This song is plainly about the 21st century materialistic culture we are surrounded by.
A lot of the inspiration for this album and the shift in focus of QOTSA to more meaningful issues other than sex drugs and rock and roll was inspired by Homme's medical issues, first attributed to knee surgery complications and later referred to as being in 'way too deep' with drugs.
Here's why it's about a materialistic culture and opposing it:
"Buy flash cars, diamond rings, expensive holes to bury things" in my opinion best line of the song and pretty obvious that he's saying all the clothes, jewellery and cars we buy are just there as shiny objects to distract us from fears and voids we may feel.
"It's how you look, not how you feel, a city of glass with no heart" written to show values are placed on the wrong attributes, appearance of a human not the content of that person that makes them what they are and that despite large shining appearance there's nothing human to this culture.
"I'm machine obsolete, in the land of the free lobotomy" The lobotomy is the shallow culture he's singing about, he's obsolete as someone who rejects this.
This song is plainly about the 21st century materialistic culture we are surrounded by.
A lot of the inspiration for this album and the shift in focus of QOTSA to more meaningful issues other than sex drugs and rock and roll was inspired by Homme's medical issues, first attributed to knee surgery complications and later referred to as being in 'way too deep' with drugs.
Here's why it's about a materialistic culture and opposing it:
"Buy flash cars, diamond rings, expensive holes to bury things" in my opinion best line of the song and pretty obvious that he's saying all the clothes, jewellery and cars we buy are just there as shiny objects to distract us from fears and voids we may feel.
"It's how you look, not how you feel, a city of glass with no heart" written to show values are placed on the wrong attributes, appearance of a human not the content of that person that makes them what they are and that despite large shining appearance there's nothing human to this culture.
"I'm machine obsolete, in the land of the free lobotomy" The lobotomy is the shallow culture he's singing about, he's obsolete as someone who rejects this.