Devo's next song is about Mitt Romney's dog. The American new wave band are putting an Irish setter front and centre on Don't Roof Rack Me, Bro! (Remember Seamus), which takes fire at the Republican presidential candidate.
Twenty-nine years ago Romney took his family on a 12-hour road trip from Boston to Ontario, strapping the family dog to a kennel on their car roof. As the Chevrolet station wagon barrelled down the highway, Seamus clung on for dear life; even after the dog suffered a diarrhoea attack, Romney just sprayed everything down and continued with the journey.
Although Seamus may not be at the forefront of Romney's election battle against Barack Obama, Devo have not forgotten him. On Tuesday the band announced their next single, due 25 August, with cover art depicting Romney behind the wheel and a terrified dog on the roof
The song is part of a campaign by Gerald V Casale, one of Devo's founders. Remember Seamus proposes to "make 2012 the year where animals like Seamus are valued and honesty is praised". The group has rallied behind Dogs Against Romney, a Facebook page with more than 70,000 fans, and Casale has also contributed to a forthcoming video game, The Crate Escape: Seamus Unleashed, which is due on 26 August – National Dog Day in the US.
As for Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts insists that Seamus enjoyed being on the car roof. "The dog loved it," said his wife, Ann Romney, in April. "He would see that crate and, you know, he would, like, go crazy because he was going with us on vacation. It was to me a kinder thing to bring him along than to leave him in the kennel for two weeks."
