The Distance (song)
| "The Distance" | |||||||
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| Single by Cake | |||||||
| from the album Fashion Nugget | |||||||
| Released | October 15, 1996 | ||||||
| Format | CD single | ||||||
| Recorded | September 1996 | ||||||
| Genre | Alternative rock, alternative hip hop, rap rock | ||||||
| Length | 3:00 | ||||||
| Label | Capricorn | ||||||
| Writer(s) | Greg Brown | ||||||
| Producer(s) | Cake | ||||||
| Cake singles chronology | |||||||
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Live performance (on band's Vevo channel)
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"The Distance" is a song by the American alternative rock band Cake. Released in 1996, "The Distance" was the second single from the band's second album Fashion Nugget, and considered one of their most popular songs.[1] It was written by the band's guitarist at the time, Greg Brown.
Track listing
- "The Distance" - 3:00
- "Multiply the Heartaches" - 2:49
- "Jolene" (Live) - 8:25
- "It's Coming Down" - 3:44
Instrumentation
The song is based around Cake's standard guitar, bass, and drums setup, with flourishes of solo trumpet, and John McCrea's characteristically deadpan, driving vocals. The song does not employ McCrea's rhythm guitar, but does feature some overlaid synthesized and other non-traditional sounds. In the official music video, a glimpse of the Melodica can be seen.
Music video
The video for "The Distance" features footage of the members of the band performing the song in a busy office lobby, mixed with footage of a businessman who inexplicably starts to run off into the sunset; first he runs from his office building (the same one the band is performing in) to the suburbs, then into the country and a forest, and finally into the sea. While the man is running, various people in humorous animal costumes cheer him on. It takes place in downtown San Francisco and other Northern California locations and first aired in September 1996.
In popular culture
Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song as a bonus track on their 2007 video game Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Lyrics to the song are mentioned in the young adult novel, The Compound.
In 2011, Relient K covered the song for their cover album, Is for Karaoke.
The song was also used in the episode Saddlesore Galactica of the Simpsons.
Alex Jones (of InfoWars.com) uses this song as bumper music for his daily radio program 11 AM to 2 PM Central Time.
Chart positions
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Alternative 30[2] | 5 |
| UK Singles Chart[3] | 22 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | 35 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks[4] | 38 |
| U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[4] | 4 |
References
- ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p24137
- ↑ "Rock/Alternative - Volume 64, No. 18, December 16, 1996". RPM. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
- ↑ "Chart Log UK: Chris C. – CZR". Zobbel.de.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Cake—Artist Chart History". Billboard.com.
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