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Cover of Comfort Eagle by Cake
Cover: Comfort Eagle

Song · Cake

“Short Skirt/Long Jacket” by Cake

From the album Comfort Eagle (2001)

“Short Skirt/Long Jacket” by Cake appears on 60 radio countdowns from 27 stations between 2001 and 2026. It was first released in 2001 on the album Comfort Eagle. Its best result is #2 on the WXRT Listener Poll: Top 30 Songs of 2001. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #19 alternative song of 2001, #975 alternative song of all time and #219 of the '00s.

60countdowns
27stations
#2best position
0#1 finishes
4top 10 finishes
2001–2026years charted

Watch

CAKE - Short Skirt / Long Jacket (Official HD Video)

Video from YouTube (CakeVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Short Skirt/Long Jacket" was the first single from Cake's 2001 album Comfort Eagle, and it's the band's dry wit and dance-floor instincts packed into one tight little package. John McCrea wrote it alone, the band produced and arranged it themselves, and McCrea mixed it with Kirt Shearer, with Tyler Pope sitting in on electric guitar and keyboard.

What makes it stick is the sound, all clipped and funky: a trumpet lick up front that you know from the first note, a bass line that bounces instead of pounds, and the rattling clack of a vibraslap cracking through the mix like a punchline. McCrea's deadpan delivery never cracks a smile while the groove does all the flirting, and the joke lands because the band plays it so straight.

It climbed to number 7 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart and has become one of Cake's most recognizable songs, the one alternative radio still pulls out whenever it needs something sly and bone-dry.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2001 69 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2001 107
2001 32 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2001 91
2001 45 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2001 106
2001 31 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2001 101
2001 68 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2001 100
2001 47 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2001 100
2001 40 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 2001 107
2001 68 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON 89X Top 89 Songs of 2001 89
2001 6 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2001 101
2001 9 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON CFNY Top 30 Songs of 2001 30
2001 19 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2001 99
2001 22 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2001 103
2001 43 99X Atlanta, GA 99X Top 99 Songs of 2001 99
2001 50 97X Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL 97X Top 97 Songs of 2001 97
2001 2 93XRT Chicago, IL WXRT Listener Poll: Top 30 Songs of 2001 30
2001 20 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 2001 191
2001 10 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 2001 100
2001 41 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 100 Songs of 2001 100
2002 88 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2002 101

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2001 1962 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 289 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 1945 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2003 289 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 1714 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 121 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 164 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 1714 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 43 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the New Millennium 96
2005 1710 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 319 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 63 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the Millennium (December 2006) 107
2007 1814 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1747 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 280 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 1694 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 176 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 New Rock Songs of the Millennium 200
2010 1288 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2010 438 WXPN WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) 885
2011 1206 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1020 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 169 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Songs of the New Millennium (2013) 885
2014 862 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 246 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 253 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2019 639 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2019 200 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2019 639 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2020 321 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2022 344 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s 907
2022 103 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2022 1001 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2023 617 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 234 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2024 24 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century 1055
2024 327 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 129 WXPN WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) 885
2025 60 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century 909
2025 47 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) 714
2026 68 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500
2026 1077 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Also listed as: Short Skirt, Long Jacket; Short Skirt Long Jacket; Short Skirt / Long Jacket; Short Skirt/long Jacket.

Charting alongside it in 2001

Best songs of 2001 →
  1. 1Hash PipeWeezer
  2. 2SchismTool
  3. 3How You Remind MeNickelback
  4. 4Smooth CriminalAlien Ant Farm
  5. 5It's Been AwhileStaind
  6. 6Fat LipSum 41

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