Breakfast Blend: Cake, “Short Skirt, Long Jacket”

I have to admit I never really know just how to compartmentalize Cake.

Surely, by Steve’s definition they are not rockers, and despite the trumpet, the band is neither soul, nor jumpin’ jive a la the Squirrel Nut Zippers, as an example.

The band’s vocals are not really sung, and well, if there is the beautiful ability of a band to coordinate back-up vocals and harmonies as Steve has pointed out, Cake breaks a those rules by shouting out the back-ups, in unison, and in tune, but hardly sung.

If I had to use a word for them, it would be quirky.

I believe the band hails from Stockton, California, a somewhat sleepy largely farm community about 40 miles southeast of Sacramento which also produced the equally offbeat Pavement.

My late wife, Cathy Hedgecock, was a reporter for the Stockton Record for a few years back in the late 80’s, in fact she was the first woman assigned to the farm beat in the history of the Record, something that may seem ho-hum these days, but at the time was a big deal.

Cathy actually wrote a collection of short stories called The Draping Effect that focused on the bizarre things that came through the newsroom of a community that was too big to be a town, and not quite big enough to really be a city. In fact, Cathy often said if there is a strange crime that occurs on the planet, chances are it was six degrees of separation from Stockton.

Anyway, here is my favorite Cake to go with your coffee this morning.

5 thoughts on “Breakfast Blend: Cake, “Short Skirt, Long Jacket”

  1. This isn’t terrible and is certainly more rock ‘n’ roll than a lot of stuff that’s posted around these parts. But the best of this is just “Sweet Jane” with a trumpet added.

  2. Never heard ’em before, you can tell the singer likes Jim Morrison. Don’t call that Sweet Jane, first of all the riff lacks the B minor chord and second Lou didn’t do it first. That’s actually a good question, who did that I-V-IV thing first. I can’t think of one farther back than “Can’t Explain.”

  3. Thank you Gene. I kept humming each riff to myself and thinking they were completely different despite the similar attack. And what makes Sweet Jane IS the B minor. But, shit, I kept thinking it was just me.

    I think if there is an earlier form than the Who (probably is, a la Aristotle and six plots) but I cannot think of one off the top.

  4. No.

    I’ll give you the B minor, but the rhythm pattern of the chords has to be considered as well. Like Lawr says, “the similar attack.” And it’s not exactly Sweet Jane, but all totaled it’s a lot more Sweet Jane than Can’t Explain.

    And perhaps some caveman played the exact Sweet Jane chords with the exact same rhythm back in 1953, but I don’t care.

    I’m calling it Sweet Jane. As Peter says, I’ll bet if you asked Cake what that is they’d say Sweet Jane.

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