Day 72: A song someone has said reminds them of you.

“Drive” – The Cars

If you’re reading this, you probably already know, but I had to go out and ask people what song reminds them of me. Because no one has specifically said, that I remember anyway.  Realistically, who walks up to someone, even a close friend, and says, “Hey, you know that song? Yeah, that reminds me of you.”

I suppose if it’s something like “You’re My Best Friend” by Queen, you’re okay. But what if it’s “American Idiot” by Green Day or “Stupid Girls” by Pink (depending on your gender)? Not so nice anymore.

Anyway, the results of my ad hoc poll were limited and mixed. But one person said “any Cars tune” and another actually specified “Drive.” Ding! Ding! Ding! There you have it, today’s winner.

The ironic thing about this? I’m not a huge fan of the song. I’m not saying I don’t like it, or that it’s not a good song, or that it’s not pretty. It’s just not one of my favorites.

I remember back in 1984 when this album was released. Late ’83 and ’84 was a big music discovery time for me, and the Heartbeat City album was part of that discovery. I’d already been hooked on “You Might Think” and “Magic” from that album and I knew “Shake It Up” from their previous album of the same name. But despite my early exposure to The Cars’ debut album, I was by no means an expert on the band at that time.

In the summer of ’84, there was this other song getting played on the radio, but I had no idea who it was. It was a ballad, and frankly, I thought it was just okay. And then one day, I found out it was The Cars! (It was “Drive” in case you didn’t get that.) I couldn’t believe it was the same band. (Now who’s the American Idiot?)

Sure, it was probably dumb of me not to know, but to be fair, the three songs I mentioned above were all sung by Ric Ocasek, whereas “Drive” was sung by Benjamin Orr. And The Cars had not been previously known for their ballads. “Drive” had a totally different sound—both vocally and musically—than any song of theirs I was familiar with. So I’m giving myself a pass, even if you don’t.

So yes, my fondness for The Cars is well-known. It makes sense that the people who know me would make some sort of association when the hear those songs. Fair enough.

In case you’re wondering, the other songs that were specifically named are:

• “Land Of Confusion”—Genesis. Perfectly understandable given my well-documented fondness for Genesis, as well.
• “Subdivisions”—Rush. Great song. I’m surprised the person who said “any Cars tune” didn’t say something about Rush, since we used to talk about them.
• “Thirty Miles of Railroad Track”—Hammond Brothers. I had never heard of this song before it was mentioned. But given my love of trains, it, too, makes sense.
• “Wind Beneath My Wings—Bette Midler. This was a very nice sentiment. Too bad I absolutely abhor this song.
• “Tush”—ZZ Top. I’m not exactly sure why this one got mentioned. But it is undeniable that I do not have one. Tush, that is. I hope that’s the reason, because anything else I can think of goes downhill really quickly.

So that’s it. The songs that remind people of me. Not a bad haul. And no “A**hole” (by Denis Leary) in the bunch. I’m going to take that as a victory.