RIP: Ric Ocasek [ 'The Cars' ] @ 75.....

[NewtonMP2100]

....they are now saying......



....According to an autopsy report released Monday by the New York City medical examiner’s office, Ocasek died of cardiovascular disease. Ocasek was 75.

The specific cause of death was listed as hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, or atherosclerosis, a build-up of plaque in the arteries that can cause hardening and/or narrowing in the heart muscle. Pulmonary emphysema was also a contributing factor.......


.....his wife says he was recuperating from surgery......

[deckeda]

I enjoyed reading this perspective of what the Cars represented at the time: as a transitional sound away from the bloat of '70s rock before the '80s went in another direction or three.

"I’m not sure you can explain what the Cars meant back then unless we’re actually in a car, with the Cars cranked up."

"You’d almost have had to live through it to pick up on the shifts in posture, fashion and haircuts, how the Cars and a few other bands (Devo? Talking Heads? U2? The Fixx?) helped stamp out the ’70s, for better or worse."

I did live through it, in Jr. high and high school. It was a great time to be into music. We revered what was rapidly becoming known as "classic rock" while easily comfortable with the Cars or Costello.

Heartbeat City became a large part of my summer in 1984. It would be many years before I picked up a copy of their debut LP though, because of all the radio play. But of course it's their best LP, and fully enjoyable all the way through with or without "Linda" from Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

" ... and teenagers today say they hate driving. Where are the heartbreak songs about ordering a Lyft?"

[SteveO]

RIP to a great artist and one who helped shape the musical culture of my youth and beyond.

>Heartbeat City became a large part of my summer in 1984.

Amen. This was one of the first non-mix tapes I owned — via Columbia (or was it RCA?) Music Club. It remained heavy in my rotation through my remaining three years of high school. When their last album came out in '11 or so, I immediately bought it off iTunes. Their sound was fully intact, even sans Orr (RIP to him, another great artist, as well.)

One of their producers, Roy Thomas Baker, also produced for Queen. Such great music.

[Dennis S]

I read he lowered his age when he got famous and was older than his fellow musicians.

[JoeH]

He was only 3 years older than Orr, but that might not have been part of it. It would also have been easy for someone to have seen his birthdate written down and thought the second 4 was a 9, and nobody bothered to correct that for whatever reason.

He first met Paulina when she was 18 and he was 40. Being apparently only twice her age might have been considered more acceptable in public. They married 5 years later.