Eighth in a series on one Dullard's collection of 45s
Song: "Something to Grab For"
Artist: Ric Ocasek
Year released: 1982
Highest U.S. chart position: 47
A Ric Ocasek solo album seems unnecessary, if not outright absurd. As undisputed leader (perhaps even dictator) of the Cars, Ocasek already had the total control of that band, a level of command that many some "solo" artists lack because of record company pressures or meddling producers. The band still existed, so it wasn't as if Ocasek had no other option than to go on his own. He did anyway, at least in between the Cars' commercially slick albums "Shake It Up" and "Heartbeat City."
"Something to Grab For" is from Ocasek's first solo LP, "Beatitude." The track echoes his work with the Cars, with the requisite themes of isolation and detachment. The song's stalker-protaganist stands distantly from the one he desires, an apparently troubled woman who may be "a lost weekender." Despite the singer's yearnings, he's unable to make a move himself, asking that she give him "something to grab for" but never getting his wish.
With a dense guitar sound and tight arrangement, "Something to Grab For" has a tougher feel than most Cars records, which tended to sound loose and airy. The song is still so close enough to the band's hooky sound, however, that it exposes the quandary facing the Cars throughout their career: They weren't weird enough to be New Wave, but they were too weird to be Album Oriented Rock. Thus, they were loved by no one, even though their best work is worthy of admiration for its cleverness and craft.
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