, Devo has sported them in all sorts of colors, but the bright red ones are the most iconic.
Don’t Just “Whip It”
“Girl U Want” was actually the first single spun off of Freedom of Choice, and it is not to be left out of rotation. Now defunct Record World magazine said of the song that "a snakey guitar winds around the boisterous lead vocals that proclaim the winning hook." Greg Prato of AllMusic described it as an “overlooked gem.”
The title track spends three and a half minutes banging out a message of, well, freedom. Devo implores those who dwell “in the land of the free” to use theirs.
Sink, swim, go down with the ship,
But use your freedom of choice.
It’s Not Too Late
You can still catch Devo on the road, as the band expanded its so-called farewell tour “50 Years of De-Evolution… Continued!” with shows in North America that began on May 1 in Philadelphia and wrap up with a performance in Chicago on August 29. This tour originally kicked off back in 2023.
Singer Mark Mothersbaugh, who will turn 75 this Sunday, has humorously quipped that he’s “looking forward to 2073” for “100th anniversary Devo shows” before calling it quits.
WOO I have a DEVO story coming soon!!!!!!!!
This realllllly takes me back to childhood. I am seeing Mark Mothersbaugh perform his scores in November!