tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post4564663482794918221..comments2024-03-02T07:40:22.786+03:00Comments on Only Solitaire blog: The Cars: Heartbeat CityUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-33947262324564613162019-11-13T02:05:13.345+03:002019-11-13T02:05:13.345+03:00The vocals are wrong for "Why Can't I Hav...The vocals are wrong for "Why Can't I Have You" That's Ocasek, everything is Ocasek except "Drive", "Stranger Eyes"(which used in the Top Gun trailer for a bit of trivia) and co-vocal with Ocasek on "It's Not the Night"--he sings most of it, Ocasek does the more sing-talking bits.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-33344232111410754032019-09-30T09:43:13.828+03:002019-09-30T09:43:13.828+03:00Generally agree here. Heartbeat City's product...Generally agree here. Heartbeat City's production reeks of the worst plastic-sounding tendencies of the 80s and none of the individual songs entice me in the way that the tracks on the first two albums did (heck, even Panorama and Shake It Up are more satisfying to me!). "Drive" and the title track are decent enough, and "You Might Think" and "Hello Again" aren't too bad, but the rest doesn't hit me. "Magic" is immensely stupid and generic on both a lyrical and musical level and "Why Can't I Have You" is such a stilted and unpleasant listen. A shame the band that gave us "Just What I Needed" and "Let's Go" degraded to this generic a sound and style.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-45308031644202286522016-07-18T20:05:11.126+03:002016-07-18T20:05:11.126+03:00There's a certain "spirit of the times&qu...There's a certain "spirit of the times" you can only truly understand if you where there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-11865789348592307272016-07-18T07:07:31.770+03:002016-07-18T07:07:31.770+03:00What a huge album for the boys here.
As I have s...What a huge album for the boys here. <br /><br />As I have said before after their fist two albums they really did try to evolve their sound in Panorama but it just did not work and the fans reacted in kind. Shake It Up was a regroup rethink bringing back elements of the first two albums but now here I see them heading back in the Panorama direction (less guitar, more keyboards, less retro, more current, etc etc) but this time they evolved production into this super slick glossy pure 80s all the way but they kept the old hooks front and center. <br /><br />Anyway, it worked obviously.Teddy Pighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03660335158038390871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-61151060214584214042016-07-17T00:01:39.345+03:002016-07-17T00:01:39.345+03:00It's prime industry product that defines the 8...It's prime industry product that defines the 80's, along with "Purple Rain", "Born In The USA", "Thriller", and "Synchronicity." If you were a teen in the 80's, it was a typical RCA Music Club "highlight" that you paid a penny for, along with 12 other items, in order to get the 1 or 2 tapes that you really wanted. Business as usual in the last golden summer of the music industry before Napster dropped the bottom out. Malxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17260547693221778146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-11553479125642404562016-07-15T16:24:22.209+03:002016-07-15T16:24:22.209+03:00You shouldn't have to have been around in '...You shouldn't have to have been around in '84 for it to hold water. To my 1992-born ears it is a disappointment, coming off a string of four good or great albums.Which One's Pink?https://www.blogger.com/profile/01967778287591586043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-57715841020845553392016-07-15T16:02:11.169+03:002016-07-15T16:02:11.169+03:00Nope. This was and is a good record. If you were t...Nope. This was and is a good record. If you were there in 1984, it still holds water.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-72912326961797028782016-07-15T06:59:17.328+03:002016-07-15T06:59:17.328+03:00Even up against such juggernauts as Born In The US...Even up against such juggernauts as Born In The USA and Purple Rain, this album defines the summer of '84 for this suburban American WASP. Here's my take:<br />http://everybodysdummy.blogspot.com/2013/05/cars-5-heartbeat-city.htmlwardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07825405583474881509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-34451225447104360772016-07-14T23:29:54.008+03:002016-07-14T23:29:54.008+03:00Yeah, let's leave it that. Especially since I ...Yeah, let's leave it that. Especially since I DO agree that the bouncy I Will riff is super fun.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-16493884441289452932016-07-14T23:15:13.708+03:002016-07-14T23:15:13.708+03:00I respectfully disagree. The base progression may ...I respectfully disagree. The base progression may be the same, but there's a fairly complex "woven" pattern of rhythm and lead guitar, and that's not to mention the "I Will" quotation in the chorus. 'Magic' does not do anything like that, and places most of the emphasis on the vocal hook. Of course, in the end it all comes down to gut reaction - well, you know mine, and I know yours.G. S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05848634884798924824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-21560306151685141522016-07-14T22:46:50.431+03:002016-07-14T22:46:50.431+03:00Magic might have a very simple chord progression a...Magic might have a very simple chord progression at its core, but I do not think that you can really hold that against it when My Best Friend's Girl, which revolves around exactly the same I-IV-V progression, was received much more positively a couple of weeks back. I also think there is a lot of layering of both synth tracks and rather restrained guitar parts in many parts of this song (yes, not the verses) that get dismissed as "glossy 80s production" but are actually quite pretty and carefully arranged to my ears.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-65625928086711630102016-07-14T22:04:29.905+03:002016-07-14T22:04:29.905+03:00Fine, how about 'Magic' then? The base mel...Fine, how about 'Magic' then? The base melody of 'Magic' is a guitar riff, not a synth riff, and it sucks just as hard as the synth riffs. Listen to the interplay between the guitars and the synths on 'Just What I Needed', then go back to 'Magic' and tell me again that "nothing about this is less complex and dumber". I'll admit that there was much shittier pop music in the 80s, for sure, but I'd prefer to judge The Cars against themselves rather than against Modern Talking.G. S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05848634884798924824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-38976460915278375922016-07-14T21:17:40.336+03:002016-07-14T21:17:40.336+03:00Nope, then I'll be the one to disagree. Nothin...Nope, then I'll be the one to disagree. Nothing about these compositions is less complex or dumber than their previous work. It's really only the instrumentation that has changed. The synth riffs that are derided as simplistic here would have been called "catchy" if they had been played by a guitar on a previous album. This is a prime example of Rockism. There was shit pop music in the 80s. This is not it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-55784650378389951192016-07-14T20:22:19.712+03:002016-07-14T20:22:19.712+03:00Though I will defend Heartbeat City to the death a...Though I will defend Heartbeat City to the death as a sentimental favorite, I can't help but agree with most of your points. One thing, though: the vocal on "Why Can't I Have You" belongs to Ocasek. Can't wait for the Door to Door review next week!Wade Hymelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08433420655919062768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-65082349731243533512016-07-14T19:00:41.168+03:002016-07-14T19:00:41.168+03:00"because not everybody sounded like this in 1..."because not everybody sounded like this in 1984"<br />You mean Metallica and Fate Warning did not make glossy pop?MNbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-4494659743121813312016-07-14T17:15:12.883+03:002016-07-14T17:15:12.883+03:00Nailed it again. Although I also kind of enjoy &qu...Nailed it again. Although I also kind of enjoy "Looking for Love" as well. As for "Drive" and "Heartbeat City," those were, for some time over the past decade, my "most played" songs based on iTune's stats. And I should *hate* "Drive" because it was played to death back in the day. But it really is a great song. (And of course I must appreciate the 10cc connection.)Davenoreply@blogger.com