"Jerking like a nervous bird"
                
[Simile] shows the phone acting nervous, erratic... trying to get the attention of someone who just wants to be left to himself. In "No Phone", CAKE frontman John McCrea paints a picture of isolation through suggestion, and reassures us that he's still here, just momentarily off the line. Whether this is because of some problem with himself, or his love life, we can't surmise.