Lately I've been listening to The Cars. They started out in the late 70s as more of a guitar-heavy rock band, but saw the emergence of synth-pop as the "wave of the future of music" or "new wave." Their debut album, named for the band, defined their sound, using the lilting melody of Ric Ocasek's vocal style to create a haunting yet distinctive rock-pop sound that would continue through the band's career. Their sophomore album, "Candy-O" suffered from the standard sophomore album curse, giving the appearance that they had put all their best songs on their debut album. The opening track, "Let's Go," was really the only memorable song from the album. No, Cindy, pin her down with your thighs and use the paddle. Their third album, "Panorama," while rewarding to fans, didn't do them a lot of favors on the musical circuit, and they were in danger of fading into obscurity until their next album, "Shake it up" put them back on the charts with the album's title song. They were still a somewhat backwater band until their fifth album, "Heartbeat City," catapulted them into top forty stardom. This was the album that defined them, and its musical stylings were similar enough to their past that they enjoyed a resurgence of popularity as fans went back and found their catalog to be a potpourri of new wave tracks.