Wu-Tang
From This Might Be A Wiki
| song name | Wu-Tang |
| artist | They Might Be Giants |
| releases | The World Is To Dig |
| year | 2026 |
| first played | April 17, 2026 (19 known performances) |
| run time | 3:09 |
| sung by | John Linnell, John Flansburgh backs |
Trivia/Info
- The song was released on February 9 2026 as a free download on the TMBG Shop and the first preview track from The World Is To Dig before it was released on streaming services and YouTube a day later. In the February 10, 2026 press release announcing the album, John Linnell spoke about the song's origins:
Many years ago, we discussed the idea of celebrating an artist or a style of music, but in the form of a completely unrelated genre of music. The original idea was a Tin Pan Alley-style song extolling the greatness of heavy metal. "Wu-Tang" was written more or less along those lines, partly inspired by their TV biopic, but void of any musical reference to the great hip-hop collective. Are we fans? Sure! Would we ever attempt to emulate their sound? Not publicly.
- Similarly, in a 2026 interview with No Barriers, Linnell said:
I am a fan of Wu-Tang Clan. The germ of [Wu-Tang] was to write a tribute from an outsider’s perspective – being white and older. It could be seen as a joke, but it’s not. The music is like a Tin Pan Alley melody with the lyrics saying I really like rap and heavier music. Wu-Tang were a band who linked music from the 90s back to the 60s. Their impact on culture was profound – but there is the misogyny, the stereotypes, the tropes in sound and culture. But with time, you can see more clearly. I was a fan then and now.
- According to an interview with Spill Magazine: "[Wu-Tang] began as a wordless pop song with a melody, chords, and an idea of 'This how how the pop song form works.' The phrase 'Wu-Tang' came up because it just fit the chorus melody."
- John Linnell mentioned in a 2021 interview with Consequence of Sound that he had recently watched the biographical television series Wu-Tang: An American Saga:
It's interesting — it's a little bit corny, a little bit like a soap opera, but when they talk about the music, it's really interesting, and they have all these different ways of illustrating the creative process. I watched an episode last night where they've got this song where the rap is good, and the beat is good, and then the RZA guy is like, "Well, it needs a hook." And then they bring in Method Man and he sings this thing and it ties everything together. And I gotta say, that is so far from our process. I don't think John and I have ever listened a song that we've been doing, going, like, "All right, it's good but it needs a hook." Basically, if you don't start with the hook, you're never gonna get to the hook later on. I've never figured out how to write a song where I add the hook on later. So it's just interesting to see — wow, you could do that? That's crazy!
- The third verse's "Whether a sinner or not, all I know is that I could see and now I'm blinded" references the Gospel of John 9:25: "He answered and said, 'Whether he is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.'"[1]
- The drum machine in the artwork is the E-mu Drumulator.
- In response to the release of "Wu-Tang", American rapper and longtime TMBG fan Open Mike Eagle uploaded a YouTube video titled "a They Might Be Giants song called Wu-Tang gave me an existential crisis".
Song Themes
Criminal Activities, Eyes, Mind Control, Hypnotism, Modern Technology, Plants, References To Other Songs Or Musicians, Religion, Supernatural, Time
Videos
- Watch it on
(Official visualizer)
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