Superlatives
A Vulture series in which artists judge the best and worst of their own careers.
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This decades-long journey culminated in 2018 whenthe band was inductedinto the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The band did so well, he said with a laugh.
What do I have to complain about?
Best song
Wow.
Theyre all like your children.
Its like, which one do you like more?
Were so lucky to have any songs that capture the Zeitgeist in that way.
The most joy I experience playing live is when I can do my guitar solos.
They werent improvised; they were compositions, I wrote them.
That makes me really happy the flash of recognition from the fans.
Song you never expected to become a big hit
Shake It Up.
Biggest band disagreement
It would have to be the way we ended [in 1988].
Theres a common situation in bands where … well, its show business.
It was the worst time for me because I loved being in the Cars.
It was a great band to be in.
It was sad when it started going away, but it happens.
Wed been working hard for ten years, and it was rough to see it all go away.
We had madeHeartbeat City,which was a massively successful record.
It had a lot of singles, and it took a long time to make.
It was really super-produced.
We were fried and shouldve taken a hiatus to recharge our batteries, but we kept pushing ahead.
I think if we took a couple years of rest, we wouldve continued together.
Thats my feeling about it.
Lyrics you wish youd talked Ric Ocasek out of writing
None!
We were lucky to have a poet in the band.
His lyrics always seemed to explore the darker side of the human experience.
It wasnt walking in the sunshine.
It was Whos gonna hold you down while you shake?It was pop music with irony.
Those kinds of ideas are timeless.
People are still going through the same things we did at our age.
The coolest thing about his writing is that its not locked into a year.
You could read it like a poem.
Wed have silly, surrealist conversations.
Wed be roaring with laughter.
Those two stand out in my mind as being the most finely crafted.
But Id have to go with You Might Think.
We won the first VMA for Video of the Year for that.
I still have my Moonman statue!
It seems to have stuck.
But if Ric hadnt passed, we wouldve done more work together.
We had such a fantastic time at the Rock Hall of Fame induction, and it reignited a spark.
We hadnt hung out together in a long time, so spending that week together was wonderful.
There was a lot of healing.
We left that on a really positive note, and there wouldve been an excellent chance for another project.
Ric and I never had the heavy call.
We were on good terms and kept in touch a lot after the Rock Hall induction.
We texted a lot.
I was really shocked when I got the call that he was gone.
It did fine but not in relation toThe CarsandCandy-O.That was a glitch.
At the time, music writers considered it our experimental album and a departure from our first two albums.
But who can ever guess what people want at any moment?
The tour was great, though.
It was an incredible coup to get his talents.
Number two would beShake It Up,just becauseThe Carscover is horrible.
Honestly, Id rather we were on the cover of that album, and I always felt that way.
We had nothing to do with the Southern California sound; we were East Coasters.
It was a series of black-and-white photos.
Get it!Its so facile.
But hey, maybe it wouldnt have become as big of a hit.
