Happy last SDOC (second day of classes). It is 60ºF in North Carolina, and my 25ºF Pennsylvania self has not adjusted one bit. While I have basically been working or celebrating the holidays with my family all of winter break, I was able to squeeze in some good music time, thus here I am, ready to discuss. I have been too obsessed with one band to not give them their proper airtime on this blog, so let’s dive into The Cars.
It’s funny—following the LRB obsession due to the CD player in my room that played solely their Greatest Hits album for the month of August (since I was too lazy to switch to a different CD), I said it was time to give another CD a listen. Wouldn’t you believe it, it was The Cars Greatest Hits. Unfortunately, the album actually didn’t rub me the right way. The selection starts with “Just What I Needed” and “Since You’re Gone,” then continues to flow through a lot of their pop hits. While they’re pretty great songs, I didn’t really feel the need to add anything to any playlists or continue exploring then. Lucky for The Cars, on my seven-hour drive home for winter break, I was bored and decided it was time to test some music out and give an entire album a listen. What I’ve come to realize since and upon heavily listening to their debut album The Cars (1978) and its ’80s younger brother Heartbeat City (1984) is that I actually appreciate them much more for their experimental music. For this reason, let’s chat some about my favorite of the two albums: The Cars.
What started as Ric Ocasek, Benjamin Orr, Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes, and David Robinson testing their demos at clubs and on radio stations turned into a New Wave– and rock-filled debut album that earned them Rolling Stone’s “Best New Artist” in 1978. Someone writing this Wikipedia page very sophisticatedly described the band as the “forefront of the merger of 1970s guitar-oriented rock with new synthesizer-oriented pop.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Some hits on the charts were “Just What I Needed,” “My Best Friend’s Girl,” and “Good Times Roll.” All are just classics. But what is the real game-changer for me that elevates this band from being just another ’70s or ’80s band is the B-side of the album.
The second-to-last feature, “Moving in Stereo,” is one of the sickest songs I’ve ever heard. It’s like Miami Vice’s “In the Air Tonight” scene-level sick. And the only way I ever listen to this song is by also letting “All Mixed Up” follow immediately behind. What an incredible way to end this album. During my super in-depth research of The Cars, I surprisingly and happily found that I am not the only one who believes that this is the right way to appreciate these two songs. Turns out “Moving in Stereo,” while not a mega chart-topper, was played on album-oriented rock radio stations with “All Mixed Up” often. And it gets better: AllMusic’s Donald A. Guarisco said “Moving in Stereo” was “one of the Cars’ finest experimental tracks,” and Classic Rock History’s Brian Kachejian ranked the combination of these two songs as The Cars’ all-time greatest song. I have never felt more validated before in my life.
Life’s the same, I’m moving in stereo
Life’s the same except for my shoes
What does that even mean? Literally, who knows. And who even cares? The gritty and epic delivery is all I need out of this song.
I’ve also gained an appreciation for “Don’t Cha Stop,” and I really do love “Good Times Roll.” What a crazy first impression to leave on the world by starting their first release ever with “Good Times Roll,” it just makes them immediately legendary. This genuinely is a no-skips album for me. Nataliya Medvedeva knew it too when she took a break from her Playboy photoshoots to pose and make this one of the most incredible album covers to exist.
While I probably won’t write an entire post about Heartbeat City (even though I definitely could), that era of The Cars needs some recognition as well. Once I hit the fourth song on the album, aka “Drive,” every single song was added to some random playlists. “Drive” is good and we all know it, but I also now have a special place in my heart for “Stranger Eyes,” “I Refuse,” and “Heartbeat City.” This much more pop-centric album further solidified my belief that anyone could’ve easily told me that this band was another one of those UK New Wave bands like the Pet Shop Boys or Thompson Twins—but surprise, surprise… they’re from Boston. I feel like I hear an English accent in their songs, but I guess that is a figment of my imagination.
So anyway, I hope I was convincing enough to get you to listen to the 353rd album on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” It’s a fun listen, I must say. And now I’m off to get this final semester of pushing off my studies to write about music started.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cars
Iz FM 
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