"Just What I Needed" by The Cars

It's not the perfume that you wear... it's not the ribbons in your hair.... I guess it's just the perfect blend of synths and electric guitars  that you bring to every song.Yes, it's time for Strong Songs to tackle The Cars, and their 1978 pop-rock classic "Just What I Needed." But while that song encapsulates everything that made the brilliant Boston five-piece great, Kirk decided to use his Walkman to occasionally fast-forward to compare and contrast with a second Cars classic from 1984.Written by: Ric OcasekAlbums: The Cars, 1978 and Heartbeat City, 1984Listen/Buy to both albums on all platforms via SongwhipALSO FEATURED/DISCUSSED:"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen from A Night at the Opera, 1975"Drive," "Good Times Roll," and "My Best Friend's Girl" by Ric Ocasek/The Cars from The Cars, 1978 and Heartbeat City, 1984OUTRO SOLOIST: BJ CordThis episode's outro soloist is BJ Cord, a fantastic trumpet player based in Portland. BJ works at Monette trumpets making some of the most beautiful horns in the world, and is a regular presence on their Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monettetrumpets--------------------MARCH 2022 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONSDaniel Hannon-Barry – RR Prince M. Levy-Benitez – Elliot Rosen – Ashley Hoag – Mark and Michelle – Kelsair – Rob Bosworth – Kyle Cooke – Donald Mackie – Melissa Osborne – Christopher Miller – Tim Byrne – Jamie White – Christopher McConnell – David Mascetti – Joshua Jarvis – Niko – Joe Laska – Laurie Acreman – Ken Hirsh – Jez – Melanie Andrich – Jenness Gardner – Simon Cammell – Guinevere Boostrom – Narelle Horn – Bill Rosinger – Erin – Aidan Coughlan – Jeanneret Manning Family Four – Doug Paton – Dave Sharpe – Sami Samhuri – AccessViolation – Ryan Torvik – Merlin Mann – Glenn – Jim Chokey – Andre Bremer – Mark Schechter – Dave FloreyMARCH 2022 HALF-NOTE PATRONSMax Dickstein – Deebs – Portland Eye Care – Adam Ray – Anupama Raghavan – Demetri Detsaridis – Carrie Schneider – Alenka Grealish – Anne Gerry – Richard Sneddon – David Judson – Janice Berry – Doreen Carlson – Mtwolf – David McDarby – Abigail Duffield – Rapha David – Wendy Gilchrist – Lisa Turner – Paul Wayper – Miles Forman – Dennis M. Edwards – Jeffrey Ferris – Bruno Gaeta – Kenneth Jungben – Adam Stofsky – Zak Remer – Rishi Sahay – Jason Reitman – Greg Burgess – Ailie Fraser – Paul McGreal – Karen Arnold – Natalie Mistilis – Josh Singer – Phino DeLeon – Schloss Edward J., MD – Amy Lynn Thornsen – Adam W – Kelli Brockington – Stephen Rawlings – Ben Machta – Victoria Yu – Kevin Rivers – Brad Clark – Christopher – Michael J. Cunningham – Mark Boggs – Mino Capossela – Steve Paquin – Mary Schoenmaker – Sarah – David Joske – Emma Sklar – Bernard Khoo – David Blackman – Robert Heuer – Matthew Golden – David Noah – Geraldine Butler – Richard Cambier – Madeleine Mader – Timothy Dougherty – Jason Pratt – Stewart Oak – Caroline Miller – Abbie Berg – Sam Norton – Nicole Schleicher – Doug Belew – Dermot Crowley – Achint Srivastava – Ryan Rairigh – Michael Berman – Olivia Bishop – John Gisselquist – Elaine Martin – Kouroth – Bonnie Prinsen – Sharon Tree – Belinda McGrath-Steer – Liz Seger – Eoin de Burca – Kevin Potter – M. Shane Borders – Pete Simm – Susan Plein – Dallas Hockley – Jana J – Jason Gerry – Nathan Gouwens – Will Dwyer – Alethea Lee – Lauren Reay – Eric Prestemon – Cookies250 – Damian Brady – Angela Livingstone – Jeffy Thanadros – David Friedman – Phillip Dalton – Sarah Sulan – Diane Hughes – Kenneth Tiong – Jo Sutherland – Michael Casner – Barb Courtney – Derek Bender – Jen Small – Lowell Meyer – Etele Illes – Stephen Tsoneff – Lorenz Schwarz – Wen – Jack Sjogren – Geoff Golden – Robyn Fraser – Pascal Rueger – Randy Souza – JC – Clare Holberton – Diane Turner – Tom Coleman – Tijs Soete – Mark Perry – Dhu Wik – Mel – Eric Helm – Jake Roberts – Bill Fuller – Steven Maron – Michael Flaherty – Jarrod Schindler – Zoe Little – Caro Field – Michael Bochner – Duncan – Naomi Watson – David Cushman – Alexander – Chris K – Gavin Doig – Sam Fenn – Tanner Morton – AJ Schuster – Jennifer Bush – David Stroud – Amanda Furlotti – Andrew Baker – Matt Gaskell – Jules Bailey – Eero Wahlstedt – Andrew Fair – Bill Thornton – Brian Amoebas – Brett Douville – Jeffrey Olson – Matt Betzel – Mueller – Nate from Kalamazoo – Melanie Stivers – Richard Toller – Alexander Polson – Earl Lozada – Jon O’Keefe – Justin McElroy – Arjun Sharma – James Johnson – Andrew Lee – Kevin Morrell – Kevin Pennyfeather – Emily Williams --------------------💃STRONG SONGS LIVE!🕺July 11, 2026 | Portland, ORBuy Tickets Here (Livestream Tix Now Available!)----LINKS-----💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS!Patreon | One-Time Donation🏠 HOMEPAGE👚 MERCH💬 DISCORD SERVER📬 KIRK'S NEWSLETTER🎸 KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS🎶 KIRK'S MUSIC📷 KIRK’S SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram | YouTube | Bluesky🎧 EVERY STRONG SONG:Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music🎨 SHOW ART:Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics