Icky Icky Icky

Summer is upon us and that means one thing: a new White Stripes album. Okay, so the candy cane party train is not synonymous with summer. Nevertheless, every other spring/summer since 2001 has birthed a new album and given me a dozen-ish hauntingly simple rock tunes to blast from my car. The, ah, car aspect is now gone so I'll be blasting the new album, Icky Thump, from my iPod on the subway. I will no longer be able to air guitar to Jack, not that I should air guitar while driving. Driving is made for air drumming.

This new album comes after Jack and Meg relocated to Nashville. Plans to visit Jack's house (my friend vows to either have his babies or care lovingly for his existing one) were never acted upon and I never saw Meg buying tattered country vinyl at Great Escape. Despite never making awkward eye contact with either of them, I now have a weird sense of hometown pride for the band. Afterall, they unleashed themselves on Nashville last week, their first performance in almost two years, much to the delight of my good friends and the city that I lived near and never figured out how to drive in.

So here's the new video, "Icky Thump" from the album of the same name. By the way, I love the title only because it's pronounced "Icky Fump" in the U.K.

I am absolutely in love with Jack's look. I'm glad that he's stopped taking looney pills and gone back to the simplicity of De Stijl. They look like the band and not the carnival they became after Elephant. Meg has a bit of Mary Jane going on. It definitely clashes with the red/white/black scheme but at least we now know Jack doesn't control her palette with an iron fist. The song is growing on me and seeing the band's new/old look ripping through it is reassuring. Is this album a return to the band's roots? Is this single a misdirection like "Blue Orchid" was?

Good video, good song. I will not eat for a day so I can buy the album.