Quoth the Johns:
This song is about an imaginary rivalry between these two seminal but totally distinct early '80s rock icons. It is also definitive proof TMBG is still hopelessly trapped in a world of pop culture references. We recorded a song for the XTC tribute record last year, and while we were tracking it we had to record some backwards vocal for a psychedelic section. Since it didn't really matter what we said we recited a bunch of bands contemporary with the lads from Swindon, including Adam Ant. The contrast between the two seemed striking and while doing a bit of press to promote the tribute album, we cooked up this song.
—John Flansburgh and John Linnell
[source: "A Guided Tour of Factory Showroom," TMBG Info Club Newsletter, Holiday 1996 edition]