My Cage the Elephant Top 10
I got into Cage the Elephant the same night I got into Silversun Pickups. I had just started dating Cory (Who is now my husband) in the late summer/early fall of 2009 and we were hanging out with his friends watching MTV U and on top of seeing Substitution by Silversun Pickups that night we also saw Back Against the Wall by Cage the Elephant. Now I had heard of Cage the Elephant before. Someone at work had been raving about them saying they were the best band since the 90s. I think I had heard their first single Ain't No Rest for the Wicked on the radio at work too. You see I worked in restaurants and back in the kitchen area they were allowed to have the radio on and I believe this is how I first heard Cage the Elephant in passing though the song didn't grab me at the time. Back Against the Wall on the other hand grabbed me immediately. Everything about the music video for Back Against the Wall screamed early 90s. The video depicted the band playing in nature though it was obviously a set, weird garden gnomes were running around and trying to tie up the singer, the lead singer had flannel on and the song itself utilized the grunge formula of quiet verses and loud rocking choruses. I started pointing this out to everyone else that this was so 90s all it was missing was heroin on the set. Looking back that joke was in bad taste, but it got laughs from Cory's friends because it was true that this song and video felt like it had been created in 1993.
When I was home the next day I watched the music video for Back Against the Wall again on YouTube along with Silversun Pickups. I soon bought both Swoon by Silversun Pickups and the Self-Titled debut for Cage the Elephant and I consider this the moment I got more reinvested in modern Alternative Rock again (That wasn't just 90s bands who kept putting out new music or Coldplay.) I will say that Cage the Elephant's debut didn't click with me the way Swoon did, though I did like the new single a lot In One Ear.
Now fast forward to 2011. I was living in D.C. with my brother and doing long distance with my future husband Cory. For Christmas I actually took off over 2 weeks to see him and my parents who were all still living in New England at the time. I remember leaving the movie theater on a cold winter night and hearing Shake Me Down, the first single off Cage the Elephant's second album, on the radio on the way home. I liked it after one listen, but I decided to just download the song off iTunes instead of buying the CD at first. Shake Me Down blew up though! Shake Me Down dominated the rock radio station in DC and I remember when we went to Hawaii around March it was played all the time on their local Alternative Rock Radio station.
Now by the spring I was living with my brother and 2 parents again since my Dad got a promotion in D.C. As a result, we had Cable and DVR and this is when I used to record and watch the weekly top 10 countdown on Fuse for Alternative Rock. This countdown is how I first heard and saw the third single off Cage the Elephant' second album called Aberdeen. The video was clever as it was a Claymation story about a dragon who loves humans but every time he tries to make friends with them, he unintentionally causes destruction. I loved the song though, which saw Cage the Elephant in full on Grunge mode. The references to Nirvana throughout were obvious especially since the name of the song Aberdeen is Kurt Cobain's hometown. This convinced me to buy Thank You Happy Birthday, but I ended up buying it when I visited Cory that fall at a local Target. Unlike the first album where I liked a few songs but overall it didn't click, the second album really clicked for me! I could hear not just Nirvana, but the Pixies and Sonic Youth now as well. Like Silversun Pickups, it was clear that Cage the Elephant's roots in Alternative went a lot deeper than many of the bands of the 00s before them who just ripped off Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains over and over again.
I was pretty invested in Cage the Elephant by the time their third album Melophobia dropped in early 2013. It felt like a departure for them since instead of just Alternative Rock from the 90s, Cage the Elephant was now adding elements of the 60s and 70s into their music, specifically 60s Garage Rock & Psychedelia. In fact, this shift in sound reminded me a lot of the compilation Nuggets, which was a collection of lost and underrated songs from the 60s by garage rock bands who only had 1 or 2 good songs. I had been listening to that comp pretty regularly during the late 00s and early 10s. I could see Cage the Elephant were students of all eras of rock by this juncture. This is also when I saw them live, while kind of. You see they were the openers for Muse's 2013 tour and I was excited because I liked both bands a lot. Before the show my husband and I went out to dinner and it was lovely, but it made us late and we miss most of Cage the Elephant's set, which disappointed me because I knew they were amazing live. I think I only caught 4 songs by them that night.
By the time Cage the Elephant's 4th album, Tell Me I'm Pretty came out in late 2015 I asked for it for Christmas. It would be one of the last CDs I would get as that Christmas I also finally got a smart phone. Yes, you read that right I did not get a smart phone until Christmas of 2015! I just had a flip phone before then. We also went to Hawaii again in January 2016 and I remember hearing Mess Around a lot out there so again I think of Hawaii when I think of some Cage the Elephant songs. Eventually after having basic Spotify, I upgraded to premium in 2017 and I started following the weekly rock playlists and their single Trouble, which had dominated DC 101 for a year, was still on that playlist.
By the time Cage the Elephant dropped album 5 this year, Social Cues, I was in a much different place musically then I had been before. Now I didn't buy CDs anymore, since I had Spotify Premium, which meant it was the first Cage the Elephant album I didn't own on CD. Also, Queer Pop had now taken top priority for me, but I still listened to the modern rock playlists and I liked the first single Ready to Let Go. It once again sounded like another solid Cage the Elephant single with traces of 60s Garage rock, 90s Alternative and a bit a Latin flavor due to the rhythm.
I digested Cage the Elephant's 5th album pretty quickly after it came out and found my 4 favorite songs, which I added to my Cage the Elephant playlist. This brings up 2 points I want to discuss before delving into the countdown properly. One is that while I do like Cage the Elephant and they are a modern rock band I follow and listen to faithfully, most of their albums have songs I don't listen to on the regular unlike Silversun Pickups and Teenage Wrist where I love their entire albums. This means Cage the Elephant are a perfect candidate for a playlist for me, because I can cut out the songs I consider filler and just hear the 4 to 5 songs I really love off each of their albums (Except Thank You, Happy Birthday which I liked most of except for 2 or 3 songs.) At the same time, I must not be alone in thinking this, because as of right now my Cage the Elephant playlist on Spotify is by far my most followed playlist with over 200 followers!
Overall Cage the Elephant is a band that helped me reinvest in modern Alternative Rock after college. I think they are a fantastic singles band who have some great deep cuts scattered throughout their catalogue. Cage the Elephant are also an amazing live band. I may have missed most of their set in 2013, but I have watched a lot of live footage of Cage the Elephant and they are electrifying live! Lead singer Matt Shultz is a wild man on stage who reminds you of previous wild men like Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison. You never know what Matt is going to do next when he is performing and it feels like they are one of the few rock bands left who are wild and uncontrollable when you see them in concert. Like Pearl Jam, anyone who sees Cage the Elephant live becomes an instant convert because of how good they are on stage.
My countdown takes at least 1 song from each of Cage the Elephant's 5 albums, though their second album has the most songs because it's easily my favorite album by them. That's the one Cage the Elephant album that can go toe to toe with many of my favorite Alternative Rock albums. As per usual this is just my opinion and not a definitive ranking, but I think this countdown does at least capture what this band is all about and whether they are a band for you.
10. Portuguese Knife Fight
When I first listened to Tell Me I'm Pretty not much was connecting with me except for the lead single Mess Around. Trouble was pretty as well, but it wasn't until I got to the very end of the album that I found another song to love. Portuguese Knife Fight features a great distorted guitar riff and a rhythm section that feels inspired by mid 60s Garage Rock songs that you would find on Nuggets. That riff also has nice little touches of psychedelia to it which draws me in further. The rhythm here also has some Spanish influence as well. Definitely a hidden gem in their catalogue.
09. Ready to Let Go
Ready to Let Go is the kind of single we now expect from Cage the Elephant. We have a memorable fuzzy guitar riff right from the start, a simple but catchy chorus to sing along to, touches of psychedelia sprinkled throughout and a little bit of Latin flavor to spice things up. At this point it feels like Cage the Elephant has reached the point of their career that the Foo Fighters had reached by the mid-00s. Like The Foo Fighters, Cage the Elephant now has a formula to their hits, but it's an appealing formula and one that has helped keep them on rock radio for a solid decade now. Like The Foo Fighters, just by being consistent in both their style and when they release new albums, Cage the Elephant has become the kings of rock radio and are pretty much an Alternative Rock institution at this juncture.
08. Right Before My Eyes
This deep cut off Thank You Happy Birthday should have been a single instead of Around My Head, because this might be the best pop song Cage the Elephant has ever done. The main melody to this song is great and the way that fuzzy guitar riff and main melody come together at times feels soaring and really lifts your spirits as you listen to it. Right Before My Eyes should have been in heavy rotation on rock radio across the county back in 2011. This song feels like a missed opportunity for the band, because if this had been a single it would have been right up there with their biggest and most beloved hits. I'm telling you rock radio would have eaten this up back then.
07. Cigarette Daydream
This has become one of Cage the Elephant's biggest and most beloved hits, but it was a real risk for them at the time. Before this song Cage the Elephant didn't really do ballads or acoustic based material for the most part so no one was really sure if they could pull off an acoustic ballad like this back in 2013. I remember playing this song for other friends back then and they were all surprised that this was Cage the Elephant. In many ways Cigarette Daydream feels like it's Cage the Elephant's own version of Green Day's Good Riddance (Time of Your Life). Good Riddance was a huge departure for Green Day back in 1997, but it ended up becoming their biggest and most beloved hit ever, bringing in more people to their fan base than ever before and setting them up for long term success on rock radio. Cigarette Daydream I feel did the exact same thing for Cage the Elephant in 2013. Cigarette Daydream remains a beautiful and gentle ballad that might be their most timeless song ever.
06. Always Something
When I first heard Thank You Happy Birthday this song grabbed me right at the start. I love the way it recalls classic 60s spy music with that guitar riff, yet the production and beats make it feel much more modern and dance oriented than anything off their debut album. Always Something is a cutting-edge song that mixes old with new, rock and dance, the underground with the mainstream and Cage the Elephant makes it all work when it could have easily turned into a mess in the hands of a lesser band. Always Something remains one of the most unique and addictive songs Cage the Elephant has ever done.
05. Come a Little Closer
The lead single off the group's third album Melophobia, represented a slight shift for the band where they dived deeper into the history of rock, specifically 60s garage and especially psychedelia. Come a Little Closer is still a hard rock song at heart, but one that is made much more memorable due to it's atmospheric production. This production makes Come a Little Closer feel much more spacey and psychedelic than anything the band had done up until that point. In a lot of ways Come a Little Closer would set the template for not just the rest of Melophobia, but for the rest of the decade for Cage the Elephant. It also became one of their biggest #1 hits on Alternative Rock radio and it confirmed that Cage the Elephant were the new kings of the format and genre for the 2010s.
04. Mess Around
This has become one of my personal favorites by the group. Like many of their songs it has a great opening riff that propels the song forward, but the rhythm here is also working over time too. In fact, Mess Around feels like one of Cage the Elephant's most danceable songs, because the groove on this song slaps quite frankly. Due to the combination of those bluesy riffs and groove-based rhythms, Mess Around feels very influenced by the Black Keys in my opinion. Mess Around was another huge # 1 modern rock hit for Cage the Elephant as 2015 turned into 2016 and it continued to solidify Cage the Elephant as THE Alternative rock of the decade.
03. Shake Me Down
Shake Me Down takes the Grunge formula that Cage the Elephant displayed on Back Against the Wall, and ramps it up to 11. The verses are quiet but pretty and pretty memorable in their own right. Still it's when the distortion kicks in as we gear up for the chorus that gets the blood pumping. The best part of the song is the bridge after Matt sings "Walk Around the Corner" and the guitars and distortion go into overdrive. Back in 2011 that moment was one of the most exciting and visceral things you heard on rock radio that year along with Rope by the Foo Fighters. While Cage the Elephant had found success on their self-titled debut album, Shake Me Down felt like the moment the band rose to the top of the modern rock mountain and were now successfully competing with the genre's top bands. This was truly the beginning of Cage the Elephant dominating rock radio for the 2010s.
02. Back Against the Wall
The song that grabbed me back in 2009 and that's because it sounded like 1993 personified. Here Cage the Elephant is in their original state, paying homage to Nirvana and the Pixies, but pulling it off better than just about anybody else since those 2 bands changed the course of modern rock back in the early 90s. As I have said many times before, I do not mind bands pilfering the 90s for inspiration, but do it right and here Cage the Elephant does it right. Like Silversun Pickups, Tennage Wrist and Highly Suspect but unlike Nickelback, Hinder or Puddle of Mud, Cage the Elephant learned all the right lessons from 90s Alternative and in turn they helped save the genre and radio format when it most needed saving. Back Against the Wall became the band's first #1 Alternative Rock hit and there would be many more to come.
01. Aberdeen
If Shake Me down sees the band ramping up the Grunge formula of quiet to loud dynamics, then Aberdeen just feels the most 90s inspired song they have ever done and that's probably why it's my favorite. References to Kurt Cobain abound from the title of the song being a direct link to Cobain's hometown to the use of the word Creep throughout the song, which brings back memories of Nirvana's Negative Creep off their 1989 debut album Bleach. Aberdeen is the song that turned me from a casual Cage to the Elephant fan to a faithful Cage the Elephant fan who looked forward to each and every single they released from that point forward. While I still prefer Silversun Pickups, there's no denying that Cage the Elephant has had a much bigger presence and impact on both Alternative Rock and Mainstream Rock radio. For that reason alone, I feel I owe Cage the Elephant a lot of gratitude, because they helped save rock on a mainstream level even more than Silversun Pickups did. Cage the Elephant's first decade has given us some real Alternative Rock classics and here's hoping the next decade proves just as fruitful for this band from Kentucky.
