The song that broke the White Stripes into the mainsteam - Fell In Love With A Girl. A 2 minute battering ram of a song, which epitomises garage rock at its finest. Jack tells a story of a girl, who seems to be in love with the world, and he's conflicted over whether or not to pursue an inevitably toxic relationship with her. Jack tends to play a slower version of the song live, but it retains all the badassery of the 2001 version. I remember at first listen of this song, I had no clue what he was saying. All I knew was it was nothing like 'Bobby said it's fine'. But once you get the lyrics ingrained into your mental fibre, it's one of the most easily obvious sing along songs from the White Stripes - that hook!
9. Hotel Yorba - White Blood Cells
The sister single to Fell In Love With A Girl - Hotel Yorba. One of the most wonderfully simple and catchy songs the White Stripes have released. It was one of the first songs I learned! I'll never forget perfectly frank G - C - D progression. Naturally, the Stripes got themselves banned from the actual Hotel Yorba because of this song, but this didn't stop it becoming one of their most successful. Another great sing along songs, what made me recognise the lasting power it has was seeing Jack and Meg play it on a bus (I believe in Under Nova Scotian Lights although I'm not sure). Short sweet and fucking fantastic.
8. The Hardest Button To Button - Elephant
'Watch where you're drumming, kid!'. One of the most brilliant music videos I've ever seen is for this, The Hardest Button To Button. I was first attracted to the song purely for the name. It looks bizzare at first, then you realise, you button buttons. Like, you button up a shirt's buttons. Crazy right? Maybe not. Well Jack definetly spotted this, saying his antagoniser is an irritation - the hardest button to button. Now that that's out of the way - what a great song eh? Doesn't need a mental solo or a signature Meg White drum break - it's brilliant in itself. The lyrics are fantastic too - "I had opinions that didn't/ A brain like pancake batter". Try singing along with the intro too, makes the experience so much better. This was probably the first White Stripes song I heard, although I might not have known it at the time, due to its feature in the greatest show of my childhood (bar Robot Wars).
7. 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues - Icky Thump
Jack tried to explain this brilliant tune away as trying to bring all different types of blues together into one. But it's so much more than this. This song is an odyssey. It tells a beautiful and tragic tale, every now and then bursting out of its shell as Jack stamps on his fuzz pedal. It's self-reflective. Almost telling the story of the White Stripes in an incredible way. From getting hard on himself for taking the easy route, to pouring out all his emotions in this, their last album. They may not have known it at the time, but 300 M.P.H. is the Stripes's epitaph.
6. Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground - White Blood Cells
What a song. Dead Leaves showcases the very best of the White Stripes. Opening with a heavy, simple riff, getting louder, and parting to reveal a sweet love song. After the intro is done, Jack delivers his finest lyrics in a fantastic manner. The flow of the lyrics combined with the sentiment is overwhelming - 'If I could just hear your pretty voice, I don't think I need to see at all/Every breath that is in your lungs is a tiny little gift to me.' It's a brilliant all-rounder song, and is particularly made special when mixed broken with other songs. See Dead Leaves/Screwdriver at Glastonbury.
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