OT: Rick Ocasek dead at 70
Famous deaths always come in threes. Eddie Money, now this, ...
For you young 'uns, Ocasek was the lead singer of The Cars, who had perhaps the greatest debut album of all-time.
RIP, Rick.
September 15th, 2019 at 9:05 PM ^
*Ric
75.
Fuck.
September 15th, 2019 at 10:32 PM ^
No worries. You were FIRST! (jk)
September 16th, 2019 at 5:11 AM ^
So he died five years ago, and we are just hearing about it now? What does Keith Jackson think about this?
September 16th, 2019 at 12:12 PM ^
He actually lied about his age (because he got famous at around ~34 and the record companies worried that it was potentially a career killer). This was (and still is) common practice, especially in the late 70s music scene where the rise of guys like Springsteen and Seger to prominence had A&R people scouting for older artists.
Ric never acknowledged this, though, like say Tom Petty did. So the conflicting sources have led to conflicts on his Wikipedia page for years.
September 17th, 2019 at 8:58 AM ^
How is Keith Jackson’s much younger SuperModel wife Paulina holding up????
September 15th, 2019 at 9:06 PM ^
I really liked the Cars. My high school days where better because of their music. RIP.
September 15th, 2019 at 9:06 PM ^
Also married someone way over his head. Poor Paulina!!!
September 15th, 2019 at 9:10 PM ^
I dislike the vast majority of '80s music...except the Cars.
He also produced albums with Weezer and Nada Surf, two of my favorite bands.
September 15th, 2019 at 9:12 PM ^
Your taste in music never disappoints. Was going to chime in with the same...
September 15th, 2019 at 9:18 PM ^
I'll take 80's music over Weezer any day
September 15th, 2019 at 9:24 PM ^
You're entitled to your wrong opinion.
Weezer laid an egg a couple times, but "Pinkerton" and the blue album were excellent. Then they've had a couple good songs per album after that.
There are some random '80s songs that were good, but most of it (and the bands themselves) was gross. The 1980s were more about putting on a show rather than actually putting out good music.
September 15th, 2019 at 9:37 PM ^
U2, REM, Prince, the Talking Heads, the Police, Metallica, Public Enemy, New Order and the Cure would like a word.
September 15th, 2019 at 9:52 PM ^
Boston had the greatest debut album of all time, IMHO.
rest in peace Ric.
September 16th, 2019 at 12:11 AM ^
Metallica and Public Enemy are the only hood bands you listed.
September 16th, 2019 at 6:26 AM ^
I wasn't going by preference or trying to hit certain classes or groupings ... just an irrefutable counterpoint to the grossly wrong-ass statement by my man Magnus.
September 16th, 2019 at 6:26 AM ^
Double post *
September 15th, 2019 at 9:41 PM ^
I mean, these are ultimately pointless arguments, but
- R.E.M.
- U2
- Metallica
- The Smiths
- The Cure
- New Order
- The Pixies
- Talking Heads
- The Police
And that's just off the top of my head. The 80s were pretty good, your Whitesnakes and Poisons and Ratts notwithstanding.
September 15th, 2019 at 10:38 PM ^
How could you leave out the guys in your avatar?
September 16th, 2019 at 10:17 AM ^
Whoops...
September 16th, 2019 at 3:55 AM ^
Agreed on those bands, plus I would add XTC, The Clash, Billy Bragg, The Replacements, and Camper Van Beethoven to your list.
September 15th, 2019 at 10:45 PM ^
Weezer sucks ass. They have no legacy and will never be remembered for anything innovative. The Cars are Rock legends...
Stick w sports, Magnus. To even try and compare a band like Weezer to the legendary 80s groups like U2, The Police, INXS and Van Halen is simply asinine...
September 15th, 2019 at 11:21 PM ^
Man, I'm surprised to see so much Weezer hate on here!
Pinkerton is great and they've had some other good songs here and there over a pretty long career. But that blue album is great.
Honestly, give it a try. I even think the opening track "My Name is Jonas" is unbelievably good and its one of my favorite songs. There are a number of other gems on there that I think are undeniably good songs - "Surf Wax America", "In the Garage", "Say It Aint So".
Magnus went a little bit overboard re: the 80s but he's not wrong about the blue album. Check it out! It's almost ten-thirty on a Sunday and here I am going to the mat for Weezer on mgoblog. I feel like I'm in that Matt Damon-Leslie Jones sketch. You can all drink my blood!
September 16th, 2019 at 6:54 AM ^
Might have been the ludes but Van Halen and The police I think I seen them in the 70's.
September 16th, 2019 at 9:27 AM ^
"You're entitled to your wrong opinion."
is a great response. I offset 2 of your down votes.
September 16th, 2019 at 7:00 AM ^
Dude... say it ain’t so
September 15th, 2019 at 9:22 PM ^
I wasn't a big fan of his stuff or The Cars but I have to thank him for producing Weezer's blue album which is a masterpiece (and ranks among my best all-time debut albums along with Ten and Appetite for Destruction).
September 15th, 2019 at 9:43 PM ^
And Guided By Voices's Do the Collapse, which is pretty effing good.
September 16th, 2019 at 12:38 AM ^
Magnus I’m sorry but your music taste is rough. I always thought you were black from the avatar, I’m now guessing not lol.
September 16th, 2019 at 9:50 AM ^
LOL. I like lots of different music. But the '80s were terrible overall. Not that there weren't exceptions.
September 15th, 2019 at 9:10 PM ^
Is he ok?
September 15th, 2019 at 9:11 PM ^
RIP. The Cars rule. Music was so much better back then.
September 15th, 2019 at 9:30 PM ^
Yes, Groups needed a good, complete album. Not just 1 song of words you can't decipher.
September 15th, 2019 at 9:40 PM ^
You also had to be able to actually sing. Most new acts anymore put on a dancing show and lip sync everything because its all auto-tuned. Gawd, that sucks...
September 15th, 2019 at 10:09 PM ^
Hey, we still got Miley Cyrus, Pitbull, and the Jonas Brothers
September 15th, 2019 at 9:11 PM ^
Cars broke out big my junior year at Michigan. Good times.
September 15th, 2019 at 9:13 PM ^
Sad to hear this. Ric is in rock'n'roll heaven with Benjamin Orr, re-defining music in the late 70s forever, not a bad place to be...
September 15th, 2019 at 10:25 PM ^
Both those guys lived in Ann Arbor briefly before heading to Boston.
It's a little crazy to see that Ocasek was almost as old as the Beatles (who all had early '40s birth dates compared to his 1944) but didn't hit it big until the late '70s. By then he and Orr had known each other since the mid-'60s.
September 15th, 2019 at 9:22 PM ^
RIP Ric. He and Ben Orr made one of the greatest 1-2 punches in the history of Rock leads.
September 15th, 2019 at 9:23 PM ^
Wow.
I had no idea that he was 75 years old already; even then, gone way too soon (as is Eddie Money).
RIP to them both, condolences to all their fans, families, and friends.
September 15th, 2019 at 9:24 PM ^
The Cars (which Ric wrote almost all their songs) and Ocasek (his solo stuff as well as all the bands & albums he produced) are/were an important part of my music ... he certainly will be missed.
September 15th, 2019 at 9:29 PM ^
What’s a reasonable time to allow Paulina to grieve before reaching out? Asking for a friend.
September 15th, 2019 at 10:19 PM ^
Well, they had broken up last year, so I guess you're in the clear.
September 15th, 2019 at 9:32 PM ^
The cars were the first concert I went to.
RIP Ric.
September 15th, 2019 at 10:34 PM ^
Same here. Heartbeat City - Pine Knob in the summer of ‘84. Opening band: Wang Chung(!).
September 15th, 2019 at 11:08 PM ^
I was also there. Sat front right. The Cars were not so great live but they are one of my favorite bands and their music stands the test of time.
September 15th, 2019 at 9:33 PM ^
RIP Ric?
September 15th, 2019 at 9:37 PM ^
it's touch and go for all of us, guys and gals. Best thing is to live life trying to be a decent person.
September 15th, 2019 at 9:45 PM ^
Who's gonna tell you when it's too late? Who's gonna tell you things aren't so great?