The title of the song refers to Douglas Coupland's novel Shampoo Planet, wherein the main character, Tyler Johnson, says: "I am writing a list of tragic character flaws on my dollar bills with a felt pen. I am thinking of the people in my universe and distilling for each of these people the one flaw in their character that will be their downfall — the flaw that will be their undoing. What I write are not sins; I write tragedies."
It has been referenced by the show Ergo Proxy, whose 21st episode was named after the book, and by the band Panic! at the Disco, in their songs London Beckoned Songs About Money Written by Machines and I Write Sins Not Tragedies.
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