Elliott's Eccentricities- Rag and Bone by The White Stripes

Jack White is always on the right. Or is he...?

I swear, Jack White is not a human being. He can’t be; he is just too weird to be from this universe. I am convinced that he is a real life Johnny Depp character from a Tim Burton movie. I mean look at him! I don’t know how he managed to pull a reverse Viewtiful Joe, but I am glad he did.

The funny thing is that, despite how crazy White looks or acts, most of the music he makes is fairly normal. The White Stripes has made some really incredible music that manages to split the divide between popular and artistic. I really don’t know a lot of people, be they hipsters or mainstreamers, who object to the White Stripes. That being said, every Beatles has their Revolution #9, and Jack White is no exception.

Rag and Bone might not be the White Stripes most eccentric track, but it is probably my favorite. Jack and Meg’s Deppesque personalities really shine through. The track follows them as they beg for free stuff. I like to imagine that the song is completely serious; that Jack and Meg really do wander into random people’s houses and creepily ask for stuff.

The thing is the track masks it’s bizarreness behind what sounds like a completely normal Stripes song. The general structure and chorus are fairly standard (and fantastic). It fits perfectly with the rest of Icky Thump and the entirety of the Stripes catalog. The song is so subtly eccentric that a couple members of the blog didn’t think that it really deserved an Eccentricity (don’t worry Eric, I will get on that suggestion next week). However the crazy is there if you pay attention.

On the eccentricity scale ranging from 1 to 10
1- I saw Ghostrider 2.
10- I thought it was a good movie.
Rag and Bone -1/10
Jack White in general – 10/10

The single greatest part of this track is Meg White in the background. She randomly interjects with whispers that just make me crack up. She whoos when she sees the inside of the house, randomly asks what stuff is, and mutters to herself. She completely sells the song; I can see her picking up things and pocketing them as Jack distracts the owner of the house. She says the second best line in the song, “I saw some stuff in your yard, are you gonna give it to us….or not….?” The line is so great that even Jack can’t ignore it, chastising her for being rude.

I said that Meg has the second best line in the song because Jack says one of the greatest, most eclectic lines I have ever heard. Towards the end of the song Jack devolves from coherency and starts saying random words that rhyme. What is great is that it works perfectly; it doesn’t feel out of place. To paraphrase, he claims that they are going everywhere from the west-side, to the middle-east, to twilight zones in search of everything from “techniques, turntables, to gramophones”. So take the last lick of your ice cream cone, because Jack White will steal it if you don’t. Wow, that is a terrifying mental image…

Wait, here is a scarier one...

You know you're weird when you're
in a photo with the insane clown posse
and YOU'RE the weird one...

Track of the Moment: Salute Your Solutions by the Raconteurs

             In case I didn’t mention Jack White is coming out with a solo album next week, and as you can imagine I’m not excited in the least.  But since I always am about being current I figured I’d give him a bit more press in the form of one of the most baffling songs I’ve ever heard.

            When my friend played me this song for the first time last year I was blown away.  This guitar rift is literally perfect.  The idea that no one had made this song before utterly floored me.   This 4 chord rift is by no means complex, but it manages to carry itself better then a more complex one might.  If music had a form then this song would materialize out of the speaker, and punch you right in the face right from the first note.  This is a characteristic that Jack White seems to bring to every project he starts.  I’m not saying it’s just him; the Raconteurs are on of the most talented bands he’s amassed in his celebrated history. 

             Well even if it’s crazy no one else made this awesomely simple rock song before I’m glad these guys took it upon themselves to bring it into the world.  You can listen to it in anticipation of the buttery goodness that’ll be dropping this time next week!

Track of the Moment: Love Interruption by Jack White

This time last year The White Stripes broke up. For those of you who have time traveled here from the past, I’m sorry you had to find out this way. I’m still by no means over this tragedy, but as Jack White put it they split “mostly to preserve what is beautiful and special about the band and have it stay that way.”And it’s true that a lot of good bands can’t always hold up to the test of time, and fade with the years. The White Stripes, like Nirvana, Amy Winehouse, Jimmy Hendrix, Jeff Buckley and John Lennon, to name a very, VERY select few, will never fade out. However, that doesn’t mean that Jack White is ready to throw in the towel.

Jack White is a producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is obviously most known for his part in the White Stripes, but has founded both the Dead Weather and The Raconteurs as well as been in side projects with many other bands like Beck, Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones. There are very few artists I can think of who have the kind of Midas touch he has, where he can seamlessly move between band and project and still keep both his own musical identity and integrity (not to mention make crazy good music.)

However, I can only listen to so much White Stripe, Dead Weather and Raconteurs before I needs me a new fix of Jack White music. That fix came on January 30^th, less than a week to the day from when the White Stripes calling it quits last year. A new single was released from the new album, set to drop on April 24^th. By no means does it disappoint! It’s SO vintage Jack between the interesting blend of instruments and the really forlorn and thought-provoking lyrics. It’s certainly not a crazy jam like you might think of from the White Stripes, but I’m sure when “Blunderbuss” hits stores there’s going to be more then just this one hit.