The Distance (Cake song)

"The Distance"
Single by Cake
from the album Fashion Nugget
Released	August 5, 1996 (1996-08-05) [1]
Genre	Alternative rock [2] pop rock [3] rap rock [4]
Length	3:00
Label	Capricorn
Songwriter(s)	Greg Brown
Producer(s)	Cake
Cake singles chronology
"Ruby Sees All" (1995) "The Distance" (1996) "I Will Survive" (1997)
Music video
"The Distance" on YouTube

"The Distance" is a song by American alternative rock band Cake. Released in August 1996, "The Distance" was the first single from the band's second album, Fashion Nugget , and is considered one of their most popular songs. ^[5] It was written by the band's guitarist at the time, Greg Brown.

Background

"It is a song about success and failure, and failure of success, really," said singer John McCrea in 2019. "It's a sad song, because there is no success. You can explode into the world with great magnificence, and still feel like the guy underneath the Mickey Mouse head, with the fan batteries that have stopped working properly, and it's dark under there, and everybody wants your autograph." ^[6]

Brown wanted the guitar riff to be played throughout the entire song, but singer McCrea felt it should be saved for the chorus. ^[6]

Composition

The song is based around Cake's standard guitar, bass, and drums setup, with flourishes of solo trumpet, and McCrea's characteristically deadpan, driving vocals. The song does not employ McCrea's rhythm guitar, but does feature overlaid synthesized and other non-traditional sounds.

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.

Track listing

1. "The Distance" – 3:00
2. "Multiply the Heartaches" – 2:49
3. "Jolene" (live) – 8:25
4. "It's Coming Down" – 3:44

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1996) Peak position Australia (ARIA) [7] 21 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders) [8] 15 Canada Rock/Alternative ( RPM ) [9] 5 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [10] 73 Scotland (OCC) [11] 20 UK Singles (OCC) [12] 22 US Radio Songs ( Billboard ) [13] 35 US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [14] 4 US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [15] 38

Year-end charts Chart (1996) Position US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard) [16] 77

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ) [17]	Gold	15,000‡
United States (RIAA) [18]	2× Platinum	2,000,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

In popular culture

• The song's opening lyric, "Reluctantly crouched at the starting line", is prominently featured in the remix "The Starting Line" by Neil Cicierega on his album Mouth Moods . ^[19]
• The song is also heard in the season 1 Daria episode "The Invitation." ^[20]
• The song is heard in the opening of episode 10 "SHNGRLA" in season 1 of Twisted Metal . ^[21]
• The song is used in the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps 2025 Production "Spectator Sport"

References

1. "Be on the Lookout". Gavin Report . No. 2116. August 2, 1996. p. 21.
2. Nierenberg, Jacob (May 18, 2024). "100 Of The Best 90s Alternative Songs: When The Underground Went Mainstream". uDiscover Music. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
3. Steininger, Alex (July–August 1997). "Cake: Fashion Nugget". In Music We Trust . Retrieved October 23, 2019.
4. "The best car songs for 2019". Digital Trends. 14 October 2019.
5. "Cake | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic.
6. Reader, Adam (December 7, 2019). "CAKE - The Distance - Professor of Rock's The Story Of". YouTube . Retrieved February 28, 2025.
7. "Cake – The Distance". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
8. "Cake – The Distance" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
9. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 9736." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
10. "Cake – The Distance" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
11. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
12. "Cake: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
13. "Cake Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
14. "Cake Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
15. "Cake Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
16. "Airplay Monitor Best of '96: Modern Rock Tracks". Airplay Monitor . Vol. 4, no. 53. December 27, 1996. p. 24.
17. "New Zealand single certifications – Cake – The Distance". Radioscope. Retrieved December 18, 2024.Type The Distance in the "Search:" field.
18. "American single certifications – Cake – The Distance". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved August 11, 2022.
19. MOUTH MOODS Website. Retrieved February 21, 2019
20. "Outpost Daria Reborn - Song List: Season One".
21. Wagner, Emma (July 27, 2023). "Twisted Metal Soundtrack Guide - Every Song & When It Plays". Screen Rant . Retrieved August 8, 2023.