Anna Karlin, Severe Tire Damage's first drummer and guitarist, was dating Henk from South Africa when this song was written by guitarist Russ Haines. The original recording was made on a mono Wilcox-Gay "Recordio Disc" in 1981 and transferred to mp3. It was intended as a scratch recording for the band to learn the song.
Somehow, as all too often happens, the recording got passed around. They Might Be Giants, plagiarists as they are, covered the song changing only the occasional lyric. It was not a big deal until 1998 when They Might Be Giants toured and released an album titled, "Severe Tire Damage". It seems jealousy of Severe Tire Damage is still running rampant years after the Rolling Stones tried to be the "First Band On The Internet" years after Severe Tire Damage did it.
For those who question the validity of Severe Tire Damage's claim to
authorship of "Anna K.", ask yourself:
If Anna K. was a member of Severe Tire Damage, then who is "Ana Ng" and what's her
relationship to TMBG?
Which recording was first?
Whose lyrics make more sense?
The Marks (Severe Tire Damage's bassist Mark Manasse and drummer Mark Weiser) have counseled against suing The Johns. But Severe Tire Damage has heard TMBG is about to cover The Banana Slug Song...
Listen:
| HOME | ABOUT | LIVE | MUSIC | HISTORY | BUY STUFF |