icky thump - album review - EU Jacksonville 6/21/07

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icky thump

by jon bosworth
jaxvillain@yahoo.com

Artist:
White Stripes

Title:
Icky Thump

Release Date:
06.19.07

Label:
Third Man / Warner Bros.

For a minute, I thought maybe the good Lord didn’t want me to have the new White Stripes album. I despise liking a band that is releasing one of the most anticipated albums of the year, because I waited with baited breath for Modest Mouse and made a fool of myself in the hunt for the new Radiohead album several years back. I am none-too-discreet when it comes to veiling my commercial desires. First I called Inertia Records, because I believe in supporting my local record store primarily, but they told me to go to Best Buy. The only thing I hate more than Best Buy is Wal-Mart, yet I went to Wal-Mart and called Best Buy when Target didn’t have the album on their shelves. In the end, I found it at Circuit City (after more than ten stops looking for it at other record stores) and to be truthful: as is the case with every White Stripes album upon release, I love it. This record is as experimental (ala Sonic Youth) as it is traditional (ala blues from Johnny Cash and country from the Dixie Rose), but this album has an undercurrent that is not precisely political, yet certainly deliberate in its expression of other cultures. Past White Stripes albums have been so focused on representing the classic Americana sound, that it is almost ridiculous to listen to this album’s assortment of nationality influences. From almost Arabic sounding instrumentation to the Spanish mixed with blues influence of the album’s hits, the White Stripes have once again managed to celebrate classic music while foraying into a whole new genre entirely.

As is the case with most new White Stripes albums, I currently think it is the best album ever made, but by next year I will be uncertain as to why I liked any songs except for a select few.

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