the white stripes – Vinyl Mag

Though The White Stripes helped to pioneer the garage rock renaissance of the early 2000s, their bizarre aesthetic often (intentionally) distracted from the ingenious minimalist blues pumping through their Sears amps. Frontman Jack White has often stated that the color scheme and childlike mannerisms of the band were meant to juxtapose the music they played, and to reinforce blues as the people’s genre, interpretable in literally any way. Whether due to freakish sonic experimentation or unintelligible riddles for lyrics, here are their ten quirkiest songs.

10. “I Think I Smell A Rat”

Jack’s lyrics are often aimed at hypocrisy and entitlement, and that’s probably what this song is about too. That or the White residence had a pest issue.

9. “Little People”

The Stripes mostly outgrew their weirdness after Elephant, so you can be damn sure their first record was full of it. “Little People” imagines random, somewhat disturbing vignettes of what children do in their downtime – like playing with spiders or sleeping with tigers.

8. “Black Math”

The super catchy power chord riffage in “Black Math” often distracts from the anti-STEM message at its core. We know Jack hasn’t always been the biggest fan of K-12 – he was brought up in Catholic school and almost went to seminary – but this is a little much!

7. “The Hardest Button To Button”

Otherwise known as “the White Stripes song from that one episode of The Simpsons.” Besides the awesome dabbling in bass and righteously furious cymbal bashing, “The Hardest Button To Button” pretty casually glosses over the topics of kidnapping, voodoo, and space-age technology.

6. “Astro”

Some have posited that “Astro” is also about hypocrisy, given the disdaining nod to Thomas Edison (#TeamTesla). But it could just be a weird dance move that only Detroitians know about.

5. “Rag And Bone”

Put simply, this is the greatest spoken word Jack has ever put to tape (yes, even considering “Old Mary”). He and Meg go on a thrifting adventure that would put Macklemore to shame, and Meg learns a valuable lesson about the line between stealing and borrowing.

4. “Let’s Build A Home”

Few things in life are as ~quirky~ as children’s poetry, as demonstrated by the short intro to “Let’s Build A Home”. Other than that it’s a pretty straightforward chunk of Stripes randomness, but to write a song about a kid’s poem is pretty cool in and of itself. Plot twist: the kid at the beginning is a young Jack, whose family members are prompting him to sing a song about putting the Devil in a box. Is it any wonder he turned out the way he did?

3. “Little Room”

Speaking of architecture, this is a 30 second song about rooms of varying sizes and is probably a metaphor about the band growing in popularity. But it’s also a 30 second song about rooms of varying sizes.

2. “Aluminum”

No self-respecting musician hasn’t, at one point or another, sung into a Wurlitzer. So here is proof that the White Stripes are self-respecting musicians: “Aluminum” consists of Jack and Meg yelling “AAAAHHHH” over a distorted freakshow riff. It is abstract to say the least.

1. “Lafayette Blues”

My personal favorite Stripes song of them all, “Lafayette Blues” simply has Jack singing all of Detroit’s French street names over a manic punk beat. This is the embodiment of the band’s quest to mix the absurd with the fist-pumping, and it works perfectly.

Record Store Day 2015, an annual event held on the third Saturday of April, is fast approaching. The holiday has grown each year since its 2007 inception, and some horrible folks are even starting things early by gouging prices on eBay. But do not lose heart, Young Waxhopper: this is a day meant to celebrate independent record stores, so to squash the scalpers, all you have to do is wait until April 18, then just show up.

Though the problematic aspects and downsides of Record Store Day – as well as the vinyl comeback at large – have been well-documented, it’s still fun for fans of analog (fanalogs?) to come together on common ground and jockey for position to snag the coolest ‘sclusie. Maybe that’s just my competitive streak talking, though. The full list of exclusive RSD releases can be found at the event’s website, but we have lovingly compiled some highlights you should be sure to obtain.

As always, don’t forget about the $1 used bins, the vanishing compact disc, or cassette tapes, apparently. You can also just use the day as an excuse to catch up your non-exclusive collection, which is a more impactful contribution to your brick and mortar’s bottom line.

Father John Misty

Father John Misty‘s latest record I Love You, Honeybear is a meta ode to his wife and soulmate, so his contribution is a fittingly heart-shaped red 7″ acoustic version of the album’s titular track.

St. Paul and the Broken Bones

Speaking of funkily shaped slabs of melodies, St. Paul and the Broken Bones are putting out a 12″ single of covers recorded live at the Alabama Theatre… and shaped like Alabama. It remains to be seen if either of these will play on the average turntable, but it would be really embarrassing for all involved parties if they didn’t.

The Pizza Underground

For some wonderful reason, The Pizza Underground is still definitely a thing, and have recorded classics like “Pizza Gal”, “I’m Waiting For Delivery Man”, and “Take A Bite of The Wild Slice” to vinyl for the first time.

RPM Turntable Baseball

Following in the footsteps of last year’s RPM football, this year we’ll get RPM Turntable Baseball. It’s a two player game which probably gets old real fast, but still, it’s vinyl baseball!!!!!

Lullaby Renditions of the Grateful Dead

As you may have caught on, this writer’s favorite part of RSD is the Camus-esque absurdity of it all. So next up is Lullaby Renditions of the Grateful Dead, whose cover features a baby version of the band’s distinguished cartoon bear. Aww!

The White Stripes

But there’s real music stuff happening too. 2013 RSD ambassador Jack White has offered up The White Stripes‘ Get Behind Me Satan for its first commercial vinyl release EVER. Jack White/Third Man Records obsessives rejoiced at this announcement, because until now it’s only been sold for $500 at the label’s Nashville storefront.

The Zombies

Emblematic 60s poppers The Zombies are still touring regularly, and now we’re being treated to their never-before-released follow up to Odessey And Oracle. This may be their Pinkerton, so prepare yourselves.

Midlake

Midlake are releasing live recordings from a hometown show in Denton, TX., and you should buy it because Midlake are great, and you don’t need much justification beyond that. (Although it also comes with DVD concert footage.)

Violent Femmes

Violent Femmes recently released “Love Love Love Love Love”, their first new music in 17 years; now it’ll be available on vinyl along with three other new & definitely not self-deprecating songs: “Happy New Year Next Year”, “Good At/For Nothing”, and “Fast Horses”.

Ryan Adams

It’s hard to keep an unreleased Ryan Adams track down, and even though his fans must be exhausted buying all this music, it’s hard for the dude to make bad music. The 12″ features an alt take of “Come Pick Me Up” and “When The Rope Gets Tight” from an upcoming deluxe reissue of Heartbreaker.

And now a word from Record Store Day 2015 Ambassador Dave Grohl:

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10 Quirkiest White Stripes Songs