Cake's 1997 cover version of "I Will Survive": we fucking with this song or not?

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10C68Gzd5GM

Poll Results

OptionVotes
I disapprove of this song29
I approve of this song 24


Dom Passantino, Saturday, 15 December 2007 23:03 (eighteen years ago)

Did you really mean "song"?

These Robust Cookies, Saturday, 15 December 2007 23:24 (eighteen years ago)

for an Irony band they don't overindulge on this one. The gittarist is okay.

wanko ergo sum, Saturday, 15 December 2007 23:30 (eighteen years ago)

so much better than "Going the Distance"

wanko ergo sum, Saturday, 15 December 2007 23:30 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, but not as good as "Never There".

The Reverend, Saturday, 15 December 2007 23:36 (eighteen years ago)

TRC OTM, very poor wording from Dom there. I'll assume he means "recording".

anatol_merklich, Saturday, 15 December 2007 23:49 (eighteen years ago)

great guitar solo. remember when sky one used to show this and 'the distance' late. first time i heard Ben Folds Five too!

Michael B, Sunday, 16 December 2007 21:58 (eighteen years ago)

i approve

moonship journey to baja, Sunday, 16 December 2007 21:59 (eighteen years ago)

this could seriously be the official theme song of the stockton-sacramento corridor

moonship journey to baja, Sunday, 16 December 2007 22:00 (eighteen years ago)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=10C68Gzd5GM

arrggh, his voice.

pc user, Sunday, 16 December 2007 22:05 (eighteen years ago)

disapprove

pc user, Sunday, 16 December 2007 22:05 (eighteen years ago)

Cake are one of the worst bands ever.

Curt1s Stephens, Sunday, 16 December 2007 22:19 (eighteen years ago)

if they would have quit after "The Distance," I would have fucked with this band in perpetuity. Why did so many '90s one-hit alt-wonders have to keep making songs!

Whiney G. Weingarten, Sunday, 16 December 2007 22:22 (eighteen years ago)

you too, ben folds

Whiney G. Weingarten, Sunday, 16 December 2007 22:22 (eighteen years ago)

"Short Skirt, Long Jacket" is good.

Are these guys still together?

Dom Passantino, Sunday, 16 December 2007 22:25 (eighteen years ago)

ha ha. the dj at the local indie club used to make 'ironic' 'disco' 'dance moves' every time he played this, which was about 3 times a week. oh, ha ha.

disapprove

, Sunday, 16 December 2007 22:29 (eighteen years ago)

this would be an awesome stripper song

milo z, Sunday, 16 December 2007 22:49 (eighteen years ago)

i liked this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd34vJohGXc&feature=related

max, Sunday, 16 December 2007 22:55 (eighteen years ago)

heard this on the radio yesterday - love the singer's concert attire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkgXArxRxy8

milo z, Sunday, 16 December 2007 23:01 (eighteen years ago)

the Hot Rod Lincoln guitar might be the best thing they ever did

milo z, Sunday, 16 December 2007 23:02 (eighteen years ago)

Cake is kind of like the "mellow out maaaaan" version of Rage Against the Machine. Same 'funky' hip-hopish drumming, scratchy guitar work, sang/rapped vocals.

sous les paves, Sunday, 16 December 2007 23:03 (eighteen years ago)

I LOATHE CAKE

BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 16 December 2007 23:11 (eighteen years ago)

even a moist piece of red velvet?

milo z, Sunday, 16 December 2007 23:11 (eighteen years ago)

if they would have quit after "The Distance," I would have fucked with this band in perpetuity. Why did so many '90s one-hit alt-wonders have to keep making songs!

-- Whiney G. Weingarten, Sunday, 16 December 2007 22:22 (50 minutes ago) Link

Whiney OTM. after "Rock'n'Roll Lifestyle" and "The Distance" I was ready to cop their albums and be a fan, in retrospect I'm glad I never got together the allowance money to do so.

Alex in Baltimore, Sunday, 16 December 2007 23:14 (eighteen years ago)

the dj at the local indie club used to make 'ironic' 'disco' 'dance moves' every time he played this, which was about 3 times a week.

dear lord.

Curt1s Stephens, Sunday, 16 December 2007 23:59 (eighteen years ago)

never got these dudes. at all.

I did hear that some kid wrote asking them to play his bar mitzvah and they showed up unannounced, set up and played. Pretty awesome if it's true.

will, Monday, 17 December 2007 00:20 (eighteen years ago)

Holy shit, it's true!

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1426840/19990202/cake.jhtml

Andi Mags, Monday, 17 December 2007 04:08 (eighteen years ago)

compared to most of the cake i've heard, "i will survive" benefits from having a melody. but as a cover it doesn't have a point of view. they're not invested in it emotionally, the joke such as it is is the affectless performance of an emotionally volatile song, but they're also not attacking it or rearranging it or doing anything interesting with it. they probably like the song, but they don't have anything to say about it beyond "hey listen to our disco cover."

i did like "ruby sees all" back whenever that was on the radio. mostly cake puzzles me, as a band with a semi-sizable following that i just don't really understand at all. (as noted on another cake thread, their fanbase in my anecdotal experience seems to skew college-educated-white-female. which means i don't know what.)

tipsy mothra, Monday, 17 December 2007 04:33 (eighteen years ago)

I don't think it's true -- Cake called the guy up to discuss his "Cake credentials" (yikes) so I don't think it could have been unannounced. I'll bet he paid them, too.

That said, both "The Distance" and "Never There" are classic and sounded extremely different from everything else on the radio at the time, which is why people like me remember Cake fondly.

Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, 17 December 2007 04:38 (eighteen years ago)

does anyone else here know their 2001 song "Shadow Stabbing"? i maintain that that song is FANTASTIC and their pinnacle.

aaron d.g., Monday, 17 December 2007 06:53 (eighteen years ago)

lead singer's prison pussy is rather irksome

will, Monday, 17 December 2007 07:03 (eighteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

ILX System, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 00:01 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, that mouth donut was never a good look.

Lolpez, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 00:09 (eighteen years ago)

This version subtracts most of what is good from the original and adds nothing of value. Way to go!

dad a, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 00:14 (eighteen years ago)

I've never heard this before. I don't actually hate it, but I don't think I'd want to hear it again. It did sort of make me take a second look at the melodic strengths of the song. It also reminds me of some other song that I can't remember whether I like or not.

Rockist Scientist, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 00:27 (eighteen years ago)

since there was no middle option, I said approve.

First of all, I think Gloria Gaynor's original is one of the most wretchedly awful songs ever written. It isn't all of her fault--it's mostly due to how many people sing it at karaoke night. But then again everybody sings Journey at karaoke night and I don't hate them!

but Cake's version was more low key and not so in-your-face annoying. I didn't 'like' it but I didn't hate it

Bo Jackson Overdrive, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 00:28 (eighteen years ago)

x-post

Now I'm listening to Gloria Gaynor. I've never seen the video for this before, for what it's worth. I do prefer Gloria Gaynor's version. I think I might like the Celia Cruz version even more (it's actually good).

Rockist Scientist, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 00:32 (eighteen years ago)

I can name six Cake singles I really enjoy and this is not one of them.

da croupier, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 00:53 (eighteen years ago)

"Frank Sinatra"
"The Distance"
"Never There"
"Sheep Go To Heaven"
"Short Skirt/Long Jacket"
"Love You Madly"

for reference's sake

da croupier, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 00:54 (eighteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

ILX System, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 00:01 (eighteen years ago)

Bad luck lil' dudes

Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 00:01 (eighteen years ago)

His "fucking key" used to irritate me (ooh you can swear!) but I still like it.

Ned Trifle II, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 00:09 (eighteen years ago)

how did i miss this poll?!!?!

Mark Clemente, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 00:09 (eighteen years ago)

i loved it back in the day but i'd 've voted disapprove now. kinda sucks.

Mark Clemente, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 00:10 (eighteen years ago)

Still love this. Is this like "I Just Called to Say I Love You," where I'm the only person in the world (except for the two dozen voters up top, of course -- still a pretty tiny percentile) who digs it?

If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 10:48 (eighteen years ago)

I prefer it to the original, certainly.

Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 10:50 (eighteen years ago)


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