In an alternate dimension Todd is referencing the long and storied career of Harvey Danger in a video entitled 'ONE HIT WONERLAND: "Creep" by Radiohead'.

I saw them in the late 90s. In a small club on Long Island called the Vanderbilt. They headlined. But it was a work night. So the place cleared out after the second band. I'd say there was 50 people left in the club and these guys came out. And kicked ass. They played like they were in front of 90,000 people. And did a blistering set. I was so impressed. That 20 + years later. I still tell people. About that show And how good they were

"I'm a child, I'm a mother" (I'm immature, but I'm in a situation that requires maturity) "I'm here, but I'm really gone" (I'm in this location, but I'm drifting off and don't care about any of it) "I'm never alone, I'm alone all the time" (Depression, even when you're surrounded by people)

I agree with all the people requesting New Radicals

I never noticed that alt-rock contradiction thing, wow. "Slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball."

This song was also chosen as the theme for UK TV show peep show from season 2 onwards and it fits that perfectly

I am still waiting for Smashmouth to make their "OK Computer".

This song is kind of genius in my opinion. Even if it comes off a bit snotty, it really encapsulates that feeling of complete alienation, even from groups that are supposed to be havens for misfits. The guy feels completely out of place in this world. Edit: Also it’s a catchy tune.

I worked for Harvey Danger as a roadie on their first tour. They are (were, R.I.P. Aaron) all such great guys. From my recollection, they were just so surprised that they even made it. Flagpole Sitta was not the song (as you said) that they wanted to be known for. They had so many more great songs. Their fans know, but they really had great songs other than that. They totally deserved better, but I think they really didn't get the chance.

Is it weird that I know multiple diehard Harvey Danger fans? One had Sean Nelson's autograph tattooed on her foot. They'll all tell you Flagpole Sitta is their weakest track.

"I mean, who could take this music seriously? Kurt Cobain took it seriously and he's dead." Dude, that statement gave me goosebumps. Some serious spit on the mic, sir. Keep dropping those bomb!

when i was 12 i emailed Harvey Danger on my mum's work email. the email said "you guys rock!"

i always thought that the "went around the world and only stupid people are breeding" line was making fun of people who think that. like that sequence is capped of with "and i don't even own a TV" which is just too good of a punchline to not be intended. i love this song to death regardless though

I crowd-surfed to this in high school at Jamboree 98 outside of Chicago. I hit a patch of noodle-armed middle school kids and went face first into the parking lot asphalt.....it was worth it.

Personally, I remember hearing this song for the first time on the radio and as soon as the line "then they cut off both of my legs now I'm an amputee GODDAMN YOU" hit it immediately struck me as poinient. I don't think I'd ever heard that level of seemingly genuine hatred in music up to that point, and intermixed with the seemingly upbeat nature of the song it really opened my eyes as a kid to what you could do thematically with music.

You're gonna have to do that Marcy Playground episode one of these days, Todd.

It's really interesting when a band or singer that seems to be heading toward one hit wonderdom suddenly reverses course, like Radiohead. I mean, I'm going to bet that in 1969 if you told people that the Space Oddity guy was going to be one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, few people would believe you.

Honestly never knew this song had an existence outside of being the Peep Show theme. It is awesome though, hope they got plenty of royalties!

Given how Toddstradamus works, Sean Nelson is probably watching this right now. Hey, Mr. Sean Nelson. This video introduced me to Harvey Danger a few months ago. _Where have all the merrymakers gone_ is now one of my favourite albums. So thank you, Todd. This is pretty cool.

Tell you what that crack is really moreish

Harvey Danger's second album, King James Version is one of the best albums of all time that nobody has even heard. They're an amazing band.

*sees title* The hell is flagpole sitta? *heres chorus* OHHH THESE GUYS

I actually did a mini presentation about "Carlotta Valdez" for my college class on Hitchcock, and I was pretty proud of it. I am probably the one person who would really love more rock songs about classic cinema.

You: no one wants rock songs about classic cinema Me: what about breakfast at Tiffany’s

My old ass first heard this from a fossil in time called "Now That's What I Call Music! vol.1" Sandwiched in between Marcy Playground AND Radiohead. They definitely hit the zeitgeist if they were LITERALLY side-by-side with the two specific bands you mentioned for example. Cheers, mate!

"Living Dangerously" (the Harvey Danger high school documentary) isn't real; they recorded it as a bonus feature for the Soul Survivors DVD.

Found "Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone" in the used section of my local music store in high school. I remembered hearing "Flagpole Sitta" on the radio as a kid, and figured why not? Damn if I didn't fall in love with that album. I got all my friends hooked on it, and it became our default road trip music. I still know every single lyric on that record to this day. Excellent video. So glad I found this channel.

It's apparently a military term of "run it up the flagpole and see who salutes" to mean "try something and see if it works," much like "throwing x at the wall and see what sticks"

R.I.P Aaron Huffman. c.1973-2016

I can't imagine a band hating their biggest hit more than Radiohead hate creep.

I've never heard of this band in my life, but I have heard this song, many times, as it is in the intro of a great show called "Peep Show" (seriously, go watch it right now). And I love it. As for its tone, I don't think of it that much as a joke, more like burst out laughing when you are so sad and f-ed up you want to cry out from despair.

At this point, TITS is going to cover my Dad's entire hard drive of music of the 90s. We have two of Harvey Dangers albums, but I never thought they were popular in the first place (at least I didn't know their "hit" in "one-hit-wonder"). Anyways, thanks Todd for covering this as well as Semisonic way back. -from a regular viewer

I'm only at 6:46 of this review and I feel I must mention out loud to you that thus far you've absolutely tapped into a core of lyric coding I hadn't even considered before and not only have you perfectly illustrated it, you made me understand it so succintly. Stop doubting yourself and your insight, you're a genius.

Can’t believe you didn’t talk about peep show as Sean nelson said "...the only pop culture item the song has been associated with that feels like a kindred spirit to the original attitude of the lyric."

Apart from being a masturbation joke, “run it up the flagpole” is a weird old cliche. I know it from this and a variant in “Defenders of Marriage” by Roy Zimmerman. The Wikipedia reads: “Let's run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes it" is a catchphrase which became popular in the United States during the late 1950s and early 1960s.[citation needed] It means "to present an idea tentatively and see whether it receives a favorable reaction." It is now considered a cliché. Sometimes it is used seriously, but more often it is used humorously, with the intention that it be recognized as both hackneyed and outdated.

Harvey Danger was one of the most underrated bands in the entirety of music history. All highly talented individuals and good dudes. My copy of what eventually became their semi-posthumous release "Dead Sea Scrolls" was a burned copy given to me by Aaron himself, and he was a great guy. Rest in peace, man. I believed in HD. I believed in them the whole time. They were my band.

If anyone is looking for any other great Harvey Danger songs then look no further: Starting with the rock songs- •Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo •Picture, Picture •Authenticity •The Same As Being In Love •Ballad of a Tragic Hero (this one is hard to find but one of my favorites) •Save It For Later is also fantastic Now the slower songs- •Pike St./Park Slope (one of my favorite songs period) •Moral Centralia •Little Round Mirrors •Diminishing Returns •Wrecking Ball These are just my favorites

Shout out to Peep Show

In some fairness to that 2nd verse, I get the feeling that that was meant to be taken as satire against some of those who may have lead the whole alt scene. The fact that he follows up the whole "only stupid people are breeding" bit with the line "& I don't even own a TV" -- the most pretentious "I'm an intellectual going against the mainstream"-kinda thing someone might say -- gives me the feeling that, unless he was somehow incredibly self-unaware when he wrote that line, he almost certainly meant that as satire of those pretentions rather than him being pretentious. Also, the last verse about "the voices in my head", which seems to similarly attack those kinds of pretentions, seems to help back that up.

I've heard that they've reformed as "Men With Ven"

Kingdom Hearts 3 *AND* Todd In The Shadows?! You spoil us good sir

Of course their sophomore album wasn’t an OK Computer. It was their The Bends. This band absolutely deserved better.

I think what has always made me really happy about the song is how well it basically describes the "disenchanted". It's a timeless song. A long form way to say "This is all really stupid and pointless. We're all pretending to stand for something and fit in with a group, but that's all it is... an act." Even the music video basically points that out. Moving room to room, trying to fit in their music with whomever is there, and in the end... performing for a single monkey and being absolutely HAPPY at having done so. To that extent, this particular song has really always spoken to me on that level. Everything is just... very much saying things for the sake of saying things. Except in a tone that conveys the utter disdain for doing so. Very "I hate that pop culture and the world is like this, but it's not like I'm any better. I'm doing it too." It's self aware in an "I hate the world" and "I hate myself" sort of way at the same time. That's probably why this song has always reminded me of Fooly Cooly (FLCL, anime, check it out if you haven't heard of it). The show very much carries the same sentiment, vibe, and disenchantment with the world that the song has. It's an entire 4 minute song to say, "Nothing amazing happens here. Everything is ordinary." And, you know what? They're right. The world still feels like that. I wanna publish zines and rage against machines. I wanna pierce my tongue, it doesn't hurt it feels fine... do you know why? Because if you're bored than you're boring. OH, the agony and the irony are killin' me!

"Snotty 90s Morrissey" might be the most brilliant and complimentary thing anyone has ever said about anybody

Know this song from one of Weird Al's polks medleys.

Someone on Patreon better request New Radicals.

As a British person, I've never felt the transatlantic divide more in a TitS video. In the UK, "Flagpole Sitta" is barely known as a song in its own right, but is still instantly recognisable as the theme music of the legendary sitcom Peep Show. I'd assumed the latter must be at least somewhat known in the US, because lots of cult British comedy has a loyal American following, but apparently not, since Todd doesn't even mention it in this video. Anyway, you guys should really check out the show, it's amazing. Contains lots of UK-specific references, but not (I think) to the point of being impenetrable to outsiders.

I i kinda think the frontman is cute then again i've always liked arnold from the magic school bus, so...

Oh hey, it's the Peep Show theme song.

"they all went on to other successful pursuits"....except for the bass player, who died. Kinda weird you left that bit out. Otherwise, one of your best yet, Todd!

This song IS my late 90s Friday night anthem- running around with my friends, causing havoc all over town, hitting up Blockbuster, grabbing some pizzas and drinks, finally crashing at near sunrise. Some great nights.

I get this video is 2 years old now but better late than never. Sean is actually a close friend to my family, I even went easter egg hunting with him when I was about 5. Super cool dude.

It's interesting that you describe this song in the category of "The end of Alternative" because when I listen to it I hear more of the beginning of Pop Punk... like a bridge between the two phases of popular music. Between the two sounds. The lyrics and the music definitely have that "Upbeat Angst" sound to them. If you gave the singer a clear emo/skaterboy twang and made the instruments a little bit heavier it would pass for that genre IMO. Some people might kill me for saying this but I stand by it.

Oh, I love this one. Such childhood, much memories...

Harvey Danger is criminally underrated and Sean Nelson is a fantastic lyricist with a surprisingly powerful voice. Hard disagree on KJV being a throwaway album, every song on that, Merrymakers, and Little by Little is a banger.

That whole first album is great. And Private Helicopter isn't just about rekindling a relationship with an ex-girlfriend. On the hovercraft to Paris, he's with his former best friend. The song seems to be about getting another chance to connect with people from earlier points in your life, now armed with the benefit of hindsight. Anyway, this was the first video of yours I've watched. Won't be the last.

Harvey Danger are actually my favorite 90's one-hit-wonder band--they have a good mix of college radio intellectuality and pop-punk catchiness, though they can cross the line into kind of unbearable at times and they seem more than aware of this which is probably why they ended up breaking up honestly I wish you talked more about their last album Little by Little or their rarities collection Dead Sea Scrolls which I feel are two of their strongest records and both of which are/were available for free on the band's website (if it's even still up)

I remember hearing this song from the Scooby-Doo 2 soundtrack. Because that song is what I think of when it comes to Scooby-Doo.

Harvey Danger ripped. Their bassist was a beast. People say Smells Like Teen Spirit was the anthem of the 90's, but Flagpole Sitta captured that sardonic, cynical sarcasm that was so quintessential. I fucking love this band and it's a shame they never got bigger.

“What if weezer weren’t incels?” You mean Harvey Danger?

I was just listening to this album yesterday. Carlotta Valdez is one of the best opening tracks ever.

I *highly* recommend the album this song comes from, Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone? I'm probably overselling it, but I see it as a brilliant dark horse of an album, like The Heist from Macklemore. I happened to find the album at a used book store in town when I was looking for music for a class project, and it had one of the songs I was looking for (Terminal Annex), and then I saw it had Flagpole Sitta too, and I was like, "Wait-- that's the same band?! OMG!!!!" Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone? has become one of those albums that is very near and dear to my heart. Whenever my world comes crashing down around me and I feel like screaming in anguish and throwing things, I play this album through in my car at full blast and shout out the lyrics to every song, and by the time the album has played through, I feel like I can begin to pick up the pieces again. Special shoutouts to certain songs: Private Helicopter was the song I sent to my future ex-fiance to tell him I knew he still wanted me, and even though I didn't quite admit it to myself at the time, to tell him that I was still attracted to him too. Wooly Muffler I played on repeat when I was frustrated over a sort of love triangle I was involved in. Jack the Lion was always the song that I would want to play in honor of my ex-fiance's dad someday when he passes away. Right in the middle of this angsty album, you get one of the sweetest, most endearing love songs ever, Old Hat, right when you need it the most (it comes right after Jack the Lion). Plus, Old Hat has this lyric: "Disembodied ringlets/ From hair that looks like yours" and I have long curly hair, so I'm always like, "Aww, that's mine!"

"Fingertips have memories; they can't forget the curves of your body". Wow: 20 years and I never realized this song actually had interesting lyrics until now. Thanks, Todd!

"Self-defeating in that special 90s way" is a fantastic quote, and Dinosaur Jr is a fantastic reference point.

Todd seven rings when Also “wouldn’t it be good” would be great too

YES !!! Do an episode on Squirrel Nut Zippers "Hell", please.

I think this is Todd's best analysis of a single song yet. I love the look into irony as used in 90's pop and how it's so burnt out. "Cobain took it seriously. *He's Dead* " is a great line

So, I actually know a few people who are major Harvey Danger fans (and one person who's a major Marcy Playground fan), and they are usually of the opinion that "Flagpole Sitta" is not one of their better songs. Sean also recently wrote a article for the twentieth anniversary of "Flagpole Sitta," and he made it sound like the band was a hobby who's demo tape got played on the mainstream alt-rock station. A literal case of them not being ready for success.

“Maybe they thought no one wanted rock songs about classic cinema...” Yeah, Deep Blue Something would like to have a word with you...

Paranoia paranoia. Everybody's coming to get me!

"All they had to do was record an era-defining masterpiece." Really? That's all? Sounds easy enough, lol.

Man, I love that other album and I wish there was more of it here. "Wine Women and Song" and "Cream and Bastards" are jaded as hell, but so good. They deserved better. I mean, writing for The Stranger is better, but still.

Todd, word of advice... upload your videos in private mode before you make then public. Then, even if they get blocked, your subscribers wont be notified of it until it's been cleared.

This is one of those songs that sticks out in my mind as a clear divide between Gen-X and Millenials. The younger brothers & sisters of my friend circle were like 8-10 when the Seattle shit happened, they were always following us around trying to fit in with the older kids. We were snotty, depressed dickheads, kicking them off our "turf" (the parking lot of the local grocery store), all like "GTFO, child, you can't even begin to understand what this music is about". 1998, I was 20, all the younger crew had claimed our old turf for themselves, and holy shit did they love this song. All day, every day with the Flagpole Sitta blasting on a boom box, they had all pierced themselves in ways we never dreamed of. They'd mosh outside the dry cleaning place, one of the little bastards dented a vending machine with his friggin' face. Anyway, my friends and I pretty uniformly hated Flagpole Sitta, but I honestly think back on it now and think we probably hated it because it was the anthem for another generation taking our place in a way. They were like "GTFO, old people, you can't even begin to understand what this music is about". They were right, of course. There's not that much of an age gap between us and our Millenial kin, but man, we differ so much. Sometimes I wonder if it's all because we older kids acted like such complete dickholes to them during our "angst" phase. This song just represents that divide in my mind. I just want to say "I'm sorry, Millenials", and hey, Flagpole Sitta isn't so terrible. Actually, I still hate it, but you kids have turned out good and, y'know, Lit had some pretty sweet tunes.

Harvey Danger could have combined forces with Danger Mouse and called themselves Harvey Danger Mouse

A little late to this, but I saw Harvey Danger on tour for this album and my friend and I ended up hanging out with them on their tour bus, which I assume their label paid for. They were nice guys and we ended up watching "Wallace & Gromit" episodes with 'em. They put on a decent show, but there was hardly anyone at it.

They must be getting royalies for their song being used as Peep Show's theme.

10:24 "Hi Twin Towers."

Wow. I genuinely had no idea this was an actual record! I'd always assumed it was just recorded as the theme song for "Peep Show".

I am pleasantly surprised at the lack of comments referring to Bean Dad and his connection to this song/band

Every time you cover stuff from the 90's, I always hope you're going to mention Radiohead. Thanks Todd. I love The Creep Band(tm) and I'm glad they didn't give up when they wanted to after they got sick of Creep.

Oh my god YES! I have been waiting ages for this one! I'm a huge fan of their first two albums and I saw them live at Pop Montreal in 2005. The singer's reaction whenever someone in the crowd asked them to play Flagpole Sitta was really cringey. He actually got a bit pissed off at the end of the show, but their performance was still really fun.

Great video! Subscribed! "Flagpole Sitta" is one of the best songs from its era. The sound of it is great and there are a lot of clever and catchy lines sprinkled throughout the song. A guy on my local sports radio station uses it for his intro song, and it doesn't matter how many times I hear it, I always perk up a bit when it starts to play. Whatever it is, the song is just infectious to my ears.

I know many people here have commented but this song is incredibly well known in UK for being used as the theme song of the highly acclaimed and successful comedy Peep Show from series 2 to onwards . The lyrics are used incredibly well over the opening sequence and closing credits to sum up both how Mark and Jez are both in very different ways misfits and unable to live up to what they expect.

I remember hearing the "paranoia paranoia everyone's coming to get me" segment for the first time in Nostalgia Critic's review of Tom and Jerry: The Movie.

Now I want Todd to talk about Barenaked ladies. To bad I don't think they match any format.

This song kills, and still till this day resonates with me. More than 20 plus years, and the line "Been around the world and found that only stupid people were breeding"... As a childless woman, I still stand proud by this sentiment and has shaped my adult life. I too am a Flagpole Sitta. Bravo gentlemen, and thanks for creating this classic.

Harvey Danger, uh I think I remember those guys maybe? Yes. The lone sole member of the ever-so-popular genre "Seattle Emo"

The white stripes had a good song about classic cinema, it was called the union forever

Sooo, After binging around 75% of your back catalog and loving most of it, I was wondering if you could do more bilboard charts year in review, but back in the 70's, 80's and 90's like in your video (1987) or can I perhaps bribe you to make more of them? Im willing to pay sums of money to request some of those.

I was waiting for you to cover this! One of my favourites.

Dude, these videos are so well written. Good good job. Bravo.

Back in high school in 1998, everyone else was listening to Third Eye Blind and Savage Garden, I was listening to this. And I think I loved King James Version even more than their first album.

"...the flaws in this plan became obvious pretty quickly." lmfao

Tbh while I don’t think they could’ve had more hits, Nelson’s writing is so biting and articulate and honest in a way you don’t see a whole lot of anymore. Little round mirrors is clearly the portrait of someone so obsessed with something that it ruins every relationship they’ve ever had and man...if Nelson is writing about himself he must be very lonely because the topic of alienation comes up so often. Being really open with the good bad and ugly seems to be something that doesn’t happen often because it’s hard to sell. All three albums paint a rather depressing portrait of someone who’s incredibly lonely and let down by the people in his life and man...I really admire that level of honesty. It’s kind of incredible.

I am loving this channel so much. A deeper look at all the music I grew up with

Todd u know I have homework right

I recently stumbled across your videos. I dig what you got going here!! Keep it up!

Ah this is one of my very favorite songs-I always wondered about this band. Thanks Todd

As someone who will without a moment of hesitation include Harvey Danger in my absolute favorite bands of all time, I was really excited to come across this video. But like... did you listen to their albums at all? No mention of the quality beyond "wow this title says diminishing returns... pretty fitting..." You used a clip of them performing on Craig Kilborn's show with John Roderick of The Long Winters on bass standing in front of a "Get Well Aaron" sign. No digging on what the story was there? Just reducing their whole story to "gosh they were pretty out of their element when they were with Carson Daily, huh?" Oh well.