Showroom Of Compassion
2011 | Rock
"Stockbrokers, singers, dancers, architects. We didn't notice, we didn't care."
Trivia
- Showroom Of Compassion debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 for one week, becoming the band's first album to do so.
- Their sixth full-length studio album the band released was also the band's first studio album to be independently released.
- The lowest-selling #1 album since Billboard began using Nielsen SoundScan to track unit sales, they only held this record for 2 weeks. While charting higher than previous records it also performed poorly sales-wise comparably.
THE HOT TAKES
Luke Tatum
For a long, this was the only economic song I knew of. Like much of Cake's work, it's very easy to listen to this track obliviously. "Easy to Crash" could just be a catchy lyric, if you don't know better. The world could use hundreds more anti-Fed jam bands, and this track will have a special place in my heart for many years. Note the choice of professions chosen to show who "didn't see a thing." Since the business cycle has been blamed on everything from solar activity to human greed, there's a lot to chew on here in your own mouth and mind. Cake keeps it somewhat esoteric, but that's fine in my book.
Sherry Voluntary
I feel like this song is talking about the isolation of the modern world and how the destruction of connections and community in our society has led to people not just not noticing, but not caring to notice the distress of their neighbors. “Schoolteachers, bakers, bankers, congressmen, Stargazers didn't see a thing, Stockbrokers, singers, dancers, architects (Stars in our eyes), We didn't notice, We didn't care (Hugs on TV)” All of the stargazers are looking for success but ignoring the pain and loneliness of those around them. The hugs representing the familial and friend relationships are all on TV, removed from reality. The deep connections of community have been damaged in our modern society by so many things. If we are ever to have a society that puts the individual and it’s needs at the center, then we will have to figure out how to become more connected and engaged with each other. Otherwise we will see people crash.
Nicky P
Clearly the boys in Cake didn't pay attention to Ron Paul or Peter Schiff or any of the other's that were warning about the impending crash...I wonder who they are following prepping for the next one? JK. We all know that people learned nothing in the last economic downturn. I assumed Meltdown would become required reading in ever college across the nation, I was mistaken. Sorry Woods, nobody cares about the thing that stears their very livelihoods into the gutter aparently. I suppose this song doesn't go so far as to actually blame anything in particular...must be dragon's. It should be obvious I side with Luke on the intention of this song. I think there are keys in the particular timeframe of it's release & some of the professions it notes in particular. That said I don't think Sherry is wrong either. People that follow Austrian Econ would be the first to tell you if you follow human action you have the best vision of an economy. Had we been more interconnected and truly paid attention to our fellow man in any meaningful way we could have seen the signs. The irrational behavior being exhibited by many as a direct result of FED money distorting the economy. All this in a Cake song?