You've come a long way baby!...
FIVE/ICKY THUMP/THE WHITE STRIPES
This Friday I decided to rope it in; Take a little time out for me. A drank, a smoke, a shuffle through the Los Angeles Times strewn about the floor. Television had little to offer [it was Friday night after all], but CBS caught my eye. The Grammy's top [insert arbitrary # here] Performances of All Time. Oh shit. Gotta watch, oddly scripted, emoitionless intros from Alicia Keys, Melissa Ethridge, and Faith Hill nonwithstanding. Why? Cause I knew that I would be able to relive that moment from the 2004 Grammy's when Jag and Meg White ripped, no shredded, no tore through Death Letter, rocking the crowd and letting the whole world know that they are a force to be recokened with. [Say it with me now: Jack and Meg White ain't nothing to fuck with!] Sadly the performance did not make the list in which a somber Green Day performance came in it at number one, but it's okay, cause when I pop the Stripes' latest disc Icky Thump into my stereo I find myself reminded of and repeating that Jack and Meg White ain't nothing to fuck with ad nauseaum. Hard to believe that this band was once "indie"-pendent, below the radar, or underground when the 14 tracks that make up this disc are so wonderfully constructed, chaotic, focused, and full formed; And that there once was a time when all they wanted was their "ice cream colder and a little cream soda", when this hard rockin, lo-fi aestetics in surround sound LP begs [no needs] to be heard. Guitars are ripped to shreds, gaelic bounces weave their way in out of the disc's sequencing, vocals are strained, and humor interjects itself when you least expect it. Yes, the formula ain't broken, but it ain't locked in stone either. Nearly ten years in the game, and the White Stripes are still doing more with two people than most bands do with four members or more. Rustic, passionate, falling apart at the seams, this thump sure is icky, but like a car crash on the side of the road it's worth taking a look. Even if it slows you down for a bit.
KEY TRACKS: Icky Thump/Rag & Bone/Catch Hell Blues
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