The White Stripes' Odd Appeal

There are two kinds of songs on the White Stripes' Icky Thump. The first are primitive, grinding rockers--the kind people have known and cherished and unbuttoned one anothers' clothes to since the Rolling Stones first raided the blues bin. Let's call these the good songs. The second are so willfully odd and filigreed as to be almost beyond description, let alone comprehension. Suffice it to say that if you've ever wondered what a Patti Page, Herb Alpert and Slash tribute to Three Amigos might sound like, there's a song on Icky Thump just for you.

Eccentricity has always been a part...