“ DOG ON FIRE” INSIDE THE“ DAILY SHOW” THEME SONG AS TOLD BY ITS AUTHOR, BOB MOULD
Legendary Minneapolis musician Bob Mould crafted“ Dog on Fire,” the original theme song for The Daily Show. Here, the leader of Hüsker Dü and Sugar explains how he became involved with TDS— and what he thinks of the They Might Be Giants version created for the Jon Stewart era, as well as its latest iteration for current host Trevor Noah, reworked by Timbaland.
Lizz Winstead and I have been friends since the mid-1980s. We both lived in Minneapolis at the time, and Lizz asked me if I would be interested in creating a theme song for the show.
“ Dog on Fire” was originally written for my 1996 solo album. It was one of two songs that had finished music but no words. This instrumental version worked perfectly for the show. I referred to the song as“ Fire.” My recording engineer came up with the full title.
I didn’ t think about the comedy aspect [ of the show ]. I was just helping out a friend. I think it worked out well for everyone involved. I’ m thrilled that the song is having such a long life. The updates and variations are really nice, but naturally I’ m partial to my original version.
Special thanks to original Daily Show Talent Coordinator Kate Post Spitser for her help with this story.
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