Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
While I agree that Orr was the better vocalist, let's not forget who wrote most of these great songs.
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums
This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
"The Cars": Ric Ocasek/Benjamin Orr (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Encyclopedia Brown
- Start date
Aerial Assault
Footballguy
Well, that's exactly right. And it also applies to Sting, mentioned earlier in here. I mean, dude. The songwriting skills of those guys.
And none of that is to denigrate Ben Orr in the slightest. I wish he had made much more music. 
Ilov80s
Footballguy
Orr wrote less songs for sure but look at list above, they are among the best and most familiar Cars songs. Drive and Just What I Needed are their 2 most listened to songs on Spotify by wide margin. Moving in Stereo gives Orr 3 of the top 5 most played Cars songs.
Last edited by a moderator:
Arizona Ron
Footballguy
I think the same thing happen to Foreigner. They’ve turned into the “I know the song but don’t know the band”, band.
Jefferson the Caregiver
Rebel Without A Pause
Orr was the better vocalist of the two and I tend to like the songs that he sings on better as well.
Aerial Assault
Footballguy
Hmmmm. Now you've got me rethinking this! But I don't believe Ben Orr wrote any of those three songs. Ocasek did.
Good call. I remember a bunch of people mocking Foreigner in the 90s when IMO they made some really lasting, melodic music and, like The Cars, could rock as well.
Last edited by a moderator:
The Dreaded Marco
Footballguy
I love the Cars. But Ric is a bit of a dic.
The version of the Car Seat Headrest song with the Cars' sample is so much better and was only an homage to the Cars. Too bad Ric had to be petty/ignorant.
zamboni
Footballguy
Interesting - I have always understood that Ric was a pretty likable guy, but Orr was the standoffish surly one. Who knows for sure though.
wikkidpissah
Footballguy
Ocasek & Orchowski weren't alike at all backinaday (had dealings w both pre-Cars, Ric mid-Cars), but they were both difficult. Orr wasn't a bad guy. He just couldn't figure out why, if some folks adored him soooo much, everyone else didn't fall in line. Not an uncommon rock star thing, kinda Jonesy-like. Ocasek also had a rockstar syndrome - i don't have to explain who i am, cuz i'm me. Go away. That said, Ric was very thoughtful and good to people he decided to be good to. When he bought Intermedia Studios (my base of ops) in Boston, he was very generous w free or discounted studio time for my B Sharp acts and many other local up & comers without any quid pro quo. But if things got untidy in his view, he'd clear his hands of it but quick.
Stompin' Tom Connors
Footballguy
In my world, a fair amount of notoriety also came from Ric marrying Paulina Porizkova. Suuuuuuper jealous.
I am such a contrarian when it comes to the Cars. Unquestionably iconic band of the 80s, super successful and deservedly so, but I never enjoyed the music, which is strange as other bands with arguably less influence but equally as iconic for the era (Huey Lewis and the News, J. Geils, etc.) I love.
Guess I appreciate them for their music, but never an actual huge fan of it. That's on me, I know I am in the vast minority on this.
And to me, Boston is the most underappreciated band from Boston.
Word. The Police are an extraordinary band, and while Sting got all the credit and facetime, it's Copeland that is the clear musical genius in the band. Severely underappreciated drummer. Summers wasn't too shabby either. Both guys had quite the career scoring movie soundtracks after the Police split up.
BoltNlava
Footballguy
Mike Damone
Footballguy
To me it looks like Matador and Toledo either dropped the ball or tried to pull a fast oneThe Dreaded Marco said:
Mike Damone
Footballguy
BoltNlava
Footballguy
Drive
The Cars
Peaked at #3 on 9.29.1984
1 of 18
Shake It Up
The Cars
Peaked at #4 on 2.27.1982
2 of 18
Tonight She Comes
The Cars
Peaked at #7 on 1.11.1986
3 of 18
You Might Think
The Cars
Peaked at #7 on 4.28.1984
4 of 18
Magic
The Cars
Peaked at #12 on 7.7.1984
just sayin'
The Cars
Peaked at #3 on 9.29.1984
1 of 18
Shake It Up
The Cars
Peaked at #4 on 2.27.1982
2 of 18
Tonight She Comes
The Cars
Peaked at #7 on 1.11.1986
3 of 18
You Might Think
The Cars
Peaked at #7 on 4.28.1984
4 of 18
Magic
The Cars
Peaked at #12 on 7.7.1984
just sayin'
Mister CIA
Footballguy
Eephus
Footballguy
FairWarning
Footballguy
Unfortunately all influenced by heavy MTV rotation. You Might Think is so cheesy sounding to me after listening to their first four albums. Shake it Up was trending toward sellout status on MTV. They changed producers after Shake it Up. The first couple of albums hold up great today.
Eephus
Footballguy
The album they made with Mutt Lange was a pop turn that smoothed out some of the band's idiosyncrasies. The point of making a pop record is to sell a lot of records and Heartbeat City accomplished that. It has a more direct sound than their early records but it still sounds like The Cars.
Nigel
Footballguy
FairWarning
Footballguy
I'm not a Mutt Lange fan at all, but he knows how to sell albums. Too often its at the expense of the band's creativity.
Last edited by a moderator:
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
Loved most of the hits by the Cars growing up, but never thought their albums were that good once I dug deeper. Drive, Magic, Since You're Gone and Moving in Stereo are the songs I go back to the most nowadays.
Both The Police and Sting's solo stuff are hit and miss for me, but the Police had higher highs - most of Synchronicity, and big portions of Zenyatta Mondatta and Ghost in the Machine. I love Walking on the Moon, but not much else from the first two records.
Both The Police and Sting's solo stuff are hit and miss for me, but the Police had higher highs - most of Synchronicity, and big portions of Zenyatta Mondatta and Ghost in the Machine. I love Walking on the Moon, but not much else from the first two records.
bicycle_seat_sniffer
Smells like chicken
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
That one and Heartbeat City probably have more good deep cuts than the others, I will give you that.
Stompin' Tom Connors
Footballguy
All of this rings really true for me. Except for the bolded part that made me
Next to You? So Lonely? Roxanne? Can't Stand Losing You? Message in a Bottle?
A lot of these to me are definitive of the Police sound, and to me are iconic, timeless songs. With some other great songs on those albums to boot.
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
Sting's voice grates me on too much on those first two albums, and Roxanne is one of my list of horrible songs that I can't believe so many like. Message in a Bottle, but having Sting sing "sending out an SOS" 844 times at the end of the song makes it very tedious.All of this rings really true for me. Except for the bolded part that made me
Next to You? So Lonely? Roxanne? Can't Stand Losing You? Message in a Bottle?
A lot of these to me are definitive of the Police sound, and to me are iconic, timeless songs. With some other great songs on those albums to boot.
wikkidpissah
Footballguy
mojo had an extra-sugary cereal this morning....
otb_lifer
Footballguy
i think Jay-Z visited the same GenieRic Ocasek early fortune:
"Yes, you look like a greasy insect, but you will become a singer for a great rock band and will be married to Paulina Porizkova, a world class beauty, for nearly 20 years".
Ric - "Really?"
HellToupee
Footballguy
You should give Candy-O a listenThat one and Heartbeat City probably have more good deep cuts than the others, I will give you that.
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
HellToupee
Footballguy
HellToupee
Footballguy
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Ric Ocasek, lead singer of the rock band The Cars, died Sunday in New York at age 75.
Police said they received a call around 4 p.m. for an unconscious male at a townhouse on East 19th Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Law enforcement sources confirmed the deceased was Ocasek.
Ocasek and his band were inducted into the Rock Hall in 2018. The institution described the band as "hook-savvy with the perfect combo of new wave and classic rock."
The band had 13 top-40 singles, and Ocasek went on to a successful producing career after The Cars broke up in the late 1980s.
He was also known for his long-running marriage to the Czech supermodel Paulina Porizkova. She announced their separation in 2018 after 28 years of marriage.
They listed the 19th Street residence for sale earlier this year for more than $15 million.
Police said they received a call around 4 p.m. for an unconscious male at a townhouse on East 19th Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Law enforcement sources confirmed the deceased was Ocasek.
Ocasek and his band were inducted into the Rock Hall in 2018. The institution described the band as "hook-savvy with the perfect combo of new wave and classic rock."
The band had 13 top-40 singles, and Ocasek went on to a successful producing career after The Cars broke up in the late 1980s.
He was also known for his long-running marriage to the Czech supermodel Paulina Porizkova. She announced their separation in 2018 after 28 years of marriage.
They listed the 19th Street residence for sale earlier this year for more than $15 million.
