Radar Detector

Album: Darwin Deez (2010)
Charted: 62
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Darwin Deez are a New York based Indie folk band, who are named after the stage moniker of their main man Darwin Smith. This is their second single, and their first UK top 75 hit.
  • Darwin Smith told Gigwise about this song: "A radar detector is a device, illegal in some provinces, that alerts drivers to the presence of police radar in the vicinity. Drivers, in turn, use this information to modulate the speed of their spacecraft, you nawmsayin? I once fell in love with a girl who reminded me of a radar detector in the way that she constantly kept her eye out for my well-being, like a loving machine, and I wrote this song about her."
  • This track is included on Darwin Deez's self-titled album. Smith told CMU how he wrote for the record: "For most of the tracks on this album, I started with a topic or concept for the song, and then I established the rhythm guitar part and the lyrics and melody. More than once, I started with the first line of the first verse, and in those cases, the first line then determined the shape of the verse melody, and then I wrote a chorus to contrast it. I added all the other instrumentation during the recording process."
  • During an interview with The Sun, the comment was made that Darwin Deez's dancing in the video is a bit dorky. He responded: "I went a little crazy during the shoot so I had to ask the director to use the tamer stuff for fear of an excessively high dork factor."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"They're Playing My Song

Gramm co-wrote this gorgeous ballad and delivered an inspired vocal, but the song was the beginning of the end of his time with Foreigner.

Edie Brickell

Edie BrickellSongwriter Interviews

Edie Brickell on her collaborations with Paul Simon, Steve Martin and Willie Nelson, and her 2021 album with the New Bohemians.

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright IIISongwriter Interviews

"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)Songwriter Interviews

The co-writer/guitarist on many Alice Cooper hits, Dick was also Lou Reed's axeman on the Rock n' Roll Animal album.

Bass Player Scott Edwards

Bass Player Scott EdwardsSong Writing

Scott was Stevie Wonder's bass player before becoming a top session player. Hits he played on include "I Will Survive," "Being With You" and "Sara Smile."