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In this episode of Reading Is Funktamental, we discuss the life and music of Ric Ocasek, the driving force of one of New Wave’s most successful bands, the hitmaking machine, The Cars, with Peter Aaron, the author of the first in-depth biography of the musician. 

The sounds of new wave pop music and the early days of MTV were defined by the work of a handful of iconic musicians, and few stood taller in that era than Ric Ocasek, frontman and primary songwriter for the Cars. The band charted 13 Top 40 singles in the U.S. from 1978 to 1987, the music video for their song “You Might Think” won MTV's first-ever Video of the Year award, and their biggest hit, “Drive,” became a Top 10 hit worldwide. They would ultimately be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Following the band's breakup in 1988, Ocasek continued to lead a lively professional and personal life, dating supermodels, publishing poetry, and appearing in movies. He enjoyed enormous success as a producer, working with such bands as Weezer, No Doubt, Guided by Voices, and the Bad Brains.

Moving in Stereo: The Life of Ric Ocasek, the Driving Force of the Cars, serves as an in-depth guide to Ocasek's life and career as a musician. Drawing on interviews, personal reminiscences, and the journalistic coverage he so reliably inspired, it gives a memorable portrait of one of the most essential voices in pop music during the MTV era and beyond. For more, read my review at NYSMusic.com https://nysmusic.com/2025/11/24/ric-ocasek-the-cars-driving-force-profiled-in-new-biography/

"Reading is Funktamental" is a monthly one-hour show about great books written about music and music-makers. In each episode, host Sal Cataldi speaks to the authors of some of the best reads about rock, jazz, punk, world, experimental music, and much more. Occasionally, the host is joined by notable musicians who have written about their careers. Recent guests have included eccentric British singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock, Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera, Traffic co-founder Dave Mason, and Moon Zappa. Expect a great conversation and a playlist of great music to go with it.

Sal Cataldi is a musician and writer based in Saugerties. He is best known for his work with his genre-leaping solo project, Spaghetti Eastern Music, and is also a member of the ambient guitar duo, Guitars A Go Go, the poetry and music duo, Vapor Vespers, the jazz ensemble Hari Karaoke Trio of Doom and the quartet, Spaceheater. His writing on music, books and film has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, PopMatters, Seattle Times, Huffington Post, Inside+Out Upstate NY, and NYSMusic.com, where he is the book reviewer.