Rules For Thee But Not For Me

**Rules For Thee But Not For Me** is Nicolas Sequeira's second studio album, released April 20, 2021 as part of Sequeira's 4/20 Fest event. Unlike Sequeira's previous album, Did You Eat Your Vegetables Today, Rules For Thee does not feature instrumentals by Conqoor.

## Composition

The title of Rules For Thee comes from a comment made on r/bannicolassequeira, where one of Nic's haters claimed that "Rules For Thee But Not For Me!" was the cry of the Nic. Nicolas took this adage to heart, embracing it as a facet of his rebellious tendencies and refusal to comply with figures of authority who abuse their power.

Thematically, the tracks on Rules For Thee are darker than the tracks on vegetables, dealing with themes such as canine consumption (Rural Washingtoney) sadism (Carl Cirsinie) racism (Gavin McInnes) and toxic celebrity culture (We're Full Of Shit). Other tracks, such as "What We're Here For" and "Moonlight" implement samples to create a more introspective tone. As with Vegetables, three of the tracks on the album were created before the album's release. "Gavin McInnes" and its music video were created in Summer 2020. "We're Full Of Shit" was created as a parody of Soul Kid's 'We Got More Bounce In California" and shared regularly as an audio file on Sequeira's Discord server. Carl Cirsinie was composed in 2018.

The songs on the album mark a sharp departure from the experimental, often harsh electronica of Vegetables, instead embracing a more acoustic method, though on some tracks electronic methods are still implemented. The mature content of the lyrics is juxtaposed with Sequeira's calm tone and frequent harmonica interludes. Track 10, Chevrolet, is purely acapella, and reflects Sequeira's predilection for 20th-century themes. The tongue-in-cheek eponymous first track features Sequeira on xylophone. The album's YouTube description describes it as a "surreal and fun listening experience that's sure to tickle your earbuds."

## Album Artwork

The cover of Rules For Thee features Sequeira pointing at the viewer with a psychedelic spiral behind him, and some captions, which include Sequeira's famous motto "Shut your faces, shitfuckers" and a Parental Advisory sticker. The spiral on the cover is a frame from the 1959 beach movie Gidget. Originally, the album was conceived as a sort of parody of 1960s Californian club culture. However, only track 2 (Crazy Baby) could be seen through this lens.

A back cover to the album was also released. This cover is a variant of the promotional image created for the Carolina reaper event, along with a hand giving the middle finger, a purple Star of David, and the initial comment that sparked the album's creation. It can be generally assumed that this comment itself was derived from a phrase listed on urban Dictionary to denote hypocrisy. The comment was made with the fallacious mindset that Sequeira's goal is to escape the same rules that apply to everyone. In actuality, his goal is to ensure a fairer set of rules for everyone to abide by, and to prevent the implementation of double standards or unjustified policies by those in power, as well as personal accountability.

An alternate cover was also created for the Remix album, wherein Sequeira's head is twisted counterclockwise and the colors are shifted.

## Remix Album and Music Videos

Two music videos were released before the official release of the album. The music video for "Gavin McInnes" was released on April 19 and filmed in summer 2020. It depicts Sequeira standing outside both the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden and the Park Avenue Railyards near Coors Field. Both locations were accessed via the Nicolas Comics Delivery Tricycle.

The music video for "What We're Here For" was released 2 days earlier on April 17. It features POV shots of Sequeira walking around the Congress Park neighborhood and Colfax's Bluebird District at night. The long shot of the fence near the end is of the previous location of Paradise Cleaners, an establishment Sequeira believes reflected the long-gone Denver of his youth during its operation.

A remix album of the album was released on April 20 a few hours after the initial release. The remix was created by Conqoor and features daytime footage taken by Sequeira on April 20.