For maximum impact, pretend he’s sticking his tongue out with a bunch of stickers all over his face. David Byrne is showing off his Gen-Z bona fides by covering Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License,” months after he was the surprise guest at her headlining set at Governors Ball. (Apologies to those who thought her big announcement was for a new album.) The cover is less of a creepy, Eno-fied “Strange Overtones” and more in the spirit of Byrne’s cheerful new album, Who Is the Sky? — try to count the polyrhythms by the time he gets to the “I still fucking love you, babe” crescendo. Byrne previously told Rolling Stone that he was introduced to Rodrigo’s music when she played a series of concerts at Madison Square Garden last year, where he was impressed by the rigor of her performance. “I got introduced to her afterwards, and she seemed like a real person,” he said. “Someone who, growing up in the world that she did, survived it really well.” Rodrigo, who cried when she heard Byrne’s interpretation of the song, also announced that other Sour covers “from some of my favorite artists ever” will follow in the coming weeks to celebrate the album’s fifth anniversary. Jack White for “Good 4 U,” perhaps?
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