Aversion To Work

A recurring theme in TMBG's songs, particularly those written by Flansburgh, seems to be a general disdain for or hatred of work (especially desk jobs).

Central theme

• 8 AM - "My boss, seriously? What's the deal with him?"
• Alienation's For The Rich - "I got to get a job / I got to get some pay"
• All The Lazy Boyfriends
• Boss Of Me
• Climbing The Walls - "It got so bad I quit my job"
• Hearing Aid
• I Am Not Your Broom
• I Never Go To Work
• Lazy
• Los Angeles - Centers on a band who is "working jobs all day" and therefore cuts corners by copying the moves of other bands.
• Memo To Human Resources - The lyrics imply deep dissatisfaction; the title suggests the job is at least part of the problem, and Flansburgh has mentioned a thematic relation to work.
• Minimum Wage
• Operators Are Standing By
• Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head
• Spoiler Alert - Flansburgh's truck-driving character decides to cover his eyes and rest, avoiding the work of driving.
• Snowball In Hell
• Someone Keeps Moving My Chair
• Whole Lot Of Glean - "You said you wanted this job / Remember how much you wanted this job?" strongly implies that all the signing taking place in the song is a difficult task the narrator would rather not be doing.

Briefly mentioned

• Drink! - "In your monkey suit, on a cigarette break / The lunchtime crowd, they won't even blink / But you'd be sad, if they did / But you'll be sad"
• If I Wasn't Shy - "I'd burn all the uniforms, I'd burn all the time-clock cards"
• The Lady And The Tiger - "I'm sick of this job, I don't know what we're waiting here fors"
• My Evil Twin - "I know he looks like me, hates work like me, and walks like me"
• Name - "They're not working enough"
• Sleeping In The Flowers - "We'll be sleeping in the flowers / Tell my boss that I've been fired / We'll be sleeping in the flowers / Tell my boss I'm fired"
• They'll Need A Crane - "The boss still hates me"
• We've Got A World That Swings - "What's before me? Routines that bore me. Punch the clock at eight"
• We Live In A Dump - The narrator is apparently an idle vagrant who rejects realism and calls himself individualistic.
• Your Own Worst Enemy - "Time to roll up my sleeves and get to work. And after many glasses of work, I get paid"

Honorable mention

• Ana Ng - The music video depicts the Johns banging their fists on desks and yelling at their telephones.

See also

• Occupations