I have mentioned before my music snob roommate in Chicago. Truth be told though, I benefited more from his snoot than it was a detriment to me. The Cars is among the best examples. We were at a used media shop one day and he said to me, “There’s a copy of The Cars’ Heartbeat City over there for two dollars. If you don’t buy it, you hate your life.” And so, partially to keep him off my back, I gave it a shot. And it opened the door to the Cars’ entire discography, which I am, for the most part (I’m looking at you, Panorama), a huge fan. And this was the record that piqued my curiosity.
the cars
Record #90: The Cars – Shake It Up (1981)
And then, the Cars returned to making pop music with new-wave and art-rock influences, rather than art-rock with pop influences. It seems a wise choice, since their greatest triumph was in their debut’s ability to walk the line between pop sensibility and avant-garde experimentation like it was a tightrope. And while Shake It Up might not match the finesse and memorability of the first classic, it easily leapfrogs over Panorama with radio-ready singles as well as paranoid, freakout tracks.
Record #89: The Cars – Panorama (1980)
As the saying goes, nothing gold can stay. Like their spiritual heir apparent Weezer a decade and a half later, after two winning albums, the Cars fell into a bit of a slump.
Record #88: The Cars – Candy-O (1979)
The astute among you will notice that I’m posting the back cover of this album as opposed to the legendary, lusty front (if you want to see it that much, you know how to use Google). As a man who has tried to follow the teachings of the man who said “whoever looks at a woman lustfully has committed adultery with her in his heart,” it’s always been difficult for me trying to divorce this record from its cover. But that difficulty isn’t unwarranted: the record went platinum in record time, largely because of the pinup sprawled on its cover.
But that success reinforces the question: is the music any good?