White Blood Cells

Today's Music of the Day is the White Stripes' White Blood Cells. Like all of my White Stripes albums, I got this one by winning a game of mumbly-peg at a truck stop in Winnipeg. I don't have any scars from this one, by the way.

White Blood Cells follows the White Stripes creed: Jack gets to sing and maul a guitar, Meg creates a percussive canvas, and dirty blues rock ensues. Somehow, it appears that a piano got into the studio during these recordings and sneaked onto a few tracks.

The songwriting here is strong enough - simple yet effective - and suits the bare-bones instrumental portion of the music. Jack's voice, of course, is much like his electric guitar - a raw, abrasive force, terse and brash at its best moments.

If there is a surprise here, it's that there are so many good-natured songs. For every "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" there is a "Hotel Yorba". This explorative quality is probably what the band owes their longevity to - while this record isn't quite as eccentric as some of their later releases, it's still very listenable and lively without resorting to volume as promotion.

The verdict: this is a fine record, one that stands up well by most any standard. For those who aren't fond of the White Stripes, this probably won't sway them, but they are missing out. This record probably deserves a more detailed post but hopefully the recommendation will be enough.

In Other News:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/adam-yauch-has-cancer-beastie-boys-shows-canceled,30582/
This is a shame.

More music reviews forthcoming! Soon.