"Whip It"
Single by Devo
from the album Freedom of Choice
Released	1980
Format	CD
Genre	Motorik
Length	2:37
Label	Warner Brothers
Writer(s)	Gerald Casale, Mark Mothersbaugh
Producer(s)	Robert Margouleff
Peak chart positions
#14 (US Billboard Hot 100) #51 (UK Singles Chart)
Devo singles chronology
"Girl U Want" (1980) "Whip It" (1980) "Gates of Steel" (1980)

"Whip It" is the title of a 1980 single by the New Wave band Devo. It appears on the album Freedom of Choice. There were two 7" single releases of "Whip It", one backed with a remix of the track "Snowball" (which appears on "Freedom of Choice") and one backed with "Turn Around" (a song later covered by Nirvana). "Whip It" was Devo's biggest hit, and peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... Devo (pronounced DEE-vo or dee-VO, often spelled DEVO or DEV-O) is an American New Wave group formed in Akron, Ohio in 1972. ... Freedom of Choice is the third album by New Wave musicians Devo, released in 1980 (see 1980 in music). ... See also: Musical groups established in 1980 Record labels established in 1980 list of years in music 1980s in music. ... A Compact Disc or CD is an optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Motorik is a term coined by music journalists to describe the 4/4 beat often used by some so-called Krautrock bands such as Neu! and Kraftwerk. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Warner Bros. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Gerald Casale: Pre Getting Laid Gerald Casale: Post Getting Laid Gerald Casale returns from the veterinarian Gerald Casale (born July 28, 1948) is the Bass Guitar/Synth Player, a vocalist, and one of the founding members (along with Mark Mothersbaugh and Bob Lewis) of the new wave band Devo. ... Mark Mothersbaugh (born May 18, 1950, in Akron, Ohio) is an American musician, composer, singer, and painter. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... A record chart, also known as a music chart, is a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. ... The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. ... Devo (pronounced DEE-vo or dee-VO, often spelled DEVO or DEV-O) is an American New Wave group formed in Akron, Ohio in 1972. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... New Wave is a term that has been used to describe many developments in music, but is most commonly associated with a movement in Western popular music, in the late 1970s and early 1980s inspired by the punk rock movement. ... Devo (pronounced DEE-vo or dee-VO, often spelled DEVO or DEV-O) is an American New Wave group formed in Akron, Ohio in 1972. ... Freedom of Choice is the third album by New Wave musicians Devo, released in 1980 (see 1980 in music). ... Nirvana was an American Grunge band that formed in Aberdeen, Washington. ... The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. ...

Image File history File links Devo_-_Whip_It_excerpt. ... Software development stages In computer programming, development stage terminology expresses how the development of a piece of software has progressed and how much further development it may require. ...

The song

"Whip It" is built on a motorik beat, similar to tracks by Neu!. The lead instrument is a Minimoog synthesizer. The bass is performed with a custom synthesizer made by Moog Music for Devo, known as the Devobox, and is built from two Minimoogs. The whip sound was made with an EML ElectroComp 500 synthesizer. On an episode of the VH1 show TrueSpin, Gerald V. Casale revealed that the lead guitar riff from "Whip It" is based on the riff from "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison with the beat moved to the back. Motorik is a term coined by music journalists to describe the 4/4 beat often used by some so-called Krautrock bands such as Neu! and Kraftwerk. ... Neu! (the German word for new, pronounced noy) were a German band, probably the archetypal example of what the UK music press at the time dubbed Krautrock. ... The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by David van Koevering and Robert Moog. ... A synthesizer (or synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument designed to produce electronically generated sound, using techniques such as additive, subtractive, FM, physical modelling synthesis, phase distortion, or Scanned synthesis. ... The electric bass guitar (or electric bass) is a string instrument played with the fingers by plucking, slapping, or using a pick. ... The Moog Music logo Moog Music Inc. ... Electronic Music Laboratories, commonly abbreviated to EML, was an audio synthesizer company. ... VH1 (VH-1: Video Hits One until 1994) is an American cable television channel that was created in January 1985 by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communications and owners of MTV. VH1 and sister channel MTV are currently part of the MTV Networks division... Gerald Casale in 1966 Gerald Casale (born Gerald Pizzute, July 28, 1948) is the Bass Guitar/Synth Player, a vocalist, and one of the founding members (along with Mark Mothersbaugh and Bob Lewis) of the new wave band Devo. ... Pretty Woman is a 1990 American romantic comedy motion picture. ... Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988), nicknamed The Big O, was an influential American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll whose recording career spanned more than four decades. ...

The lyrics were written by Mark Mothersbaugh in a style similar to Thomas Pynchon's poems in Gravity's Rainbow. They're a sort of mocking parody of upbeat, self-help poems. The lyrics evoke a working class desire to pull oneself up and to overcome adversity. The song has violent undertones, and Devo has often described it as a mockery of Ronald Reagan (or of the foreign policy of Jimmy Carter as Mothersbaugh mentions in an interview on To The Best of our Knowledge[1]) and his policies. However, many people took the lyrics at face value, interpreting the song as a paean to masturbation and sadomasochism, or a reference to inhaling nitrous oxide from whipped cream cans (taken from the name "whippet", used to describe the nitrous chargers for whipped cream dispensers). Mark Mothersbaugh (born May 18, 1950, in Akron, Ohio) is an American musician, composer, singer, and painter. ... Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. ... Gravitys Rainbow is an epic postmodern novel written by Thomas Pynchon and first published on February 28, 1973. ... In contemporary usage, a parody is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... The term working class is used to denote a social class. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981 – 1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967 – 1975). ... James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr. ... Woman masturbating, 1913 drawing by Gustav Klimt. ... Flogging demonstration at Folsom Street Fair 2004. ... R-phrases S-phrases Supplementary data page Structure and properties n, εr, etc. ... Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of raw milk before homogenization. ...

"Whip It" debuted at a live concert on New Year's Eve 1979 in Long Beach, California. The first performance included a synthesizer solo taken from the early Devo song "Chango." This performance was recorded and is available as a bootleg. A demo version was recorded in 1980 and later released in 2000 on the compilation Recombo DNA released by Rhino Handmade. The quality of this article or section may be compromised by peacock terms. You can help Wikipedia by removing peacock terms. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Chango might refer to one of: Shango / Changó - thunder god in Yoruban mythology The Csángó Hungarian minority in Romania. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The video

Devo funded the music video for "Whip It" with $15,000 USD of their own money. The main visual of the video, Mark Mothersbaugh whipping the clothes off of a woman (Annerose Bücklers), was inspired by an article in a 1962 issue of "Dude" magazine. In an interview for Song Facts, Casale explains "There was a feature article on a guy who had been an actor and fell on hard times, he wasn't getting parts anymore. He moved with his wife to Arizona, opened a dude ranch and charged people money to come hang out at the ranch. Every day at noon in the corral, for entertainment, he'd whip his wife's clothes off with a 12-foot bullwhip. She sewed the costumes and put them together with Velcro. The story was in the magazine about how good he was and how he never hurt her. We had such a big laugh about it, we said, 'OK, that's the basis for the video. We'll have these cowboys drinking beer and cheering Mark on as he's in the barnyard whipping this pioneer women's clothes off while the band plays in the corral.'" A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ... ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Indian Ocean Territory,[1] the British Virgin Islands, Cambodia, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 2. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... Dude Ranch is a Blink-182 album that was released on June 17, 1997 by Cargo Music/MCA. This was Blink-182s second album, containing songs such as Dammit and Josie that helped the group gain popularity. ... Velcro: hooks (left) and loops (right). ...

In the video, Devo wears black, sleeveless turtlenecks, and their famous Energy Dome headgear. When the video begins, all the members, except for Mark Mothersbaugh, wear the turtlenecks pulled over their faces. During the performance, each member lowers the turtleneck. Robert Casale (Bob 2) plays a red Rheem Key Bass, and Alan Myers plays a set of Synare electronic drum pads. Cover for the DEVO album Freedom of Choice Energy dome refers to the red terraced headgear worn by DEVO during their Freedom of Choice years. ... The Synare was a series of electronic drums made by Star Instruments. ...

Unsurprisingly, the S&M overtones of the video caused controversy. Devo was forced to abandon a television appearance after the host deemed the video offensive to women. Despite this, "Whip It" received heavy rotation on MTV due to both high popularity and a general lack of videos in its library. Flogging demonstration at Folsom Street Fair 2004. ... MTV (Music Television) is an American cable television network headquartered in New York City. ...

Alternate versions

Devo recorded an instrumental "E-Z Listening" version of "Whip It" as part of a set of music be played before concerts. These appear on the 1987 CD E-Z Listening Disc, released by Rykodisc. The E-Z version of "Whip It" is also played over the closing credits to the Devo home video "We're All Devo". An extended remix, known as the "Prime Cuts" mix was released on Cassette. In 1993, the collection Hot Potatoes: The Best of Devo featured a 9 minute remix of "Whip It" called the (HMS&M Mix). This remix uses samples from a movie version of H.M.S. Pinafore. There exists an instrumental Dub mix of this track as well on a 12" single. A remix by DJ 7Up has appeared on P2P networks. In 2004, the remix album What Is Hip? Remix Project Vol. 1 had yet another remix of "Whip It" 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... CD may stand for: Compact Disc Canadian Forces Decoration Cash Dispenser (at least used in Japan) CD LPMud Driver Centrum-Demokraterne (Centre Democrats of Denmark) Certificate of Deposit České Dráhy (Czech Railways) Chad (NATO country code) Chalmers Datorförening (computer club of the Chalmers University of Technology) a 1960s... E-Z Listening Disc is the 1987 release by Devo. ... Rykodisc Records is an American record label, and subsidiary of Warner Music Group. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: H.M.S. Pinafore H.M.S. Pinafore, or The Lass that Loved a Sailor, is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A peer-to-peer (or P2P) computer network is a network that relies on the computing power and bandwidth of the participants in the network rather than concentrating it in a relatively few servers. ...

"Whip It" has been used in several commercials, for products such as Pringles, Twix, Gateway computers, and most recently Swiffer cloths. Due to the nature of Devo's contract with Warner Brothers, they do not own the rights to the original recording of "Whip It." Devo often re-records their songs for use in advertising, and for the Swiffer ad, the band also agreed to change the lyrics as well. One example of the changes is the line "You must whip it" which was replaced by "You need Swiffer." From the earliest days of the medium, television has been used as a vehicle for advertising in some countries. ... Pringles Logo. ... North American Twix Logo North American Twix Twix opened UK Twix Inside candy Twix is a chocolate snack or candy bar made by Mars, Inc. ... Gateway, Inc. ... The Swiffer logo Swiffer is a line of cleaning products by Procter & Gamble. ... Warner Bros. ...

Another version also appeared on the video game Donkey Konga. However, this version was not done by Devo but rather by another band signed on by Nintendo or Namco. Namcos Pac-Man was a hit, and became a universal phenomenon. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Nintendo Company, Limited (任天堂 or ニンテンドー Nintendō; NASDAQ: NTDOY, TYO: 7974 usually referred to as simply Nintendo, or Big N ) is a multinational corporation founded on September 23, 1889[1] in Kyoto, Japan by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. ... Namco Ltd ) is a amusement company based in Japan, best known overseas for video games development. ...

Covered in season 1 of the sci-fi Sliders in the episode The King Is Back by the female country group the "Del Rubio Sisters". Sliders is a science fiction television series that ran for five seasons from 1995 to 2000. ... The King Is Back is the ninth episode of the science fiction television show Sliders. ...

The song was parodied in the 1999 movie Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, when Doctor Evil tries to silence his son, Scott Evil, by saying (among other things) "When a problem comes along, you must ZIP IT! Zip it real good." Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... Austin Powers: the Spy Who Shagged Me is the second film in the Austin Powers series started with Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and continued in Austin Powers in Goldmember. ... Dr. Evil is a fictional supervillain played by Mike Myers in the Austin Powers film series. ... Spoiler warning: Scott Evils introduction in Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery Scott Evil, played by Seth Green, is a fictional character from the Austin Powers films. ...

In 2005, the song was covered by the Devo- and Disney-sponsored band Devo 2.0. The group is composed of five pre-teen actors who sing, dance, and mime playing instruments along. The instrumentals are performed by the original Devo members. They have attempted to remove some of the adult innuendo from the song and its music video. Devo 2. ...

In the media

A * denotes a cover version being used for that occurrence.

• Played in a mid-1990s commercial for Twix candy bars.
• Played in the 1995 crime film Casino as backing music.
• Covered in the 1995 sci fi series Sliders in the series 1 episodeThe King Is Back (Sliders).
• Played in the 2003 movie Dumb and Dumberer.*
• Played in the 2004 movie Raising Helen.
• Playable in the 2004 video game Donkey Konga.*
• Played in the 2005 Swiffer Commercial, but with lyric alterations from "You Must Whip It" to "You Need Swiffer."
• The song, as well as the music video, is featured on Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 3 released in 2005.
• Played in a 2006 commercial for the VH1 music video channel. The song is played without vocals and sounds like an early home computer with a one-voice audio chip. The video for the song appears on a monochrome 1980s-vintage monitor and appears to be rendered with aalib.
• The 2006 Game Boy Advance release of Final Fantasy V features a weapon called the whip, whose item description is "Best used when problems come along," a reference to a lyric from the song.

• The Simpsons: Smithers is head of the "Waylon Smithers Dancers" on "The Simpson Family Smile-Time Variety Hour." He performs a slightly-altered version of Devo's "Whip It" (referring to a "Licorice Whip") while wearing a pair of very revealing chaps. In a later episode, Homer sings "When you have a rib-eye steak, You must floss it", while flossing his teeth.

• Los Prisioneros made a Spanish cover of Whip It called "Azota" (Whip It in Spanish).

For the band, see 1990s (band). ... North American Twix Logo North American Twix Twix opened UK Twix Inside candy Twix is a chocolate snack or candy bar made by Mars, Inc. ... A Twix bar, broken in half Candy bar is the most popular term in the U.S. for confectionery usually packaged in a bar or log form, often coated with chocolate, and sized as a snack for one person. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Casino is a 1995 movie directed by Martin Scorsese, based on the book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi and Larry Shandling. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Sliders is a science fiction television series that ran for five seasons from 1995 to 2000. ... The King Is Back is the ninth episode of the science fiction television show Sliders. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dumb & Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd is a comedy film that is the prequel to 1994s hit comedy Dumb & Dumber. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Raising Helen is a 2004 American comedy/drama film directed by Garry Marshall and written by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Swiffer logo Swiffer is a line of cleaning products by Procter & Gamble. ... Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 3 will be the tenth home version of Dance Dance Revolution to be released in the United States. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... VH1 (VH-1: Video Hits One until 1994) is an American cable television channel that was created in January 1985 by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communications and owners of MTV. VH1 and sister channel MTV are currently part of the MTV Networks division... AAlib is an portable ascii art GFX library. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Final Fantasy V ) is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square Co. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Waylon Smithers, Jr. ... The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase is an episode in the eighth season of The Simpsons, featuring clips from non-existent television series derived from The Simpsons. ... Haribos licorice wheels Licorice candy (liquorice in British English) is flavored with the extract of the roots of the licorice plant, and usually anise oil as well. ... She of Little Faith is an episode from The Simpsons 13th season. ... Los Prisioneros was a Rock en Español band from San Miguel, Santiago, Chile completely formed in 1982. ...

External links

• The original music video for "Whip It"
• "Whip It" performed by DEV2.0