I wanted to spend an extra day regarding the Ric Ocasek’s death since he and The Cars were a huge part of my teenage life and musical education.
Having grown up in downstate Illinois, I didn’t hear any Cars music until their hit “Let’s Go.” It was definitely played ad nauseum in 1979. Then I hadn’t heard about The Cars again until early 1982 with Shake It Up thanks to syndicated TV programs Solid Gold, Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert or America’s Top 40 with Casey Kasem showing these new video music things. I bought the album for my brother as a birthday gift at Apple Tree Records, the place I got hooked on vinyl at. We both loved Shake. It was the first album we had ever bought that was all killer, no filler…and wasn’t a greatest hits compilation or a 45/single.
During a class trip to the Springfield public library, I spotted two of their earlier works, The Cars and Panorama. I didn’t have the time nor permission to check them out but when I looked at the covers, I wasn’t sure if this was the same band. They didn’t quite resemble their pictures from Shake, their videos or from a recent appearance on Fridays.
The move to Houston is what spurred the change for my brother and me. In large metropolitan areas with AOR-based FM stations, their 1978 debut The Cars was a staple in that six of its nine tracks were often played alongside Led Zeppelin, Talking Heads, Heart and Duran Duran. As one anonymous writer once wrote, The Cars was the album everyone could agree on because it was a fusion of New Wave, Rock and Power Pop. Translation, The Cars were one of the few New Wave bands on MTV you could like without the Burnouts (often Arena Rock/Metalhead bullies) calling you a faggot.
During MTV’s golden years, when it was a visual radio station, not the crapfest it has been for three decades, The Cars were one of the earliest American bands to have videos ready to play which gave them an edge in being in my generation’s musical lexicon. It certainly became rather obvious by 1984, more on this later.
After releasing four albums over a four-year stretch (1978-1982), Ric put out his first true solo effort Beatitude. I feel it was not just a preview of what would become his masterpiece (1984’s Heartbeat City) nor his future career as an in-demand producer in the Nineties, but Ric trying out new ideas and working with other musicians: Stephen Hague (New Order, OMD), Jules Shear (Reckless Sleepers, songwriter), Darryl Jennifer (Bad Brains) and Antonio DePortago (Ministry). Beatitude sounds like The Cars but wasn’t…except for Greg Hawkes playing some keyboards.
As our closing days in Houston arrived, Heartbeat City hit the airwaves and MTV. “You Might Think” was a textbook example of how spectacular a music video could be. Today, the special effects appear crude and cliché. By 1984 standards it was pretty impressive and the band employed the same whacky production company behind The National Inquirer‘s weekly commercials. Even if you found the rumor-mongering tabloid crap, their ads made you laugh and got your attention. It also paved the way for other well-remembered “video of the year” winners on MTV when having something matching the song’s spirit or “story” lining up with the visuals mattered.
Throughout 1984, you couldn’t escape Ric’s other hits: “Hello Again,” “Magic,” “It’s Not The Night” and probably what is the band’s most memorable song “Drive.” The last one to me is perfection because the bass line, harmony and tempo nail exactly what the song is trying to “paint” for the listener: someone giving an unrequited, probably passed-out, crush a ride home and all through its core/harmony, the music is recreating what a car sounds like while its in motion on a paved road. I had the great fortune to first hear and see “Drive” when The Cars were on SNL. Benjamin Orr’s singing captured the emotional essence it conveyed. I knew it was going to be the hit it remains today. The video sadly…sucked ass.
Despite Indiacrapolis being a typical Midwestern cultural backwater that only had aging Arena Rock or Metal bands come through, The Cars did play a pretty packed Market Square Arena around August 1984. My brother and I had the great luck of getting tickets to see them! It was my fifth concert and Brian’s second. Opening act Wang Chung went over better than I expected with the ‘crapolis crowd. Sadly, the Cars blew! They had no presence or much crowd interaction. They just stood around to play the hits, get us to admire their elaborate stage and leave. What a pisser (until I saw an even more disinterested New Order). It didn’t have any negative effect on either of us enjoying their music. A year later, we moved to North Dakota, and during a shopping trip in Winnipeg, Brian spent most of his money completing his Cars catalog .
While I was at Marquette, The Cars had a greatest hits with the obligatory single to make completists buy it alongside the fair-weathered. Ric had a second solo album which got some play on the university’s “radio station.” Ben Orr’s single “Stay The Night” was a much bigger hit and could be heard constantly alongside the Bangles and Wang Chung while I crammed for my first college-level final exams.
Sadly, all the energy, excitement, novelty and whatever else made The Cars great was absent when 1987’s Door to Door debuted. “You Are the Girl” was phoned in and sounded like a carbon copy of “Tonight She Comes.” Brian felt otherwise when he played “Strap Me In” for me. He was right but the damage was done. When the band couldn’t sell out a venue in their home turf of Boston, Ric dissolved the band.
Most know Ric went on to be a successful and popular producer. Weezer owes a huge debt to him as he prevented them from sounding like yet another Nirvana clone. I do like what he did two years later for Nada Surf yet it proved to be a bad match since “Popular” hemmed them in for half a decade. He wasn’t limited to just these acts, he produced other genres: Bad Religion (Punk), Bad Brains (Punk/Reggae), Motion City Soundtrack (Emo, allegedly) and Guided by Voices (Indie/Garage).
Around 2006, The Cars sort of reunited. Due to bassist/vocalist Ben Orr passing away in 2000, he had to be replaced, enter Todd Rundgren which may have been why Ric had no interest, same for drummer David Robinson. He may have also had the veto power to prevent the name usage as this new combo of Todd on bass/vocals with Elliot on guitars, Greg on keyboards and Prairie Prince on drums (The Tubes) was called The New Cars. They made a couple new songs which had some of the trademarked sounds via Elliott and Greg but lacked Ric’s wordplay. Todd Rundgren is incredible in his own way with Utopia and solo, just not trying to be Ric Ocasek. It’s Alive is padded with The Cars’ catalog live.
Five years later, The “real” Cars did re-unite sans Ben as Greg took on the bass duties. Their return, 2011’s Move Like This was fantastic. It was as if they picked up where they left off in 1984, recapturing the excitement and sound I loved on Shake It Up. How I wish they did a couple more albums before Ric died.
Now I’m inspired to make a Cars tutorial mix for my younger friends. (Going through my hard drive of digitized CDs.)
Farewell Ric. Thanks for all the great music you made directly and indirectly! Thanks for being on the soundtrack of my youth!