15. Blue Orchid - Get Behind Me Satan
One of the most nasty tones to ever come from Jack's airliner, blue orchid is a dirty messy riff based tune, that is mirrored by the frontman's incredibly tender and almost shrill vocals. When first listening to Get Behind Me, opening with Blue Orchid is a stroke of genius. It's not the catchiest song on the record (I'm looking at you, My Doorbell) but maintains the White Stripes style everyone thought they had defined on Elephant. Then they launch you into The Nurse, quite the departure from the hard rock of the first track. Bonus points: a possessed ass music video.
14. It's True That We Love One Another - Elephant
Perhaps not an obvious album closer, especially to an album that is enshrined in riffs and fuzz pedals, but this acoustic number with Holly Golightly is one of the sweeter White Stripes songs that we've seen. The three singers play off one another with the charm that only they could bring. Prior to the release of Elephant, a divorce certificate from Meg and Jack had emerged. Their music was influenced by this being revealed - see Seven Nation Army - and it's even evident here, with the snarky 'I love you like a little brother' from Holly.
13. Black Math - Elephant
The glory of Black Math should not be understated. The lyrics are brilliant - describing a somewhat obscure feeling we've all had: "Maybe I'll learn to understand...Is it the fingers or the brain that you're teaching a lesson?". I know I have. Nothing compares to just throwing numbers into a formula because you know it works rather than why it works. And oh how can you forget the middle section - good grief. The distortion gets kicked up then Jack like a madman comes in 'Ah ah ah ah ah...'. Of course we can't forget the solo either - everything you'd expect with the near ear piercing whammy thrown in.
12. We're Going To Be Friends - White Blood Cells
The sheer relatability of this song is it's beauty - learning what a noun is and getting ready for class way back in primary school (Elementary for you yanks). It's sweet, not something you might have expected from the White Stripes, but this ended up being one of their most famous songs. I never even did show and tell. Great fucking drumming too.
11. My Doorbell
It's great to hear the Stripes firing on all their poppy cylinders, and wow what a tune they came up with here. Simple and elegant. You'd expect to hear it in every advert for 8 months, get an upscale music video and have it at the end of a serious movie for some comic relief. It's an upbeat song that should really be used more on election campaign trails. Very motivational. This one comes on just after The Nurse, almost as a reassurance to the listener that they're not that unaccessible now! I promise! Even then My Doorbell represents a poppy side of the stripes that fits right in between a Marimba tune and an abstract chord progression.
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