Saturday, December 08, 2012

25 Days of Holiday Music: Day 8



Welcome to the 8th day of our holiday-song-a-day journey through this month!

In 2001, when alt-rock band Cake released "Short Skirt/Long Jacket," they probably had no idea what was in store for their quirky little tune. It was the first single off their fourth studio album, Comfort Eagle, so they were well-used to accolades, critical acclaim, and radio play. But I doubt they expected the song would go in these directions:

  • Used in the films Waitress (2007), All About Steve (2009), Date Night (2010), and The Change Up (2011). The latter three used an instrumental version.
  • Become the theme song for the NBC series Chuck (2007 - 2011). Again, an instrumental version was used.
  • Have both the song and the CD used in the 3rd episode of Season 8 of the CBS series ER.

You may have noticed that I have yet to tie "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" to the holiday season. I mean, it certainly doesn't reflect any of the December holidays in lyrics or tone.

Well, here's the thing. In the same year that Cake released "Short Skirt/Long Jacket," Ken Rosenberg wrote and recorded a parody of the Cake song with his Whale Holiday Carol Marching Band. This parody, titled "(Fruit)Cake White Beard Red Jacket," received airplay at WVUD (Delaware), WYSP and WXPN (Philadelphia), and 98 Rock (Baltimore). You can download the song from the WHALE Band Press Release Page. And you can enjoy this video created by YouTube user Burnett Lacy:

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