10 Best Songs. NO Singles: The White Stripes
This is the third installment of this series in a row on this blog - they’re just so fun to do! Not ranked, presented chronologically, no songs released as singles allowed which may or may not disqualify an act’s best known songs which is all part of the charm…
Jack White is a genius we know this. Starting with the audacity to start a rock band with two members…? And we’re not just talking two “official” members - we’re talking two people on stage and that’s it. Not doing some stripped down acoustic thing - rocking out making a big noise. Drums, vocals, and another instrument, usually guitar. Nothing else. Insane. And there have been others since, but no one even thought of doing that before he did it with his “sister” Meg - a monster primal no-frills drummer who was mesmerizing to watch, and not Jack’s actual sister at all. His wife, in the band. And then his ex wife. In the band. Both dressed in red, white and black - only.
The White Stripes.
Detroit made.
One of the best bands in the history of rock and there will never be another like them. One of the things I love about Jack is his love of music as a fan and his commitment to making a contribution to music at large with the brilliant vinyl pressing plant / record store Third Man Records in Detroit which is just an incredible place. He also paid the Masonic Temple’s taxes to stave off foreclosure - the classic venue where I’ve seen him play once with Meg and once with his solo band. Jack is still making some great music with several projects whether it be his solo work, The Dead Weather or The Raconteurs, but The White Stripes is where it started. I may get around to another piece on the White Stripes albums and/or the rest of Jack’s output - dude has collaborated with the likes of Loretta Lynn, Beck and Beyonce to name a few… But for now let’s get to the White Stripes’ 10 best songs that weren’t released as singles and I limited this to originals as well (no covers of which there are a stellar handful).
10 Songs. NO Singles: The White Stripes
Screwdriver (The White Stripes - 1999) I got a little feeling going now. I got a little feeling going now. I got a little feeling going now. I got a little feeling going now. I got a little feeling going now. I got a little feeling going now. I got a little feeling going now. I got a little feeling going now. I got a little FEELING going now! I got a little FEELING GOING NOW! I GOT A LITTLE FEELING GOING NOW! NOW!!! NOW!!! NOW!!!
Enough said right? Poetry. With a vocal crescendo on that feeling ending in full on hysterics. This track is garage at its finest with a groovy riff and a story that just seems like a day in the life? Something about going to the pawn shop, not taking any crap, throwing someone a bone (maybe a dog). I don’t know but it’s very rock and roll. And it’s fantastic.
Astro (The White Stripes - 1999) Who does the Astro? Maybe a bunch of people apparently. Oh - and what is the Astro anyway? Does it matter? I say it doesn’t. But it’s probably cool.
You’re Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl) (De Stijl - 2000) Is there a better song title and lyric than this one if nothing else because it’s just SO perverse? A great way to kick off the best White Stripes album. I can’t say I’ve ever said this to a girl - what would the reaction be? You have to laugh….right? Maybe the most gloriously weird compliment (?) in rock and roll history. And good looking enough for the feeling to last over 500 years. That’s pretty good looking. At 1:50 this song appears along with 2 other White Stripes songs (including Jumble Jumble which is on this list) on the most popular post I’ve written on this blog - Doug’s List Of The 50 Best Songs Under Two Minutes.
Little Bird (De Stijl - 2000) There are some who will tell you Ball And Biscuit is the best White Stripes song if not the best song period lol… and full disclosure I had it on this list, but as it turns out it was indeed released as a single from the Greatest Hits album in 2020 a full 13 years after the final White Stripes studio album. So yes, it’s disqualified, making room for Little Bird which I must have been crazy for thinking about leaving off this list. This could actually be my favorite song by the band, so this was clearly a momentary lapse on my part. Little Bird is NASTY. Heavy, menacing and the best use of slide guitar in Jack’s entire catalogue. You’ve just gotta crank this.
Jumble Jumble (De Stijl - 2000) Jumble Jumble is brilliant. Drums on the on beat doubling the simple two chord guitar riff. Primitive and primal and awesome. A one minute and 54 second excuse to rhyme jumble, crumble and tumble. So yeah, this could actually be the best song ever. There are about 20 White Stripes songs in the running.
Why Can’t You Be Nicer To Me? (De Stijl - 2000) The next song on De Stijl after Jumble Jumble continues the vibe of a simple repeating riff but this one is…..bouncy. De Stijl is the purest White Stripes aesthetic in my opinion. Still garage enough but a step forward from the debut for me with just slightly better songs and sound. A great bluesy ditty about being down and out - Jack could easily be asking this of the world in general and he could have easily called it Why Can’t You Be Nicer To Me Blues and it would have worked. A great little flair on this one with the “ohoh” at the end of each phrase and a rare additional instrument in the electric violin played by Jack’s cousin Paul.
The Same Boy You’ve Always Known (White Blood Cells - 2001) The White Stripes don’t just do garage, blues and noise, they also do pretty really well. This song is gorgeous although a bit sad too and it’s followed on White Blood Cells (my introduction to this band at the time) by the beautiful We’re Going To Be Friends featured at the beginning of Napoleon Dynamite. This one seems to be about regret and a lost love with the final resignation of “…and if there’s anything good about me I’m the only one who knows”.
In The Cold Cold Night (Elephant - 2003) A deliciously spooky tune with no drums (just the occasional cymbal) and Meg getting a turn on lead vocals. Meg is not really a singer per se which is part of the charm on this one, and to be clear she does a great job. Seductive as can be and while I don’t think of Meg as goth this one has that vibe to me. And by the way, I talk about the simplicity of some of these songs, but make no mistake - Jack is a brilliant songwriter and guitarist and there is a lot going on in this song musically that I really didn’t discover until I sat down to learn it on guitar myself. It’s so good. Meg cooing to come to her again in the cold cold night. Awesome.
The Nurse (Get Behind Me Satan - 2005) The weirdest White Stripes song. An avant garde gem - crashing sounds and random guitar noise that doesn’t fit at all, and a marimba that is the star of the show and so much fun to see Jack play live on this one. A song so ridiculous musically that it has made me laugh in the best way. Like, what????? A song about biting betrayal - the nurse isn’t supposed to be the one rubbing the salt in your wounds…
I’m Slowly Turning Into You (Icky Thump - 2007) A great start-stop keyboard driven thing during the verses that is disrupted by an ultra distorted heavy guitar sound for the chorus of the title. This one is just pure ear candy and I love it. They were really evolving and adding some cool sounds here while still sounding exactly like The White Stripes. I’m not quite sure I understand the lyrics and after reading a quote about it from Jack I’m….more confused? Lol. Unfortunately Icky Thump turned out to be the last White Stripes album. Hopefully it doesn’t stay that way but it’s highly unlikely they will ever return.
So there they are - the 10 best of “the rest”. Do you agree? What did I miss? Let me know in the comments and feel free to share!
M10 Social is owned by Doug Cohen in West Bloomfield, MI and provides social media training and digital marketing services from the Frameable Faces Photography studio Doug owns with his wife Ally. He can be reached there at tel:248-790-7317, by mobile at tel:248-346-4121 or via email at mailto:doug@frameablefaces.com. You can follow Doug’s band Vintage Playboy at their Facebook page here.
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