Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CXXVIII--Devo: Jocko Homo

It's hard to believe, as over time Saturday Night Live's weekly musical guests have generally become established acts, but back in the day when I was still a young man SNL would often feature unknown artists, or artists that you might have heard of but got zero in the way of mainstream radio play.  And while I heard artists like Rickie Lee Jones and Eddie Money (among others now long forgotten) for the first time on the show, there were none quite like this week's featured artist, Devo.  Appearing on stage in yellow jumpsuits and performing the strangest (yet oddly compelling) cover version of the Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," Devo, at the time, were not like any band I'd ever heard before.  They finished their night performing this week's tune, which in a way was ever stranger than the Stones' cover, and I rushed out the next day and bought their album.

Formed in Ohio (Kent and Akron) in 1973, Devo had some success in the late seventies and early eighties which, as numerous other bands I've featured this year have done, they managed to parlay into a career of nine albums (eight from 1978-1990, and a latecomer in 2010), and regular tours they still perform to this day.  The band was primarily made up of two sets of brothers--the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob), and the Casales (Gerald and Bob).  Alan Myers rounded out the group on drums, and they brought a certain kitsch to pop music.  Lots of synthesizers and singsong vocals were the band's trademarks, which they used to develop their biggest hit, "Whip It," which went to #14 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, and to be perfectly honest, was never one of my favorite songs (though MTV loved the hell out of the video).  While their first album will always have a special place in my heart, and they had a couple of nice singles through their early years (a cover of "Working in a Coalmine" and "Through Being Cool" that I really liked), they eventually fell off my radar (novelty can only take you so far) and became just another band with a great debut album that faded into my memory.

Fun Fact:  Recommendations from David Bowie and Iggy Pop helped Devo land their first record contract with Warner Brothers.  Nothing like getting rock royalty to recommend you...

Released in 1977 on their Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! LP, "Jocko Homo" is considered Devo's anthem (and rightfully so) but was actually originally released as the B side to their first single, "Mongoloid."  The song is actually a tongue in cheek poke at those who don't believe in evolution (Devo is short for devolution), and the title comes from an anti-evolution tract, wherein it's explained as meaning "Ape-Man."  The "chorus" revolves around Mark Mothersbaugh (who would go on to have quite a bit of success writing theme songs for TV shows and doing soundtrack work for films) shouting "Are we not men?" (which was taken from a line in the movie Island of Lost Souls) and the band members responding, "We are Devo!"  While there is instrumentation in the song, it's a little off kilter yet it helps define the song along with the not so ordinary lyrics.  It's not for everyone--many folks (including my younger brother) are much more fond of their Stones' cover version than this one, but there's always been something for me about the sheer absurdity of "Jocko Homo" that made it an utter delight to hear again and again.

Lyric Sheet:  "They tell us that we lost our tails/Evolving up from little snails/I say it's all just wind in sails..."

Enjoy:

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