No Such Thing is the first single off the album. John wrote the song back in 1998, in response to his frustration when he got out of high school and how his parents were not at first supportive of his choice in pursuing a music career.
What John has to say about it
"It frustrated the hell out of my mom," he says. "She saw my conviction as though I was in a cult and needed to be reprogrammed. So she took me to two different therapists to try to get me to stop playing guitar." He says his first hit, "No Such Thing" — about a kid who's tired of being told "to stay inside the lines" — was largely a response to his parents' skepticism. "I remember standing at my mom's door and saying, 'Just watch, just watch,' " says Mayer.
About the music video
The music video for No Such Thing was filmed during John's concert at the Georgia theater in Athens, GA on February 7, 2002. John explains in the Room For Squares duel disk documentary, that the real story behind the video for the song, is that when first released to radio, it did not do well. The record company was not sure where the song was going to go, so instead of making an expensive video, they decided to shoot the video during John's performance of the song at the theater. John later said he was glad they shot the video in that way, because he wants to be known for his live performance and that was a good way to be introduced to him.
The video made its first appearance March 11, 2002 on VH1.