Luckiest Music Generation: The Cars - Let's Go

[Genki Hikari]

"My Sharona" and "Funkytown" get most of the chatter when talking about late 1979, but The Cars would have one of their biggest hits then as well.

This played at many a high school off-campus bash, and it seemed like a perfect fit for us at the time, especially if you were just starting your senior year of high school, like I was. Lyrics like "And she won't give up, 'cause she's 17," sort of captured that, "we're about to take on the world," feeling that idiot 17-year-old girls can have when they see their freedom on the horizon.

BTW: RIP Benjamin Orr (lead vocalist/bassist).

[ProfessorGAC]

1. Those First Two Albums Were Epic

The first album is in my top 10 debut albums ever.
I covered Let's Go in a band in the early/mid 80s.
I knew how to hard synch a synth, so I could get that tone of the main riff by Greg Hawkes.
Fun song to do, especially since by the time we did it I had 2 synthesizers, one with program memory.

[Genki Hikari]

2. Loved both albums

They had a unique sound for that time period, that's for sure. It was new wave before we knew what new wave was.

[ProfessorGAC]

3. It Was The Great Combination...

..of guitars & synths. Elliott Easton's great guitar playing and Greg Hawkes cutting synth sounds, both up front in the mix, was unique.
Much of new wave, which actually followed The Cars, were one or the other.
It wasn't until Duran Duran that we got both sounds prominent in each tune.
And, they both lasted longer than most new wave acts.

[Genki Hikari]

4. I'd include INXS and Talk Talk

in the New Wave bands that lasted. At least, both started out as New Wave bands, even if they went different directions later.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. I'll Certainly Go With INXS

Talk Talk, while excellent did not have the commercial success of the other 3.
Talk Talk also wasn't that guitar prominent, which I think has an effect on popularity in rock music.
One band that did have both to a great degree was Flock of Seagulls.
I thought they'd be bigger for longer than they were. I got that one wrong.

[Genki Hikari]

6. I dunno

The biggest album they had was their post-new wave Colour of Spring.

I seem to recall massive disputes with their label hurting sales for Spirit of Eden upon release, even though it has sold well over time.