Track 9: The White Stripes Scavenger Hunt
On one of the standout tracks from The White Stripes 2007 release, Icky Thump, Meg and Jack go hunting for things no one else seems to want in Rag & Bone:
"You sure you don't want it?
If it's just things that you don't want, I can use 'em
Meg can use 'em.
We can do something with 'em.
We'll make something out of 'em.
Make some money out of 'em, at least.
Hey, if you ain't gonna use it, just give it to us.
We'll give it a home."
Well after six albums and numerous side projects, we decided to go on our own Rag and Bone hunt for the coolest, most overlooked songs that this duo has either inspired or been directly involved with. Many are unavailable on iTunes but we have provided Mp3's and YouTube links wherever possible and encourage you to submit your own (just click on "Contact the MusicFile on the home page.)
We start things off with an entry by Dave Feeny, a kick ass producer and musician who worked extensively on the Loretta Lynn/Jack White collaboration and actually plays pedal steel on this first track!
SONG Bitch, I Love You
ARTIST Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
ALBUM Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears hail from Austin, Texas and are they ever smokin' hot. The eight piece band has gotten tremendous press based on the strength of their raw and powerful live performances which blend old school soul with hard core blues. Don't be fooled by the band's name; the Honeybears do not sugar coat a thing.
The first time I heard this track, I thought I had unearthed some ancient James Brown song.
The band is signed to Lost Highway Records and has released one EP.
SONG Ball and Biscuit
ARTIST The White Stripes
ALBUM Elephant
Most people forget that at heart The White Stripes are a blues band; albeit one more schooled in the ways of Led Zeppelin than Muddy Waters. But when Meg and Jack really do the blues, they do THE BLUES.
This 7 minute track off of 2003's now classic Elephant is one of their best tracks, filled will their trademark off kilter, sexual spin on blues-style lyrics and one seriously pissed off guitar.
SONG Psychotic Girl
ARTIST The Black Keys
ALBUM Attack & Release
No modern day blues playlist would be complete without The Black Keys, the band that has been keeping the torch alive for blues rockers for the past 7 years. It's hard to believe it hasn't been longer than that given their impact on music in general and the blues in particular.
They teamed up with producer Danger Mouse for their 5th studio release in 2008,Attack and Release. The result is often dark and spooky to great effect.
This track calls to mind everyone from Hendrix to James Brown to Eric Clapton with it's delicious, possessed, lonesome quality. I love the twinkling piano!
SONG Home
ARTIST Marc Broussard
ALBUM Carencro
Marc Broussard hails from Carencro, Louisiana and his brand of blues sounds straight from the bayou. It's swampy, deep voiced blues with a little bit of J.J. Cale thrown in. Marc is the son of famed Lousiana guitarist Ted Broussard and though only 27 years old, he has the voice of an ancient soul.
This song tells the tale of an impromptu jam on the side of the road en route from New Orleans to Carenco. When he sings "Hot damn you should have felt the groove", I do!
SONG Hold Your Head High
ARTIST Heartless Bastards
ALBUM The Mountain
Erika Wennerstrom is as close to a modern day Janis Joplin as we have and her band The Heartless Bastards are the rising stars of the blues rock scene.
On this track from 2009's The Mountain, Erika wails "I've made a lot of choices / Most have not been wise" but as her story unfolds, she imbues the song with such strong determination and grit that we find ourselves wailing right along with her.
This as good as modern day blues gets!
SONG Heartbroken In Disrepair
ARTIST Dan Auerbach
ALBUM Keep It Hid
Dan Auerbach is one half of The Black Keys and in 2009 released a solo album that shows his strengths far beyond hard core blues rock and roll. That said, there are some deliriously blues-y tracks on the album and this is one of my favorites.
SONG I'm Leaving
ARTIST The Fiery Furnaces
ALBUM Sunday Nights:The Songs Of Junior Kimbrough
The Fiery Furnaces are an indie rock band whose music constantly flirts with the blues but never quite gets there. Until this.
When Fat Possum Records decided to put out a tribute album with some of Junior Kimbrough's best loved blues tracks, The Fiery Furnaces stole the show.
SONG Misunderstood
ARTIST Carolyn Wonderland
ALBUM Miss Understood
Carolyn Wonderland is one of those singer-songwriter's who's been around for years and you keep scratching your head as to why she's not a household name. She can sing everything from the blues to country to zydeco. She plays the guitar and the trumpet and whistles like a bird released. She gave up drinking a few years back and relocated from her hometown of Houston to Austin...but you can still hear the deep, dark places her spirit has been to when she belts out a tune.
On this song, she does the blues proud; sounding like a young Bonnie Raitt (with an even bigger voice).
SONG Matchbox Blues
ARTIST Tab Benoit
ALBUM Standing On The Bank
Tab Benoit is from Houma, Louisiana and he is one the best living blues guitar players. If you don't believe me, just listen to this song. BB King ain't got nothin' on this guy.
Benoit, who is 42, has released at least 10 albums. This track is from one of his early ones, 1995's Standing On The Bank. He is the king of swamp blues and I sure wish more people knew about him.
SONG Mississippi
ARTIST J.J. Grey & Mofro
ALBUM Country Ghetto
J.J. Grey & Mofro are helping hold up the funkier side of the blues. Hailing from near Jacksonville, they represent the side of Florida that I love; filled with screen porches, hanging moss, moonshine and generally what Tim Easton referred to in his song "Bad Florida".
Can't get enough of this guy...he's the anecdote to Palm Beach. He may call it country ghetto, I just call it good.
SONG It Hurts So Bad
ARTIST Susan Tedeschi
ALBUM The Best Of Susan Tedeschi
Why Susan Tedeschi isn't a house hold name like Bonnie Raitt is beyond me. Probably one of the best female singers in the world. See her live when ever you can.
SONG Roll On
ARTIST J.J. Cale
ALBUM Roll On
It seems like the perfect song to end with. "Roll On" is the title track off of the latest J.J. Cale album, released on February 24th, 2009. Cale is 70 years old and is still the undeserved step child to Eric Clapton's fame. J.J. long ago perfected the perfectly laid back western side of the blues. His style of blues feels like a tumbleweed rolling through the desert and we can all we be thankful that he keeps on rollin' on!
