| Code Monkey | |
| Artist: | Jonathan Coulton |
| Album: | Thing a Week Three |
| Recorded: | April 2006 |
| Genre: | Indie rock, comedy |
| Length: | 3:10 |
| Label: | Self-released |
| Producer: | Jonathan Coulton |
"Code Monkey" is a song by Jonathan Coulton, released on 14 April 2006[1] and part of his album Thing a Week Three released in December 2006. It is one of his most popular songs[2] and has since been downloaded over one million times.[3] The song is about a computer programmer who thinks in ape-like terms, and has been described as a "rocking anthem about dead-end programming jobs."[4]
The song was accidentally mastered and released in mono on the album Thing a Week Three. Jonathan Coulton later released the song in stereo for his compilation album JoCo Looks Back.[5] Although it does not have an official music video, it is still Coulton's most popular original song, having developed a small-yet-devoted cult following.
A music video for the song was created by Mike Spiff Booth using imagery from the World of Warcraft video game series and uploaded to YouTube on September 23, 2006.[6]
The song has appeared in television commercials, and is the theme song for the G4 television network show Code Monkeys.[7]
In 2008, the song was featured in an animated video presented at a free ASIFA event, written by Tom Weiser and IdleAmbition.
In 2012, Chicago-based performance troupe VStheUNIVERSE released a short film based on Coulton's work entitled "Code Monkey."