Booji Boy
Encyclopedia
Booji Boy is a character created in the early 1970s by American New Wave
band Devo
. The name is pronounced "Boogie Boy"—the strange spelling "Booji" resulted when the band was using letraset
to produce captions for a film, and ran out of the letter "g". When the "i" was added but before the "e," Devo lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh
reportedly remarked that the odd spelling "looked right."
Booji Boy has traits of a simian child and typically wears an orange nuclear protection suit. He is portrayed by Mothersbaugh in a mask and is the son of another fictitious Devo character, General Boy
. The intent of the figure is to satirize infantile regression in Western culture, a quality Devo enjoyed elucidating. This character was officially introduced in the 1974 short film The Truth About De-Evolution
.
According to the book We're All Devo!, the roots of the character come from discovering a baby mask in an Akron area novelty store. Mark developed the character's distinctive high pitched falsetto almost instantly. Mark Mothersbaugh kept a supply of Booji Boy masks for several years, but due to improper storage, many of them ended up ruined from dry rot. A similar, half-head mask was used in concerts during 2004 and 2005, and a new mask based on the original was created and used beginning in 2007.
Booji Boy was incorporated into Devo's 1996 PC CD-ROM video game "Adventures of the Smart Patrol
." His name was simplified to "Boogie Boy" and the game claims his "real name" was "Craig Allan Rothwell." (Coincidentally, this is also supposedly the real name of the dancer known as "Spazz Attack" who appeared in Devo's music videos for "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
" and "Peek-A-Boo!," and who played Booji Boy on a Devo tour.)
The game's booklet contained more information about the character's back story:
Booji Boy has been featured in the band's visual imagery throughout their career. For example, he plays a prominent role in the video of their 1981 single "Beautiful World." He also appeared in the 1982 Neil Young film Human Highway
in a very comical yet unsettling role predicting the end of the planet. Booji is pictured in the releases Total DEVO, Pioneers Who Got Scalped, and Recombo DNA, which uses cover art from the fanzine The Brainwasher. Booji Boy publicly announced his pending resignation on multiple occasions, most recently on August 13, 2007, yet he appeared at a Summerfest
concert on July 4, 2010 and on July 8, 2010 at the Town Ballroom In Buffalo, NY. Booji Boy continues to appear in concert regularly to perform "Beautiful World." In recent years, Booji Boy's concert appearances have seen him dressed in modern "hip hop" attire (including a sideways ball cap and sporting "bling"), with Devo member Jerry Casale introducing him as "Boogie Boyyyyyy."
Beyond Devo's works, Booji appeared in the Zabagabee home video by Barnes and Barnes demonstrating how to wax a carrot
, and in the music video for "You Ain't Fresh" by Rap duo Boogie Boys
.
's Mein Kampf
and the book featured a red leather cover as a poke at Chairman Mao Tse Tung's "little red book".http://www.boojiboysbasement.com/forum/index.php?topic=44.0 It is no longer in print, but excerpts can be found hidden in Devo's CD-ROM game "Adventures of the Smart Patrol."
, and a re-recorded vocal track to the early demo "U Got Me Bugged," which appears on the soundtrack to Adventures of the Smart Patrol and was sung live by Booji on New Year's Eve 1979, mixed with "Auld Lang Syne
."
In concert, Booji has performed several songs:
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band Devo
Devo
Devo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
. The name is pronounced "Boogie Boy"—the strange spelling "Booji" resulted when the band was using letraset
Letraset
Letraset is a company based in the Kingsnorth Industrial Estate in Ashford, Kent, UK.It is known mainly for manufacturing sheets of artwork elements which can be transferred to artwork being prepared. The name Letraset was often used to refer generically to sheets of dry transferrable lettering of...
to produce captions for a film, and ran out of the letter "g". When the "i" was added but before the "e," Devo lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh
Mark Mothersbaugh
Mark Allen Mothersbaugh is an American musician, composer, singer and painter. He is the co-founder of the new wave band Devo and has been its lead singer since 1972. His other musical projects include work for television series, films, and video games....
reportedly remarked that the odd spelling "looked right."
Booji Boy has traits of a simian child and typically wears an orange nuclear protection suit. He is portrayed by Mothersbaugh in a mask and is the son of another fictitious Devo character, General Boy
General Boy
General Boy is a character created around 1975 by New Wave band Devo. He is usually seen portrayed by the father of both Devo's lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh and lead guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh, Robert Mothersbaugh, Sr....
. The intent of the figure is to satirize infantile regression in Western culture, a quality Devo enjoyed elucidating. This character was officially introduced in the 1974 short film The Truth About De-Evolution
The Truth About De-Evolution
The Truth About De-Evolution was the first music video for the band Devo, directed by Chuck Statler. Filmed in May 1976, it contains two separate songs: Secret Agent Man and Jocko Homo. It won First Prize at the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 1977, and was routinely screened before Devo live concerts...
.
According to the book We're All Devo!, the roots of the character come from discovering a baby mask in an Akron area novelty store. Mark developed the character's distinctive high pitched falsetto almost instantly. Mark Mothersbaugh kept a supply of Booji Boy masks for several years, but due to improper storage, many of them ended up ruined from dry rot. A similar, half-head mask was used in concerts during 2004 and 2005, and a new mask based on the original was created and used beginning in 2007.
Booji Boy was incorporated into Devo's 1996 PC CD-ROM video game "Adventures of the Smart Patrol
Adventures of the Smart Patrol
Adventures of the Smart Patrol is a compilation album released in 1996 featuring tracks from the Inscape CD-ROM computer game of the same name, a game created by American new wave band Devo...
." His name was simplified to "Boogie Boy" and the game claims his "real name" was "Craig Allan Rothwell." (Coincidentally, this is also supposedly the real name of the dancer known as "Spazz Attack" who appeared in Devo's music videos for "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
" Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in 1965. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham. Richards's throwaway three-note guitar riff — intended to be replaced by horns — opens and drives the song...
" and "Peek-A-Boo!," and who played Booji Boy on a Devo tour.)
The game's booklet contained more information about the character's back story:
Booji Boy has been featured in the band's visual imagery throughout their career. For example, he plays a prominent role in the video of their 1981 single "Beautiful World." He also appeared in the 1982 Neil Young film Human Highway
Human Highway
Human Highway is a 1982 comedy film starring and co-directed by Neil Young under his pseudonym Bernard Shakey. Dean Stockwell co-directed the film and acted along with Russ Tamblyn, Dennis Hopper, and the band Devo...
in a very comical yet unsettling role predicting the end of the planet. Booji is pictured in the releases Total DEVO, Pioneers Who Got Scalped, and Recombo DNA, which uses cover art from the fanzine The Brainwasher. Booji Boy publicly announced his pending resignation on multiple occasions, most recently on August 13, 2007, yet he appeared at a Summerfest
Summerfest
Summerfest is a yearly music festival held at the Henry Maier Festival Park along the lakefront in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. The festival lasts for 11 days, is made up of 11 stages with performances from over 700 bands, and since the mid-1970s has run from late June through early July, usually...
concert on July 4, 2010 and on July 8, 2010 at the Town Ballroom In Buffalo, NY. Booji Boy continues to appear in concert regularly to perform "Beautiful World." In recent years, Booji Boy's concert appearances have seen him dressed in modern "hip hop" attire (including a sideways ball cap and sporting "bling"), with Devo member Jerry Casale introducing him as "Boogie Boyyyyyy."
Beyond Devo's works, Booji appeared in the Zabagabee home video by Barnes and Barnes demonstrating how to wax a carrot
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
, and in the music video for "You Ain't Fresh" by Rap duo Boogie Boys
Boogie Boys
Boogie Boys was an American hip hop group from Harlem, New York. It was the first hip hop group that signed with Capitol/EMI Records, and it had a major hit in America in 1985 with the single "A Fly Girl" and several successful albums...
.
Booji Boy Records
"Booji Boy" was also the name of the independent label Devo used to record their earliest songs. The following vinyl releases were sold under the Booji Boy banner:- "MongoloidMongoloid (song)"Mongoloid" is the first single released by Devo in 1977, on the Booji Boy Records label. It was backed with the song "Jocko Homo." "Mongoloid" also had one of the first music videos made using collage. "Mongoloid" would later be re-recorded by Devo and appeared on the album Q: Are We Not Men? A:...
" b/w "Jocko HomoJocko Homo"Jocko Homo" is the B-side to Devo's first single, "Mongoloid," released as a single in 1977 on Devo's own label, Booji Boy Records and later released in the UK on Stiff Records. The song was re-recorded as the feature song for Devo's first album, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! on Warner Bros....
" - "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in 1965. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham. Richards's throwaway three-note guitar riff — intended to be replaced by horns — opens and drives the song...
" b/w "Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin')" - Be Stiff EPBe Stiff EPBe Stiff is the first EP by New Wave musicians Devo, released in 1977. It is a compilation of the three 7-inch singles released by the band on Stiff Records in the UK...
(Contains previous two Booji Boy releases and Stiff Records "Be Stiff" single) - Mechanical Man EP (a 4 track, 7" EP of demos, apparently a bootlegBootleg recordingA bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
, but rumored to be put out by the band themselves)
"My Struggle"
Booji Boy wrote a book entitled My Struggle. The title is the English translation of Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
and the book featured a red leather cover as a poke at Chairman Mao Tse Tung's "little red book".http://www.boojiboysbasement.com/forum/index.php?topic=44.0 It is no longer in print, but excerpts can be found hidden in Devo's CD-ROM game "Adventures of the Smart Patrol."
Songs performed by Booji Boy
Booij Boy primarily performs live, but his voice was used on several early Devo recordings, such as "Lost At Home (Tater Tot)" and an early version of "Smart Patrol." His only appearances on studio albums are the song "Puppet Boy," from the 1984 album ShoutShout (Devo album)
Shout is a 1984 album by the New Wave rock band Devo. It was their sixth album for Warner Bros. Records and retained the synth-pop sound of their previous records with a heavy focus on the new Fairlight CMI computer synthesizer. Despite the popularity of synth-pop in 1984, the album was a critical...
, and a re-recorded vocal track to the early demo "U Got Me Bugged," which appears on the soundtrack to Adventures of the Smart Patrol and was sung live by Booji on New Year's Eve 1979, mixed with "Auld Lang Syne
Auld Lang Syne
"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song . It is well known in many countries, especially in the English-speaking world; its traditional use being to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight...
."
In concert, Booji has performed several songs:
- "The Words Get Stuck In My Throat" - performed live in concert in 1977 and 1978. In 2000, a studio version was recorded for the compilation Pioneers Who Got ScalpedPioneers Who Got ScalpedPioneers Who Got Scalped is an anthology by the rock band Devo, released in 2000. 17 of the 50 tracks are previously unissued on CD, including b-sides, remixes, soundtrack songs and spoken word material...
. The song originates from the film War of the GargantuasWar of the GargantuasThe War of the Gargantuas, released in Japan as , is a 1966 Kaiju film, sequel to Frankenstein vs. Baragon.It introduces two giant, hairy humanoids called Gargantuas, which spawned from the discarded cells of Frankenstein's monster from the previous film and are described as brothers...
. - "I Need A Chick" - performed at some shows in 1977 and 1978.
- "Red Eye" - performed on the 1978 tour, and seen in the film The Men Who Make the MusicThe Men Who Make the MusicThe Men Who Make the Music was the first home video released by new wave band Devo. Finished in 1979, the film was set to be the first Video LPunder the title "DevovVision" , but was shelved by Time Life due to concerns about its anti-music industry content. It was released in 1981...
. - "In Heaven Everything Is Fine" and "The One That Gets Away" - performed in 1979. "In Heaven" was originally part of the soundtrack of the David Lynch film EraserheadEraserheadEraserhead is a 1977 American surrealist film and the first feature film of David Lynch, who wrote, produced and directed. Lynch began working on the film at the AFI Conservatory, which gave him a $10,000 grant to make the film after he had begun working there following his 1971 move to Los Angeles...
. - "Gotta Serve SomebodyGotta Serve Somebody"Gotta Serve Somebody" is a song by Bob Dylan from his 1979 studio album Slow Train Coming. It won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Male in 1980. The song was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It stands as Dylan's last hit single, peaking at #24...
" - performed with Devo's alter-ego DOVE, "the band of love." A live recording appears on the compilation album Recombo DNARecombo DNARecombo DNA is a collection of studio demos and unreleased tracks by the band Devo. It was released in 2000 by Rhino Handmade and limited to 5,000 copies....
. - "Tunnel of Life" - performed in 1980. Video of this performance appears on the Devo Live 1980Devo Live 1980DEVO Live 1980 is a DualDisc release by pioneering New Wave/Alternative rock band Devo.The release documents a performance by the influential quintet during their Freedom of Choice tour, when the band was gaining mainstream success on the strength of the Freedom of Choice album and their first...
DVD. (The instrumental version of this song, which appears on Hardcore Devo: Volume TwoHardcore Devo: Volume TwoHardcore Devo: Volume Two is the second collection of demos released by the post-punk/new wave band Devo. It is currently out of print.-Overview:...
, is entitled "Booji Boy's Funeral.") - "Beautiful WorldNew TraditionalistsNew Traditionalists is the fourth studio album by the New Wave rock band Devo, released in 1981. It features the minor hits "Through Being Cool" and "Beautiful World." The sound continued in the vein of the previous album Freedom of Choice, with synthesizers moved to the forefront and guitars more...
" - performed since 1981.
External links
- Devo's Official Website
- The "Jocko Homo" music video that begins with Booji Boy