Artist Gary Numan

Ed Fielding

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Gary Numan

One of those guys who personifies a musical decade with all the completeness of Elvis Presley or Jimi Hendrix, Gary Numan reps for the ’80s but still sounds current thanks to the unflagging ubiquity of his hit “Cars.” Listen to the innards of a hip-hop song or hang out at a DJ night for a half-hour and you will hear at least part of it in play. The track’s spooky melody and eerie synths say a lot about where Numan still hangs his hat musically—so much so that recent albums like Jagged have garnered numerous comparisons to Nine Inch Nails.

Updated 10/07/2009