← Behind The Song: Classic Rock Chronicles
Behind The Song: Classic Rock Chronicles
As Long As It Was Deep: Unpacking “Just What I Needed” by The Cars
00:09:08
Loading summary
Transcript5 lines
- [00:02]
Credit Karma Representative
We see you getting after your fitness goals, but what about those money goals? You can count on Credit Karma for a clear view of your finances and your progress, helping you see results so you can keep checking off those financial personal vests and find your way to money progress never felt so good. Download the Intuit Credit Karma app and start achieving your money goals today. Intuit Credit Karma Karma you can count on.
- [00:31]
Mochi Health Representative
Mochi Health is here to help you start your weight loss journey with caring, personalized support. Meet one on one with board certified obesity doctors and registered dietitians who truly listen and understand your unique needs. Eligible patients can access affordable GLP1 medications delivered right to their door each month. No insurance, no problem. Mochi Health accepts FSA and HSA making care accessible and affordable. And with 24. 7 customer service, you'll never feel alone on your path to better health. Get started with Mochi Health today. Take the free quiz@joinmochi.com and use code AUDIO40 at checkout for $40 off your first month of membership. That's join M O C H I.com with promo code AUDIO40.
- [01:22]
Janda
Welcome to the behind the Song podcast, taking you deeper into classic rock's most time tunes. Here's your host, Janda Sometimes even the catchiest little tunes can actually be very deep and can say it all about a feeling. That's the case with Just what I Needed, the first hit single released from the car's impeccable self titled debut in 1978. Instantly appealing, but with a kind of detached, cynical cool about it, the song typifies the band and the main architect of their sound, Rick Ocasek. It expresses the hard to verbalize feeling of making a connection with someone when you least expect it to make that connection. And would it surprise you to know that he wrote it while living in a commune in Newton, Massachusetts? Or that the opening riff borrows from a 1960s pop hit? Lots to unpack in this infectious little number. So let's get to it in this episode of the behind the Song podcast. If you like it, give it a thumbs up and hit subscribe and let us know in the comments to retrace a little on where the Cars were just prior to releasing their debut, the group that we came to know as the Cars had formed in Boston. By 1976, chief songwriter and rhythm guitarist Ocasek and bassist Benjamin Orr had known each other since the 60s in Ohio and would share the task of sometimes trading off as the lead singer Elliot Easton on lead guitar and occasional songwriter Greg Hawkes on keyboards. Both of whom studied at the Berklee School of Music. And finally drummer David Robinson, formerly of the Modern Lovers, who came up with the name of the band and designed many of their album covers. Ocasek and Oar had been around the musical block together, so to speak, involved in the folk music scene when they first started out. But with this group, they clicked into something that would prove to be completely new, blending rock guitars with synthesizers and lyrics that were subversive in a way that was hip but still clicked with a very mainstream audience. The timing was right, New wave was happening and the Cars were at the forefront of it. Ocasek really was reportedly living in a commune while writing the songs for their debut. Or more to the point, he was holed up in the basement of a communal space, just trying to get by while writing what would turn out to be one of the biggest debut albums in rock. It's possible that trying to do something as personal as writing lyrics in this type of interconnected setting could fuel the ironically detached love song that is Just what I needed. Benjamin Orr, who sang lead vocals on this song, put it best when he said some of the lyrics are just there poetically and you're not quite sure what they mean, but they mean something to Rick. As for that unforgettable opening riff on Just what I Needed, one of the factors that made it a hit it's pretty close to the song Yummy, Yummy Yummy, a bubble gum pop song which went to number four on the pop chart in 1968 when it was recorded by the Ohio Express, a band who hailed from Ohio, just like Ocasek and Orr. Here's a little bit of the riff in the Ohio Express song. Sounds familiar, right? It's one of the secret ingredients in the catchiness of the car's music, especially with this song. They matched cool lyrics to power pop and in this case took a page from a song that was a bonafide pop hit. So they were all at once modern and forward thinking, while being retro and familiar all the same time. No small trick, the key is the vibe. Unlike most straight up pop songs, Ocasex lyrics dig a little deeper and are full of emotional complexity. Just what I needed starts like this. I don't mind you coming here and wasting all my time because when you're standing oh so near I kind of lose my mind it's not the perfume that you wear it's not the ribbons in your hair I don't mind you coming here and wasting all my time it's like he's checking off all the reasons why this particular connection should at first blush be a no brainer. One assumes from this verse that this person is attractive and smells good, but by saying that it's not any of those things, the perfume and all of that, it leads you to think that there's a stronger pull that goes beyond the superficial and that he can't really figure that part out. The lyric wastin all my time is a reference to the Velvet Underground song Sister Ray, which repeats the word time in the phrasing of a verse, as this song does when this same verse is repeated later in the song. The Velvet Underground were said to be one of Ocasek's favorite bands, and it's not hard to see why Lou Reed's brand of dark coolness resonated with Ocasek, who had some of those qualities too, capable of turning a phrase that you didn't always see coming. Just what I needed does this unraveling the feeling of wanting to welcome someone into your life, but maybe being a little nervous and insecure about it, he sings, I don't mind you hanging out and talking in your sleep it doesn't matter where you've been as long as it was deep you always knew to wear it well and you look so fancy, I can tell and I don't mind you hanging out and talking in your sleep. Using I don't mind you hanging out repeatedly is a really curious way to express the feeling of actually wanting someone to be around. The desire is there, but kept at a distance. This is a song about the emotionally weird place of finding yourself with an unexpected attraction to someone, a connection that you did not foresee. The chorus explodes and it goes like I guess you're just what I needed I needed someone to feed I guess you're just what I needed I needed someone to bleed. So it's much more than a pop song. By saying he needed someone to feed and someone to bleed, you get the sense that the desire is for a much deeper emotional connection, an intense yearning that goes right past the surface and pierces the soul. The blood and guts of it. The song ends with the lines thank you, thank you a lot, which is interesting because it says that this love interest he's writing about has fulfilled something for him, an emotional need that was unrealized and unfulfilled before. There's a tough vulnerability in these lines, an admission that sometimes the right person can come into our lives when we least expect it. That cool longing for connection at the dawn of the New Wave era made this song, totally unstoppable, Just what I Needed started getting airplay in Boston off of a demo tape handed to a DJ by Ocasek, which led right away to the Cars getting signed to the Electra Records label. The debut sold 6 million copies and stayed on the Billboard 200 album chart for 139 weeks. That's over two and a half years. Just what I Needed went up to number 27 on the Billboard chart, followed by two other singles that also went into the top 40. The follow up album, Candy O went even higher on the Billboard chart, all the way to number three. They dominated the 80s, releasing six albums before breaking up in 1988. Benjamin Orr passed away in 2000 and Ric Ocasek passed away in 2019, one year after the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of Fame. Elliot Easton said that Just what I Needed is the band's signature song. It somehow puts the feeling of meeting someone you were destined to meet into words that are otherwise uncomfortable and hard to express, wrapped up in the catchiest of power pop melodies, their specialty. And Greg Hawkes said the band's attitude toward their music was traditions exist so we can go beyond them. Which makes sense considering that the man who wrote the song, Rick Ocasek, told Rolling stone magazine in 1980 that quote, It's a tough thing to do, but I don't always like to give people what they expect. So what? Other songs are surprisingly deep once you start really listening to the lyrics. Something to think about. Until next time. I'm Janda and this has been behind the song. If you like this episode, give it a like and subscribe to the channel. Special thanks as always to Christian Lane for the music you hear on these podcast episodes. You can find me on the air at 97.1 FM the Drive in Chicago and at wdrv.com and on the way. Much more Classic rock and Roll.
- [10:27]
Credit Karma Representative
Are.
- [10:27]
Monster.com Representative
You looking for a new job or want a career change? Look no further than monster.com need a little help standing out? Our expert resume writing services will make sure you shine. Want to brush up on your interview skills? Engage with our AI Interview prep tool. Want some advice on negotiating your new salary? Visit our salary tools and extensive library of career advice articles and you'll have all the tips and tricks you'll need to succeed. Visit monster.com today and take the first step towards your career. Monster.com find your right job fit.