FEATURE FEATURE TIM ROGERS AND WHAT RHYMES WITH CARS AND GIRLS PAULGALLOWAYCHATSTOPLAYWRIGHTAIDANFENNESSYABOUT TURNINGAFAVOURITEALBUMINTOAMODERNROMANCE In 1999,Tim Rogers, frontman for popular band You Am I, moved to Melbourne, and something about the changed environment and finding himself alone with some time on his hands got him writing a sheaf of songs. Most were about love in a modern world: getting it, holding on to it and losing it, which was where he was at in those days.With his band caught up in a contractual hiatus and the songs being a little different from his usual work, Rogers decided to record them himself. The album, What Rhymes with Cars and Girls, wasn’t a wild commercial success, but it won Rogers the ARIA Award for Best Male Artist that year.And it found its audience.Those who liked the album tended to love it, to find something resonant within it, something simple, deep and true. It’s a favourite album of playwright-director Aidan Fennessy. WATCH VIDEO A MELBOURNE THEATRE COMPANY: WHAT RHYMES WITH CARS AND GIRLS PHOTO BY JEFF BUSBY 11