Synopsis

Ric Ocasek wanders through a stark, seemingly empty apartment while processing the aftermath of a breakup. The setting reflects the song's unsettled mood, with domestic spaces and objects taking on an eerie, emotionally vacant quality. The Cars appear amid the performance footage, but the video remains centered on Ocasek's isolated presence and the sense that the missing partner has been replaced by something artificial and lifeless. Its subdued, slightly surreal approach matches the song's blend of romantic despair, new wave cool, and dark humor.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was released in March 1982 to promote "Since You're Gone," the second single from The Cars' 1981 album *Shake It Up*.

• "Since You're Gone" was written by Ric Ocasek, who also handles the lead vocal on the recording. The song's breakup theme is presented in the video through isolation rather than a conventional relationship narrative.

• The production is notably restrained compared with The Cars' later, effects-heavy videos. The action largely takes place in an empty apartment, giving the clip a deliberately low-key and unsettling atmosphere.

• A striking visual idea in the video is the transformation of the departed woman into a mannequin-like figure. That image turns the song's emotional distance into something literal and uncanny.

• The clip received MTV exposure during the early 1980s, when music videos were becoming an increasingly important part of a single's promotion.

• The single reached No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 24 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.