Uncontrollable Urge to Sell-out! at bavatuesdays

Devo 2.0 banner I was already deeply disappointed when I first heard that Devo was selling off song rights for two-bit commercials – something just seems lost when music you believed was critiquing mindless consumerism is being employed to hock a Twix! Below is a list excerpted from about.com regarding 80s music used in commercials (presented in About.com’s predictably insipid, “isn’t that great” logic):

Band	Song	Company
Devo	Beautiful World	Target
Devo	Freedom of Choice	Miller Domino
Devo	Uncontrollable Urge	Mitsubishi Galant Accident Avoidance Test 2004
Devo	Whip It	Gateway
Devo	Whip It	Twix
Devo	Whip It	Pringles
Devo	It’s A Beautiful World	Target CorporatioAA

According to about.com, even the Dead Kennedys‘ “A Holiday in Cambodia” was the theme song for a Levi’s Dockers commercial (Jello Biafra and corporate America – strange bedfellows to say the least) -so, “hey kid, that’s life,” right?

Wrong- because this is what happens when bands shamelessly sell their work to the highest bidder …DEV2.0!

Warning: if you have even a modicum of respect for Devo and intend on preserving it, please don’t follow this link!

Thanks Mikhail (a precocious websurfer of thisevilempire.com fame!) who, after I complained how absurd this album was and how Mark Mothersbaugh is redefining the term sellout, said, “what if he knows it’s absurd and is having a good laugh about it?” I hate people who are circumspect!

Enjoy?

3 Responses to “Uncontrollable Urge to Sell-out!”

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1 Brad Mar 31st, 2006 at 9:42 am

It is a shame. My 4 year old loves Devo2.0. I bought it thinking it was some devo remix and it is not. It is pretty fun hearing my kid sing Peek-a-boo though. The lyric changes are pretty funny as well as a lot of devo lyrics are not suitable for children. She corrected me when I was sing Freedom of Choice and I said the dog dropped dead. She said “No, he dropped down”.

Complete sellout from guys that complained continually about being under the cooporate thumb.
2 jimgroom Mar 31st, 2006 at 4:07 pm

Amen, Brad. I wouldn’t be so righteous if their songs weren’t so pointed against the corporate monkey man. I guess its the logical progression – Lollapalooza, Wes Anderson, then major disney sell-out!
3 Ben Boozled Dec 3rd, 2009 at 5:37 pm

Hey! my baby said to me
“I feel so DEVO”
I don’t know what to do!

Hey! It’s OK because she’s free!
“How low can you go?”
That’s really up to you!