Songs Incorrectly Attributed To TMBG

Through the years, songs that have nothing to do with They Might Be Giants have been mistaken as being songs by them, much like hundreds of songs are incorrectly attributed to "Weird Al" Yankovic. Often these songs were been passed around on peer-to-peer networks with incorrect tags. This page seeks to set the record straight.

• 88 Lines About 44 Women - This long "speak song" was included on Working Undercover For The Man (Bootleg), but is really by American New Wave group The Nails. (It is also occasionally listed as a Nine Inch Nails cover, hence the confusion.) John Flansburgh commented on the misconception: "Fact #88 We had nothing to do with 88 Lines about 44 Women. Shows you what one misinformed napster post in 1999 can do."^[1]

• The Backyardigans - This is the name of a kids' show on Nickelodeon. Though TMBG has done other themes for similar shows (Here In Higglytown, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Theme), they had nothing to do with this one.

• The Banana Slug Song - This song, which discusses eating banana slugs, is by the band Severe Tire Damage.^[2] It's available for free download on their site (with all other STD songs). Notably, They Might Be Giants titled a live album Severe Tire Damage.

• The Beer Song - Included on Working Undercover For The Man (Bootleg), but actual performer is unknown. In addition to TMBG, this song is often misattributed to Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park fame.

• Big Bang Theory Theme - This song is by Canadian band Barenaked Ladies. Occasionally referred to as "The History of Everything", this is the theme song for the TV show The Big Bang Theory.

• Can't Find My Eye - This song is by American band Snot Patties.^[3] It was tacked on the end of the then-unreleased "Mr. Xcitement" before Mink Car came out.

• Chewbacca (mis-tagged as "Chewbacca, What A Wookie") - This song is by American band Supernova. It was featured in the film Clerks.

• Everything You Know Is Wrong - This song is a style parody of TMBG by "Weird Al" Yankovic.^[4]

• Existential Blues - This song is by American singer Tom "T-Bone" Stankus. It's a 6-minute bout of nonsense loosely based on The Wizard of Oz.

• Fish Heads - This song is by American duo Barnes & Barnes. Ironically, it used to beat out TMBG on Dr. Demento's weekly countdown. Included on Working Undercover For The Man (Bootleg).

• Flight of the Barking Death Squirrels - This song is by The Gland Puppies.^[5] It almost seems as if they were intentionally trying to spoof TMBG - soundalikes for each John are very obvious.

• Get in Line - This song is by Barenaked Ladies for the animated series King of the Hill.

• Gin and Juice - This song is by American alt-country band The Gourds, as a cover of the classic rap song by Dr. Dre with Snoop Doggy Dogg. In addition to TMBG, it has been misattributed to Barenaked Ladies, Blues Traveler, Oar, Phish, and Ween.

• I Be An Retarded (aka "I Am Retarded") - This song is by Hemorrhoy Rogers and the RRhoid Boyz.^[6] It is extremely unlikely TMBG would do a song that mocks mentally handicapped people.

• Icon - This song is by American singer James Call (son of rock star Alex Call of the band Clover), who cites TMBG as a direct influence. It was once the only previewable song on TMBG's Last.fm page, though they are not affiliated with this song at all.

• The Incredible Shrinking Day (or "I'm Not Coming in Anymore") - This song was written by Cartoon Network writer Stuart Hill^[7] and performed by musician Garrett Freireich.^[8] Perhaps due to the Cartoon Network "Groovies" the band did for Courage The Cowardly Dog and Dexter's Laboratory, this song has been misattributed to the band.

• Internet Sandman - This song is performed by Johnny Crass, who reacted with this song when Metallica sued Napster. It is also sometimes called Metallica vs. Napster.^[9]

• It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - This song is by American band R.E.M.. Perhaps its frantic tempo and list-style songwriting lead some people to believe it was performed by TMBG. At least one incident of mistaken identity has been cited by TMBG fans.^[10]

• King of Spain - This song is by Canadian band Moxy Früvous. Not only is TMBG emphatically not Canadian, it should also be noted that the band's name is actually in the song, thus making the TMBG credit even more ridiculous! Included on Working Undercover For The Man (Bootleg).

• Mexican Radio - This song is by American band Wall of Voodoo, and sung by Stan Ridgway. It also came out in 1982, which is a little early for it to be a TMBG song.

• New Jersey - This parody of several of John Linnell's State Songs was spread among TMBG fans, at some point being incorrectly labeled as actually by Linnell. The MP3 is labeled as being a "style parody of 'Iowa' and 'Nevada'," though the track itself is very bizarre. Roughly half the song is a strange, reverb-filled sound collage that features, among other things, a guy talking about Pokemon.

• Puttin' On the Ritz - European singer Taco performs this cover of an old Irving Berlin song, in a manner that might be misinterpreted to be TMBG. The song "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", written by Jimmy Kennedy and Nat Simon (1953), is covered by the Giants and is based on the tune of "Puttin' On the Ritz".

• Spiderman - The version of the superhero's theme song included on Working Undercover For The Man (Bootleg) was recorded by Moxy Früvous. There's also a version of this by Tenacious D that has been falsely tagged as by TMBG and Früvous. On the 2019 JoCo Cruise, the original theme song was covered by John Flansburgh and Robin Goldwasser.

• Star Wars Cantina - This song is a parody by American singer Mark Jonathan Davis.

• The Safety Dance - This New Wave hit by Canadian band Men Without Hats about pogo dancing is sometimes misattributed to TMBG, and also occasionally mistitled "We Can Dance If You Want To."

• Wake Up Boo! - This song is by British band The Boo Radleys in 1995. At least one incident of mistaken identity has been cited by TMBG fans.^[11]