My Sunday Song – “Icky Thump” by The White Stripes

For My Sunday Song #463, we are going to talk the still applicable song today, “Icky Thump” by The White Stripes. Why do I say still applicable today? Well, the song is about immigration and was written back in the George Bush administration in 2007. As you know, immigration is a hot topic today with all the ICE raids and Border Patrol operations (who were recently in Charlotte arresting a lot of people). It is a topic that I don’t see going away anytime soon. The song was released on April 26, 2007 and went to #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and even #1 on the Alternative Charts going Platinum selling over a 1 million copies. Very successful for sure.

The song was written by Jack and Meg White and they were really having fun this track. The title, ‘Icky Thump’ comes from a Northern English phrase called ‘Ecky Thump’ which are both euphemisms for the word ‘Hell’. I guess that means the song means Hell Hell. Jack is a staunch Democrat and was completely against all the immigration talk back in the day and wanted to remind everyone that the Whites in the U.S. were immigrants at one time too. If they have a problem with immigration they should kick themselves out for that very reason. He was pointing out the hypocrisy of it all. This whole idea of the song is still relevant today.

The song is about a guy that takes a trip to Mexico and has no problems going South into Mexico (unlike those trying to go North into the U.S.). He meets a woman who houses him and feeds him, but she then assaults him and holds him hostage. Which I am sure he greatly deserved. A very weird song lyrically, but the flow is something only Jack White can do.

Musically, it is pure garage rock with lots of distortion. Jack makes his guitar speak a language that is hard to fathom how he does it, In case you are wondering, Jack used a 1959 Univox synth and during the solo he used Zvex Wooly Mammoth and a DigiTech Whammy pedal to get that really cool sound. Meg’s drums were a constant pounding beat like a marching army. It is a rip roaring track that is everything I love about The White Stripes. It is amazing that these two people can make so much incredible music.

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The Original vs. The Cover – “Jolene”

For the next installment of The Original vs. The Cover we are giving some love to “Jolene” written by Dolly Parton. In fact, she wrote this song the same day she wrote “I Will Always Love You” which would make another great The Original vs. The Cover post. The song was recorded on May 22, 1973 and released October 15th of the same year which became her 2nd #1 solo song. The cover is from The White Stripes and we are going with the studio cover and not the live version as a tough comparison with the live track. The studio track was originally the B-Side to their song “Hello Operator” but was finally issued on their greatest hits album.

The song was inspired by a bank teller that was flirting with Dolly’s husband when the two first got married. Apparently it really bothered her. The physical description of Jolene and here name though were taken from a fan of hers that came running up on stage to get an autograph. The song has Dolly pleading to Jolene to not steal her man as she can’t compete with her beauty, but we know that Dolly and her man are still together today. So she won out in the end.

DOLLY PARTON:

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Friday New Releases – December 4, 2020

Welcome to December, the final month of this miserable 2020. Ok, that is the pessimist in me, but the optimist has enjoyed working from home and being with my family more. I’ve also enjoyed a lot of music and today there is A LOT!! We have over 20 albums for you to check out. I have a few I will listen to and those are highlighted in Blue. I think we have only 2 more Friday New Releases and then it will be quiet for about 3 weeks or more before new releases start picking back up. So, with that in mind, grab as much as you can. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.

  • hollywoodundead-newempirevol2-e1602843543272  Hollywood Undead – New Empire, Vol. 2 – (BMG): Volume 1 came out earlier this year and these guys killed it yet again. I really dig their sound which if you don’t know is a metalcore sound that mixes hip hop and heavy metal. I am usually not a huge fan of that genre, but I like these guys and I haven’t missed a beat with them. Looking forward to this one.
  • 91ZLuABgJHL._SX522_  Shawn Mendes – Wonder – (Island Records): Okay, I will admit, I’m not completely over the moon for this one but my girls like this kid and I have to admit also that some of it isn’t half bad for radio pop music. My daughter says for her 16th birthday she wants to meet him so Shawn, you have 3 years to get the restraining order.
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You Pick It! – Which Album to Review in December?

You, my reader, are going to pick an album for me to review each month.  It is really simple…first, I will give you 5 albums to choose from and second, you will tell me which one of those you would like to see reviewed on the site.  See…simple!

There are a few simple rules I have put in to place in my selections.  They are…

  • One has to be a new release (within the last month)
  • One has to be one I have never heard before (new releases don’t count for this one)
  • One has to be from a genre I don’t normally listen to at all or very often
  • And the last two are choices from my collection that I haven’t reviewed before

What are the 5 albums you ask?  Funny you should ask because I have those right here…

  New Release – AC/DC – ‘Power Up’ – a lot of my fellow bloggers will be reviewing this one, so it is up to you if you want to hear my take on it as well.

Never Heard Before – The White Stripes – ‘Elephant

 Not My Normal Genre – Janet Jackson – ‘Rhythm Nation 1814’

  From My Collection – The Stooges – ‘The Stooges’

  From My Collection – Oasis – ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory’

Let me know which one you would like to see and sometime in December, I will post a review of the album that gets the most votes. You have one week to decide and from there I will start listening to the album and do a review.

Thanks for participating!!

My Sunday Song – “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes

My Sunday Song #63 is from The White Stripes.  The song is “Seven Nation Army” and is one of their most popular songs.  It is off their fourth album, ‘Elephant’, and went on to hit #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks back in 2003.

What I love about The White Stripes is the quirkiness of the songs and the band itself.  The band only consists of two people, Jack and Meg White.  They were husband and wife at one time, but have since divorced.  The band is no more, but thankfully, their music lives one.

The song that resonated most with me from them was “Seven Nation Army”.  The song was a standout because of that bass line riff that starts off the song and plays throughout.  Imagine my surprise to learn that was not a bass.  The band doesn’t ever use a bass in their music.  They only use a drum and guitar.  According to Wikipedia, to get that effect, Jack White’s semi-acoustic, 1950s-style Kay Hollow body guitar was run through a DigiTech Whammy pedal which was set down an octave.  It is a really cool sound.

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