Gomez: "Airstream Driver"

I heard this song on the radio the other day and thought it was both fun and sort of strange. What are the odds, after all, that Gomez’s new single would share the title of an obscure Red Red Meat album cut from 1997? It didn’t even occur to me that this sugary, predictable, and totally catchy pop tune might actually be a cover of the Star Above the Manger dirge. Some close digging around on Pastry Sharp reveals that it in fact is: Tim Rutili and Tim Hurley do share songwriting credits on this song, which cherry picks a few lines from the original, mixes everything around, and develops something entirely new.

I asked Rutili about this when I had a chance to speak with him earlier this week about the excellent Bunny Gets Paid reissue. In his telling it went down something like this: Gomez are working in the same studio where RRM were rehearsing for their gigs last summer; RRM leave their stuff strewn everywhere when they take off for the night; Gomez dudes are having a hard time coming up with some lyrics and cop a few sheets off the floor; rest is history.

Rutili seriously doubts they’d ever heard the song before, and I can’t help but think that’s an asset here. RRM’s “Airstream Driver” is a big, creaking experimental rock song; mumbled lyrics, frayed guitars, and lots of low end. Gomez’s “Airstream Driver” is all buoyancy: clear guitar tones, chirping synths, and really obvious pop drums. And, unlike RRM covers that tend to stick too close to the source material (see: Carissa’s Wierd, Roommate), the song is really good. It doesn’t feel over-produced or over-stuffed, and by not kowtowing to the original they’re able to recast it as something distinctly their own.