I have finally figured out the connection between the two songs in my mind. Both were meant to be hits with a fat sound. The skinny sound vs the fat sound; new wave guitars vs the synth -- and the synth won out. In fact, it won everywhere starting with the DX7 and going into all areas of pop. The 1980s were known for synth and new drum sounds. How many synth bands were there? Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Laurie Anderson, Human League, OMD, Pet Shop Boys, Joy Division, etc.
The skinny sound was more punk, new wave and Bill did it splendidly with Red Noise. But then things changed to a techno, keyboard sound. There were meandering "art" bands like Japan but mainstream tastes wanted Duran Duran who borrowed from Japan but were less pretentious, more straight ahead pop. The defining character were the keyboards. Even for the one-off hit bands like Talk Talk, The Art of Noise, Soft Cell, A-ha, Thomas Dolby, etc., the keyboards and sampling were the ticket. Even Peter Gabriel was known for a certain hollow flute keyboard sound.
So "Cars" came out in 1979 though I remember it from the early 1980s. "Flaming Desire" was also early 1980s and like I said they both had a hit quality -- i.e., a catchy melody -- with no overt guitar and a fatten keyboard sound. I remembered at the time that "Flaming Desire" was almost too fat, almost unwieldy thick, but listening to it now I don't have that impression. Still that old impression lingers. And that's why I associate it so strongly with "Cars." So I think I've solved my riddle concerning those two songs.
Now I'm working on "Are Friends Electric?" with Dali's footage from Hitchcock's Spellbound and another Crime Noir movie "Shed No Tears" with June Williams as the femme fatale. If Bill or anyone has any insight into this kind of psychological mixture of dream analysis and heartbreak, I would be glad to hear it.
Sorry, I just deleted something. 😀 It was a rant that "Gone with the Wind" is now gone with the wind. So use those 1940s movies before they too will be gone. That's it in a nutshell.
I see no one has responded, so I'm assuming that what I said about synths vs guitars and Flaming Desire/Cars is a somewhat correct impression. Also it occurred to me that guitars really didn't die out because of the synth but changed their sound, their image and acquired new pyro-techniques due to people like Van Halen. The stripped down guitar sound of punks and new wave didn't last that long before tapping, sweeping and metal took hold.
I think Bill was doing the same virtuoso playing as metal players but with modes and then changed to the new wave aesthetic. Metal was in for a number of years but then things changed over night with Grunge's simple three chord songs. Many metal players who devoted years to cultivate their pyro-technique fell off the musical earth and became virtually unknown once Grunge appeared. "Hey, weren't you famous once!" or "You look familiar... and I want fries with that coke" was a common refrain heard by these metal players who could only get work in hamburger joints. Grunge displaced everything.
I see Bill doesn't go for the metal aesthetic in guitars and, to be honest, neither do I. I also finished my Gary Numan "Are Friends Electric?" video and it's a first draft. Parts were inspired from the "Flaming Desire" video. Bill captures dreams states quite well with his imagery. I'll post it and maybe Bill or others can give an assessment.
I really think it would be amazing if Bill would do some more videos. I like his Christmas and Time Machine videos. The great thing today is that many movies from the 1940s are now in the public domain. You can use what imagery you want and because Bill has a fascination with that time period it would be like a treasure chest to create whatever he wants. The possibilities are endless...