A collection of Mark Mothersbaugh’s favourite songs
When it comes to music, Mark Mothersbaugh has seen it all. Not only is he the co-founder and leader singer of the new wave legends Devo, but he has subsequently made several highly-praised scores for TV films and even video games. Looking through some of Mothersbaugh’s favourite songs reveals his inspirations.
The very first album that Mothersbaugh ever bought is a bit of a peculiar record. It’s The Beetle Beat by The Buggs, a phoney version of the Beatles. After Mothersbaugh saw the Fab Four play on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964, he had to buy a Beatles record. However, he was disappointed to learn that what he bought in Woolworths was actually the knock-off copy of The Buggs album.
“I went home, and I put it on, and the first song started, and I go, ‘No, that’s not what I heard.’ Then the second song came on, and I go, ‘That’s not what I heard on TV.’ Then the third, and I kept going through them all and by the time I got to the last song, I’m kind of really upset because they’re like singing these stupid lyrics, and then all the sudden it goes into a chorus that goes, ‘You got me bug, bug, bug, bug. Hey, little lady bug, I’m in love with you.’ And I thought, ‘That’s the worst song I’ve ever heard.'” Still, the song appears to hold a special place in Mothersbaugh’s heart.
As for Mothersbaugh’s first actual memory of music, that goes to the track ‘Crazy’ by Patsy Cline. Willie Nelson had written the song when he was living in Houston, Texas, but it was popularised in 1961 when Cline recorded it. Cline’s version went as high as number two on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, which is likely where Mothersbaugh first heard it.
Discussing his memory of the track with Pitchfork, Mothersbaugh said, “My family came to Akron to get factory jobs. I had blue-collar parents, and my dad’s big goal in life was to become middle-class. We’d go over to Grandma Mothersbaugh’s house, and she had a 78 RPM turntable and a record collection. That turntable was great because you could slow it down to 45, so this song would sound like [sings in slow motion] ‘craaaaayzeeee.’ I really loved that; my grandparents didn’t like it as much. That’s my earliest memory of music.”
Primarily a keyboardist when it comes to music, Mothersbaugh also had respect for one of the first songs he learned to play on the piano, John W. Schaum’s ‘Bone Sweet Bone’.
Of his memory of playing the tune, Mothersbaugh said, “I started taking keyboard lessons when I was 7. This woman, Mrs. Fox, came over, and she could not sing in tune for the life of her. We had a little Hammond organ in the dining room, and I’d play from a book that had songs like ‘Bone Sweet Bone’. And I would play really loud because I knew she’d be singing totally out of tune: ‘Bone sweet bone, sing it loud and long.’ I actually used that line in a Devo song called ‘Dogs of Democracy.'”
It’s not just with Pitchfork that Mothersbaugh has shared his favourite albums. The Devo icon also took part in KCRW‘s Guest DJ Project, where he offered up five of his most cherished songs, during which he again noted the impact of Patsy Cline and The Buggs. It speaks of Mothersbaugh’s devotion to the artists and his consistency in appreciating the impact they had on his life.
Check out a more comprehensive list of Mark Mothersbaugh’s favourite songs below.
Mark Mothersbaugh’s favourite songs:
- Patsy Cline – ‘Crazy’
- John W. Schaum – ‘Bone Sweet Bone’
- The Buggs – ‘Mersey Mercy’
- ‘Have It Your Way’ (1974 Burger King Jingle)
- The Kinks – ‘Nothin’ in the World Can Stop Me Worryin’ ‘Bout That Girl’
- Captain Beefheart – ‘The Blimp’
- ‘Pachabel’s Canon’
- Nino Rota – ‘Madeja – Primadeja’
- Perrey & Kingsley – ‘The Unidentified Flying Object’
