Car Song (Elastica song)

"Car Song"
Single by Elastica
from the album Elastica
Released January 1996
Format CD single
Recorded 1994
Genre Britpop, alternative rock
Length 2:25
Label Geffen Records
Writer(s) Justine Frischmann, Elastica
Producer(s) Elastica
Elastica singles chronology
"Waking Up"
(1995)
"Car Song"
(1996)
"How He Wrote Elastica Man"
(1999)

"Car Song" is a song by the Britpop group Elastica. It was originally released in 1995 on the band's self-titled debut album. A year later, it was released as a single.

The song, which is about having sex in a car, received positive reviews from critics. It peaked at #33 on the US Alternative Songs chart and at #14 on the Canadian alternative chart.

Background

"Car Song" was written by Elastica's lead singer, Justine Frischmann. The song is about having sex in a car.[1][2]

Release

"Car Song" was first released on Elastica's self-titled debut album on 14 March 1995.[1] Its five-track CD single was released in 1996 by Geffen Records.[3] Another version of the song, titled "Four Wheeling", was included on Elastica's compilation album, Elastica Radio One Sessions.[4]

Critical reception

"Car Song" received generally positive reviews from music critics. According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the song "makes sex in a car actually sound sexy".[1] Entertainment Weekly '​s Chuck Eddy wrote that "Justine Frischmann's awkward sex-in-a-Ford-Fiesta forwardness ("Car Song") can charm your pants off."[5]

Chart performance

In the US, the single spent three weeks on the Alternative Songs chart and peaked at #33 on 23 December 1995.[6] It also spent nine weeks on the Canadian alternative chart, peaking at #14 there.[7]

In popular media

"Car Song" was included on an episode of Gilmore Girls in addition to appearing on the show's soundtrack Our Little Corner of the World: Music from Gilmore Girls.[8] The song was also featured in TV show Hindsight.

Music video

The song's music video, directed by Spike Jonze, has been described as a "futuristic thriller combining elements of Blade Runner and Japanese monster films".[9]

Tracklist

CD single[3]

  1. "Car Song" [LP Version]
  2. "Car Song"
  3. "Bar Bar Bar"
  4. "Jam" [II]
  5. "Gloria"

Charts

Chart Peak
position
US Alternative Songs[6] 33
Canadian Alternative Rock[7] 14

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Elastica - Elastica". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  2. Pareles, Jon. "IN PERFORMANCE; POP". nytimes.com, 4 March 1995. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Car Song - Elastica". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  4. Beets, Greg. "Elastica - Music Review". austinchronicle.com, 15 August 2003. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  5. Eddy, Chuck. "Elastica Review". ew.com, 7 April 1995. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Car Song - Elastica". billboard.com. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Results - RPM". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  8. Hay, Carla. "Sound Tracks" Billboard, 28 September 2002, p. 14.
  9. Beebe, Roger and Middleton, Jason. Medium Cool: Music Videos from Soundies to Cellphones (Duke University Press, 2007), p. 308.

External links