Mongoloid (song)
Encyclopedia
"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 video
s made using collage
. "Mongoloid" would later be re-recorded by Devo and appeared on the album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
in 1978. It is also a staple of Devo's live shows.
beat. The song opens with a 4/4 electric
bass line, which is then joined by drums, and electric guitar
. Over this, a swooping synthesizer
line is played on Minimoog
, using the pitch bend to create a spooky effect. The synth is not used as a lead instrument during the song, but only the opening and closing. The doubled vocals are sung simultaneously by both Gerald V. Casale and "Bob 1" (Bob Mothersbaugh
). On the original single, the vocals are deliberately sung in a nasal
fashion.
. It was not actually made by the band, but by assemblage artist and experimental filmmaker Bruce Conner
. Conner combined 1950s television
advertisements, science fiction
film clips (including a scene from It Came from Outer Space
), and scientific documentaries with abstract animation and original film work. Devo marketed the film as "A documentary film
exploring the manner in which a determined young man overcame a basic mental defect and became a useful member of society. Insightful editing techniques reveal the dreams, ideals and problems that face a large segment of the American male population. Very educational. Background music written and performed by the DEVO orchestra."
"Mongoloid" appears as a bonus feature on The Complete Truth About Devolution
DVD
.
, held together with stickers. The inside of the gatefold displayed the lyrics of the two songs in either blue or black ink depending on the pressing. The back cover of the single was an image of Booji Boy
with the text "We're all Devo! Booji Boy XO."
As Devo gained fame, Stiff Records
in the UK
agreed to release the single on their label. There were several pressings of the "Mongoloid" single with varying packages, ranging from a full triple gatefold, to a simple picture sleeve, to a generic "Stiff Records" paper sleeve. The Stiff Records releases are marked by the Stiff logo in the lower left hand corner of the front cover.
. In 2002, Devo performed a techno
version of "Mongoloid" at a special show for the writers and producers of the cartoon Rugrats
(for which Mark Mothersbaugh
composed the theme song). It has more recently been sampled by electronic outfit Layo & Bushwacka for the track "Love Story," which was rather successful in Europe and Australia.
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
released by 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...
in 1977, on the Booji Boy Records label. It was backed with the song "Jocko Homo
Jocko 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....
." "Mongoloid" also had one of the first music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s made using collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
. "Mongoloid" would later be re-recorded by Devo and appeared on the album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
Question: Are We Not Men? Answer: We Are Devo!
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! is the debut album by the American new wave music band Devo. Produced by Brian Eno, it was recorded primarily in Cologne, Germany and released in the U.S. by Warner Bros. Records company in 1978....
in 1978. It is also a staple of Devo's live shows.
Song description
"Mongoloid," like many of Devo's early songs, was built on a motorikMotorik
Motorik is a term coined by music journalists to describe the 4/4 beat often used by "Krautrock" bands such as Neu! and Kraftwerk...
beat. The song opens with a 4/4 electric
Electric Bass
Electric bass can mean:*Electric upright bass, the electric version of a double bass*Electric bass guitar*Bass synthesizer*Big Mouth Billy Bass, a battery-powered singing fish...
bass line, which is then joined by drums, and electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
. Over this, a swooping synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
line is played on Minimoog
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
, using the pitch bend to create a spooky effect. The synth is not used as a lead instrument during the song, but only the opening and closing. The doubled vocals are sung simultaneously by both Gerald V. Casale and "Bob 1" (Bob Mothersbaugh
Bob Mothersbaugh
Robert Leroy "Bob" Mothersbaugh, Jr.,, or "Bob 1", is the lead guitar player and occasional vocalist for Devo and younger brother of lead vocalist Mark Mothersbaugh...
). On the original single, the vocals are deliberately sung in a nasal
Nasal cavity
The nasal cavity is a large air filled space above and behind the nose in the middle of the face.- Function :The nasal cavity conditions the air to be received by the other areas of the respiratory tract...
fashion.
Music video
"Mongoloid" was Devo's second music video, after The Truth About De-EvolutionThe 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...
. It was not actually made by the band, but by assemblage artist and experimental filmmaker Bruce Conner
Bruce Conner
Bruce Conner was an American artist renowned for his work in assemblage, film, drawing, sculpture, painting, collage, and photography, among other disciplines.-Early life:...
. Conner combined 1950s television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
advertisements, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film clips (including a scene from It Came from Outer Space
It Came from Outer Space
It Came from Outer Space is a 1953 science fiction 3-D film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, and Charles Drake. It was Universal's first film to be filmed in 3-D.- Plot :...
), and scientific documentaries with abstract animation and original film work. Devo marketed the film as "A documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
exploring the manner in which a determined young man overcame a basic mental defect and became a useful member of society. Insightful editing techniques reveal the dreams, ideals and problems that face a large segment of the American male population. Very educational. Background music written and performed by the DEVO orchestra."
"Mongoloid" appears as a bonus feature on The Complete Truth About Devolution
The Complete Truth About Devolution
The Complete Truth About De-Evolution was the third home video release by new wave band Devo. It is a collection of Devo's music videos from 1976 to 1990. It was released on Laserdisc in 1993 by Voyager and on DVD by Rhino Records in 2003.-Synopsis:...
DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Discography
"Mongoloid" was originally recorded as a single released on the Booji Boy Records label in 1977. The original single was a triple gatefoldGatefold
A gatefold is a type of fold used for advertising around a magazine or section, and for packaging of media such as vinyl records.- LP covers :...
, held together with stickers. The inside of the gatefold displayed the lyrics of the two songs in either blue or black ink depending on the pressing. The back cover of the single was an image of Booji Boy
Booji Boy
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"...
with the text "We're all Devo! Booji Boy XO."
As Devo gained fame, Stiff Records
Stiff Records
Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007....
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
agreed to release the single on their label. There were several pressings of the "Mongoloid" single with varying packages, ranging from a full triple gatefold, to a simple picture sleeve, to a generic "Stiff Records" paper sleeve. The Stiff Records releases are marked by the Stiff logo in the lower left hand corner of the front cover.
Other versions
For Devo's debut album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, "Mongoloid" was re-recorded. This version contains much more involved synthesizer playing throughout the song rather than during the opening and closing. An "E-Z Listening" version of "Mongoloid" was made for playing before concerts and appears on the 1987 E-Z Listening DiscE-Z Listening Disc
E-Z Listening Disc is a 1987 compilation album released by American New Wave band Devo. It is a disc of instrumental versions of classic Devo songs performed in the style of easy listening Muzak or New Age music...
. In 2002, Devo performed a techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
version of "Mongoloid" at a special show for the writers and producers of the cartoon Rugrats
Rugrats
Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series premiered on August 11, 1991, and aired its last episode on June 8, 2004....
(for which 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....
composed the theme song). It has more recently been sampled by electronic outfit Layo & Bushwacka for the track "Love Story," which was rather successful in Europe and Australia.
Covers
"Mongoloid" has been one of the most frequently covered songs in the Devo catalog:- A 1979 Rhino Records compilation of Devo covers by various local bands, titled Devo-Tees, features three humorous versions of this song recorded by Jupiter, the Deadliners, and the Doguloids.http://punknotprofit.blogspot.com/2010/04/kroq-fm-devotees-album-tribute-to-devo.html
- Zvoncekova BilježnicaZvoncekova BilježnicaZvoncekova Bilježnica is a Serbian punk rock/hardcore punk band from Aranđelovac.- History :...
, a SerbianSerbsThe Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
hardcore/postpunk band covered this song for their 1992 album Inžinjeri ljudskih duša in Serbian language with different lyrics. - Demented Are GoDemented Are GoDemented Are Go are a Welsh psychobilly band that was formed around 1982 in Cardiff. They were one of the earliest in the initial wave of bands to mix punk rock with rockabilly, and as a result, are considered to be highly influential to the psychobilly scene....
, a WelshWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
psychobillyPsychobillyPsychobilly is a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly and gothabilly...
band, covered it on their 1993 album Tangenital Madness on a Pleasant Side of HellTangenital Madness on a Pleasant Side of HellTangenital Madness on a Pleasant Side of Hell is the fifth full-length album released by the Welsh Psychobilly band Demented Are Go.-Track listing:#"Intro"#"Brand New Corpse"#"Mongoloid"#"Gambling Queen"#"Dream Space Baby"#"Zombie Stalk"...
. - Australian ska band The PorkersThe PorkersThe Porkers are a ska punk band from Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.Formed in 1987 as The Pork Hunts, the band was eventually forced to change its name to the less offensive-sounding Porkers in 1990 after their regular Newcastle venue refused to present them with their old name...
covered this song for their 1994 album, Grunt! - Thrash metalThrash metalThrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
group Demolition HammerDemolition HammerDemolition Hammer was a Thrash Metal band from the Bronx, New York. The band formed in 1986 and released three full-length albums between 1990 and 1994. Century Media Records made a complete anthology available in 2008.-History:...
covers the song on their 1994 album Timebomb. - SepulturaSepulturaSepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...
covered the song on their 2002 RevolusongsRevolusongsRevolusongs is an EP of cover songs released by Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura in 2003 through SPV Records. It was exclusively released in Brazil and Japan....
EP. - A slightly altered version of the chorus serves as the theme music of the Androsynth race in the Star ControlStar ControlStar Control is a science fiction computer game that was developed by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade in the early 1990s. Star Control still enjoys a cult following...
computer games. - In 2007, DatarockDatarockDatarock, derived from the Norwegian word for computer – datamaskin and the word rock , is a Norwegian electro rock band. The band formed in 2000 as Fredrik Saroea, Ketil Mosnes and Kevin O'Brien and soon hired Tom Mæland. O'Brien and Mæland later left the band, but the duo of Saroea and Mosnes...
performed an acoustic version of the song for Like A VersionLike A VersionLike a Version is a segment on the Australian radio station Triple J. It was created by Mel Bampton as part of the Mel in the Morning program. Currently the segment pops up whenever artists are available and willing to do it, though mainly on the Breakfast show...
, a segment on the national Australian radio station, Triple JTriple Jtriple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
. - Possum DixonPossum DixonPossum Dixon was an American alternative rock band. Fronted by singer/songwriter/bassist Rob Zabrecky, the group's neo-new wave pop and post punk style first appeared among a string of early independently released 7 inch singles and on their self-titled debut on Interscope Records in 1993...
performed a Spanish cover, "El Mongoloido", on We Are Not Devo, the Devo tribute album released in 1997. - The BelgianBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
rock band The Assassinators plays a cover version of the song. - Additionally, in the FlemishFlemishFlemish can refer to anything related to Flanders, and may refer directly to the following articles:*Flemish, an informal, though linguistically incorrect, name of any kind of the Dutch language as spoken in Belgium....
film Ex DrummerEx DrummerEx Drummer is a 2007 Flemish film directed by Koen Mortier. It is based on the book by Herman Brusselmans of the same name.- Plot :In Ostend three handicapped musicians are looking for a drummer for their band, consisting entirely of disabled people. They want to perform only one time at a music...
, the main character's band The Feminists do a version of "Mongoloid" in rehearsals and in concert. This version was recorded by Belgian band MillionaireMillionaire (band)Millionaire is a Belgian indie rock band led by Tim Vanhamel, drawing on influences from stoner rock, indie and industrial rock music.-History:Millionaire was formed in 1999 by former Evil Superstars and dEUS guitarist Tim Vanhamel...
. - There is a bluegrassBluegrass musicBluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
version of the song, recorded in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Hotfoot Quartet in 1980 and released as a 45 rpm single on the Black Snake label.http://www.archive.org/details/BluegrassVersionOfmongoloid - A choral version of the song, both a cappella and with instrumental accompaniment, was released by the German band Popchor Berlin in 2002 on their EP-1" album.
- Rummelsnuff, a German industrial/punk musician, covered "Mongoloid" on his first record Halt Durch! in 2008.
- "Mongoloid" was also covered by an early incarnation of the band October Rising, when they were known as the "Star Spangled Bastards".
- The ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an band Los Mox covered this song on their album Con Cover. - The Sky Fades Away, a RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n post-punk band covered this song. - The Real Losers, a Leeds garage rock band did a cover on their last album "Music for Funsters".