2 for 1 Special: Lisa Loeb — Cake and Pie & Hello Lisa (Review)
Lisa Loeb has been making music since the turn of the 90s. Here first independent release was with friend and musician Elizabeth Mitchell, which she would record a children’s album with in 2003, titled Days Were Different. This album appears to extremely scarce. Her next record would be her solo debut with her Purple Tape. Ever the savvy musician, Loeb would go to seminars and read up as much as possible on the music business in order to get an edge up in the industry. Her breakthrough would come in 1994 with her hit single “Stay (I Missed You)” off the soundtrack to Realty Bites. She would be the first artists to ever make it to number one on the charts without a label. Her unique brand of soft alternative pop would fit perfectly on 90s radio. Her first two records Tails and Firecracker did fairly well. Her follow up would be 2002’s Cake and Pie. The record expands upon her more pop/rock songwriting. She’s as approachable and warm as ever. The record strays a bit from her singer/songwriter sound of her first two records with upbeat pop-rock tracks that feel like a hug. The unfortunate side of the record is its lack of any promotion by her label. Due to this, it performed poorly on the charts, just cracking the top 200 before dropping off. She would be subsequently dropped by her label. Lisa would buy the rights to the masters and take them over to Artemis Records and rerelease the album adding 3 cuts from the sessions and removing 3 tracks from the prior album. She’d get permission from Sanrio to use Hello Kitty and release the album as Hello Lisa the same year. I find it to be a shame the record got no attention. I have to wonder if A&M thought her brand of music was not en vogue and decided to ignore promotion on what they thought was a lost cause. It’s worthy of a listen as there are some real gems on these records. Let’s grab a slice of the cake or pie of your choice dive into these albums.
“The Way It Really Is” is the opener on the album. The was written by Lisa Loeb and Glen Ballard (known for writing along side Alanis Morissette for Jagged Little Pill). Loeb uses more minor tones in the song which gives a heavy feeling throughout the track. The album appears to have a general theme breaking out and falling out of love. It starts with Lisa being gaslighted into thinking everything is great in her relationship, “You kind of heard me out and then you said/ You said/ You’re crazy/ Why do you keep doing this/ Everything is fine/ Then I think I’m crazy/ I do this all the time/ Until I start to think that nothing’s even wrong”. You can feel her being to see the relationship for its reality and not its fantasy throughout the song. This comes to boil at the chorus, “Maybe I am hiding in my own confusion/ Maybe we’re just a picture in my head/ Maybe what if it could be the way I wish it really was/ Maybe I don’t want to see it the way it really is”. I think she does a really good job giving you look into the mind of someone torn between their own happiness and the idea of love they’ve created. The strings on the track add to the drama perfectly. Wikipedia lists the song as one of the singles that apparently did well on college radio, but I didn’t see any references to this so take that with a grain of salt. She would go on to use the song’s title as the name of her 2004 follow up.
“Bring Me Up” is the most reminiscent of her prior work both lyrically and sonically. It could fit on Tails or Firecracker easily. We’re placed in the aftermath of yet another argument between Lisa and her boyfriend. All she wants is to for him to apologize and end all this tension between them. There is so much bad energy between the two here, “We’ve shared humility and orange roses./ And poking fun at all our friends/ They had their barbecues, we have our arguments./ We never can agree./ You said, ‘when you don’t talk you take it out on me.’”. The orange roses could mean they’ve shared a strong admiration for each other at a time. She goes on to just bottle her emotions as they go out in the second verse. The chorus is almost a plea to just end this toxicity some how, “I was quiet, and I was tired. and I wanted you to bring me up./ I wanted you to make it stop, yeah I wanted you to bring me up./ You were wrong, and I was right. and I wanted you to bring me up./ Hmmm you know me well, this is something that I shouldn’t have to/ Tell you”. The soft delivery gives a timidness to her tone here.
“Underdog” would be a single off Hey Lisa, the rerelease of the Cake and Pie album. Her permission to use Hello Kitty can be seen in the music video to the song. Discogs lists a physical copy of the single, but do this day I have not been album to find any evidence of any physical copies. The sweet more acoustic tone really works for this song. Lisa wants to be with this man, but she feels like she is the underdog here and doesn’t feel like she has any chance at all. You can feel her ache to be noticed by him through her tender delivery of the of the chorus, “I am the underdog. I am the last in line/ Don’t be the enemy, don’t stand in back of me”. It’s also got this autumnal tone with this duality of beauty and loss that I associate with the falling of colorful leaves. It’s a lovely song that is great for anyone of any age to give a listen.
“Everyday” is one of the more textured tracks with its inclusion of a Wurlitzer and more breezy acoustic. Here, we focus on a breakup between Lisa and her boyfriend. The overall atmosphere of the music works well with Loeb’s words. She knows how to write a breakup song that doesn’t sound spiteful, but more melancholy over the loss. She can tell he has lost feelings for her. She points out the wall he has built between them, “Goodbye my love, you don’t get me/ You don’t let me inside/ You once kept me close, when you wanted to hide/ You pulled me in close, just to push me aside, goodbye”. As the chorus states, everyday she’s with him, love is lost to her. She’s doing this for herself, but also for his sake.
“Someone You Should Know” is the only single I have been able to find evidence of a physical release. Most of the copies appear to be Japanese only. I feel the more rock tone of the song feels like a progression from some of her prior work. Loeb pushes herself to look at her life and see what she really wants. I think the song works well in the context of the album’s theme of getting out of a bad relationship and self discovery. You can read the chorus, “What you’ve got isn’t what you wanted/ What you need just happens to be/
Someone you should know”, can be interpreted as someone putting on a front for any number of reasons, but needs to take a step back and see what they really need. She doesn’t come off as “I told you so”, but very caring and honest which is something that Lisa can do expertly with songs like these.
“Drops Me Down” is probably the slowest track on the album. The main focal point being Lisa’s vocals and her acoustic guitar. The theme for heartache continues on this song. All this back and forth is just the same song and dance and she’s heartbroken again. The lines, “Yeah it’s sick and I’m sucked in/ Yeah I’m at it again”, show that she feels helpless and circling the drain at the way thing continue to repeat themselves. The song ends with her feeling very alone in how things have turned out, “Cause I had some things so dear/ Slip away and leave me here/ And it drops me, drops me down/ And I’m not feeling so good again”. Lisa knows how to balance light and dark on the track to show although her mindset might be negative, all is not completely lost and she will overcome.
“We Could Still Belong Together” was included on the soundtrack to Legally Blonde in 2001. It’s a shiny piece of pop-rock that Lisa knows how to expertly craft. The song takes on this unabashed tone of an attention seeking woman that wants her ex back, but only on her terms. Each verse plays off all the flaws that she has such as yelling, attention seeking, and locking you out to name a few. The chorus is delusional in it’s sense of smoothing things over, “We could still belong together/ And together is much better/ We’re o.k. so hey/ Don’t worry now/ Oh wow”. I can see why the song was chosen for the movie, as it definitely fits the more vapid tone of some of the characters. I am not completely sure if she wrote the song for the movie or if it was composed prior to being offered the soundtrack opportunity. It’s a fun track that I could have seen as a single off the album.
“Kick Start” has a soft singer/songwriter sound that would fit on any of her prior albums. I love the acoustic guitars here that feel like a cool summer breeze. The title gives you an idea of the subject matter discussed. She wants something to kick start this relationship past where its stagnated. Although things are nice where their at, she’s tired of things not progressing. You can really feel this in the song’s second verse, “Trying so hard to dig ourselves out/ Cause we’re stuck and we’re scared and we’re thinking/ Things have to change — it’s the thoughts that don’t count/ Can’t something be done/ Don’t let this decision drag on”. Although the song is gentle in its tone, the subject matter is heavier in tone. Lisa’s pushing to know if he’s serious, what’s the next step (be it engagement or is this where things begin to fall apart).
“You Don’t Know Me” is a bouncy little pop song which shimmers with the all the electric guitars on the track. We are taken along as we see this girl that seems a completely different person as she’s got a new boyfriend. I can’t get a read on whether the chorus’s thesis of “You Don’t Know Me” is referring to no one knowing her intentions at all or if its referring the supposed purity of her character. I get this from lines like “She’s got a boyfriend all of a sudden/She’s never had one before”, “She’s putting her hand in his pocket/ It shows on her face, what she doesn’t say”, and “She’s trying hard to pretend that it’s not really happening/ But we can see her smiling from afar”. It’s a cute track, but probably the one I connect with the least on the album.
“Payback” is a more sullen song that finally takes Loeb to the end of her relationship. She has finally broken up with him and is trying to move on as amicably as possible. Although there maybe some bad feelings left behind, she’s trying to break this clean and easy, “In bed with a low grade fever, they wanted to know how could I leave you/ I can’t tell them that. It might sound like revenge/ Some things don’t need a payback/ Some things are sure, some things/ You can feel safe about”. She does bring up some of the good times that they had in their relationship, but overall seems to be a good mindset the decision she’s made and the way she’s left it. I do like the maturity she shows her which is something you don’t necessarily hear in break up songs.
“Too Fast Driving” is one of the more overtly rock tracks on the album. It slightly reminds me of “Split Second” off of Firecracker in its more ruckus tone. Again, we focusing around the end of a relationship. Although the song is upbeat, there is a manic energy to it that makes me think of her frustration over this man keeping her back. When she sings, “Driving I was thinking/ You’re my flat tire/ A blow out, screeching halt/ Lots of ice no salt/ And too fast driving”, you feel she’s at her breaking point. This comes perfectly with these textured backing focus in the song’s bridge. It’s a quick and fun song that I always enjoy giving a listen to.
“She’s Falling Apart” is the final track on Cake and Pie and is probably one of the darkest songs she has written to date. We follow a family that very much appears to be in the dark about their daughters very serious issues. There’s a tension to the lyrics and music as this girls internal demons begin to consume her. There are several allusions various mental health issues such as a potential eating disorder, depression, and self-harm. The lines, “There’s nothing inside her/ She’s weak and she’s tired of feeling like this”, really make you wary of whether or not the girl is suicidal. The chorus points towards how the family has no clue of her suffering, “And they rise in the morning/ And they sleep in the dark/ And even though nobody’s looking/ She’s falling apart”. The closest song in her catalog that has this kind of darkness to it is the title track from her prior album Firecracker. I like the fact that Lisa decided to explore some more serious topics on this record instead of keeping it mostly sunny in tone.
For the rerelease of Cake and Pie or Artemis Records, now titled Hello Lisa, omits the tracks “We Could Still Belong Together”, “Too Fast Driving”, and “She’s Falling Apart” for 3 new tracks. She would release the album 8 months after Cake and Pie.
“Did That” has a slightly abrasive tone with its droning acoustic guitar in the verses. We continue with this tense relationship between her and her boyfriend. She’s trying anything to figure out what will fix this stagnant and toxic relationship that they are in, even if it means going to a psychic to get some insight. You can feel a sense of apathy come through her tone as she grips for the end, “I don’t believe in fate/ We talk about about a bad sign/ I think about a cut off date/ So I memorized your kiss / I memorized your lips/ I memorized your kiss”. The core theme is she’s done all these mental gymnastics to find what her next step is. I think the she balances the darker tone with a sonic lightness well here.
“What Am I Supposed to Say” is great pop rock track that I am surprised didn’t become a single off of the record. She would go on to include this on her greatest hits collection in 2006. Lisa is looking for any sign to find out what she should do with this ending relationship. There is this underlying feeling of him potentially cheating and her trying to get the details straight. The lines, “But something strange is going on/ I’ve got both sides of it and I’m waiting for the other one to come” and “What am I supposed to say?/ That he’s done something wrong, and he’s gonna have to pay/ That he begs to be beside you”. The song fits well with the theme she has set on the album. She would include an acoustic version on Hello Lisa at the end of the album.
“Take Me Back” has this milky fade in before we break into Lisa’s acoustic guitar. She is looking back at the all the great things that her and her boyfriend used to do and heartbroken over what she has lost. It’s sad to hear her reflect upon all the good times they had and the deep connection they had that is now lost. You can hear her fighting off trying to hold on to him in the chorus, “Take me out, make me laugh/ Never say now I want to go/ Back home, all alone/ And it makes me sad, cause now you won’t/ Take me out, make me laugh/ Never say now I want to go/ Back home, all alone”. I love the airy feel of the song that gives a more bittersweet tone to their ending. We end off where we began lyrically as she sings, “We used to be best friends/ Hanging out in the parking lot like the day would never end”, only for the song to devolve back to that milky opening and Loeb to sing “Take Me Back” repeated. I think the song is one of best off this new set of releases.
I love the collection of songs she put together here. It is a shame that they didn’t get the promotion they deserved. Lisa’s business savvy mindset never ceases to amaze me. She got her masters and rereleased her work on her terms. Her follow up, The Way It Really Is, would spawn the moderately popular track “Fools Like Me” which she co-wrote with John Shanks (whose worked with Melissa Etheridge, Michelle Branch, Kelly Clarkson, and Alanis Morissette). She would star in a E! reality show titled Number One Single, where it followed Loeb trying to find love. Unlike most reality shows, it didn’t feel trashy and was very on brand for Loeb. She’s released her own brand of eyeglass frames which echo her iconic cat eye glasses we’ve come to know from her “Stay (I Missed You)” video. She also continues to make music both for adults and children. Her 2016 children’s album Feel What U Feel would win her a Grammy for Best Children’s Album in 2018. She’s active in the LGBTQ+ community. I got to see her live at the 2013 Pride in Nashville and was blown away by her kindness. She put on a show for the crowd and then did a free meet and greet for everyone. My camera wouldn’t work well and she got her camera man to text me the photos. She was extremely sweet. I have to recommend giving her music a listen and seeing her live. It’s worth it. My favorite tracks off the albums:
- “The Way It Really Is”
- “Underdog”
- “Someone You Should Know”
- “We Could Still Belong Together”
- “Too Fast Driving”
- “She’s Falling Apart”
- “What Am I Supposed to Say”
- “Take Me Back”
My overall rating: 7.5 out of 10 pieces of cake and pie.
