Ric Ocasek of The Cars dies.

Daily Mail: Cars frontman Ric Ocasek is found dead at age 75 in his Manhattan apartment.

The former-lead singer of The Cars was believed to have died of natural causes.  Estranged wife Paulina Porizkova found him 'unconscious and unresponsive'[.]
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The band originated in Boston in 1976 and two years later released their self-titled album which shot them to fame with hits that included 'My Best Friend's Girl.'
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They produced six records from the 1978 to 1987 of which there were 13 top-40 singles.

In 1984 they won MTV's Video of the Year award for the song 'You Might Think' from their fifth album.

The band are most known for their song 'Drive' being used as the soundtrack for a CBS video for Live Aid that showed the horrors of famine in Ethiopia.

Winona Daily News: Cars' singer Ric Ocasek dead at 75.

Ocasek's minimalist, half-spoken deadpan vocals set made the band's sound, and his long, lanky appearance formed their lasting image.

The first three songs on their 1978 self-titled first album were all hit singles and remain widely known classics and oldies radio airplay: "Good Times Roll," ''My Best Friend's Girl" and "Just What I Needed."
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They were always an MTV favorite, and the whimsical, partly animated video for "You Might Think" along with the mournful video for "Drive" brought them near-constant airplay on the channel in the mid-1980s.

The band broke up in 1988, but their influence would be deeply felt in the 1990s and beyond. Kurt Cobain and Nirvana covered "My Best Friend's Girl" at their last live show in 1994, and Ocasek produced albums for younger bands including Weezer, No Doubt and Bad Religion.

"Candy-O" (audio only):

"You Might Think":

NPR: There is some confusion about Ocasek's age: The NYPD said that he was 75; public records list his age as 70 years old.

Top 8 1980s Songs by The Cars (reviews only).

Twitter: Condolences and reactions to Ric Ocasek.

You Tube: More music and videos.

Ocasek's death follows too closely to the recent passing of Eddie Money. Here's hoping this segment of the population is hands-off from the Reaper for a while now.

Eddie Money, dead way too soon, age 70.

Early Eddie Money band. (I don't remember where I found this image. If it's "yours", leave a comment, I'll be happy to give attribution. No copyright infringement intended. Reproduced in memory of Eddie).

BBC: Eddie Money, Two Tickets to Paradise singer, dies at 70.

American singer Eddie Money, who had major US chart success in the 70s and 80s with songs such as Two Tickets to Paradise and Take Me Home Tonight, has died at the age of 70, [on Friday, September 13, 2019].

Money released 11 albums and sold nearly 30 million records in a career that spanned four decades.

More than anything, Money’s music was considered blue-collar at its core, which led him to be featured on “The King of Queens” in 2002, where he performed a selection of his hits for friend and star Kevin James.

Variety: Eddie Money, ‘Two Tickets to Paradise’ Singer, Dies at 70.

Known also for his comedic manner, both in his music videos and in interviews, he said last year that, despite his string of hit songs, he “missed the boat when it [came] to the big money.” In his typically self-deprecating manner, Money capped the conversation with this view: “The kids aren’t in jail, they’re not in rehab, nobody’s wrecked the car this week and there’s still milk in the refrigerator. I’m having a good month.”

As with many singers and bands, some of the better songs didn't receive the air play they deserved:

"We Should Be Sleeping":

"I'll Get By":

And his Geiko Ad, which isn't mentioned in any Top Geiko ad story or article. Which means it is the exception to the rule, therefore automatically defaulting to being the Best Geiko ad ever. And yeah, it is. Don't disagree with me on this. Or I'll doxx you:

His music and videos were a staple of MTV. His tours always did well. He took his music seriously, but he had a sense of humor about himself. I think this is why he's so likeable. He only learned of the cancer three weeks ago. We never know, do we. Like Mr. $ said, "every day above ground is a good day."

He will be missed. More of his songs, videos, interviews and performances can be found on You Tube.

102.9 MGK: Twitter Reactions to the death of Eddie Money.

More reactions and tributes at The Blast (via Yahoo).
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BBC Archived
Variety Archived

Eddie Money Diagnosed with Stage 4 Esophageal Cancer.

Eddie Money

People: Eddie Money Reveals He’s Been Diagnosed with Stage 4 Esophageal Cancer.

The 70-year-old musician (né Edward Mahoney) revealed his diagnosis in a clip from his reality television series Real Money.

“I thought I was just going in to get a checkup and [the doctor] told me that I got cancer,” Money says in the clip.

“He’s been diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer,” his wife Laurie adds, noting that the cancer has also “spread to his liver.”

Above: AXS TV

I Wanna Go Back:

'Wanna Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star (audio only): 

Ultimate Classic Rock: Top Ten Eddie Money Songs (videos).

Wiki: Eddie Money.

Eddie Money @ Twitter
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People - Archived

MTV Moonman is now Moon Person

Why Moon Person? How do we know, for sure, that it's a person? Presuming it's a person is rather insensitive and it certainly disenfranchises life forms that are not a person.

MTV's renaming Moon Man is the most stupid story I've read in the past...hell - I'm hard pressed to remember the last time a story so utterly ridiculous received media coverage.

From The Washington Times:

“Why should it be a man? It could be a man, it could be a woman, it could be transgender, it could be nonconformist.” [said MTV President Chris McCarthy].

How does he know "it" doesn't object to being called an "it" ?

New Emasculated MTV Icon

I'm surprised they didn't choose to give "it" a hyphenated last name.

Moon Person-Gallagher-Adamson-Wyniki-Marsh-Jones-Phillips-Rogers, maybe?

MTV is still owned by Viacom .

From the same Washington Times story, McCarthy noting that part of the reason for the name change of Moon Man is to reverse a five-year "downward trajectory" (i.e. huge ratings drop). He continues that by "amplyfying young people's voices," may help attract the sexual identifications that we now are told exceed the two classifications of 'male' and 'female'.

And changing Moon Man to Moon Person is going to help that five year exodus of MTV viewers. Yup, you betcha!

And isn't MTV showing another form of bias and discrimination by being "other- celestial-bodies"-exclusive?  Why the Moon? Why not a planet? Saturn Person. Neptune Person. What bigotry does MTV exhibit by singling out the moon?

MTV was fantastic in its prime. I'm surprised they're still operating, considering their programming now contains almost no music videos. 

You may not notice the immediate, wonderful impact that MTV's decision will have on your life, but know that ALL of OUR LIVES are far better off for re-naming Moon Man. Don't you feel better already? No? Give it some time.