“Have it your way”: the commercial jingle that inspired DEVO
The 1970s were a time of radical change within rock music, but nobody exemplified that change quite like Devo. Concept albums are often heralded as the most interesting and mature works an artist can create, but Devo took that to an entirely new level, becoming something of a concept band. Setting themselves apart from every other group populating the mid-1970s punk and new wave scene, the band led by Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale found inspiration in the most unlikely of places.
Often, when listening to a young rock band, it is easy to identify their likely influences. For instance, when the Sex Pistols rose to prominence, you could tell they took a lot of inspiration from proto-punk outfits like The Stooges. On the contrary, there was nobody that sounded remotely close to the sounds being recorded by Devo – admittedly, there hasn’t been another band since 1973 that have managed to match their sound, either.
That unique and distinctive sound is largely due to the socio-political stance of the band. Mothersbaugh, in particular, was obsessed with ideas of capitalism and advertising, which went on to influence the ‘devolution’ theory at the heart of the group. During the early days, they were particularly influenced by the horrific events of the Kent State massacre in 1970, which acted as the catalyst for the group’s formation.
Throughout the band’s existence, Devo drew upon commercial influences. Satirical takes on American society and advertising can be felt in everything from the group’s lyricism to their on-stage personas and even the album artwork. Back in 2020, Mothersbaugh reflected upon this element of the band, telling Pitchfork, “I formed Devo with Jerry [Gerald Casale]; we were thinking about de-evolution. After the shootings at Kent State, we realised that rebellion wasn’t the way to change things anymore. Once the government gets irritated enough, they just lock you up or kill you”.
“There’s no such thing as democracy,” the songwriter continued, “It’s all just corporations and the ebb and flow of capitalism. We were thinking, ‘God, the way it’s going, we could have a movie star or a sports guy as president. People are getting stupider’”. Of course, only a decade after the massacre, film star Ronald Reagan would be elected to office in the US, and things would get a whole lot worse from then on. Adding to this sense of American capitalism in Devo’s discography, the band found early inspiration in a Burger King advertisement, of all things.
“I remember watching commercials at that time,” Mothersbaugh said, “And the one that really caught my attention was a Burger King commercial where they took Pachelbel’s Canon—one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written—and turned it into, ‘Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce/Special orders don’t upset us/All we ask is that you let us serve it your way’.” Fans of the group will already be aware that this slogan eventually morphed into the Devo track ‘Too Much Paranoias’, from their seminal debut album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!.
Following the advertising campaign, Devo took on a manifesto of “What if we presented our ideas in a way that could burrow into mainstream music?” with Mothersbaugh recalling, “We wanted to be subversive,” before adding, “I hope Burger King didn’t mind”. In fact, Devo were so subversive and ahead of their time that the profound message at the heart of their existence often went over the heads of casual listeners. For the dedicated few, however, Devo changed the ways in which many approached music and art.
