survey 5: cake

[stormsewer]

It's Cake Day, kids!

Ugh. This one was hard. Cake lyrics can answer a lot of questions extremely well, just not these questions. There are quite a few Cake songs that remind me of how I feel about specific people, but... none of those apply to these questions. Plus John McCrea rarely confronts anything directly in his lyrics- he's always emotionally detached, only discussing his real feelings and thoughts obliquely through layers and layers of allegory. For clever metaphor, though, you'll find no better band.

My favorite Cake song, by the way, is Commissioning a Symphony in C (uhhh... scroll down if necessary), from Comfort Eagle. In fact, I've had dreams inspired by this song more than once. But of course, it just doesn't fit any of these questions.

1. Are you male or female?

no trophy, no flowers, no flashbulbs, no wine
he is haunted by something he cannot define
bowel-shaking earthquakes of doubt and remorse
assail him, impale him with monster-truck force
(the distance- fashion nugget)

2. Describe yourself:

birds fall from the window ledge above mine
then they flap their wings at the last second

i can see their dead weight
just dropping like stones
or small loaves of bread
past my window all the time
but unless i get up
walk across the room
and peer down below
i don't see their last second curves
toward a horizontal flight
all these birds just falling from the ledge like stones

now due to a construct in my mind
that makes their falling and their flight
symbolic of my entire existence
it becomes important for me
to get up and see
their last second curves toward flight
it's almost as if my life will fall
unless i see their ascent
(mr. mastodon farm- motorcade of generosity)

3. How do you feel about your friends?

i'm sitting by the window of your
thirty-second floor apartment
waiting for your phone calls all to end
i'm sitting watching wind blow
watching time go watching cars go by
i'm waiting for these memories to begin
(guitar- prolonging the magic)

4. How do they feel about you?

you part the waters
the same ones that i'm drowning in
you lead your casual slaughters
and i'm the one who helps you win
you've got your grand piano
you don't even play piano
i'm the one who plays piano
you don't even play piano
(you part the waters- motorcade of generosity)
[Eh. I dunno.]

5. How do you feel about yourself?

i'm not feeling alright today
i'm not feeling that great
i'm not catching on fire today
love has started to fade
i'm not going to smile today
i'm not gonna laugh
you're out living it up today
i've got dues to pay

sheep go to heaven
goats go to hell
(sheep go to heaven- prolonging the magic)

OR

i am intrinsically no good
i have a heart that's made of wood
i am only biding time
only reciting memorized lines
and i'm not fit to touch
the hem of your garment

i have no love but only goals
how very empty is my soul
it is a soul that feels no thrill
it is a soul that could easily kill
and i'm not fit to touch
the hem of your garment
(hem of your garment- prolonging the magic)


6. How do you feel about life?

there's a long line of cars and they're trying to get through
there's no single explanation, there's no central destination
but this long line of cars is trying to get through
and this long line of cars is all because of you

we don't wonder where we're going or remember where we've been
we've got to keep this traffic flowing and accept a little sin
so this long line of cars will never have an end
and this long line of cars keeps coming round the bend

from the streets of sacramento to the freeways of LA
we've got to keep this fire burning and accept a little grey
so this long line of cars is trying to break free
and this long line of cars is all because of me
(long line of cars- comfort eagle)

7. What would you rather be doing?

still I build my towers high
i watch them pierce the blue, blue sky
still i wallow in the mire
still i burn this earthen fire
(jesus wrote a blank check- motorcade of generosity)

8. Describe where you live:

you twist the knife
then go home to kiss your wife
a bigger better slice
is what you'd like
you kick the sand
you get the upper hand
you sell it to japan
it's natural
punk rock
red white and blue

you turn the screws
it's what you choose to do
you think that i
must turn them too
you think that i
must be so satisfied
i stay inside
i wonder why?
(you turn the screws- prolonging the magic)


9. Describe how you feel about the person you love:

i don't want to wonder if this is a blunder
i don't want to worry whether we're going to stay together 'til we die
i don't want to jump in unless this music's thumpin
all the dishes rattle in the cupboards when the elephants arrive

i want to love you madly

i don't want to fake it, i just want to make it
the oranaments look pretty but they're pulling down the branches of the tree
i don't want to think about it, i don't want to talk about it
when i kiss your lips i want to sink down to the bottom of the sea

i want to love you madly

i don't want to hold back, i don't want to slip down
i don't want to think back to the one thing that i know i should have done
i don't want to doubt you, know everything about you
i don't want to sit across the table from you wishing i could run

i want to love you madly
(love you madly- comfort eagle)

10. Describe how you love:

i want a girl with a mind like a diamond
i want a girl who knows what's best
i want a girl with shoes that cut
and eyes that burn like cigarettes

with fingernails that shine like justice
and a voice that is dark like tinted glass
(short skirt/long jacket- comfort eagle)

11. Share a few words of wisdom:

beyond the suns that guard this roost
beyond your flowers of flaming truths
beyond your latest ad campaigns
an old man sits collecting stamps
in a room all filled with chinese lamps
he saves what others throw away
he says that he'll be rich some day
(frank sinatra- fashion nugget)