Moving in Stereo

Last updated
"Moving in Stereo"
Song by the Cars
from the album The Cars
ReleasedJune 6, 1978 (1978-06-06)
RecordedFebruary 1978
Studio AIR (London, UK)
Genre
Length4:43
Label Elektra
Songwriter(s) Ric Ocasek, Greg Hawkes
Producer(s) Roy Thomas Baker
The Cars track listing
9 tracks
Side one
  1. "Good Times Roll"
  2. "My Best Friend's Girl"
  3. "Just What I Needed"
  4. "I'm in Touch with Your World"
  5. "Don't Cha Stop"
Side two
  1. "You're All I've Got Tonight"
  2. "Bye Bye Love"
  3. "Moving in Stereo"
  4. "All Mixed Up"
Audio
"Moving in Stereo" on YouTube

"Moving in Stereo" is a song by the American rock band The Cars. It appeared on their first album, The Cars , released in 1978. It was co-written by Ric Ocasek and the band's keyboard player Greg Hawkes, and sung by bassist Benjamin Orr.

Contents

Reception

Although not released as a single, except in the UK where it was the B side of 'My Best Friends Girlfriend', "Moving in Stereo" received airplay on album-oriented rock radio stations in the United States, often coupled with the song "All Mixed Up" which it segues into on the album. [3] The song continues to receive airplay on classic rock radio stations. [4]

Donald A. Guarisco of AllMusic described the song as "one of the Cars' finest experimental tracks," noting that it "sounds like a new wave update of Eno-era Roxy Music." [2] Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian rated "Moving in Stereo" combined with "All Mixed Up" as released on the album as the Cars' all-time greatest song. [5] Classic Rock History critic Emily Fagan rated it as the Cars 7th best song sung by Orr, saying that it "captures a sense of disorientation and ennui, with Orr delivering lyrics that seem to drift between reality and a dreamlike state." [6] Ultimate Classic Rock critic Dave Swanson rated it as the 4th best Benjamin Orr Cars song, stating that "the atmospheric mood of the track puts the listener in a late night, post-psychedelic haze." [7]

A demo version recorded in 1977, featuring only Ocasek and Hawkes, was released on The Cars: Deluxe Edition in 1999.

Cover versions

In other media

An instrumental portion of "Moving in Stereo" was used prominently in the 1982 feature film Fast Times at Ridgemont High , in which it accompanies Judge Reinhold's character's fantasy of Phoebe Cates's character removing her bikini top while embracing him. [2] [7] Although the song was popularized in the movie, it was not included on the soundtrack album. "Moving In Stereo" was one of the last 2 songs Nirvana played live. [9]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Cars</span> American rock band

The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek, Benjamin Orr, Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes (keyboards), and David Robinson (drums). Ocasek and Orr shared lead vocals, and Ocasek was the band's principal songwriter and leader.

<i>The Cars</i> (album) 1978 studio album by the Cars

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References

  1. 1 2 Edwards, Luke (March 23, 2024). "Best Cars Songs: 10 New Wave Hits To Rev Your Engine". Dig! . Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Guarisco, D.A. "Moving in Stereo". Allmusic . Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Top FM Rotation" Cash Box September 23, 1978: 24
  4. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Rock Tracks. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 325. ISBN   0-89820-153-5.
  5. ↑ Kachejian, Brian (February 2024). "Top 10 Cars Songs". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  6. ↑ Fagan, Emily (September 2024). "Top 10 Cars Songs Sung By Benjamin Orr" . Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  7. 1 2 Swanson, Dave (September 8, 2015). "Top 10 Benjamin Orr Cars Songs". UltimateClassicRock. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  8. ↑ "Byzantine - The Cicada Tree review". Blabbermouth . 29 July 2017. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  9. ↑ gearspace.com 9 Jan 2012
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