 The audio track of the video is actually the reprise version, with the added percussion backing.In his review for Allmusic, Matthew Greenwald wrote that the song "combines classic Gershwin/Brian Wilson pop feels along with a strong sense of French cabaret show tunes", and called the shifts in modulation coupled with dissonant chords "intoxicating".Apart from being the opening and closing track on "Poses", a live performance of "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" from Central Park SummerStage appeared on Wainwright's 2005 music DVD, "All I Want".