"Boss of Me" is a song by

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants, often abbreviated as TMBG, is an American alternative rock and Children's music, children's band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as ...

. The song is famously used as the opening

theme song Theme music is a musical composition which 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 ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons consisting of 151 episodes. The ...

'', 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, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

, 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 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and mainland

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. 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 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

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, number 89 in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and saw the band's first appearance on the

Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

, reaching number 29. It also reached the Top 50 on two US radio airplay charts, Alternative (number 48)World Radio History
/ref> and Pop (number 50).World Radio History
/ref>

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 grill A barbecue grill or barbeque grill (known as a barbecue in Canada and barbecue or barbie in Australia and New Zealand) is a device that cooks food by applying heat from below. There are several varieties of grills, with most falling into one of t ...

, and Reese 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 toy is lying in the grass with his arm detached. Reese spots him and, while using the weed whacker, launches him onto the grill where Hal accidentally eats him, much to Dewey's shock. Later, the John Linnell 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 band

Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Buddy Schaub (trombone), Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxophone) and Matt Yonker ...

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" (live) – 3:11

Chart positions

References

External links

*" Boss Of Me" at This Might Be A Wiki {{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