Addiction, Compulsion

Songs where substance (alcohol, nicotine, coffee, drugs, or ambiguous), addiction, or some other form of self-compulsion is referenced or thematic.

Central theme

• Anecdote is a story about a stale pot smell that followed the band during shows.
• Anaheim - "So put away the hash pipe, the pornography, and the booze"
• Applause Applause Applause - A song about people being "helpless and obsessed" with receiving applause
• The Bells Are Ringing - "They are persuaded by the music of the bells, they're not responsible for anything they do"
• Christmas In The Big House - "...for smoking rubber cigars"
• Darling, The Dose
• Daylight - Flansburgh stated, "The song is really about addiction and being really lost in addiction."
• Dinner Bell - Pavlovian food neuroses
• Drink! - Alcoholism an implied motif; "On a cigarette break"
• Hearing Aid - "More coffee for me boss 'cause I'm not as messed up as I want to be"
• John Lee Supertaster - "Can't shut his mouth"; ironically, "Can't drink coffee or beer"
• Lie Still, Little Bottle - "Black coffee's not enough for me, I need a better friend"
• Renew My Subscription - "Already past my quota, I want another load o' those magic pills"
• Sketchy Galore - Withdrawal-induced manic search for drugs
• Spiraling Shape - "Putting all reason aside you exchange what you got for a thing that's hypnotic and strange"
• The Statue Got Me High - "The stone, it calls to you (you can't refuse to do the things it tells you to)"
• Teenagers Are Going - Uses audio clips from a documentary about marijuana
• Thunderbird - "I know, I know, I said that I would quit. All right, I promise, no more after this"
• Till My Head Falls Off - Pain killer addiction
• Unsupervised, I Hit My Head - Coffee addiction
• Your Own Worst Enemy - "Full bottle in front of me, Time to roll up my sleeves, And get to work, And after many glasses of work, I get paid in the brain"

Briefly mentioned

• Certain People I Could Name - "Watch her little gestures as she lights her cigarette"
• Kitten Intro - "Put away your big blue cigars"
• Lucky Ball & Chain - "And now I rock a barstool and I drink for two"
• Operators Are Standing By - "Smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee"
• Rowboat Mayor - "For a pack of cigarettes I will tell you later"
• Sleeping In The Flowers - "I got a ride home with a drunk guy"
• South Carolina - "Garçon, summon up a new cocktail"
• They'll Need A Crane - "Gal thinks Jim Beam is handsomer than lad"
• Up The Junction - "She left me when my drinking / Became a proper stinking"
• Wearing A Raincoat - "You will turn to drugs to help you sleep"