Go figure fans:. Benjamin Orr passed away almost a quarter of a century ago; and here we still are:. Listening, watching, singing along to the infamous band. Immortal on film and recording forever. Still being sought after generations later. Yep. THE CARS we're, are and will remain each and of their own:. Legends. Ric's unexpected passing really wasa wake up call. These guys hit the world in 1977, we were mere teens. We so thought Time stood still. THE CARS blasting out our speakers . Then graduation, marriages, children, and now we are senior citizens on AARP. Still THE CARS blast our our devices, and we sing along. RIC, BEN, GREG, ELLIOTT,DAVID. life long you have live life with us. THE CARS:. ALL ABOUT A FRIENDSHIP OF SORTS. THANK YOU DAVID, GREG, ELLIOTT. LOVE YOU GUYS. respect from a lifelong loyal Fan. Laurel
There used to be an interview video with Benjamin and Diane talking about "The Lace". I have not been able to find it lately. I always enjoy watching Benjamin talk, and melt my heart with that authentic smile of his.
New Wave? That too, but The Cars were what they were, more 'New Sound" which is a phenomenon in itself, and more in that no one has ever been able in 'duplicating' their unique fusion of sound and style, that catches on with other groups, like the 'California sound" for example. Fusion is the best description I can think of. In no particular order: new wave, pop, punk, synth, driving rock balladeers.
I like how Benjamin says “pape-ah” (paper) and “cell-ah” (cellar) in a perfect Boston accent. Not a surprise he could pull off unique pronunciations (illustrious) throughout.
The debut album was on the charts longer than any other album besides _Dark Side of the Moon_? That sounds like a fact that should be mentioned A LOT more often! A band that's mostly retired still needs to be promoted. Right now, we've got The Elektra Years box sets to look forward to (I think the albums really did need remastering, plus I've missed the art and lyric sheets). I'm sold on that! But for years it was like a desert wasteland for any kind of Cars news, or even a refresher course. I felt like the 2011 reunion didn't entirely work, because: 1. The not-replacing-Benjamin thing. I realize any replacement of Ben would be met with derision and contempt, but the fact remains, the absence of a big, strong Ben-like voice was a detriment. _Move Like This_ sounded more like a Ric Ocasek solo album (it wasn't written specifically for the band; it was just Ric's latest batch of songs). Which isn't a bad thing. I like more than half of Ric's solo material. But a Cars album should have (a.) Elliot Easton guitar solos; (b.) strong backing harmonies led by Ben's amazing, versatile voice; and (c.) a secondary lead singer with a somewhat "bigger" voice. I did find it touching that they didn't replace him, but it didn't sound like the Cars. It was too "reality", if that doesn't sound stupid. Amputation. Just seeing the Cars as a foursome was inherently sad. I would have been more than okay with a Ben-Orr soundalike. Not as an official band member, but as hired help. I'm sure there are lots of good singers who sound at least CLOSE to Ben's voice. He wouldn't be "all that" with the devastating good looks, but . . . HIs parts aren't _impossible_ to sing! SOMEBODY out there can do a great Benjamin Orr impression. It's a talented world, I sincerely believe. They should have hired a soundalike, but made a point of performing Ric's "Silver" dedicated to Ben. 2. The tour itself. ELEVEN (11) DATES?!? That is not a reunion tour for a band of their status. That's barely a rehearsal! How do you ignore the entire state of Texas? Aside from a date in Denver, they ignored everything but the coastal states. I get the picture that Ric Ocasek doesn't like touring. I'm not much into travel myself, and if I lived in NYC like he did, I'd never leave. But I'm not a rock star, much less one of the most iconic figures of the 1980s. To do ANY kind of tour and mostly ignore the "flyover" states is just cruel. But I could have lived with that, except: 3. Where was the live album and video of it all? If you're gonna do a reunion tour, you "sell out" Create product! Take our money! Instead, most of us are stuck with terrible audience videos with lots of chatter intruding on the music. But that leads me back to 1. A new Cars album sung entirely by Ric is one thing, but hearing him sing the songs Ben sang was especially sad. Please don't misunderstand: Ric Ocasek was and still is one of my idols. I memorized his lyrics, learned to play his songs, and wrote a fair amount of blatant Cars imitations myself, before I found my own style. (I'm not saying I sing as well as Ric.) Hell, I think _This Side of Paradise_ is flat-out BETTER than _Heartbeat City_! I've bought his book, and I do consult it. The point is, I do love the guy -- I know there are Cars fans who inexplicably hate Ric Ocasek, but that's just donkey-brained. I don't believe for a minute that the reason they didn't replace Ben had anything to do with Ric wanting more attention. Not at all. These gentlemen are in their 60s, they have broken up once already, and I'm sure they just didn't want a new personality in the mix. It was just a matter of comfort, plus respect for Ben. But, I'm sorry, Ric Ocasek singing "Just What I Needed" is a sad thing. And with nobody to sing at all like Ben, songs, like "Let's Go" or "Bye Bye Love" are just off the table, aren't they? (That's not rhetorical. I'm sincerely asking, because I have no idea what their set list was.) (And just to get it out of the way-- It would be _nice_ if Elliot could sing as well as he did on his 1985 solo album, _Change No Change,_ but I have heard him sing "Good Times Roll" with the Empty Hearts, aaand . . . No. He can't.) Having said all that, _any_ new Cars album is better than none. To circle back to Pink Floyd -- their last three studio albums may have been strictly mediocre, but at _least_ they made you want to _listen to the good ones_ again! So, in spite of my complaints, I hope for another studio album (and I'm willing to accept simply never seeing the Cars live). I hope Ric writes a batch of songs specifically with the Cars in mind, with room for Elliot Easton guitar solos, layers of Greg Hawkes synth, and David Robinson's exciting but tasteful drumming. Ben as a bassist is replaceable enough. If they're dead-set on no secondary lead singer . . . okay, FINE [grumble]. But at least bring in a session singer or two to pump up the backing vocals! Classic Cars songs always had big, thick harmonies that could never be re-created live. I care about the harmonies a lot because I sincerely DO consider the Cars to be the Beatles of the 80s. Seriously. They're really that good. I don't believe they need a producer like Jacknife Lee to modernize their sound. As if that's going to bring in a younger audience? There ARE some young people who listen to the Cars, but it is for _their classic sound._ Most of their audience, I presume, is middle aged, and we like reliving our adolescence, don't we? because the 80s were a pretty sweet time to be a teenager, srsly. They just need someone from the Roy Thomas Baker school of production. The first two albums don't sound dated AT ALL, do they? They just sound GOOD. If anything, _Heartbeat City_ sounds the most dated, with inhumanly perfect drum programming that now sounds utterly crude. In an era in which the latest _Star Was_ movie was shot on 35mm (analog) film, and people are starting to listen to vinyl again, why shouldn't there be a new Cars album that sounds like . . . well . . . a Cars album? Thanks for reading!
+Ben Culture Great read. I go back and forth about the whole Ben thing with the 2011 reunion... I think they could have found a way to honor Benjamin without leaving such a gap in the live performance, but I still find it satisfying somehow that they didn't. You know I'm crazy-bordering-on-irrational about the Benj. :) By the way, here is a link to their set list (and a ton of other great info): www.setlist.fm/stats/the-cars-7bd6bee8.html?year=2011
Can barely hear Benjamin & Ric is unintelligible. What the heck does Benjamin mean "they're the angina?" (He & David). I dont understand the correlation with power & pain. Can anyone explain this ? In earlier interviews, I have heard The Cars say some bizarrea things. They have a cathartic sense of humour, like their pulling our legs.....well the music here is enjoyable, way too tedious interview.
He said "engine" in a purposely exaggerated way("en-jyne"), like you said, just being humorous. I didn't find anything particularly odd in what they were saying and this is a good interview. Probably be easier if the sound level on the clip was a little higher, I have both the youtube volume and volume on my computer turned all the way up and I'm still struggling to hear them a bit. All The Cars members are known for being fairly soft-spoken guys(and it's not often you get to hear Benjamin talk this much in an interview, at least an interview that doesn't involved an idiot from MTV asking inane questions that barely even deserve an answer, so that's a treat in itself.) Speaking of MTV, I don't know why they never seemed to be interviewed by JJ Jackson, he was the only VJ who knew what he was talking about and he'd spent a long time at a Boston radio station as a DJ so I'm sure that would have given them something in common. It always seemed to be that idiot Mark Goodman interviewing them.
He was talking about how the bass (Ben) and the drums (David) are the power behind the band. The bass and drums are the rhythm section and supply the backbone for the other players, or “power.”
