The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #418

'Billy's Toxic Britney Bitch'

'Billie Jean' & 'Toxic'

VERSUS

'Super Freak' & 'The Hardest Button To Button'

MP3: 'Billy's Toxic Britney Bitch'

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #399

The White Stripes - Death Letter (Live @ Glastonbury 2005)

A fabulous rendition of the De Stijl fave.

Visit The White Stripes at their MySpace page.

Read about the band's forthcoming tour plans here.

MP3: The White Stripes - Death Letter (Live)

Regarding The Meg White Sex Tape

Yes, we know about it.

No, we won't post a link to it.

Instead, here's the official statement from The White Stripes' publicist (courtesy of B-Fork) on its existence: *"Some people have a very twisted sense of humor and this prank is in particularly bad taste. The tape circulating on the internet as featuring Meg White is fake. It’s definitely not Meg."* Do you buy it?

MP3: The White Stripes - Blue Orchid

White Stripes Cancel ACL Headlining Gig

Austin 360 reports: *The White Stripes have canceled their Saturday ACL headlining gig and Stubb’s show on Sunday. ACL producer Charles Attal cited medical reasons for the cancellation. No word yet on who is filling either show.*

Bummer!

MP3: The White Stripes - Blue Orchid

When Jack Met Shirley

Much thanks to Miss Modernage for directing us to the following clip from Garbage's Absolute Garbage DVD, in which Jack White and Shirley Manson chit-chat in the green room during a 2005 tour stop in Detroit. Enjoy a Version 2.0-era Garbage MP3 at bottom.


MP3: Garbage - You Look So Fine (acoustic)

The White Stripes Cover Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Reading, Circa '04

Somehow this one took over three years to find its way to YouTube. Regardless, here's the short clip of Jack & Meg tackling 'Maps' from Reading Fest 2004. Enjoy. WS MP3 at bottom.


MP3: The White Stripes - Cannon (live)

The White Stripes Go 'Frat Rock' On New Single

Next month, The White Stripes will release the UK single for Icky Thump's 'You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do What You're Told)' - a Music Slut fave from the LP.

As Bitchfork is reporting this morning, the record's B-side will feature a "Frat Rock Version" of the same song. Hmmm.

We're just as clueless (and surely frightened) as you are. Download the original tune in all its glory, below.

MP3: The White Stripes - You Don't Know What Love Is

Jack White Lashes Out Against Journalists

Check out this latest series of Jack White quotes from August's edition of Interview magazine: "Journalists are inherently the laziest people on earth. Even in the age of Google, they don't do any work to check what they're writing about. I'd say 90 percent of what they get is from the press release. We have fun putting things in there - like in the press release for 'Elephant', somebody inserted a joke about how none of our studio equipment was made after 1963."

"Before you knew it, people thought we wouldn't touch a piece of equipment unless it's 60 years old! It gets to the point where you're answering questions based on a joke somebody made."

"Anytime I pick up a music magazine, I assume 90 percent of it is incorrect, so I make up my own things to believe. Everyone knows the phrase 'Don't believe everything you read,' but how many people actually practice it?" (photo via WSL)

Jack did not have any comments on bloggers, interestingly enough.

MP3: The White Stripes - Suzy Lee

New White Stripes Video: Love It Or Hate It?

See below for the Detroit-based duo's new clip for Icky Thump's 'You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)'. Love it or hate it? MP3 of the tune at bottom of post.


MP3: The White Stripes - You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)

Today In WTF: Alicia Keys + The White Stripes?

Direct from Alicia: "I'm dying to work with them.

Me and The White Stripes are going to do something crazy. We tried to work something out for this record, but the timing got a little crazy and it didn't come off.

I know we can do something next time around."

Slutloyals: yay or nay to this potential collaboration?

MP3: The White Stripes - Broken Bricks

The White Stripes Redefine 'Noteworthy'

Via New Musical Express: *The White Stripes wrapped up their quirky Canadian tour yesterday with a single note in St. John's, Newfoundland.

Following shows on boats, buses, bridges and classrooms, Jack and Meg took to the stage on George Street in St. John's and played a single note (reportedly a C-sharp) before announcing they have "now officially played in every province and territory in Canada" and leaving the stage. Hundreds of fans showed up for the last minute event, but were pre-warned that the show would be just one-note long. Later that evening, the band played a full-length set at Mile One Stadium in the city, the final show on their Canadian tour proper.*

To view a YouTubed video of the brief performance, hop over to Stereogum's post on the show, here.

MP3: The White Stripes - Wasting My Time

White Stripes Rock The Classroom

Sound familiar?

Via NME: *The White Stripes have performed another impromptu gig - this time in front of a classroom of just 20 people.

The duo, performed a free show in a mobile classroom at the Creekside Youth Centre in Burnaby, British Columbia last Sunday (June 24). The gig was a warm-up before they played a sold-out concert at the nearby Deer Lake Park later that night.*

MP3: The White Stripes - Cannon

Icky Thump: International #1 Album?

As expected, The White Stripes' latest album reached the upper echelon of the UK charts today (deets here via NME).

According to the mostly-reliable HITS Daily Double, the record is slated towards a probable top spot here in the States, as well. The full-length is also selling extraordinarily well in Italy, Greece, Spain and most of Asia.

Meg & Jack have much to be thankful for. Catch all the band's summer tour dates here. The duo will swing by Madison Square Garden on July 24th.

MP3: The White Stripes - Stop Breaking Down

White Stripes Visit Conan, Again

The color coordinating, world-dominating duo stopped by Conan O'Brien yesterday prior to their not-so-secret gig @ NYC's The Fillmore (check out Miss Modernage's review here) to perform the opening and closing tracks from Icky Thump. Enjoy both clips below. For an added bonus, a classic WS cover tune can be found at the bottom of the post.

'Icky Thump'


'Effect & Cause'

MP3: The White Stripes - Jolene (Dolly Parton cover)

Ticket Info For 'Secret' White Stripes Gig

The show will take place on June 19th @ The Fillmore. Tickets will be available TOMORROW SATURDAY at 10am. More info below.

The deets: "Tickets are $30 each and there is a strict 2 ticket limit per person The box office only accepts cash, no refund. You will be required to show photo ID when purchasing tickets, a voucher will then be given to you to show proof of purchase. You must then bring this voucher and the same photo ID with you in order to pick up the tickets, NO EXCEPTIONS. Tickets may be picked up at the box office beginning at 8 pm on the night of the show.You must enter the venue immediately after ticket pick-up and the vouchers are NON-TRANSFERABLE."

MP3: The White Stripes - Do

Cold War Kids Opening For The White Stripes

Put the rumors to bed, this one's true. Cold War Kids will join the Detroit duo for an autumn tour beginning in LA on September 19th. All dates be found here on the band's MySpace page.

If you're keeping score at home, this is the second major tour CWK have been invited to open up for. This August, the Long Beach-based group will team up with Muse for select dates across The States.

MP3: Cold War Kids - We Used To Vacation

Jack White Plays Solo Show In London

I wonder what Meg makes of this...

Via NME: *The White Stripes' frontman Jack White has played an impromptu show in London. The star turned up at the Sonic Cathedral Club at The Social in the West End (May 27), where he played three songs before making a swift departure.

White started with 'Effect And Cause' from the band's forthcoming new album 'Icky Thump'. He then played 'Sugar Never Tasted So Good' from the band's 1997 debut album, backed by former Soledad Brothers drummer Ben Swank on percussion.

White then played a request - the blues classic 'The House Of The Rising Sun', made famous by The Animals in the 60s.*

MP3: The White Stripes - Sugar Never Tasted So Good

New White Stripes Video: Love It Or Hate It?

'Icky Thump' has arrived. The tune is the title track of The White Stripes new album, due out internationally the middle of next month. Is the video a keeper or a tosser?


MP3: The White Stripes - Icky Thump

Michel Gondry Talks White Stripes To EW

Some snippets from the interview can be found below. To read the entire piece, hop over to EW.com.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So you've done four videos with the White Stripes, and your upcoming fifth has inspired a song on Icky Thump. It's for "I'm Slowly Turning Into You?"
MICHEL GONDRY: Yeah, it's interesting. At the time we did the videos for ''Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground'' and ''Hardest Button to Button,'' my girlfriend was the stylist. She helped me with the videos. And she was a little — not frustrated, but a little disappointed that she couldn't really style the band, because they come with their own clothes. She said she was not doing the cool stuff. And I said to myself, Okay, I'm gonna find a way to shoot a video for them that makes her have to dress them. So I got this idea to do human morphing between Meg and Jack by using intermediate people. The first person would be exactly like Meg.

And the next person would be 10 percent like Jack and 90 percent like Meg. Then the tenth person would be 50 percent like Jack and 50 percent like Meg, and then at the end they look much more like Jack, and then we end up with Jack. So you would see Meg turning into Jack. So then Meg has to wear white pants and Jack wears red pants, which is often the case — but in the middle, the pants have to be pink. She would have to make all those tones, and it would give her a much more important job. So I was having this idea to make my girlfriend happy.

That's nice of you.
In the meantime, she left me... And I gave the idea to Jack, and that gave him the idea to write the song.

That turned out to be a very sad story.
[Laughs] Yes, despite everything I could do for my girlfriend, she still left me.

I think this is the first time where something like this has happened — an artist as high-profile as Jack White has written a song based on a video treatment.
Yes, it's very flattering.

MP3: The White Stripes - Slicker Drips

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #44

The White Stripes' cover of Dolly Parton's classic, 'Jolene', has been a live staple for the Detroit-based duo for as long as I can remember. When looking over the setlist for last night's pseudo-secret gig in Nashville, their first in two years, I'm glad to see that the tune is still getting the attention it so rightfully deserves.

The track was officially released as the B-side "Hello Operator" in 2000 and later, the live version was released as a B-side back in '04.

Jack White's fierce vocal delivery on the heartbreaking original is what makes this version so unique and fantastic. Dare I say it's one of the best covers of the last decade. Enjoy the MP3 below.

(In related WS news, how fabulous do Jack & Meg look on the new cover of Nylon? I love it. Anybody else think Jack is starting to resemble Johnny Cash? Just a little bit?)

MP3: The White Stripes - Jolene (Dolly Parton cover)

UPDATE: More on the Nylon article, including video here.