Released: July 3, 2001
Label: Sympathy, V2, Third Man, XL
Genre: Garage rock, alternative rock, punk blues
Producer: Jack White
Well this was bound to happen, though I’m surprised it happened now. I anticipated enjoying this album since I’ve heard a bit of The White Stripes over the years, and everyone knows how good “Seven Nation Army” is, but I really struggled with this album. Maybe it was coming off the high of The Stone Roses (and this album is a very different sound to that), but I didn’t really like big parts of this.
There’s good tracks in here, and it’s not like I think it’s bad music (or at least, it’s not badly made music), but this isn’t an album that I’ll be coming back to. I find some of it is tough to listen to, it’s a jarring style of rock and it’s hard work for me. Maybe it’s Jack White’s vocals that I have a probelm with – I just don’t enjoy listening to them. Ah well.
Top track: “Fell in Love With a Girl” is obviously great and universally loved, but “We Are Going to be Friends” is my favourite. It’s adorable; it’s innocent lyrics are so emotive and capture the spirit of childhood perfectly, and Jack White’s voice in this is lovely. Among an album that I found tough to listen to it was a place of respite, but more than that it’s a beatiful little ditty, and one that reminds you how magical and simple music can be sometimes. Plus it’s from Napoleon Dynamite.
This week: It’s almost Christmas!! That means it’s almost another year down, and what a year. Maybe next week I’ll have a bit of a retrospecitve on the year that was. Andy and I are celebrating Christmas 2012 in Melbourne with our adopted family Dwayne and Terri, and then heading to the Boxing Day test, and then over to Perth. Finally some annual leave – it’s actually been a while!
Anyway, moving on…
thehifielective 