Raised on Radio #18- The Cars
Jul. 17th, 2012 08:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23Getting back to the series where I share the favorite songs of my youth.
The Cars were on the short list of favorite bands. The Cars I grew up with were the huge stars of Heartbeat City.
I still waffle back and forth on on the megahits "Drive" and "You Might Think" (#3 and #7 respectively in 1984), mainly because they were and still are in constant rotation, and I occasionally get tired of them.
Years later, I would go back and discover The Cars's first album which I absolutely love. Without a doubt, the modern sounds of bands like the Strokes would likely not exist without the Cars. "Best Friend's Girl", "Just What I needed" and "Good Times Roll" are FM standards, and I think with that album, the Cars made some songs that are truly timeless. Right now, there's some indie snob that is telling all of his friends about this pop-punk band he thinks is the most incredible band ever, and their disc isn't as good as the Cars first album.
My favorite cars songs in those days were probably in order "Hello Again (#20 in 1984)", "Let's Go (#14 in 1979)", and "Tonight She Comes (#7 in 1985)" None of which get as much as airplay as the two biggest hits.
To a certain point, I get it. "Let's Go" is making a comeback because of an ad I can't recall, but the "nightlife" lyrics harken back to a time where disco is king. "Hello Again" is the kind of big arena rock that can't transcend being a song of 1984 (Why, yes, "Mutt" Lange did produce it).
My mom many years ago bought me a cutout bin cassette of the band's last album Door to Door (and it's unbearably terrible, even if you attempt to like it).
I skipped over Todd Rundgren's New cars, but the reunion album (Benjamin Orr is not alive anymore, I know) from last year Move Like This is an enjoyable listen, and won't disappoint fans.
Anyway, here's "Hello Again" which features an undiscovered Gina Gershon and Andy Warhol as a bartender. Ah, the 80s.
The Cars were on the short list of favorite bands. The Cars I grew up with were the huge stars of Heartbeat City.
I still waffle back and forth on on the megahits "Drive" and "You Might Think" (#3 and #7 respectively in 1984), mainly because they were and still are in constant rotation, and I occasionally get tired of them.
Years later, I would go back and discover The Cars's first album which I absolutely love. Without a doubt, the modern sounds of bands like the Strokes would likely not exist without the Cars. "Best Friend's Girl", "Just What I needed" and "Good Times Roll" are FM standards, and I think with that album, the Cars made some songs that are truly timeless. Right now, there's some indie snob that is telling all of his friends about this pop-punk band he thinks is the most incredible band ever, and their disc isn't as good as the Cars first album.
My favorite cars songs in those days were probably in order "Hello Again (#20 in 1984)", "Let's Go (#14 in 1979)", and "Tonight She Comes (#7 in 1985)" None of which get as much as airplay as the two biggest hits.
To a certain point, I get it. "Let's Go" is making a comeback because of an ad I can't recall, but the "nightlife" lyrics harken back to a time where disco is king. "Hello Again" is the kind of big arena rock that can't transcend being a song of 1984 (Why, yes, "Mutt" Lange did produce it).
My mom many years ago bought me a cutout bin cassette of the band's last album Door to Door (and it's unbearably terrible, even if you attempt to like it).
I skipped over Todd Rundgren's New cars, but the reunion album (Benjamin Orr is not alive anymore, I know) from last year Move Like This is an enjoyable listen, and won't disappoint fans.
Anyway, here's "Hello Again" which features an undiscovered Gina Gershon and Andy Warhol as a bartender. Ah, the 80s.
