Icky Thump (song)
Encyclopedia
"Icky Thump" is a song recorded by the American alternative rock
band The White Stripes
. Written by Jack White
, it is the first single released from Icky Thump
.
exclamation "Ecky Thump," roughly meaning "Oh god!" The phrase was popularized in an episode of The Goodies
. The album title was then changed to "Icky" so that "teenagers would understand it better back in America," in the same way Led Zeppelin
took out the "a" so they wouldn't be referred to as 'Leed Zeppelin.'
on May 23, 2007. The video was co-directed by Jack White
and the Malloy Brothers
.
The video was filmed in Nashville
, Tennessee
, though it is set in Mexico
. The video also features Spanish
subtitles acting as a translation of the lyrics.
The video for "Icky Thump" debuted on MTV
's Total Request Live
on July 17, 2007. This marked the first time a White Stripes video was ever on the countdown.
on Thursday, April 26, 2007. The digital download
has been available since June 4. The single debuted at #28 in the United States, making it not only the highest charting White Stripes single, but also their first Top 40 appearance, achieving this with virtually no pop radio airplay. It peaked a week later at #26.
Third Man Records
/XL Recordings
also released CD and vinyl versions of the "Icky Thump" single on June 11, 2007 in the UK. It is to date the duo's biggest UK chart hit, debuting at #13 in the UK Singles Chart
via download sales alone and peaking at #2 the following week, marking their first UK Top 3 single and was kept off the #1 spot by "Umbrella
" by Rihanna
featuring Jay-Z
. However, it very quickly dropped out of the charts, spending only seven weeks there.
The song was #23 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2007
.
This song was #17 on Rolling Stone
The song also ended the 15-week run of "What I've Done
" by Linkin Park
at the top of the Modern Rock Tracks
chart when the song rose to the top of the chart in August. It is the second song by the White Stripes to top the chart, after "Seven Nation Army
." The song is sandwiched between the 15 week run at number 1 of "What I've Done
" and "The Pretender" by Foo Fighters
18 week run, separated by only the 1 week appearance of "Paralyzer
" by Finger Eleven
. It ended up being certified both Gold for physical shipments and Platinum for digital sales in the US.
singles, the song differed radically from previous White Stripes singles in its unusual construction: angular tempo-changes, stream-of-consciousness lyrics, and chaotic improvised snake-charming solos, played on a Univox
synthesizer.
The song deals with the topic of immigration to the United States
. The song itself criticizes contemporary American immigration policy, something seen also in the video. It is thus the first political White Stripes track since "The Big Three Killed My Baby
," off The White Stripes
.
The lyrics talk about someone (perhaps Jack White himself) taking a trip to Mexico in a wagon, easily crossing the border to Mexico, as opposed to the difficulties illegal Mexican immigrants face while crossing northwards. It then mentions a Mexican lady giving him a bed to sleep in, then tying him up, assaulting him and holding him hostage. When finally able to escape, White decides to start doing his own house chores (referring, most likely, to the hiring of illegal immigrants as very low paid house servants). In the video, when White escapes the lady's house and crosses back to the USA, he passes by Mexican workers building a wall, likely the so-called Great Wall of Mexico.
The defining verse against immigration policies comes near the end of the song:
(companion to the NME-distributed record
that was given away with copies of the magazine on stands June 6)
Standard 7"
Promo CD single
CD single
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
. Written by Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
, it is the first single released from Icky Thump
Icky Thump
Icky Thump is the sixth and final studio album by US alternative rock band The White Stripes. It was released June 15, 2007 in Germany, June 18, 2007 in the rest of Europe, and June 19, 2007 in the rest of the world. It was the band's first album on Warner Bros...
.
History
The name of the track comes from the Northern EnglandNorthern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
exclamation "Ecky Thump," roughly meaning "Oh god!" The phrase was popularized in an episode of The Goodies
The Goodies
The Goodies are a trio of British comedians who created, wrote, and starred in a surreal British television comedy series called The Goodies during the 1970s and early 1980s combining sketches and situation comedy.-Honours:All three Goodies now have OBEs...
. The album title was then changed to "Icky" so that "teenagers would understand it better back in America," in the same way Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
took out the "a" so they wouldn't be referred to as 'Leed Zeppelin.'
Personnel
- Jack WhiteJack White (musician)Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
- vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, claviolineClaviolineThe clavioline is an electronic keyboard instrument, a forerunner to the analog synthesizer.It was invented by Constant Martin in 1947. It consists of a keyboard and a separate amplifier and speaker unit. The keyboard usually covered three octaves, and had a number of switches to alter the tone of...
, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Meg WhiteMeg WhiteMegan Martha "Meg" White is an American drummer best known for her work in the Detroit rock duo The White Stripes.-Early life:...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Music video
The music video for "Icky Thump" premiered on AOL.com at midnight EDTNorth American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
on May 23, 2007. The video was co-directed by Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
and the Malloy Brothers
The Malloys
The Malloys is the working name of music video and film directors and brothers Emmett Malloy and Brendan Malloy. They are signed to HSI Productions.- Videography :*"Holiday" by Vampire Weekend...
.
The video was filmed in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, though it is set in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The video also features Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
subtitles acting as a translation of the lyrics.
The video for "Icky Thump" debuted on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Total Request Live
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
on July 17, 2007. This marked the first time a White Stripes video was ever on the countdown.
Release and reception
The single was made available online through the United States and Canada iTunes StoreITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
on Thursday, April 26, 2007. The digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
has been available since June 4. The single debuted at #28 in the United States, making it not only the highest charting White Stripes single, but also their first Top 40 appearance, achieving this with virtually no pop radio airplay. It peaked a week later at #26.
Third Man Records
Third Man Records
Third Man Records is an independent record label founded by Jack White in Detroit, Michigan, in 2001. Third Man established its first physical location — a combination record store, performance venue, and headquarters for the label — in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2009.-History:Jack White founded...
/XL Recordings
XL Recordings
XL Recordings is a British independent record label owned by Richard Russell. It originated as a 1989 offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records.Though only releasing an average of six albums a year, XL Recordings has worked with The Prodigy, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., Vampire...
also released CD and vinyl versions of the "Icky Thump" single on June 11, 2007 in the UK. It is to date the duo's biggest UK chart hit, debuting at #13 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
via download sales alone and peaking at #2 the following week, marking their first UK Top 3 single and was kept off the #1 spot by "Umbrella
Umbrella (song)
"Umbrella" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, featuring a rap verse by Jay-Z. The song was written by The-Dream, Christopher Stewart, Kuk Harrell and Jay-Z, and was produced by Stewart and The-Dream for Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad...
" by Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
featuring Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
. However, it very quickly dropped out of the charts, spending only seven weeks there.
The song was #23 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2007
Triple J Hottest 100, 2007
The 2007 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on Australia Day, 26 January 2008. It was the fifteenth countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as chosen by the listeners of Australian radio station Triple J....
.
This song was #17 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
The song also ended the 15-week run of "What I've Done
What I've Done
"What I've Done" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released as the first single from their third album, Minutes to Midnight. The song is composed in the key of G minor and is set in 4/4 time. The song was released as a radio single on April 1, 2007, as a digital download on April...
" by Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
at the top of the Modern Rock Tracks
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
chart when the song rose to the top of the chart in August. It is the second song by the White Stripes to top the chart, after "Seven Nation Army
Seven Nation Army
"Seven Nation Army" is the first track on the album Elephant by American alternative rock band The White Stripes. It was released as a single in 2003. "Seven Nation Army" reached #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks for three weeks and won 2004's Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The song is known for its...
." The song is sandwiched between the 15 week run at number 1 of "What I've Done
What I've Done
"What I've Done" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released as the first single from their third album, Minutes to Midnight. The song is composed in the key of G minor and is set in 4/4 time. The song was released as a radio single on April 1, 2007, as a digital download on April...
" and "The Pretender" by Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
18 week run, separated by only the 1 week appearance of "Paralyzer
Paralyzer (song)
"Paralyzer" is the first single from Canadian alternative rock band Finger Eleven's fifth album, Them vs. You vs. Me. It was released in March 2007. Finger Eleven's frontman Scott Anderson has said that the single has a feel distinct from the rest of Finger Eleven's music, possessing more of a...
" by Finger Eleven
Finger Eleven
Finger Eleven is a Canadian rock band from Burlington, Ontario, formed in 1989. They have currently released five studio albums, with their album The Greyest of Blue Skies bringing them into the mainstream...
. It ended up being certified both Gold for physical shipments and Platinum for digital sales in the US.
Theme
Though grounded in straightforward garage rock to a greater degree than the Get Behind Me SatanGet Behind Me Satan
Get Behind Me Satan is the fifth album by American alternative rock band The White Stripes, released on June 7, 2005 on V2 Records. Though still basic in production style, the album marked a distinct change from its guitar-heavy 2003 predecessor, Elephant...
singles, the song differed radically from previous White Stripes singles in its unusual construction: angular tempo-changes, stream-of-consciousness lyrics, and chaotic improvised snake-charming solos, played on a Univox
Univox
For Univox portable keyboards, see Vox In the early 1960s the Unicord Corporation, a manufacturer of electronic transformers purchased the Amplifier Corporation of America of Westbury, New York. They began marketing a line of amplifiers under the name of Univox. The company was purchased by Gulf +...
synthesizer.
The song deals with the topic of immigration to the United States
Immigration to the United States
Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants,...
. The song itself criticizes contemporary American immigration policy, something seen also in the video. It is thus the first political White Stripes track since "The Big Three Killed My Baby
The Big Three Killed My Baby
"The Big Three Killed My Baby" was released in March 1999 as a 7" single and is the third track on re-releases of The White Stripes, the eponymous debut of the Detroit-based American garage rock band The White Stripes. A live recording of the song is featured on Under Blackpool Lights; the band's...
," off The White Stripes
The White Stripes (album)
The White Stripes is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band The White Stripes, released on June 15, 1999. The album was produced by Jim Diamond and vocalist/guitarist Jack White, recorded in January 1999 at Ghetto Recorders and Third Man Studios in Detroit...
.
The lyrics talk about someone (perhaps Jack White himself) taking a trip to Mexico in a wagon, easily crossing the border to Mexico, as opposed to the difficulties illegal Mexican immigrants face while crossing northwards. It then mentions a Mexican lady giving him a bed to sleep in, then tying him up, assaulting him and holding him hostage. When finally able to escape, White decides to start doing his own house chores (referring, most likely, to the hiring of illegal immigrants as very low paid house servants). In the video, when White escapes the lady's house and crosses back to the USA, he passes by Mexican workers building a wall, likely the so-called Great Wall of Mexico.
The defining verse against immigration policies comes near the end of the song:
White Americans
What? Nothin' better to do?
Why don't you kick yourself out
You're an immigrant too.History of immigration to the United StatesThe history of immigration to the United States is a continuing story of peoples from more populated continents, particularly Europe and also Africa and Asia, crossing oceans to the new land. Historians do not treat the first indigenous settlers as immigrants. Starting around 1600 British and...
Who's using who?
What should we do?
Well you can't be a pimp
And a prostitute too.
[...]
Left alone
I hit myself with a stone
Went home
And learned how to clean up after myself
Track listings
7" white vinyl(companion to the NME-distributed record
Rag and Bone
"Rag and Bone" is a song by the American garage rock band The White Stripes, and is the ninth track on their album Icky Thump. The track was released as a free red 7" vinyl with the June 6, 2007 issue of the NME magazine, with 120,000 copies made and an etching with drummer Meg White's face on...
that was given away with copies of the magazine on stands June 6)
- "Icky Thump"
- "Etching" (no audio)
Standard 7"
- "Icky Thump"
- "Baby Brother"
Promo CD single
- "Icky Thump" (Radio edit)
- "Icky Thump" (Album version)
CD single
- "Icky Thump" - 4:18
- "Catch Hell Blues" - 4:16
Charts
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
26 |
| U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs... |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue... |
11 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
2 |
| Belgium Singles Chart | 49 |
| Denmark Singles Chart | 4 |
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
46 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 21 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
9 |
External links
- Official website of the band
- Song lyrics, made available on the White Stripes' official website.
- 'Icky Thump' song of the day on thishereboogie.com 11 Dec 2008