The riff that greeted the new century (and spawned more than a Seven Dozen Army of covers!) is also the riff that accompanies soccer goals, TDs, and home runs all over the world! Seven little notes!
I saw them at their 1st ever gig in London (pretty sure White Blood Cells had just come out). On the hottest day of summer, they were playing at the legendary 100 Club, situated in a basement off Oxford Street. Time Out magazine hyped them as exorcising the ghost of MC5 and The Stooges, and I needed to check it out for myself. The gig was sold out, and a scalper was trying to sell me a ticket for double the face value. I decided to play it cool and wait until after the opening band. Once the support band finished and people came out for a smoke, I offered the scalper face value, and he took it (I still have my ticket stub)! Oh man, it was hot, sweaty, and airless down there. The bar sold more water than beer that night, but holy shit...what a gig! Jack and Meg took the tiny stage about 3 feet away from me, decked out in all red with their peppermint swirl kick drum. They looked awesome, but I had no idea what I was about to experience. They completely eviscerated the place with their raw, punky, bluesy garage rock. After that gig, they got booked onto the UK festival circuit, and their popularity exploded.
The White Stripes, in particular, Jack White hold one of my musical flashbulb memories. I’d been kinda sleeping on them as a band, had heard of them, maybe listened to a bit of their music (maybe not). And then along comes the 2004 Grammy’s (back when I cared to watch).
I’m lying in bed watching the show, Beck announces the White Stripes, and they launch into Seven Nation Army. And then, two minutes in, time starts to stand still. Jack slams into the opening riff of Death Letter Blues. What on earth is happening here?!?
A minute later, I’m out of bed, a foot away from the TV, staring, wide-eyed and slack jawed, as Jack begins to absolutely shred with this frenetic, unhinged, almost supernatural power and energy. Absolutely legendary performance, I was blown away!!
That enduring memory will always be there for me when I think of Jack White. Right up there with some of my favorite live performances of all time. Thanks for the reminder of his greatness.
You are always thorough, but when you tackle an artist or band with whom you don't have a deep history, you go above and beyond, such as with this Inside Track! I also dig the unexpected images and links, like the Elephant 45 and the Coffee and Cigarettes clip. I saw that film (eons ago) and forgot they were in it!
I thought it was funny how drastically Rolling Stone changed the "Seven Nation Army" ranking in their "greatest songs" list a decade later. I suppose time makes the heart grow fonder?
And you've gone and given me a new earworm too! Dang it!
One of my favorite things about your newsletter, Brad, is that you introduce me to a lot of music I've overlooked in my life. But today, you are right in my wheelhouse. I'm a massive White Stripes/Jack White fan. I got to see them live a few times. The first time was at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, KS when they were touring to support Elephant, the only time I've ever been in the literal front row of any concert in my life, and perhaps not coincidentally, the best concert experience of my life. Jack White actually threw his guitar pick to my friend at the end of the set, but of course, he dropped it, and in the melee that ensued, someone else came away with it. The second time I saw them at Starlight Theatre in KC, MO during the Get Behind Me Satan tour, wasn't quite as intimate but was still an all-time great show.
Seven Nation Army is a truly great song on a truly great album, but I have mixed feelings about the way it blew up. I've been a fan of the Stripes since before they achieved mainstream success, and like a lot of people in that situation, I've always felt a little territorial about them. It's a weird paradox when you find a gem like that- on the one hand, you want it to have bigger success. You want the artist behind it to thrive and get to produce more music (or whatever the art form may be), you want more stuff like it from other artists (possibly including yourself) to find a bigger audience, and in a world where mediocrity often reigns, you want the collective taste of the world to get just a little better. But on the other hand, when you and your friends find something special, it makes it just a little bit less so when everyone else embraces it. So while I think it's cool that the song has found such a far reach, it's always a little strange to me when I see a whole stadium of football fans (many of whom probably have no idea who Jack White is or who have never heard another White Stripes song in their lives) chanting along to it. On the whole, I still think it's cool, though I do believe some stadiums/arenas/teams completely overdo it. Regardless of how ingrained it's become in their culture, I would like to remind whoever controls the music at Miami Heat games (for example) that there are other songs besides Seven Nation Army that you can use to amp people up.
All that said, anything that gets Jack White's music into more people's ears is a good thing. To me, he's just one of those innately cool people (something I will never be), in addition to being a great songwriter. And he loves baseball, which is obviously a big plus for me, even if he is a Tigers fan. Now, if Third Man Books will just agree to publish the novel I submitted to them a month or so ago, that would be the cherry on top. No matter how distant or vague the connection might be, you know I'd be telling everybody and their brother that Jack White and I are collaborating on a project!
Oh Brad, thanks for taking me back! The White Stripes are a dream memory for me because they represent my art school college days and then my first years in Los Angeles (my first move to a big city!) I went to a LOT of White Stripes concerts (and his other project with Brendan Benson, The Raconteurs) in LA in the early 2000's. Jack White remains at the top of my list of live performers. The talent that oozes out of that guy is unreal. As an aside, I was always disappointed in the reductive music media coverage of Meg White as a drummer and creative partner. Mo Tucker from the Velvet Underground was treated in a similar way back in the day.
Nice read, Brad!
I saw them at their 1st ever gig in London (pretty sure White Blood Cells had just come out). On the hottest day of summer, they were playing at the legendary 100 Club, situated in a basement off Oxford Street. Time Out magazine hyped them as exorcising the ghost of MC5 and The Stooges, and I needed to check it out for myself. The gig was sold out, and a scalper was trying to sell me a ticket for double the face value. I decided to play it cool and wait until after the opening band. Once the support band finished and people came out for a smoke, I offered the scalper face value, and he took it (I still have my ticket stub)! Oh man, it was hot, sweaty, and airless down there. The bar sold more water than beer that night, but holy shit...what a gig! Jack and Meg took the tiny stage about 3 feet away from me, decked out in all red with their peppermint swirl kick drum. They looked awesome, but I had no idea what I was about to experience. They completely eviscerated the place with their raw, punky, bluesy garage rock. After that gig, they got booked onto the UK festival circuit, and their popularity exploded.
That was a great read!
I had no idea Jack White came up with that riff at a pub in Melbourne! That’s so cool.
Wow! What a great immersion in one great song.
The White Stripes, in particular, Jack White hold one of my musical flashbulb memories. I’d been kinda sleeping on them as a band, had heard of them, maybe listened to a bit of their music (maybe not). And then along comes the 2004 Grammy’s (back when I cared to watch).
I’m lying in bed watching the show, Beck announces the White Stripes, and they launch into Seven Nation Army. And then, two minutes in, time starts to stand still. Jack slams into the opening riff of Death Letter Blues. What on earth is happening here?!?
A minute later, I’m out of bed, a foot away from the TV, staring, wide-eyed and slack jawed, as Jack begins to absolutely shred with this frenetic, unhinged, almost supernatural power and energy. Absolutely legendary performance, I was blown away!!
That enduring memory will always be there for me when I think of Jack White. Right up there with some of my favorite live performances of all time. Thanks for the reminder of his greatness.
YT link: https://youtu.be/14rqlqFRu28
I feel like I’m one of the few who prefer most other white stripes albums to Elephant, even though I really love elephant
You are always thorough, but when you tackle an artist or band with whom you don't have a deep history, you go above and beyond, such as with this Inside Track! I also dig the unexpected images and links, like the Elephant 45 and the Coffee and Cigarettes clip. I saw that film (eons ago) and forgot they were in it!
I thought it was funny how drastically Rolling Stone changed the "Seven Nation Army" ranking in their "greatest songs" list a decade later. I suppose time makes the heart grow fonder?
And you've gone and given me a new earworm too! Dang it!
One of my favorite things about your newsletter, Brad, is that you introduce me to a lot of music I've overlooked in my life. But today, you are right in my wheelhouse. I'm a massive White Stripes/Jack White fan. I got to see them live a few times. The first time was at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, KS when they were touring to support Elephant, the only time I've ever been in the literal front row of any concert in my life, and perhaps not coincidentally, the best concert experience of my life. Jack White actually threw his guitar pick to my friend at the end of the set, but of course, he dropped it, and in the melee that ensued, someone else came away with it. The second time I saw them at Starlight Theatre in KC, MO during the Get Behind Me Satan tour, wasn't quite as intimate but was still an all-time great show.
Seven Nation Army is a truly great song on a truly great album, but I have mixed feelings about the way it blew up. I've been a fan of the Stripes since before they achieved mainstream success, and like a lot of people in that situation, I've always felt a little territorial about them. It's a weird paradox when you find a gem like that- on the one hand, you want it to have bigger success. You want the artist behind it to thrive and get to produce more music (or whatever the art form may be), you want more stuff like it from other artists (possibly including yourself) to find a bigger audience, and in a world where mediocrity often reigns, you want the collective taste of the world to get just a little better. But on the other hand, when you and your friends find something special, it makes it just a little bit less so when everyone else embraces it. So while I think it's cool that the song has found such a far reach, it's always a little strange to me when I see a whole stadium of football fans (many of whom probably have no idea who Jack White is or who have never heard another White Stripes song in their lives) chanting along to it. On the whole, I still think it's cool, though I do believe some stadiums/arenas/teams completely overdo it. Regardless of how ingrained it's become in their culture, I would like to remind whoever controls the music at Miami Heat games (for example) that there are other songs besides Seven Nation Army that you can use to amp people up.
All that said, anything that gets Jack White's music into more people's ears is a good thing. To me, he's just one of those innately cool people (something I will never be), in addition to being a great songwriter. And he loves baseball, which is obviously a big plus for me, even if he is a Tigers fan. Now, if Third Man Books will just agree to publish the novel I submitted to them a month or so ago, that would be the cherry on top. No matter how distant or vague the connection might be, you know I'd be telling everybody and their brother that Jack White and I are collaborating on a project!
Oh Brad, thanks for taking me back! The White Stripes are a dream memory for me because they represent my art school college days and then my first years in Los Angeles (my first move to a big city!) I went to a LOT of White Stripes concerts (and his other project with Brendan Benson, The Raconteurs) in LA in the early 2000's. Jack White remains at the top of my list of live performers. The talent that oozes out of that guy is unreal. As an aside, I was always disappointed in the reductive music media coverage of Meg White as a drummer and creative partner. Mo Tucker from the Velvet Underground was treated in a similar way back in the day.
Neat! I'm gonna listen to a little White Stripes today.