Play 'Electric Cars'
The song’s writer, Vic Bailey, discusses the beginnings:
What was the inspiration for the song?
“When Chris Paine’s 2006 film ‘Who Killed The Electric Car?’ was released I didn’t initially get to see it. I became aware of it through the press and also saw a trailer on television. The film seemed to slip away, but something kept it in mind. I tried to hire the film at my local DVD store, but it seemed to be permanently booked out. Finally I was able to see ‘Who Killed The Electric Car?’. My reaction was disbelief and outrage. There are sometimes powerful emotions at work in the song-writing process. I concede that, in part, outrage was a driving force (pardon the pun) for ‘Electric Cars’ developing into the track it became. I kept imagining the phrase ‘Electric cars are coming’ over and over in an assertive style. Yet, even then, I realised that just leaving it at that would open myself to folks politely (or impolitely) reminding me that ‘no, they’re here’, so that became an essential lyric component too.”
Is ‘Electric Cars’ autobiographical in any sense?
“Certainly part of it is – when I was young ‘Route 66’ was shown on Australian television. There was something very interesting, in a Jack Kerouac sense, about two characters, Tod and Buz, travelling along Route 66. What an exotic vehicle they drove – a Chevrolet Corvette. I did love The Nelson Riddle Orchestra theme, too.
Also, science fiction was such a great literary ‘escape’ for me. The writings of people such as H G Wells, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and Philip K Dick really struck a chord. In so many ways they looked ahead.
Inspiration was to be found through movies, such as the original film version of ‘1984’ starring Edmund O’Brien, and ‘Fahrenheit 451’ which featured Oskar Werner and Julie Christie.”
What about the ‘Electric Cars’ music video – was it a lengthy project?
“Yes, it evolved over time really… Originally I had the idea of three figures walking through mist along a road, courtesy of a fog machine; essentially a 60-second promotional clip for YouTube. This proved to be an impractical idea, so Lois, (who produced the video) and I gradually developed a series of story-lines and imagery to suit the track. There were also some spontaneous creative moments. Overall the production timeline lengthened considerably. It was, however, stimulating to see the music video evolve in the way it did.
I always felt it should have a mix of light and shade throughout. It’s a serious message, but I was conscious of the need to give it ‘heart’ – which Lois, a gracious music video producer and collaborator throughout the visual process, certainly realised.”
Play 'Electric Cars'
The song’s writer, Vic Bailey, discusses the beginnings:
What was the inspiration for the song?
“When Chris Paine’s 2006 film ‘Who Killed The Electric Car?’ was released I didn’t initially get to see it. I became aware of it through the press and also saw a trailer on television. The film seemed to slip away, but something kept it in mind. I tried to hire the film at my local DVD store, but it seemed to be permanently booked out. Finally I was able to see ‘Who Killed The Electric Car?’. My reaction was disbelief and outrage. There are sometimes powerful emotions at work in the song-writing process. I concede that, in part, outrage was a driving force (pardon the pun) for ‘Electric Cars’ developing into the track it became. I kept imagining the phrase ‘Electric cars are coming’ over and over in an assertive style. Yet, even then, I realised that just leaving it at that would open myself to folks politely (or impolitely) reminding me that ‘no, they’re here’, so that became an essential lyric component too.”
Is ‘Electric Cars’ autobiographical in any sense?
“Certainly part of it is – when I was young ‘Route 66’ was shown on Australian television. There was something very interesting, in a Jack Kerouac sense, about two characters, Tod and Buz, travelling along Route 66. What an exotic vehicle they drove – a Chevrolet Corvette. I did love The Nelson Riddle Orchestra theme, too.
Also, science fiction was such a great literary ‘escape’ for me. The writings of people such as H G Wells, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and Philip K Dick really struck a chord. In so many ways they looked ahead.
Inspiration was to be found through movies, such as the original film version of ‘1984’ starring Edmund O’Brien, and ‘Fahrenheit 451’ which featured Oskar Werner and Julie Christie.”
What about the ‘Electric Cars’ music video – was it a lengthy project?
“Yes, it evolved over time really… Originally I had the idea of three figures walking through mist along a road, courtesy of a fog machine; essentially a 60-second promotional clip for YouTube. This proved to be an impractical idea, so Lois, (who produced the video) and I gradually developed a series of story-lines and imagery to suit the track. There were also some spontaneous creative moments. Overall the production timeline lengthened considerably. It was, however, stimulating to see the music video evolve in the way it did.
I always felt it should have a mix of light and shade throughout. It’s a serious message, but I was conscious of the need to give it ‘heart’ – which Lois, a gracious music video producer and collaborator throughout the visual process, certainly realised.”