Song · Cake
“Satan is My Motor” by Cake
From the album Prolonging the Magic (1998)
“Satan is My Motor” by Cake appears on 7 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 1999 and 2024. It was first released in 1998 on the album Prolonging the Magic. Its best result is #65 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1999. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #330 alternative song of 1999 and #6,875 alternative song of all time.
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"Satan Is My Motor" rides on Prolonging the Magic, Cake's third album, released on Capricorn Records in October 1998, and it's the song that earned the whole record a parental advisory sticker. Not for cursing, either: the warning was over the Satanic themes in the words, and copies sold without a sticker simply renamed it "Motor".
The album was made after guitarist Greg Brown walked, with a revolving cast of players covering his spot, and this track shows that setup at work: Tyler Pope sits in on electric guitar and shares the writing credit with John McCrea and Gabriel Nelson. It's Cake at their driest and most deadpan, a deal with the devil delivered with a perfectly straight face.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 65 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1999 | 91 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 1906 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2008 | 1912 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 1947 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 2002 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2010 | 778 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) | 885 |
| 2024 | 461 | KEXP | The Best Opening Tracks of All Time | 738 |
Also listed as: Satan Is My Motor.
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