White Stripes - Ickythumped
I wanted to write an article about the White Stripes since their release last year 2007, Ickythump, but didn't have the inspiration until now.

The White Stripes, Meg and Jack White are a Alternative rock group out of Detroit Michigan, which formed back in 1997. They originally portrayed themselves as a sister and brother duo, when in fact they were married for a period of time at the beginning of their careers. Even after their divorce, the band has remarkably still stayed together.

The White Stripes use a do-it-yourself, low fidelity approach to recording songs, using a very raw, minimalist simplicity of composition and arrangement primarily inspired by early punk rock, and blues. Personally as a newer fan of White Stripes, I have grown to appreciate their stripped down, Lo-Fi primal sound. Furthermore, their playfulness and general quirkiness make the albums never too heavy or too bizarre for mainstream listeners. With their newest album Ickythump, the Stripes have returned to this analog, scratchy, Detroit garage rock sound after their experimental departure with their 2005 release 'Get Behind Me Satan,' and its piano based pop. However even though Ickythump is a return to earlier styles, it seems more over produced then previous recordings since this is their first and only release with Warner Bros.

It was pointed out to me that Jack White has an obssession with the number three with his recordings, and live performances. As stated on Wikipedia: "Jack has emphasized the significance that the number three holds for the band, citing it as inspiration not only for their tri-colored uniforms (red, white, black), but their pared-down approach to what he considers the three elements of song: storytelling, melody and rhythm. The number three also frequently appears in White Stripes' album artwork, and texts written by Jack, such as liner notes or messages written on the band's website, are often signed with "Jack White III" or simply "III". There are also only three sounds--drums, guitar and vocals--in most of their songs; sometimes keyboard or piano is substituted for guitar." The one thing which I found interesting in Ickythump is that his supposed rule of Three wasn't as honored as previously in other albums. In songs such as 'St. Andrew(The Battle is in the Air)' the recording has bagpipes, raging guitar, drums, and Meg White all churning together at the same time - the additional layers which lend to making the track sound more lush and full also detracts from the White Stripes' strict regimented style of three-is-best.

After writing an article about Death Cab for Cutie and the lyrical genius of Ben Gibbard, it is a bit of let down to come to Jack White's lyrics. Jack White's lyrics are not profound or deep, however they do showcase the playful, ramshackle style that the White Stripes have become so famous and loved for. Lyrcially the songs that stood out strongest for me were the albums title track 'Ickythump' and the folksy 'Effect and Cause.' The song Ickythump deals with the topic of immigration, and criticized America's current stance on immigration policy, as such the song is the first political song which the White Stripes have put out since "The Big Three Killed My Baby," off The White Stripes (1999), the bands debut album. The defining point of the song comes when Jack White states:
"White Americans What? Nothin' better to do?"
"Why don't you kick yourself out? You're an immigrant too."
"Who's using who? What should we do?"
"Well you can't be a pimp And a prostitute too."

The whole song with its abrasive guitars leaves the whole question of the immigration debate uncomfortably unresolved; lyrically and musically.

With Jack's marriage to British model Karen Elson and in a dedication to his own Scottish heritage, the White Stripes showcase a mini-suite with 'Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn', and 'St. Andrew(The Battle is in the Air)'. The two tracks on the album are a a nice homage to his roots with soaring bag pipes, and raucous drums, which sounds strangely like Led Zeppelin and 'The Battle of Evermore.' Unfortunately, to a lot of hard core White Stripes fans these tracks may come across as alien and a radical change from their previous song stylings, but I found them entertaining and to be strong tracks in the middle of the album.

Another stand out track was their rendition of Patti Page's 1950's song 'Conquest' which was originally written by Corky Robbins. The song originally was a 50's song jump blues tune about the battle of the sexes, which the White Stripes turn into a raging garage rock bullfight, complete with dramatic mexican trumpets, and malaguena guitar riffs. Their new rendition takes the tune to a more darker place than the original.

Even though I am not an over the top fan for the White Stripes, I can appreciate and respect their spontaneous tempo shifts, their song dynamics, and their prog rock influences - which abound on this album. People have pointed out that this is easily the White Stripes loudest, in your face album, and at first it was hard to digest, but after a few listens it does grow on you.

-Andrew D.B. Joslyn
Music Musings
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Great album, TERRIBLE master!
Whatever idiot mastered this CD made it so loud that the drums crunch and clip during particularly loud parts. This is particularly noticeable during the chorus on track 3 and the 0:05 part in Icky Thump.

The vinyl version was mastered by a different person and has none of this terrible clipping, plus all the different instruments sound more distinct and snappy. Get that instead.

Now seven albums strong
It's undisputed that the White Stripes are one of the best rock bands of all time. Although I might need some time to think about where to place them in my list of favorite bands, this album proves that they rank pretty high on the Richter scale.

"Icky Thump" is an earthquake-shaker of an album, starting off with a title track with slamming guitar chords, Meg White's loud cymbals and an angular guitar solo acting as the chorus. The solo is followed by a schizophrenic keyboard solo that adds much more excitement to a spectacular start.

And the excitement never ceases. Jack White literally turns into a wannabe-Spanish tenor, with his cry on the epic "Conquest". Who would have thought that Jack would go so far with his loud songs?

Another original twist comes in the form of bagpipes. "Prickly Thorn" starts as a folk-song, complete with clapping. However, it changes gears in a psychedelic bagpipe melody, mixed with strange quotes and laughs.

And it still features awesome exploding songs, such as "Little Cream Soda". Although I have heard Jack White give odd monologues alongside loud guitar blasts, his coolest one yet came in this song. He spends time reminiscing about times when he wanted his ice cream soda a little colder, passing it off by saying "oh well."

I'd have to say that Jack White is starting to develop quite an ego, though. With "Rag and Bone," Jack literally brags that "If it's just things that you don't want, I can use 'em/Meg can use 'em/Make some money out of 'em, at least". Still, I'd have to say that Jack White has every reason to brag--they're the hottest band out in America right now, and still as explosive as they were when they began.

But still, back to rocking. In fact, "Catch Hell Blues" shows off Jack's wacky slide guitar effects. I love how inventive Jack is with high-pitched guitar squeals. I missed these squeals from bands such as "Rage Against the Machine," and I'm glad White has made the squeals cool again (thank goodness!).

And finally, Jack has never sounded so soulful as in the last jam, "Effect and Cause". There's nothing better than a simple acoustic guitar song, with excellent protest lyrics such as "Well you can't take the effect/And make it the cause/I didn't rob a bank/Cos you made up the law".

This is, to date, The White Stripes' explosion album that shows them off at their best. There's so much original materal, so many awesome sound effects and so much protest angst that I couldn't give this album any less than my highest recommendation. Go get it if you're a rock fan. You won't regret it.

candycane dreams of white stripes!
When I first heard that the latest cd for the White Stripes would be hitting the stores soon, I was excited. As a longtime fan, I own all of their music. Before I could buy the cd the music videos for the songs 'Icky Thump' and 'Conquest' began playing everywhere. Even though I was absolutely sure I would be buying the cd without hearing a song on it, I was pleased to see that the White Stripes sounded better than ever. The music videos caught the attention of my son (age 16) who remembered that I had the older White Stripes cds. He began listening to them back to back. So, when I finally bought the latest cd, he wanted to listen to it also. I started spending the mornings in his room searching for the new cd, while he began spending the afternoons after school searching my room for the new cd. It just goes to show how the sound of the White Stripes is crossing over into several generations. The music of Jack and Meg is across the board, in that, they have a blues song, grass roots song, punk song, rock song, and folk song on the same album. Although,'Icky Thump' and 'Conquest' seem to be the favorites of this new album, I favor the song 'Rag and Bone'.
Much like the music on the cds of the White Stripes, the artwork on the albums are confined within the style that is the Whites! Often a black and white photo with red splashes of color and objects of symbolism always continue to show just how complete their albums are in design and thought. This cd sounds as fun as the cover photos where Meg and Jack are dressed like characters out of a scene from 'Mary Poppins'. In contrast, the photos inside the cd booklet are simple and carefree, while maintaining the expression that Jack and Meg balance each other. I am suggesting the cd 'Icky Thump' to friends and family. As a fan, I often have candycane dreams of White Stripes!

ICKY ICKY DUMP
GOODNESS GRACIOUS WHAT IS THIS? THIS IS TERRIBLE. AND SOMEHOW THEY'RE SO POPULAR. JAGGER AND RICHARD 'PASSED THE TOURCH' TO JACK WHITE ON THE LATEST COVER OF ROLLING STONE. I'M CANCELLING MY FORTY YEAR SUBSCRIPTION
TO THE MAGAZINE. I WILL NOT BELABOR THIS TO MUCH DOESN'T RATE IT. SOMEONE MENTIONED THAT ALL THE GREAT RIFFS OF 2007 WERE COMPILED INTO THIS ALBUM. THEY ARE LOUD,VIRTUALLY SCREAMING, AND MAKE SOME MATHMETICAL SENSE BUT ARE DEVOID ABSOLUTEY OF ANY TRUE ROCK FEELING OR EMOTION, ITS ALL PRETENSE.

NOTHING BETTER TO DO THAN THIS PRETENSE, JACK WHITE, KICK YOUSELF OUT, YOU'RE A IMMIGRANT TO. THE ASININE LYRIC OF THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY.

I WON'T BELABOR THE INDIVIDUAL SONGS, THEY ALL STINK THOUGH SOME MORESO THAN OTHERS. CONQUEST IS THE WORST SONG I'VE HEARD IN TWENTY YEARS. WHATS HE TRYING TO DO, DORIS DAY PROUD.

ROLLING STONE LISTS ON THE WEB THE HUNDRED GREATEST ROCK GUITARISTS OF
ALL TIME, THIS JACK WHITE CAT CLOCKS IN AT 17. SAY WHAT?! WITHN SUCH A PROLIFIC HYSTORY OF ROCK AND ROLL?

HE'S AHEAD OF GEORGE HARRISON ! AT 21. THE EDGE OF U2 ! AT 24 BUDDY GUY AT 30. BO DIDDLEY AT 37. PETER GREEN OF EARLY FLEETWOOD MACK AT 38.
JOHN FORGERT AT 40. ROBERT FRIPP OF KING KRIMSON ! AT 42. EDDY HAZEL ! OF FUNKDELIC AT 43. FRANK ZAPPA ! AT 45. PETE TOWNSEND ! AT 50 PAUL KOSSOFF OF FREE ! AT 51. LOU REED AT 52. ZOOT HORN ROLLO OF CAPTAIN BEEFHEARTS MAGIC BAND ! AT 62. MICK RONSON AT 64. VERNON REID OF LIVING COLOUR AT 66. STEVE HOW ! OF YES AT 69. ROBBIS ROBERTSON ! OF THE BAND AT 78. DAVID GILMOUR ! (GOOD GOD WHO PUT THIS LIST TOGETHER) AT 82.. DAVE DAVIES ! OF THE KINKS AT 88.

SO JACK WHITE SURPASSESS ALL THE GUITAR PLAYERS IN SKILL, DEXTERITY, CREATIVITY, PROWRESS ETC. ETC. THIS IS AN UTTER OUTRAGE. AN EMBARASSMENT

THE SECOND BEST ROCK GUITARIST( A VIRTUOSO WITH MANY INSTRUMENTS) WAS A FELLOW NAMED OLLIE HALSALL, A TRUE GENIUS SECOND ONLY TO HENDRIX. THEY HAD A BAND CALLED PATTO AND BOXER WITH ONE OF THE BEST ROCK SINGER OF ALL TIME, MIKE PATTO, BUT APPARENTLY WERE TO PROGRESSIVE FOR THEIR TIME. AFTER BRIAN JONES DEPARTURE AND THEN MICK TAYLOR LEFT THE ROLLING STONES
OLLIE HALSALL WAS PICKED AS THE REPLACEMENT, BUT RICHARDS RIGHTFULLY FELT UPSTAGED AND NIXED IT, A PITY. ANOTHER GREAT GUITARIST WHO SHOULD HAVE MADE THE LIST WAS GARY GREEN OF GENTLE GIANT, ANOTHER FABULOUS BAND THAT DIDN'T MAKE IT BIG THOUGH THE KIDS SEEM TO BE DISCOVERING THEM NOW.AND RON WOOD'S NOT ON THE LIST, HIS WORK WITH ROD STWEART ALONE RATES IT.)

SO BACK TO THE POINT. KURT COBAIN & U2 SAVED US FROM TWO DECADES OF TERRIBLE HAIR BANDS, MOTLEY CRUE, POISON, SKID ROW, KISS TO NAME A FEW.

NOW WHATS GONNA SAVE US FROM THIS JACK WHITE CHARACTER.

I REMEMBER IN COLLEGE 70-74 LISTENING TO NEIL YOUNG LIVE RECORDS AND ALL THE OUTRAGEOUS ERRORS HE MADE. IT WAS TRULY BELLY LAUGH STUFF. NOW THIS JACK WHITE HAS ALL THE TIME, THE TECHNONOGY AND STUDIO PROWRESS TO PLAY A DECENT NOTE AND HE'S JUST DOING THESE BELLY LAUGH ERRORS AGAIN AND THEY'RE EVEN MORE FUNNY. THE 17TH GREATEST ROCK GUITARIST. KID'S A TRUE GOD.

TO CLOSE ON A LIGHTER NOTE MEG WHITE IS AN EFFICIENT MINIMALIST DRUMMER,
AND DRIVES A HARD BEAT THE ONLY TALENT IN THE BAND.

BUT CRIMANY HOW LONG WILL THIS BAND ENDURE BEFORE PROPLE CATCH ON?