the Guardian review of that new book.

The Cars were undeniably catchy, and very danceable.
posted by Artful Codger at 4:33 PM on October 1 [1 favorite]

It was fun being a kid from Boston in the late 70s¡ªit felt like the music world was ours: Cars, Aerosmith, J. Geils, and of course Boston were all having their moment. The first Cars record was as ubiquitous as the first Boston record, and that is saying something. Plus they had solid follow-up records, unlike Tom Scholz, whose follow-up records are entirely forgettable.
posted by Camofrog at 5:10 PM on October 1 [7 favorites]

I have said this before on Metafilter but their third album, Panorama, is highly underrated IMHO.
posted by wittgenstein at 5:49 PM on October 1 [3 favorites]

candy-o has some edgier stuff on it. they were in my audio periphery for two decades. good, prolific, creative band.

producers seem to fuck it up with a rate and intensity higher than any other industry role. see cut the crap.
posted by j_curiouser at 6:05 PM on October 1

I¡¯m no learned aficionado of music- I¡¯m limited by time and exposure. I love The Cars. I agree strongly that Just What I Needed is maybe, perhaps the greatest rock song of that time. I grew up a synth guy and so found lots of companionship in synth heavy arrangements that they did, I thought, well.

As a book review it struck me as so-so. It did, however, reignite my interest in reading Paulina Poriskova¡¯s book (previously discussed here when Ocasek passed).

After devouring DEVO lately and my interest in all things Byrne and Eno, The Cars really give me a wonderful Deja Vu to my teenage this and that of hormonal pining for, and trying to understand, women. N=1, just my teenage experience, but it certainly was a part of me.

And I play w my friends Dangerous Type- and dang it if we can¡¯t get the slight driving nature of that song which makes it rock solid.

I¡¯ll read the book. I also hope to read books about The Pixies and Soul Coughing - shows you how basic I am.
posted by mrzz at 7:57 PM on October 1 [1 favorite]

Oh - and - I figure it¡¯s Ric, but OMG - so many lyrics are epic, quoteworthy, and smart. As a teenager I learned fandango phony and Wisenheimer brainstorm- nights are getting strange- Light is reason , light is due ¡ª- interesting stuff to me.
posted by mrzz at 8:09 PM on October 1

The Cars weren¡¯t weird amazing never-done-before Devo and they definitely weren¡¯t Styx, they weren¡¯t punk, pop or New Wave and welll¡­.they weren¡¯t anybody except themselves. They were the synthesis of a whole bunch of sounds and technology of the time and and as far as I¡¯m concerned they created something bright and shiny and new and incredible that few others could lay claim to - they absolutely belong in the same conversations as Devo, Talking Heads, the Police. I read a thing somewhere about AC/DC being a simple band doing a simple thing and yet nobody could quite duplicate what they did and I feel that the same thing applies to the Cars - a perfect marriage of guitar and synthesizer and pop/rock.

There might be one band that could be comparable to the Cars in sound, at least for an album or two: Elvis Costello. Note that the word I used is ¡°comparable¡± but whatever, fight me.

Oh, and Let¡¯s Go is a banger and is as good as any of they¡¯re other great songs.

As you probably can tell, I love the Cars.

That was a good article and quite clearly written by somebody who rightfully has a fine appreciation for the Cars. Thank you for the post!
posted by ashbury at 9:32 PM on October 1 [5 favorites]

Super smart pop band. Really love how they managed to be uptempo and rock and roll while also very laid back. I think there's a word for that.. What is it? Oh yeah, cool. The Cars were cool.
posted by Smedly, Butlerian jihadi at 10:18 PM on October 1 [3 favorites]

I think I missed The Cars by about three years. I like them but they¡¯re too pop-synthy for my taste.
posted by billsaysthis at 10:19 PM on October 1

This is very much in Hyden's wheelhouse (and mine). I only learned about the Modern Lovers connection recently. I believe their first album ended up in our house (p sure it was my sister's decision to purchase) because it was produced by Roy Thomas Baker at the height of his work with Queen (noted in TFA). Why two barely teens were conversant in rock producers, I cannot say, but this is my memory and I'm sticking to it.
posted by 99_ at 10:23 PM on October 1 [1 favorite]

I like them but they¡¯re too pop-synthy for my taste

Perhaps you'd enjoy an album of all-acoustic covers.
posted by polecat at 11:36 PM on October 1 [1 favorite]

I found Paulina Porizkova's memory of Ric very vivid and moving

I wanted to make him a better parent.
But ultimately, what I wanted was to be loved by someone who resembled my parents.

He in turn, wanted to be adored by someone of public value. He wanted to be loved by someone who would make him look good.
It was selfish kind of love for both of us.
But it worked beautifully for a long time.

I like to think of it as our childhood scars being placed in such a way on our bodies, that when we embraced, they fit perfectly.

posted by chavenet at 1:29 AM on October 2 [8 favorites]

What set The Cars apart IMO is their genius in deciding which vocalist to deliver which song. Do we deploy Ben Orr's dreamy angst-ridden smolder or Ric Ocasek's quirky angst-ridden weirdness? They made the perfect selection every time and never better (again, IMO) than my favorite, "Why Can't I Have You" from 1984's smash Heartbeat City. On paper, it seems like it would have gone to Orr, but Ric just kills it.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:23 AM on October 2 [2 favorites]

Ric was more than fine, but my absolute not-even-close favorite Cars song is "Drive."
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:01 AM on October 2 [1 favorite]

I was always vaguely aware of the Cars but it wasn't until I picked up a copy of The Cars in the discount CD bin that I realized I knew at least half the songs off the top of my head, and I was willing to bet the $9.99 that I'd enjoy the rest. And what struck me on listening to it was how fresh it still sounded, even though so much of it had been part of the musical ether. Such a great album, such a great sound.
posted by EvaDestruction at 6:43 AM on October 2

from reading the comments it's like The Cars have summoned a bunch of ghouls with similar tastes in music

hello fellow ghouls, I'd like to know more about our shared interests in Elvis Costello and the Pixies

edit to add: ah, an appearance of Byrne and Eno. How many comments till My Life in the Bush of Ghosts? which is incidentally the most romantically pornographic Halloween album title you could invent
posted by Didymus at 7:05 AM on October 2

I was totally in the proper teenaged time frame when the "The Cars" came out. Also got Candy-O. Then went to college and found new, grittier takes, so never bought any more. Know the hits from Panorama, and Shake It Uo, , and remember Drive being all over the radio.

But look at the track list for "The Cars". Amazing. Only one song I don't remember. All the others? Yeah, all the lyrics and music.
posted by Windopaene at 8:13 AM on October 2

I like them but they¡¯re too pop-synthy for my taste

I like their synth-lead songs are better than their guitar-lead songs. I also think they are more of a singles band than an album band. But the singles are awesome.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:24 AM on October 2 [1 favorite]

The Cars' debut album was one of the first records I ever got. And "Shake It Up" was the theme to my senior prom. What a terrific band.
posted by Gelatin at 8:30 AM on October 2

The Cars + Lynyrd Skynyrd = .38 Special
posted by kirkaracha at 11:35 AM on October 2 [1 favorite]

I love The Cars (which is probably unremarkable given I was in high school in the early 1980s) but the videos for their songs are pretty awful, across the board. In them women are objects only, and literally insane if they don't fall for the song's protagonist.
posted by maxwelton at 12:30 PM on October 2

The criticism of the Cars as "too commercial" feels strange to me, if only because they were literally about mastery of the form. Like, what's the slickest, weirdest, catchiest we can be inside a 3 1/2 minute rock song? Let's do that, again and again. They didn't seem to have an experimental period, or a lead-up to their pop sound like Talking Heads or REM did.
posted by Playdoughnails at 12:51 PM on October 2 [1 favorite]

Their first album is great.

Less than stunning live show. They stood around and strummed. Minimal lighting.
posted by ovvl at 1:13 PM on October 2

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