Album Details

• Artist: Cake
• Album: Fashion Nugget
• Label: Volcano
• Year of Release: 1996
• ME Rating: Indie Classic
• Reviewed by: digitalbath on 2008-03-06

It is strange to say this and make it a positive comment, but Cake truly was behind their time with Fashion Nugget.  I don't say this to de-rail their fame in any way.  I simply say it meaning that while they didn't do anything completely ground-breaking in the music world, they weren't afraid to break free from the alternative/grunge scene that consumed 90's culture.  Fashion Nugget is a true testament to their unique style (for the decade) and musical skill.

Fashion Nugget is full of big tracks.  One you've probably heard on the radio about a thousand times would be their second track, "The Distance."  I want to admit here on Music Emissions that up until today, I truly thought that this song was written by Beck.  Listening to this song in terms of Cake rather than Beck shattered my entire universe.  Also, a cover of "I Will Survive" appears on the album, which was refreshing to hear.  It is always great to hear a band covering a song that you typically wouldn't hear covered.  The rest of the album sticks to the dark folk roots typical of Cake and even has a few uplifting songs resembling bluegrass, specifically "Stickshifts and Safetybelts."  

Fashion Nugget truly was a bold move in terms of the 90's scene and paid off for Cake in the end with at least one track that everyone has heard, whether they know it is a Cake track or not.  This is an album everyone should own to remember the first band to stand up to the lack of artistic ability in grunge music with some creative folk music. 

User Reviews and Comments

Review:

on 2009-07-06 fortunecookie Said:

The fact that Fashion Nugget is full of big tracks is for a reason -- they're good. (It's worth noting that this concept actually DOESN'T apply to music, or we would never have T-Pain.)

"Sad Song and Waltzes" is among my favorites, as it's horn section and playful, very self-aware lyrics treat the subject of a breakup in a way that only Cake can.

Cake has some strange ability to cover tracks in a way that's fresh but still honoring the song's first intentions, as demonstrated by "I Will Survive" (and even better by B-Sides and Rarities's "Strangers in the Night"). "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" is also a cover, that feels very un-cover-like due to Cake's fun treatment.

I would be OK with attributing "The Distance" to some other band, as it's a fun, but slightly weaker, moment. Overall, definitely a great album to listen to if you want to expose yourself to Cake for the first time.
Rating: 8/10

on 2008-05-05 mustardseed Said:

When I saw them live in OKC back in the nineties, they mocked the moshing or posing scenester/goth crowd that attends shows here...asking, "Do you even listen to our band?" and "Why would you mosh to us we are sort of easy listening for modern radio?" That is sort of the way I think of them like AM radio on the FM dial.
Not Rated

on 2008-03-08 digitalbath Said:

I think people just didn't know how to classify bands like cake and beck so they lumped them into "folk." I'll admit I only use that genre because I don't know how else to describe it other than maybe.. downtempo rock lol.
Not Rated

on 2008-03-08 hstisgod Said:

you're dead on about the I will survive cover. Damnit how you just blew me out of the water!!! No hard feelings on the Beck mistaken issues...Think I can actually make a similiar mistake. Though Im not sure creative folk music accurately accentuates them, if they ever get tapped on the should by the music HOF, thats likely what theyll forever be known as. Great review is less than 200 bro!
Not Rated