"Boss of Me" is a song by

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a ...

. The song is famously used as the opening

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

for the television show '' Malcolm in the Middle'', and was released as the single from the soundtrack to the show. In 2002, "Boss of Me" won the band their first

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

, in the category of Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. The song was one of the band's most commercially successful singles and is one of their best-known songs. The song was originally written with the chorus "Who's gonna guess the dead guy in the envelope" for a contest presented by the

Preston and Steve ''Preston & Steve'' show is a morning radio, comedy and variety broadcast on Philadelphia Active Rock station 93.3 FM WMMR featuring DJs Preston Elliot and Steve Morrison. The show, which originated at WDRE and then on Y100, both in Philadelphia ...

show during their Y-100 days.

Release

"Boss of Me" was released commercially in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Australia and mainland

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Mainland Europe was given a separate release from the British release, which had different cover artwork and a different track listing. The single was marketed as the single from the soundtrack album, '' Music from Malcolm in the Middle'',''Boss of Me'' CD single liner notes. but the B-sides to all releases were tracks from They Might Be Giants albums, as opposed to being other tracks from the soundtrack album. "Reprehensible" comes from the band's 1999 internet-only album, '' Long Tall Weekend''. "Mr. Xcitement" went on to be included on their album '' Mink Car'', released two months after the single. "Boss of Me" charted in three countries, reaching number 21 in the UK, 89 in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and saw the band's first appearance on the Australian Singles Chart, reaching number 29.

Music video

The "Boss of Me" music video was directed by Ted Crittenden. It is based on ''Malcolm in the Middle'', and contains the characters and set from the show. It begins with Dewey going through a dumpster that says "TMBG Toys". He climbs out of the dumpster and rides his bike home while dragging the box full of toys. The band is performing inside the box. The box goes into Dewey's backyard where Malcolm is raking leaves, their father, Hal, is cooking on a barbecue, and

Reese Reese may refer to: Places Germany * Reese, Germany, a hamlet in Lower Saxony on the River Aue United States * Reese, Michigan, United States, a community east of Saginaw * Reese, Pennsylvania, United States, a community in Blair County * Reese, T ...

is using hedge clippers on a tree. Dewey opens the box, revealing toy versions of TMBG. But whenever there's a close-up in the box, it is the real band in miniature. A Hawaiian hula dancer toy joins TMBG as Dewey sways back and forth with her. Malcolm and Reese begin shooting the toys with paintball guns until one of them accidentally shoots Hal. Though not shown, it's presumed to have been Reese who shot him as he is later seen using a weed whacker. The

John Flansburgh John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960) is an American musician. He is half of the long-standing Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants with John Linnell, for which he writes, sings, and plays rhythm guitar. Commo ...

toy is lying in the grass with his arm detached. Reese spots him and, while using the

weed whacker A string trimmer, also known by the portmanteau strimmer and the trademarks Weedwacker, Weed eater and Whipper Snipper. is a garden tool for cutting grass, small weeds, and groundcover. It uses a whirling monofilament line instead of a blade, ...

, launches him onto the grill where Hal accidentally eats him, much to Dewey's shock. Later, the

John Linnell John Sidney Linnell ( ; born June 12, 1959) is an American musician, known primarily as one half of the Brooklyn-based alternative rock band They Might Be Giants with John Flansburgh, which was formed in 1982. In addition to singing and songwri ...

toy is placed in a model airplane that is launched across the street before curving back and landing on the driveway. As Hal drives up, he picks up the airplane to examine it. The plane explodes because it still had a lit fuse. Hal then angrily gathers the TMBG toys into the box and drives back to the dumpster where he promptly tosses it back in.

Cover versions

The

ska-punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 tone and ska with hard ...

band Less Than Jake covered the short televised version of the song for their album '' TV/EP''.

Formats and track listing

All songs written by They Might Be Giants, unless otherwise noted. ;UK / Australian CD single #"Boss of Me" – 2:56 #"Reprehensible" – 3:17 #"Mr. Xcitement" (D. Levine, The Elegant Too, They Might Be Giants, M. Doughty) – 2:23 ;UK cassette single #"Boss of Me" – 2:56 #"Reprehensible" – 3:17 ;European CD single #"Boss of Me" – 2:56 #"Mr. Xcitement" (D. Levine, The Elegant Too, They Might Be Giants, M. Doughty) – 2:23 #"

Birdhouse in Your Soul "Birdhouse in Your Soul" is a song by American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. It was released in late 1989 through Elektra Records as the lead single from the album ''Flood'', making the single the band's first release on a major labe ...

" (live) – 3:11

Chart positions

References

External links

*" Boss Of Me" at

This Might Be A Wiki They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a ...

{{Authority control 2001 singles Comedy television theme songs They Might Be Giants songs PIAS Recordings singles Malcolm in the Middle Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media Songs written by John Linnell Songs written by John Flansburgh