In regards to writing songs for "...Is a Real Boy", Bemis stated, "The songs were jam packed with fairly blatant nods to bands I dig (Queen, Saves the Day, Pavement, Faith No More, Fugazi, etc)." These can be considered some of Say Anything's influences. Other influences at some point cited by the band include Botch, Weezer, The Stooges, Neutral Milk Hotel, Sunny Day Real Estate, Wilco, and the Foo Fighters. Also of note, the band has covered songs by Ol' Dirty Bastard ("Got Your Money"), Notorious B.I.G. ("No Soul" contains the same hook as the sample in "Juicy" although it adheres more closely to the original song "Juicy Fruit" from which the sample for the Notorious B.I.G. song was taken), The Four Tops ("Sure, Baby...Hold Back" features a chorus lifted from "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch"), Safety in Numbers ("Dealer"), Saves the Day ("Jessie and My Whetstone"), and Bob Dylan ("The Man in Me").