The Onion's AV Club recently petitioned 25 luminaries of indie rock (and Patrick Stump) to perform cover songs in a tiny, circular room at their offices. Being the bookishly suave gentlemen that they are, the Walkmen agreed to cover whatever song was left at the end of the series, which just so happened to be R.E.M.'s "Driver 8." The unsung hero of this band has always been drummer Matt Barrick, and he makes his case for Walkman of the Year 2010 by doing a number on the toms for this rollicking arrangement of Stipe and Co.'s 1985 stunner. Fun fact: Dale Earnhart, Jr. appropriated this song's title for his autobiography.
This week, we'll be hosting posts from The Tripwire, the FADER's source for every awesome thing in rock. Starting next week, The Tripwire will become a weekly column on TheFADER.com, combining the latest music, news, interviews, haiku reviews, cheekiness and a fairly healthy amount of guitars. Stay tuned!
