Devo - Whip It

Music Appreciation (A Retrospect)

Whip It came out in 1980.  Like many other kids my age at the time, I liked the beat.  I didn't think much of their attire; although their Power Dome headgear was pretty cool.  Nor did I care what they were portraying in the video; although, I read that people had issues with its portrayal of women.

It wasn't until way after I was a teen when I became aware of the lyrics and its meaning.  Personally, I thought it was a song about sex.  Not so, according to Devo songwriter, Gerald Casale; his lyrics were inspired by Thomas Pynchon's writings.  The lyrics tell of a persons struggle to overcome hardtimes. 
The idea for the sadomasochistic-like music video came from a 1960s magazine Casale read where a guy would invite people to watch him whip his wife's cloths off. 



Sources: Wikipedia

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