Shortly after the release of the album , reports arose that DC Comics had issued a cease and desist letter to Asthmatic Kitty because of the depiction of Superman on the cover . However , on October 4 , 2005 , Asthmatic Kitty announced that there had been no cease and desist letter ; the record company 's own lawyers had warned about the copyright infringement . On June 30 , 2005 , Asthmatic Kitty 's distributor Secretly Canadian asked its retailers not to sell the album ; however , it was not recalled . On July 5 , the distributor told its retailers to go ahead and sell their copies , as DC Comics agreed to allow Asthmatic Kitty to sell the copies of the album that was already manufactured , but the image was removed from subsequent pressings . Soon after it was made public that the cover would be changed , copies of the album featuring Superman was sold for as high as $ 75 on eBay . On the vinyl edition released on November 22 , 2005 , Superman 's image is covered by a balloon sticker . The image of the balloon sticker was also used on the cover of the Compact Disc and later printings of the double vinyl release . Stevens himself was surprised by the development and also had to pay a fee for referencing lyrics from Woody Guthrie 's folk anthem " This Land Is Your Land " in the track " No Man 's Land " , which was later released on The Avalanche .