Song Name: Mongoloid
Artist: DEVO
Appears On:
- Mongoloid b/w Jocko Homo, Be Stiff EP, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO!, E-Z Listening Disc, Greatest Misses, Hardcore DEVO Vol. 1, Pioneers Who Got Scalped
- DEVO Live: The Mongoloid Years, DEV-O Live (re-release only), DEVO Live 1980, New Traditionalists: Live 1981 Seattle, Devo – Miracle Witness Hour, Live at Max's Kansas City - November 15, 1977, Butch Devo And The Sundance Gig, DEVO Hardcore Live
Year: 1975
Years Performed: [1] 1975-1982, 1989 (on 10/03/89), 1990-1991, 1996-1997, 1998 (on 10/10/98), 1999 (on 01/21/99), 2001 (on 08/02/01), 2002-2014
Run Time: 3:42 (Album Version)
Writing Credits: Gerald V. Casale
Sung By: Bob Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale
Alternate Versions: Hardcore Version, Booji Boy Version, Stiff Version, E-Z Listening Version, TechnoDEVO Version
Demo Versions: None known
- Bruce Conner's film short is titled "Devo | Mongoloid | Official Demo Video" on Devo's "official channel" on YouTube, where it is not credited as the track from Booji Boy Records first single release, Mongoloid / Jocko Homo
Song Connections:
Trivia / Info:
- Mongoloid was used in a video (film short) made by experimental filmmaker Bruce Conner which was assembled from found footage. This film technique would later be used by DEVO for their video for Beautiful World. Connor 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.
- Toni Basil facilitated the collaboration of Conner and Devo - she knew them both. [2]
- DEVO marketed the 1978 film short 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. Educational. Background music written and performed by the DEVO orchestra." Mongoloid appears as a bonus feature on The Complete Truth About Devolution DVD.
- The controversial title of Mongoloid got DEVO in trouble, despite its positive lyrics, first at a concert in 1975, playing in support of John Waters's "Pink Flamingos" film. The shows sponsors had a child with Downs Syndrome, and were offended.
- Jerry, the songwriter, said that the song is 'making fun of "normal" people who do make fun of Mongoloids'.[3]
Onstage Behavior:
- During performances from 1975 to 1982, Mark, having little to do during the song, often would jump around on stage while Bob 1 and Jerry sang, pausing by the front of the stage to engage the audience by raising his arms.
- From 1996 on, Mark no longer jumped around, but would often stay by his keyboards, and show impatience, checking a watch, and pretending to smoke a cigarette. He still would engage the audience as well, now shaking pom-poms like a cheerleader.
Lyrics:
- mongoloid he was a mongoloid
- happier than you and me
- mongoloid he was a mongoloid
- and it determined what he could see
- mongoloid he was a mongoloid
- one chromosome too many
- mongoloid he was a mongoloid
- and it determined what he could see
- and he wore a hat
- and he had a job
- and he brought home the bacon
- so that no one knew
- mongoloid he was a mongoloid
- his friends were unaware
- mongoloid he was a mongoloid
- nobody even cared
Video/Film Short:
- Appears on The Complete Truth About De-Evolution (DVD)
- and on the "official channel" for Devo on YouTube
- and not on the DEVOvision youtube channel.
Live Video:
- "Mongoloid" appears on DEVO Live 1980, DEVO Live*, Live In The Land Of The Rising Sun, Live at the Observatory, Santa Ana, CA and DEVO: Hardcore Live!
- (*MVD's DVD re-release of The Complete Truth About De-Evolution also includes DEVO Live's 1996 Mongoloid performance as a bonus preview.)
References
- ↑ DEVO Live Guide. Website keyword search for "mongoloid".
- ↑ YouTube. "Bruce Conner - MONGOLOID - Art + Music - MOCAtv". Uploaded by MOCA October 2, 2013.
- ↑ archive.org. annecarlini.com. Exclusive Magazine (2011). ‘Devo 3.0 - The Return of More Uncontrollable Urges!’ " When you released your first single, 'Mongoloid,' did you get any flack from sectors of the public re: the use of the word Mongoloid? "Never. However a teacher's organization in London took us to task for singing about someone with Downes Syndrome [SIC]. They demanded to meet with me, Gerald Casale, the song's writer. I convinced them that I was not making fun of Mongoloids but rather making fun of "normal" people who do make fun of Mongoloids!"
External Links:
- Mongoloid / Jocko Homo (single releases) Discogs
- Mongoloid (album recording releases) MusicBrainz
- Mongoloid / Jocko Homo (single) 45cat
- Mongoloid (song info) AllMusic