Cars
By: Gary Numan

Original Performance: Gary Numan
Written by: Gary Numan

Live Versions:
  1. Cars
 
Lyrics:
Cars [Live version (a)]:

[Lyrics from Numan's original]

Here in my car
I feel safest of all
I can lock all my doors
It's the only way to live
In cars

Here in my car
I can only receive
I can listen to you
It keeps me stable for days
In cars

Here in my car
Where the image breaks down
Will you visit me please?
If I open my door?
In cars

Here in my car
You know I've started to think
About leaving tonight
About nothing seems right
In cars
 
The Song:

"Cars"! Yeaaa. This song by Gary Numan is definitely one of the best songs of the '80s. Beck loves the groovy synth stuff like Kraftwerk, Devo, and Gary Numan.

Beck sometimes ad-libs a bit of "Cars" on stage. I know of twice, five years apart (see below), but surely it happened more frequently than that too.

Then in 2017, Roger Joseph Manning Jr. took to playing a snippet of "Cars" as his band member introduction song with some regularity. I am not aware of Beck ever singing the song during this section; he just lets his band jam on it.

The in September 2018, during the band introduction jam at a festival in Chicago, Gary Numan came out and sang some of the song with Beck's band.
 
Live:

Played live 42 times:
Earliest known live version: August 18, 2002
Latest known live version: September 15, 2018

Beck only played a bit of "Cars" while sitting at his piano one night in 2002. He didn't sing much of it, just jammed on the cool '80s riff for a bit.

Then a few years later, Beck and his band were in Japan, tearing it up. They always have fun shows there. His band started the "Cars" riff for a little bit, before the song turned into "Think I'm In Love."

In the summer of 2017, Roger Joseph Manning Jr. would play "Cars" as his band member introduction song during "Where It's At" medleys. I don't think Beck (or anyone) really ever sang very much of it though, it was mostly instrumental.