Moving in Stereo

The Life of Ric Ocasek, the Driving Force of The Cars

Peter Aaron

$61.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Backbeat
15 July 2025

Music; Music reviews & criticism; Individual composers & musicians, bands & groups; Biography: arts & entertainment; History: specific events & topics

The sound of new wave pop music and the early days of MTV were defined by the work of a handful of iconic musicians, and few stood taller in that era than Ric Ocasek, frontman and primary songwriter for the Cars. The band charted thirteen Top 40 singles in the U.S. from 1978 to 1987, the music video for their song “You Might Think” won MTV’s first-ever Video of the Year award, and their biggest hit, “Drive,” became a Top 10 hit across the globe. They would ultimately be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Following the band’s breakup in 1988, Ocasek continued to have a lively professional as well as personal life—dating supermodels, publishing poetry, and appearing in movies. He enjoyed enormous success as a producer, working with such bands as Weezer, No Doubt, Guided by Voices, and the Bad Brains.

Moving in Stereo: The Life of Ric Ocasek, the Driving Force of the Cars serves as an in-depth guide to Ocasek's life and catalog as a musician. Drawing on interviews, personal reminiscences, and the the journalistic coverage he so reliably inspired, it gives a memorable portrait of one of the most essential voices in pop music during the MTV era and beyond.

By: Peter Aaron
Imprint: Backbeat
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781493075317
ISBN 10: 1493075314
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 15 July 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Table of Contents 1 - That'll Be the Day 2 - The Times They Are A-Changin' 3 - I'm Waiting for the Man 4 - You Came into My Life 5 - Carry On 6 - Roadrunner 7 - Along the Way 8 - With You With Me 9 - We've All Been Through 10 - Remake/Remodel 11 - Beantown, Don't Let Me Down 12 - Start It All Again 13 - You're Always Brighter 14 - At the Rat 15 - Crazy Rock and Roll 16 - Better Be Good 17 - City Lights 18 - Just What I Needed 19 - I'm on Fire 20 - Radioactivity 21 - Beginning to See the Light 22 - Rocket U.S.A. 23 - I Want to Be a Machine 24 - Don't Cha Stop 25 - Cool as Ice 26 - Getting Through 27 - Modern World 28 - Something to Grab For 29 - Hello Again 30 - You Are the Girl 31 - Breakaway 32 - Touch Down Easy 33 - Only in Dreams 34 - The Next Right Moment 35 - Slipaway 36 - Take Another Look 37 - Come Back 38 - Since You're Gone Acknowledgements

Peter Aaron is the author of If You Like the Ramones and The Band FAQ; the coauthor of Richie Ramone’s autobiography, I Know Better Now; the arts editor for Chronogram magazine; the front man of influential New York band the Chrome Cranks; and a member of the Stabbing Jabs and other musical projects. In the 1980s, he promoted early concerts by Nirvana, the Flaming Lips, and others. His writing has appeared in the Village Voice, the Boston Herald, the Kingston Daily Freeman, and other publications, and online at AllMusic and All About Jazz. He lives in New York’s Hudson Valley.