At least 2 bands have the name “Cake”.
1.) 90s alternative rock band 2.)… Read Full Bio ↴At least 2 bands have the name “Cake”.
1.) 90s alternative rock band 2.) 60s Girl pop band 3.) Underground 70s pop/funk band. 1.) Best-known for their ubiquitous hit "The Distance," Cake epitomized the postmodern, irony-drenched aesthetic of '90s geek rock. Their sound freely mixed and matched pastiches of widely varying genres -- white-boy funk, hip-hop, country, new wave pop, jazz, college rock, and guitar rock -- with a particular delight in the clashes that resulted. Their songs were filled with lyrical non-sequiturs, pop-culture references, and smirky satire, all delivered with bone-dry detachment by speak/singing frontman John McCrea. Cake's music most frequently earned comparisons to Soul Coughing and King Missile, but lacked the downtown New York artiness of those two predecessors; instead, Cake cultivated an image of average guys with no illusions and pretensions about their role as entertainers. At the same time, critics lambasted what they saw as a smugly superior attitude behind the band's habitual sarcasm. Perhaps there was something in Cake's doggedly spare, low-key presentation that amplified their ironic detachment even when they didn't intend it, but most reviewers pegged them as one-hit wonders after the success of "The Distance." Nonetheless, Cake managed a few more alternative radio hits in the years that followed, while largely retaining the same approach.

Cake was formed in Sacramento, California in 1991 by vocalist/songwriter John McCrea, who'd recently returned home after spending a few years in Los Angeles, unsuccessfully trying to break into the music business. The original lineup of Cake also featured guitarist Greg Brown, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, bassist Sean McFessel, and drummer Frank French; McFessel soon left to attend college, and was replaced by Gabe Nelson. In 1993, the band released their debut single, "Rock ‘n' Roll Lifestyle," on a local basis, and followed it with a self-produced, self-released, self-distributed album, Motorcade of Generosity. Motorcade found its way to the revived Capricorn label, which released the album nationally after Cake signed a contract with them. With the prospect of extensive national touring, both Gabe Nelson and Frank French left the band, and were replaced by bassist Victor Damiani and drummer Todd Roper. Re-released by Capricorn, "Rock ‘n' Roll Lifestyle" caught on at college radio in 1995, and was followed by two more singles, "Ruby Sees All," and "Jolene" (not the Dolly Parton song).

Cake's second album, Fashion Nugget, was released in 1996 and spawned a breakout smash in the Greg Brown-penned "The Distance," which dominated alternative radio that fall, and even turned into an unlikely sporting-event anthem. Mostly on the strength of "The Distance," Fashion Nugget charted in the Top 40 and sold over a million copies. It also spun off a somewhat controversial follow-up single in a cover of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive"; although the band professed its sincere admiration for the song, some critics and listeners took it as a smarmy putdown, in part because of McCrea's deadpan vocals. In 1997, Greg Brown and Victor Damiani both left Cake and formed a new group, the new wave-influenced Deathray, which eventually released its debut album on Capricorn in 2000. Meanwhile, McCrea briefly considered putting Cake to rest, but brought original bassist Gabe Nelson back to replace Damiani instead. For Cake's next album, McCrea used a tag-team procession of guitarists -- five in all -- on different tracks; the result, Prolonging the Magic, was released in 1998. True to its sardonic title, it defied critical opinion to produce another big, alternative radio hit in "Never There," plus decently successful follow-ups in "Sheep Go to Heaven" and "Let Go."

Prolonging the Magic sold nearly as well as Fashion Nugget, and was also certified platinum. For the supporting tour, one of the album's guitarists, Xan McCurdy, officially joined Cake full-time. In the spring of 2000, the band signed a new deal with Columbia, and debuted in 2001 with their fourth overall album, Comfort Eagle, which became their highest-charting yet (at number 13). The lead single, "Short Skirt/Long Jacket," was a hit on alternative radio, and even earned some MTV airplay -- no longer an easy task for any artist -- with a video that featured reactions to the song by randomly selected people on the street. Following the completion of the album, drummer Todd Roper left the group to spend more time with his children, and was replaced on the supporting tour by Pete McNeal. Pressure Chief appeared in 2004. Redefining the meaning of independent -- the band was by then recording in a studio powered entirely by solar energy, and free of the corporate involvement of even so much as a utility bill -- released Showroom of Compassion some six years later in 2011.

Biography by Steve Huey

2. The Cake (which is currently being redirected to this page) was a psychedelic girl pop group from the 1960s with the album Slice of the Cake in 1968.
3. Cake, a 70s funk/pop band who’s most popular track was “Make Up Your Mind” in 1979.

Ain't No Good
Cake Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

She's gonna hand you a red headed Gabriel
Coming from the bar in a plastic tie
He's gonna swing from the Tree of Life
He's gonna try to sell you on a great big lie

But when you speak to her
Her eyes light up
The music spills right into your cup

The minstrels play and the waitress brings ice

There are pies on a carousel
Have a slice
But watch out
She ain't no good for you

He's gonna spin like the tractor pull
She'll sit back when he tells his tale
He's gonna yell when he drinks his beer
She'll sit back and drink ginger ale

But when you speak to her
Her eyes light up
The music spills right into your cup
It's so abrupt and it's so concise

There are pies on a carousel
Have a slice
But watch out
She ain't no good for you

I say watch out
She ain't no good for you
She'd like to put you in her zoo
Right between the canaries and the cockatoos

She'll pull out your feathers
For her brand new hat
And when she's done that
She'll feed you to her cat

So watch out
She ain't no good for you
Watch out
She ain't no good for you

Watch out
She ain't no good for you

Overall Meaning

The Cake song Ain't No Good tells the story of a woman who is bad news for any man who crosses her path. She is described as someone who will hand you a "red-headed Gabriel" (a reference to an angel of judgment in Judeo-Christian mythology) coming from the bar in a plastic tie. This mysterious figure is going to try to sell you on a great big lie, possibly representing temptation or the deception that comes with dangerous people. However, when you speak to the woman, her eyes light up and the music spills right into your cup. There are pies on a carousel and you should have a slice, but it's important to watch out because "she ain't no good for you."

As the lyrics progress, we see the woman's companion, a man who is spinning like a tractor pull and yelling when he drinks his beer. The woman just sits back and drinks ginger ale, indicating that she may be the one in control of the situation. When you speak to her, her eyes still light up and the music still spills into your cup, but the warning remains: watch out, she ain't no good for you. In the final verse, we see the consequences of the woman's behavior as she is compared to a zookeeper who puts her victims between the canaries and the cockatoos. She pulls out their feathers for her brand new hat and feeds them to her cat. The repetition of "watch out, she ain't no good for you" drives home the danger that this woman presents.

Overall, the song tells a cautionary tale about the dangers of getting involved with the wrong person. The imagery used, from the red-headed Gabriel to the pies on a carousel, creates a surreal atmosphere that captures the sense of being caught up in something out of your control. The woman is portrayed as mysterious, alluring, and ultimately deadly, making it clear that she is not to be messed with.

Line by Line Meaning

She's gonna hand you a red headed Gabriel
She will introduce you to a man named Gabriel who has red hair

Coming from the bar in a plastic tie
Gabriel is coming from a bar, wearing a plastic tie

He's gonna swing from the Tree of Life
Gabriel will boast about his accomplishments

He's gonna try to sell you on a great big lie
Gabriel will try to persuade you with a big lie

But when you speak to her
When you talk to the woman

Her eyes light up
Her eyes show excitement

The music spills right into your cup
You are swept up by the music

The minstrels play and the waitress brings ice
The musicians are performing and the waitress serves ice

There are pies on a carousel
There are pies rotating on a carousel

Have a slice
Take a slice of pie

But watch out
Be careful