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Gary Numan — Cars
Album: The Pleasure Principle
Avg rating:
7.2

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2054









Released: 1979
Length: 3:45
Plays (last 30 days): 1
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Here in my car
I feel safest of all
I can lock all my doors
It's the only way to live
In cars

Here in my car
I can only receive
I can listen to you
It keeps me stable for days
In cars

Here in my car
Where the image breaks down
Will you visit me please
If I open my door
In cars

Here in my car
I know I've started to think
About leaving tonight
Although nothing seems right
In cars
Comments (231)add comment
Instant 1
Posted 2 months ago by Felix_The_Cat    [ Reply ]
 joejennings wrote:



And, he is also an accomplished commercial airline pilot /instructor!


WW2 bombers as well. iirc he flew some with the Confederate Airforce (B17 and B25?)
Posted 3 months ago by jpfueler    [ Reply ]
 tm wrote:

Gary writes a fantastic bio!!! really interesting, self deprecating, and funny. Great music too




And, he is also an accomplished commercial airline pilot /instructor!
Posted 1 year ago by joejennings    [ Reply ]
Gary writes a fantastic bio!!! really interesting, self deprecating, and funny. Great music too
Posted 1 year ago by tm    [ Reply ]
Are Cars Electric?

...er well, they are now
(some of them anyway - it won't last though, synthetic fuel is the way to go...)
Posted 1 year ago by springof63    [ Reply ]
1979! Gosh! Still utterly memorable.
Posted 1 year ago by deniseperry    [ Reply ]
wait till they're all electric and you can do F-all about where you want to go

this will be playing
Posted 2 years ago by Styopa    [ Reply ]
As a little kid, this song blew my mind, and I always associated it with Dream Weaver because both had such magical sounds from those new-fangled synthesizer thingies.  Both songs still hold a special place in my heart.  I still stop and listen whenever I hear either of them.
Posted 2 years ago by bc    [ Reply ]
GREAT TUNE!!  When this came out, it was severely overplayed on the radio, but still excellent! It is even better NOW in FLAC w/ great phones, amp & DAC!  Thanx RP!
Posted 2 years ago by joejennings    [ Reply ]
Gary Numan is an incredibly versatile artist.  It's a shame he's only known for Cars.
 
I've always been a fan of his Telekon era albums around 1980, which were early new wave / electronica, but he's done some amazing stuff since then.  Check out the song "Dominion Day" from 1997.
Posted 2 years ago by timmus    [ Reply ]
I used to drive an Austin Mini, and when this came on would sing:
Here in my car, I feel safest of all, But I've made a mistake, because my car is so small.
Posted 2 years ago by xray38    [ Reply ]
 tonyinnj wrote:





Yeah, well, Ian Anderson is a total dick on more than one level.
Posted 2 years ago by Jelani    [ Reply ]
 maxvonevil wrote:

Mascara and Eyeshadow, apparently the fashion statement of choice for the male proto-yuppie and B-movie corporate henchmen of  the late 70's... 😁
IIRC, Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson had some really disparaging remarks
about Gary Numan's appearance...
Tony in NJ
W.A.S.T.E.


Posted 2 years ago by tonyinnj    [ Reply ]
I recall driving down south Texas many years ago.   The station playing this song was fading away and coming in was another rock station that was playing Eric Clapton's "Cocaine", the primary riff of which is kind of a slower version of the Cars riff.  The stations kept fading between one song and another.  An interesting enough experience that I recall it three decades later.
Posted 3 years ago by Typesbad    [ Reply ]

Mascara and Eyeshadow, apparently the fashion statement of choice for the male proto-yuppie and B-movie corporate henchmen of  the late 70's... 😁
Posted 3 years ago by maxvonevil    [ Reply ]
ONE OF THE WEIRDEST, and most gratifyingly nerdy songs ever to crest the airwaves... When it came out, the DJ warned us; said Get ready, said it was "Like The Cars got together in the studio with Alice Cooper..." We were like, "Chuh! Dude! -- Let's get STONED, for sure!" We partied heartily as we listened to this and other radio-rockers and drove our bad-assed Cutlasses, Camaros, and Monte Carlos all night...
Posted 3 years ago by coloradojohn    [ Reply ]
My baby boomer dad said "wtf is this" when it came on FM - I give it a solid 7
Posted 3 years ago by jlind    [ Reply ]
 thewiseking wrote:

Perhaps the most brilliant of all the electronic innovators. Nobody had Numan's totally android persona and sound and those catchy riffs. M.E., Are Friends Electric are next level.  Of course those who know and were obsessed with his early stuff immediately picked up the JG Ballard references to a dystopian future. 




Oh, horseshit. He just reminds me of Kraftwerk and others before his big and only hit; there would be no Gary Numan without the solid foundation for "android" rock laid first by "Autobahn", "Trans-Europe Express", and "The Man-Machine", all of which came out before "The Pleasure Principle". There was also Tangerine Dream and Yellow Magic Orchestra, and for gosh sake Eno, by the time Gary Numan hit the scene. Gary's tune was cute pop but the android thing was a visual prop that he copied from others, I'm afraid. And his other good tune, "Change Your Mind" was much better. But neither were 'innovative'; just pretty good, but derivative, pop.
Posted 3 years ago by tinypriest    [ Reply ]
One of the best episodes of Phineas and Ferb
Posted 3 years ago by sajitjacob    [ Reply ]
Didn't like it then, 
Don't like it now.
Posted 3 years ago by Laptopdog    [ Reply ]
 Lindo525 wrote:

Oh No... I got my first thumbs down.  Clicked it to see if  there was some explanation as-to-why. Now I have 2 thumbs down... Oops!
 
There's always a certain someone who drops a downvote just for the hell of it.  I get one with every comment, probably this one too.  You know who you are...
Posted 3 years ago by DaidyBoy    [ Reply ]
 sfyi2001 wrote:
I don't know where YOU were in 1979, but in NYC, you couldn't turn the radio on and not here this!

 
Here here. I was not their, I was hear.
Posted 3 years ago by easmann    [ Reply ]
Whip It  down  Electric Avenue  toward   West End Girls  cause   One Thing Leads to Another   and   I'm  Hungry Like the Wolf
Posted 3 years ago by grhorn    [ Reply ]
I don't know where YOU were in 1979, but in NYC, you couldn't turn the radio on and not hear this!

Posted 3 years ago by sfyi2001    [ Reply ]
 thewiseking wrote:
Perhaps the most brilliant of all the electronic innovators. Nobody had Numan's totally android persona and sound and those catchy riffs. M.E., Are Friends Electric are next level.  Of course those who know and were obsessed with his early stuff immediately picked up the JG Ballard references to a dystopian future. 
 
"android persona"  - actually, he's got Asperger's, and I believe David Byrne was similar

(I like the music that both made.)
Posted 3 years ago by Queue    [ Reply ]
Here at my desk
I send endless emails
I attach the checklists
Over and over again
At my desk

(and do it in sync with GN's "Cars")
Posted 3 years ago by GTT    [ Reply ]
The cover/collaboration with NIN is FIRST RATE. Check it out on YouTube. 

Posted 3 years ago by DanielHLloyd    [ Reply ]
 sfyi2001 wrote:
This was on the radio more often than traffic and weather in 1979.
true story

 
True that. You couldn't avoid this song in 1979.
Posted 3 years ago by itsme_bygolly    [ Reply ]
I see your cat and raise you a doggo, well ... kinda
Posted 3 years ago by maxvonevil    [ Reply ]
 sfyi2001 wrote:
This was on the radio more often than traffic and weather in 1979.
true story

 

British PAYOLA!
Posted 3 years ago by Rockit9    [ Reply ]
This was on the radio more often than traffic and weather in 1979.
true story

Posted 4 years ago by sfyi2001    [ Reply ]
 kcar wrote:
Here in my car
I feel safest of all
I can lock all my doors
It's the only way to live
In cars



(...trippin' on some baaad catnip ...)
 

That cat is tripping hairballs.
Posted 4 years ago by GarageDragon    [ Reply ]
I'm really enjoying his latest stuff it's a nice evolution for him
Posted 4 years ago by janac13    [ Reply ]
For a short period GN collaborated with Bill Nelson of Be Bop Deluxe, Red Noise etc.
They found it hard to work together and that's probably because Bill is a true musician.
Posted 4 years ago by HectorPascal    [ Reply ]
Perhaps the most brilliant of all the electronic innovators. Nobody had Numan's totally android persona and sound and those catchy riffs. M.E., Are Friends Electric are next level.  Of course those who know and were obsessed with his early stuff immediately picked up the JG Ballard references to a dystopian future. 
Posted 4 years ago by thewiseking    [ Reply ]
 FamilyMan wrote:
Back in the day, Vin Scelsa - WNEW in New York - played this song in a set which included Steve Forbert's "The Oil Song" and NRBQ's "Get That Gasoline".   I don't exactly remember the contemporaneous events that prompted this set, but I imagine that the price of gasoline was getting way out of hand - piercing the $1.00 per gallon mark.
 
Good ol' Bayonne Butch...;-)
Posted 4 years ago by tonyinnj    [ Reply ]
Japan four!!!!
Posted 4 years ago by pawelcitak83    [ Reply ]
JAPAN FOUR!!!!!!!
Posted 4 years ago by pawelcitak83    [ Reply ]
 Lindo525 wrote:

That GIF is freakishly mesmerizing...
 
Oh No... I got my first thumbs down.  Clicked it to see if  there was some explanation as-to-why. Now I have 2 thumbs down... Oops!
Posted 5 years ago by Lindo525    [ Reply ]
ok, now RP is just running through all my early adulthood lps.
Posted 5 years ago by sonicsurfer    [ Reply ]
Best live version, with NIN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qlUFKFHNIU
Posted 5 years ago by willrobinson    [ Reply ]
When this came out it was pretty vool but wore thin FAST. Much prefer songs like Are Friends Electric. His collaborations with Robert Palmer (I Dream of Wires and Style Kills) are outstanding.
Posted 5 years ago by memoryboxer    [ Reply ]
Upped to 9
Posted 5 years ago by BCarn    [ Reply ]
This album is great and has aged very well. M.E. is a total jam. 
Posted 5 years ago by MSKDCT    [ Reply ]
Japan Four! :)
Posted 5 years ago by pawelcitak83    [ Reply ]
This will erase any earworm you may have had earlier.
Posted 5 years ago by ProfessionalGeek    [ Reply ]
 kcar wrote:
Here in my car
I feel safest of all
I can lock all my doors
It's the only way to live
In cars



(...trippin' on some baaad catnip ...)
 
That GIF is freakishly mesmerizing...
Posted 5 years ago by Lindo525    [ Reply ]
Here in my car
I feel safest of all
I can lock all my doors
It's the only way to live
In cars



(...trippin' on some baaad catnip ...)
Posted 5 years ago by kcar    [ Reply ]
The Fear Factory cover is really good too. 
Posted 6 years ago by jelgator    [ Reply ]
Our favorite lonely Android. Brilliant and way, way ahead of his time and oh so influential. Sadly, although still in good voice, he has incorporated the worst of Dub Step and Industrial into his act rendering it an earsplitting catastrophe when seen live. 
Posted 6 years ago by thewiseking    [ Reply ]
See this guy LIVE if you get a chance.
Posted 6 years ago by Rockit9    [ Reply ]
Please, oh please play some more Gary Numan! He has so many more excellent songs in his catalog than just Cars. He's still making music even now!
Posted 6 years ago by ooloncoluphid    [ Reply ]
Did Cars inspire The Cars? 
Posted 6 years ago by robertomiller    [ Reply ]
 Proclivities wrote:

Yes, there was great music in the '80s.  This is a good tune - even if it seems a little silly by today's standards.  By the way, most of the hairstyles and clothes of the 1960s and '70s were pretty silly as well, but no one here seems to want to admit or remember that.
 

 
If you remember the 60s it's because you weren't there.
Posted 6 years ago by SeriousLee    [ Reply ]
{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}
Posted 8 years ago by VH1    [ Reply ]
Holy hot tub time machine batman!
Posted 8 years ago by PA1749    [ Reply ]
Yes! I wish I could blast this right now but I'm at work. I still have the 45 of this that I bought as a kid and still play it every once in a while.
Posted 11 years ago by K_Love    [ Reply ]
 Proclivities wrote:

Yes, there was great music in the '80s.  This is a good tune - even if it seems a little silly by today's standards.  By the way, most of the hairstyles and clothes of the 1960s and '70s were pretty silly as well, but no one here seems to want to admit or remember that.
hippies kansas
 
Kansas ? Why Kansas??
 
Posted 11 years ago by raga    [ Reply ]
Takes me back to memories of my freshman year in college.  We pledges made new lyrics for this song and sung them while working during hell week.
Posted 12 years ago by baddog8it    [ Reply ]
This song came out in 1979!
Posted 12 years ago by Tippster    [ Reply ]
Back in the day, Vin Scelsa - WNEW in New York - played this song in a set which included Steve Forbert's "The Oil Song" and NRBQ's "Get That Gasoline".   I don't exactly remember the contemporaneous events that prompted this set, but I imagine that the price of gasoline was getting way out of hand - piercing the $1.00 per gallon mark.
Posted 12 years ago by FamilyMan    [ Reply ]
 Patti wrote:
Ah - the '80's.  Bad hair, bad clothes, but great music all around.  I fell in love with electronic music then, along with my late husband, and continue to this day as I listen with my daugher. 
 
Yes, there was great music in the '80s.  This is a good tune - even if it seems a little silly by today's standards.  By the way, most of the hairstyles and clothes of the 1960s and '70s were pretty silly as well, but no one here seems to want to admit or remember that.
hippies kansas
Posted 12 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
Love this song. I still have it on 45 from when it came out.
Posted 12 years ago by K_Love    [ Reply ]
 Easyrider wrote:
No expense spared on the album cover,then?
 



The album release date was 1979 .
Posted 12 years ago by Easyrider    [ Reply ]
Ah - the '80's.  Bad hair, bad clothes, but great music all around.  I fell in love with electronic music then, along with my late husband, and continue to this day as I listen with my daugher. 
Posted 12 years ago by Patti    [ Reply ]
No expense spared on the album cover,then?
Posted 12 years ago by Easyrider    [ Reply ]
I remember listening to this as a kid.  I always turned it up as loud as I could stand it.
Posted 12 years ago by drsteevo    [ Reply ]
How can you tell Monopoly is an old game?
There's a luxury tax and rich people go to jail.  -C&L 
Posted 12 years ago by HIGGS_BOSON    [ Reply ]
I heard that Trent Reznor cites Gary Numan as an influence, and that Gary Numan cite's Trent as an influence, this is interesting isn't it? umm yes. Am I being a bore? Yes, yes I am. I'll shutup now. Oh look it's the 'pickups. playing Growing Old is Getting Old how appropriate.....
Posted 12 years ago by sajitjacob    [ Reply ]
 redstorm wrote:

Pure guilty pleasure, sorta like a audio snickers bar
 
nothing guilty about it, it's just great
Posted 12 years ago by rdo    [ Reply ]
Love the blue eyeshadow and suit. Perhaps hard for some to understand how this kind of music was revolutionary for its time.
Posted 12 years ago by salzburg4321    [ Reply ]
Cheesy?

Seriously - this song will last the ages ... how many snyth bands took birth after hearing Gary and the Tubeway Army. I can clearly remember hearing him for the first time from an LP my brother brought back from the UK to our little town in isolated British Columbia where all we heard on AM radio was "Clap for the Wolfman", "Snow Bird" and "Wreck of the Edmund's Fitzgerald".

This music is timeless to me... will always remember pulling out the album - dropping the Nad needle on it and cranking up the Sansui's way up for this ... 

There is a great rendition of this on YouTube with Nine Inch Nails with Gary ... simply amazing live performance actually :) 
Posted 12 years ago by huebdoo    [ Reply ]
love it! this is sooooo silly. soooo absolute nonsense and so absolut 100% eighties. purepurepurepure fun, nothing more, nothing less
Posted 12 years ago by tutakea    [ Reply ]
Yes it's cheesy in the RP context. But as a 9-year-old, nothing could have felt better then lacing up new new roller skates for another Friday night at Interskate 91. No piece of music made me feel more bad-ass in the Spring '82.

Posted 12 years ago by Sasha2001    [ Reply ]
Ho Hum
Posted 13 years ago by allabout    [ Reply ]
 iggam wrote:
If this came out today, you'd just call it Interpol
 
That's hilarious!

Posted 13 years ago by Siete    [ Reply ]
For some reason, I always thought this was Devo.
Posted 13 years ago by GarageDragon    [ Reply ]
{#Motor}{#Dancingbanana}{#Cheers}
Posted 13 years ago by JBarDom    [ Reply ]
This song probably drives me nuts more than any other song I've heard on here.  I suppose it had it's place in it's time and all, but in this case I really could give a f*ck.  Just repititive and annoying.
Posted 13 years ago by StoneyG    [ Reply ]
 Droidac wrote:

The rating is at 6.9 - that's pretty darn close to "Quite Likeable". I'd say that speaks for itself!
 
I'd say it speaks to collective nostalgia for the early teen years of the reviewers. Upon reflection, my assessment of this tune only decreases my tolerance for it. Ratings alone do not define quality, probably in everyone's opinions, based on specific examples of dreck and crap that is elevated by pools of others.
Posted 13 years ago by bam23    [ Reply ]
If this came out today, you'd just call it Interpol
Posted 14 years ago by iggam    [ Reply ]
 On_The_Beach wrote:
Cheesy, disposable 80s Electro-Pop; not great, not terrible; it is what it is.
 
If only cars were the same!  See how far we've come........unrateable

Posted 14 years ago by cohifi    [ Reply ]
 On_The_Beach wrote:
Cheesy, disposable 80s Electro-Pop; not great, not terrible; it is what it is.
 
I don't think so, 'cheesy', disposable, are you sure? I don't think you have you really thought about it have you, eh? come on admit it, you know I'm right don't you, deep down, come on, what do you think?, go on, what ga recon eh?

Posted 14 years ago by Casa_Blanca    [ Reply ]
'79-'80 what a year.  This was a pioneering track and still has a unique quality that is instantly identifiable.
Posted 14 years ago by garycha    [ Reply ]
 jools wrote:
Great, classy and classic 80s track.
 
Stuff I listened to when I was in my teens: great the, Memory Lane now.
Posted 14 years ago by Albert1967    [ Reply ]

Posted 14 years ago by Hannio    [ Reply ]
Hmmm.........I will allow it.....this time!{#Snooty}

Posted 14 years ago by sirdroseph    [ Reply ]
this was the one of the first whole albums i bought. I like hearing this song every once in a while—missed it earlier today.
Posted 14 years ago by Giselle62    [ Reply ]
 bam23 wrote:
Why? This was no good when released and time has not been kind. Obviously, the majority of commenters do not agree, but there has never been anything about this piece that I liked. Oh well.
 
The rating is at 6.9 - that's pretty darn close to "Quite Likeable". I'd say that speaks for itself!

Posted 14 years ago by Droidac    [ Reply ]
Why? This was no good when released and time has not been kind. Obviously, the majority of commenters do not agree, but there has never been anything about this piece that I liked. Oh well.
Posted 14 years ago by bam23    [ Reply ]
Cheesy, disposable 80s Electro-Pop; not great, not terrible; it is what it is.
Posted 14 years ago by On_The_Beach    [ Reply ]
Oh - sorry forgot to say that Are Friends Electric is tons better IMHO.
Posted 14 years ago by jools    [ Reply ]
Great, classy and classic 80s track.  What is the problem?!!!!
Posted 14 years ago by jools    [ Reply ]
 Proclivities wrote:
Your husband and mother-in-law were performing with Gary Numan on SNL and you had to stay home and watch it on TV?{#Eh}

 

{#Shifty}   That is classic!
Posted 14 years ago by Bosami    [ Reply ]
 denmom wrote:
I like this song, but I'll forever associate it with watching him perform on SNL with my boyfriend (now husband) and his mother.  After watching him, she said "I think we've been had..."  I didn't agree, but it was a classic comment.
  Your husband and mother-in-law were performing with Gary Numan on SNL and you had to stay home and watch it on TV?{#Eh}

Posted 14 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
Oh those heady late 1970' and early 80's....
Posted 14 years ago by DavidS_UK    [ Reply ]
redstorm wrote:

Pure guilty pleasure, sorta like a audio snickers bar


Nothing to be guilty about. This is a seminal track, though judging by the comments not everyone "gets it".

Posted 15 years ago by rez    [ Reply ]
you CAN'T be serious...
Posted 15 years ago by rocklandlove    [ Reply ]
My memory of this is from going roller skating in the Midwest (US) in the early-ish 80s!
Posted 15 years ago by DaMoGan    [ Reply ]

Pure guilty pleasure, sorta like a audio snickers bar
Posted 15 years ago by redstorm    [ Reply ]
 cathenley wrote:
Where were you when this song came out? 

I was living in Seattle, worked for WEA distributing (music distribution).  He was considered new wave...
 

Thirteen years from retirement, which happens in 2 weeks, 2 days.  Yeah!  (I've heard better on RP)
Posted 15 years ago by hasben    [ Reply ]
 mgoldman wrote:
In the Likely event that I go to Hell, this will be the music that will playing 24x7.
 
We'll be waiting for you. hehe. {#Fire} {#Devil_pimp}  {#Fire}
Posted 15 years ago by crockydile    [ Reply ]
I like this song, but I'll forever associate it with watching him perform on SNL with my boyfriend (now husband) and his mother.  After watching him, she said "I think we've been had..."  I didn't agree, but it was a classic comment.


Posted 15 years ago by denmom    [ Reply ]
A timeless classic.
Posted 15 years ago by rdo    [ Reply ]
This totally makes up for the crappy day I've been having!!!     {#Bananapiano}
Posted 15 years ago by Middleton    [ Reply ]
I remember a friend of mine playing this tune on a toy keyboard back in the 80's...we were all playing D&D at the time. Hasn't aged well...

Posted 15 years ago by crockydile    [ Reply ]
boring, boring, boring, boring...


Posted 15 years ago by funda    [ Reply ]
I found a hard rock version of this that played very well.

It was a crunchy. Yeah.
Posted 15 years ago by thubeav    [ Reply ]
 ginger wrote:
I still like it! I don't know why, but I do!
 

Cause it's got a good beat and you can dance to it.
Posted 15 years ago by coffee-eyes    [ Reply ]
 cathenley wrote:
Where were you when this song came out? 

I was living in Seattle, worked for WEA distributing (music distribution).  He was considered new wave...
 
I was the soundman for a new wave band in Boise. . . we all liked this song, but Gary never caught on with us as an influence. . .


Posted 15 years ago by vandal    [ Reply ]
 cathenley wrote:
Where were you when this song came out? 

I was living in Seattle, worked for WEA distributing (music distribution).  He was considered new wave...
 

Just starting puberty and 7th grade. {#Jump}  Ahhhh....junior high dances.
Posted 15 years ago by ICHawk    [ Reply ]
 g-rod wrote:


I was just thinkin' that my own self!
 

It's been done - Fear Factory re-recorded this with Gary Numan some years ago. Quite good actually. Numan's early stuff is ground-breaking material and recognized as such. His later albums are actually very good - and does comprise a lot of guitar {#Dancingbanana_2}
Posted 16 years ago by mirland    [ Reply ]
Where were you when this song came out? 

I was living in Seattle, worked for WEA distributing (music distribution).  He was considered new wave...
Posted 16 years ago by cathenley    [ Reply ]
 mgoldman wrote:
In the Likely event that I go to Hell, this will be the music that will playing 24x7.
 
YES hahaha!  This song is so annoying.  Very few songs do I just loath to hear and this is one. {#Crashcomp}
Posted 16 years ago by Kittee    [ Reply ]
Always liked this tune. {#Propeller} One hit wonder eh?

Posted 16 years ago by splooge    [ Reply ]
In the Likely event that I go to Hell, this will be the music that will playing 24x7.
Posted 16 years ago by mgoldman    [ Reply ]
WOW! I haven't heard this song in years!
And I wish it will be many more before I hear it again.
Posted 16 years ago by redtex    [ Reply ]
Cool song. Its Kraftwerk as interpreted through LOW-era David Bowie.
Posted 16 years ago by Rickvee    [ Reply ]
mmmmmmmm....Vice City....
Posted 16 years ago by Ag3nt0rang3    [ Reply ]
trekhead wrote:
Could Not Stand This when it came out. Now, ...funky kinda groove!
Me Too
Posted 16 years ago by raga    [ Reply ]