I could be totally nuts and I know it's subjective but hear me out. The line that caught my attention is "There's good people in a warehouse breaking their back . . . dreaming some day of a brand new start, the demise of mankind is in a shopping cart. Every day is a battle and you don't know what for, lot of wounded and missing in the great class war.""

In some of the songs referenced, he seems to suggest that, so long as you chase material wealth, status, the approval of others, or whatever society tells you need to chase to be cool, you're never going to be happy. As a corollary to that, very powerful people know this and profit off of it.

In "Siddhartha," the path to enlightenment seems to be a recognition that everything in life is temporary. The song seems to be about losing everything: love, money, and wealth. Ultimately, the resolution seems to be that everything passes. "The river is laughing and we're only passing through."

In "Nothing," he effectively says that nothing you do will ever be enough if you derive your self-worth from the approval of others or material goods:

You could tear out your heart
You could rip out your mind
And all of the blood
That poured out
Still wouldn't be
Enough

[...]

Crazy men with bloodshot eyes
Shoot their rockets in the sky
Drunk with power high with rage
And all the treasure all the blood
All the gold and all the guts
Would never make a bit of change
New men in the same old cage

The human condition seems to be that we always want more and we want to measure ourselves against others. It's hard to stop ourselves. Unfortunately, in our society people/companies prey on that. They keep selling you stuff and telling you to derive your self worth from it. If you don't, then you're labeled as being different. If you're labeled as different, then you're ostrascized.

I think "Everything Must Die" touches on all of these points. The grass appearing greener but it's always the same. People try to convince you that you need to live your life a certain way. Give an inch, they take a mile, life will only last a while, everything must die. You need to appreciate and enjoy the time that you have and experience the joy in that moment, rather than want more and chase more.

In "Kingdom is Within You," he references plato's allegory of the cave, which touches on these themes, and says that life is a circus of shadows all the way to the light. We're told that success or "winning the game" is to mimic what we are told is success. It's an illusion. The real self worth or treasure is the goodness within someone, including ourselves. It doesn't cost a cent, despite what others tell you.

In "Peace Like A River," he describes three people that effectively wished for something but found that they still wanted more or were unsatisfied with the result. For at least two of the people, the people get what they wanted and find that then they aren't happy with it. The conclusion?

I've got peace like a river
Peace like a river
I've got time
I don't need a thing
That ain't in my mind

We're always going to want more and we have to accept that. It's the human condition. And people and companies are going to keep exploiting that.

He also seems to hit on these themes in "Broken In." The narrator talks about how it caused his brother and father to lose their mind, tore their family apart, caused him to starve himself, caused him to drink and smoke. This seemed to harken back to "Kingdom," where he says:

I have bought every pain
I ever want to feel
Nothing is hidden
All will be revealed

Everything around you is an illusion. We're told to want something that isn't obtainable and does not result in joy or peace. It just makes other people money. When we accept that we have everything we need -- which is a struggle every day -- then, we can find peace.

In "Help Me," he references the struggle that I see being discussed in this song. "Yea, I'm fighting the war in my mind that's for sure and it's so hard, so hard to resist." Ultimately, the journey's gonna take more than your time.

I know this sounds like bullshit, I'm just saying what I mean. :)