The Cars

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I'm very excited for you, Willie and still crossing my fingers that you will be able to get to one of their shows.

As far as changing AV's - I used to change mine until Smokin' Hot came along, and all the Glenn girls threatened to steal it from me if I changed it. It's been so long now that I think if I changed mine, I would get so confused, I'd forget how to post.

[Prettymaid]

Can I say how freakin' excited I am for a week from tomorrow to get here!?!?!

Hence, the new avi and signature. I made the signature using the newest publicity picture of The Cars but it just didn't feel right without my beloved Benjamin being a part of this also, so I figured he'd make a great avi because he would have been here with the other guys had he'd not been taken from us 10 years ago. This is the first time I've ever had anyone other than Timothy in those spots since joining this board but this is almost like the anticipation that I had for LROOE. I promise it's only for a couple of weeks then Timothy is coming back for sure!!

Please don't apologize because if you do I have to too. (And so do a lot of other people on this board!)

Seriously, we all know we love the Eagles or we wouldn't be here. Surely there's enough love to go around for our other faves - especially during special occasions!

[Freypower]

As people know I had a Mark Knopfler av & related sig a couple of weeks ago & will probably do that again in August for his birthday (although having said that my wallpaper this week is a VERY nice screen shot). Given that I change my av every week it didn't seem like a big deal... I think if you want a change, go ahead.

[TimothyBFan]

Have I mentioned that there's a little album coming out today that I'm a bit excited about?

Small clip of them in the studio.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdtRGcQJSIE[/ame]

[Prettymaid]

I'm excited for you TBF! They sound great in that clip - just like their old selves. I'm sure Benjamin was there in spirit.

[TimothyBFan]

Here's a video from last night, their first show of the mini tour starting in Seattle. Gotta tell ya, having mixed emotions about the fact that this was a Benjamin song and Ric is singing them. They sound great but something just seems wrong with it.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV6M-HJQqpI[/ame]

[Prettymaid]

I don't blame you. It's okay.........but not the same as Benjamin. And this coming from somebody who always thought Ric sang it anyway until you set me straight!

[TimothyBFan]

I need to vent for a bit to some of you that will understand.

You all know that I'm a huge fan of The Cars (pretty much my 2nd favorite group ever!) and one of the main reasons was the late Benjamin Orr. You also know I am a member of another community for Benjamin Orr called The Legacy. There has been some major controversy over there regarding the new album and mainly Ric Ocasek getting the band back together after all these years since Benjamin is gone and can't be involved, even tho they did not replace him and have repeatedly said they did that because it just wouldn't be The Cars with a different bass player. A lot of it stems from the fact that there supposedly was a fight between Benjamin and Ric that caused the Cars break up 24 years ago.

It's gone so far as to have the person who runs the community to publish a message saying she was starting a boycott of everything for the current Cars, albums, concerts, etc.... and asked others to join in. Of course there are those that have jumped on the band wagon and just a hand full of us that respectfully declined. A lot of these people are friends on Facebook and of course it has spilled into there also. They are just bashing Ric horribly and it's very upsetting for someone like me who has always been a Cars fan, not just a Benjamin fan. I'm about ready to hit ignore on all of them until it all boils over.

What really makes me angrier than anything is the fact that 99.99% of the articles, interviews, etc, that have been published are very nice and respectful in the way The Cars & Ric are handling it all regarding Benjamin's absence. There was one article about a week ago that really got everyone started that was pretty negative but at the end it actually said that it was very edited so I just figured they were trying to make Ric look selfish and mean (we all know how that goes here!).

Here's the latest interview with Ric that is just so heartwarming.

http://www.spinner.com/2011/05/11/th...ove-like-this/

A few quotes from this one....

"Why did you decide to just go out with four members?

I didn't think Ben was replaceable. It just wouldn't have been us. I couldn't imagine having another member and calling it the Cars, having an outside person to do singing or bass playing. It just did not feel right. "

and...

"Were there any moments during the recording where you specifically felt Ben's absence?

Most certainly. Especially when he didn't sing half the songs and I had to do it all [laughs]. I was like, "Whoa, I have to do that. I forgot about that part." I remember the first day we started rehearsing to do the record -- "Oh, yeah, somebody's missing. It's Ben. He's missing. It's just the four of us now." We didn't dwell on it or harp on it but everybody felt that "Oh, gosh, yeah, it's just the four of us now."

and...

"Is this album a tribute to him?

I would have to say no. We love him but we didn't do a tribute. I did a song for him, 'Silver,' on one of my solo albums, 'Nexterday.' I wrote a thing about him which was pretty autobiographical."

Does that sound like a man who doesn't give a sh*t whether Ben's gone or not? Not to me but some people just have to make controversy even when there's none to be had!!!

Thanks for letting me vent!!!

[Brooke]

Willie, that's too bad. It sure sounds to me like the remaining members are being very respectful of Ben.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I'm with you too, Willie! I'm not familiar wth the band's history, but from everything I've read, it sounds like the band is handling this in a very classy and respectful way. You are right that some people just seem to thrive on controversy. I wonder what these same people would be saying if the band had decided to replace Benjamin? Wow - I can do without all that drama!