{"id":117,"date":"2013-06-27T01:23:16","date_gmt":"2013-06-27T01:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/batterymedia.com\/blog\/?p=117"},"modified":"2013-06-29T18:11:25","modified_gmt":"2013-06-29T18:11:25","slug":"117","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/batterymedia.com\/blog\/?p=117","title":{"rendered":"#497: The White Stripes \u2013 White Blood Cells"},"content":{"rendered":"
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#497<\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

The White Stripes \u2013 White Blood Cells<\/em><\/h3>\n

Release Date:<\/strong>\u00a02001
\nPreviously Owned:<\/strong>\u00a0No
\nFirst Time Listen:<\/strong>\u00a0Yes<\/p>\n

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It looks like that shadow on the left is holding a dog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Impressions:<\/strong>\u00a0 Pretty simple on the surface: dirty guitar+bashing drums+straightforward vocals= garage to counter the digital era. It works. The opening song, “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground,”\u00a0fulfills that formula. But after that, they throw a few extra tricks: some acoustic guitars on Hotel Yorba and then keyboards on “I’m Finding It Harder To Be A Gentleman.” Some nice, hummable tunes, especially the needle-in-the-red punk rock “Fell In Love With A Girl.” Sonically, they treat classic and punk rock the same, which is a pretty interesting concept. Meg’s primordial drumming only makes Jack White’s guitar seem more epic in comparison– kind of like how Robin is deployed in the comics to make Batman seem larger and more imposing. Wait, is that “There Is A Man, A Certain Man…” part inside “The Union Forever” an homage\u00a0to the same song in Citizen Kane<\/a>? (Nice. Very ART SCHOOL, Jack White.) Despite such hipster\u00a0bait, he still can score on a direct number like the acoustic remembrance “We’re Going To Be Friends.” Sometimes White comes off as a little too precious as a personality\u2013sort of a indie-rock Johnny Depp, but he’s got plenty of riffs on “I Think I Smell A Rat” and the almost completely unravelling “Aluminum.” Overall, a solid batch of songs, played by human beings, with only some regard for perfection and the overall reduction of ironic lyrics serves them well.\u00a0I guess their success shows that when in doubt, there will always be a market for simply-but-well-played-but-not-too-well-played garage rock.<\/p>\n

Should this album be on the list?<\/strong>\u00a0Yes
Starred songs:<\/strong>\u00a0Fell In Love With A Girl,\u00a0We’re Going To Be Friends
\nSneaky Track:<\/strong> Now Mary
\nWill you listen to this again?<\/strong>\u00a0Yes
\nRating:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n