Conquest –

A Martyr For My Love For You –

Alright, so no usual photos for this blog post (I’m grabbing some random ones from the internet this time) because my normal photo-taking device, my phone, completely died… 🙁
That combined with the fact that I’m writing this entry from a coffee shop in Denver means I don’t have access to the record to take another picture (I recorded the vinyl and took pictures before I left). I’ll look into replacing these photos eventually though. Now, on to the music!

Icky Thump (2007), White Stripes. The sixth and final album by the Detroit rock duo, and my personal favorite record by them 😀

The White Stripes consisted of Jack White and Meg White, who are often mistakenly thought to be siblings, but no thanks to them. When they first released their material it was as a “brother and sister duo” and to this day Jack refers to Meg as his sister in interviews. However, they were actually husband and wife, with John Gillis (Jack) adopting Meg’s last name of “White” in a role reversal. This along with other “facts” about Jack’s life have helped define his slightly eccentric character.

Coming from a Graphic Designer perspective, one of the things Jack White does really, really, and I mean really well, is branding. The White Stripes career was defined by the simple color scheme of red, white, and black. This provided a cohesive, overall visual style that linked all their work together. Even as their sound and music shifted between albums (or songs), this unifying color scheme connected the dots between musical genres that would be near impossible to imagine side-by-side. This idea of visual importance came from Jack’s belief that people really need to “see” music in the same way they “hear” it, and that strong visuals help solidify superb music. It’s for a combination of these reasons that led to a short, yet spotless discography that is extremely impressive when compared alongside most bands.

Each White Stripe album often represents a different shift in tone or focus, musically speaking. While Icky Thump may not represent the sharpest change (that award would have to go their fifth album Get Behind Me Satan), I would argue that it possibly shows off the largest range of the many influences upon the band. Ranging from their traditional foot-stomping beats, to their country and bluegrass roots, to the more exotic sounds of bagpipes and Spanish trumpets, to the gritty, familiar garage rock tunes. Overall though, the Blues is the genre that dominates the majority of this album (similar to how Folk encompassed most of their previous album).

The first song posted here, “Conquest”, features those trumpets I mentioned which bring to mind visions of matadors and Spain. There’s some impressive interplay between Jack on his guitar and the trumpets midway through the song. While jumping from the chorus into the verses the song shifts from a fast-paced rock number to a full tango. “A Martyr For My Love For You”, an excellent blues rock tune, features a much more serious tone with its lyrics than the more playful “Conquest”. Its lyrics are told from the first-person perspective of someone who loves a girl, but decides it is better to walk away from the relationship. He ultimately believes that he will eventually hurt or disappoint her. While possibly just a song, it is hard not to envision Jack White as the direct speaker of this story especially when you consider his other rather shaky relationships over the years and the many accounts of how hard it is to deal with him sometimes. Musically, the song goes from quiet to loud abruptly and then back again to quiet when entering and exiting the chorus, helping to drive home the tension and pain of the lyrics.

Even with the White Stripes officially disbanded, Jack White continues to play, both in bands and by himself. So if you run out of White Stripes stuff to listen to, remember there’s always The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs, or his (as of now) two solo albums. Happy listening! ^^