"Beautiful World" is a song by American new wave band

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

, written by

Gerald Casale Gerald Vincent "Jerry" Casale ( ) ( ''né'' Pizzute; born July 28, 1948) is an American musician. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, co-lead vocalist, and bass player of the new wave band Devo, which released a top 20 hit in ...

and

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 2 ...

. It appears on their fourth studio album ''

New Traditionalists ''New Traditionalists'' is the fourth studio album by the American new wave band Devo, released on August 26, 1981, by Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded over a period of four months between December 1980 and April 1981, at the Power ...

''. Most of the songs on ''New Traditionalists'' are darker and more direct than on previous Devo albums. The exception to this is "Beautiful World," whose message seems optimistic at first but changes as the song progresses. This is made even clearer by the song's promotional video. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' called it a "positive pop piece" that is "a polished, multi-format rocker." In addition to the standard 7-inch single, "Beautiful World" was also released as a picture disc. This version features the same image of a paper mask of a cosmonaut's face as the standard single sleeve and is cut in the shape of the cosmonaut's head. The

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics that extend at lea ...

version also includes a different B-side: the spoken word "Nu-tra Speaks (New Traditionalist Man)."

Promotional music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was inspired by the works of

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

collagist Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an Assemblage (art), assemblage of different forms, thus creat ...

Bruce Connor. The video features the character

Booji Boy Booji Boy is a character created in the early 1970s by the American new wave band Devo. The name is pronounced "Boogie Boy"—the strange spelling "Booji" resulted when the band was using Letraset to produce captions for a film, and ran out of ...

prominently, as he initially watches scenes of beautiful women, futuristic cars and other happy elements, which by the end of the song have been replaced by images of race riots, the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, famine in Africa, car crashes and nuclear explosions, which puts a much darker slant on the song's lyrics.

Track listing

Chart performance

Cover versions

*Indie rock band

Harvey Danger Harvey Danger was an American alternative rock band that was formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1992 by journalism students at the University of Washington. The band rose to prominence in 1997 with the single "Flagpole Sitta", which was later us ...

*Synth-pop band

Information Society An information society is a society where the usage, creation, distribution, manipulation and integration of information is a significant activity. Its main drivers are information and communication technologies, which have resulted in rapid inf ...

, with vocals by

of Devo. *Rap rock group

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerfor ...

on their final studio album '' Renegades''Beautiful World by Rage Against the Machine - Topic on YouTube
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References

External links

Official music videoAudio only video
{{authority control 1981 songs 1981 singles Devo songs Rage Against the Machine songs Songs written by Gerald Casale Songs written by Mark Mothersbaugh Warner Records singles