I can kind of remember The White Stripes bringing out Get Behind Me Satan in 2005. Kind of. ‘Blue Orchid’ was the first single. Its video was something of the big exclusive on MTV2. It was freaky looking, the track had a disgusting riff. It was like, “Yeah, The White Stripes are back. And Jesus, this track is something else.” Of course, I wasn’t really thinking along those specific lines at the time. I was 10. And because I didn’t listen to albums like that back then, once the ‘Orchid’ single was released and it charted in the UK, I didn’t hear much from The White Stripes for a few months maybe. Then the video for ‘My Doorbell’ started showing, and I was left wondering how they had made such a U-turn in sound for their next single. In fact, when I saw the video I thought it was a special song written for a children’s show or something. But no, this was also on the album.

It’s only quite recently that I got into properly got into this one, but its hook and those piano vamps have stuck with me for years. Jack White’s been thinking about his doorbell and is wondering when you’re gonna ring it. Sing that with a good melody, and people will sing it back to you at festivals. But now I’ve come to appreciate it for its general bluesy feel, and that thumping rhythm section courtesy of Meg White. The lyrics I’ve never paid much attention to – may annoy some, others may not care – but I’ve come to really like how Jack White just delivers his words. He doesn’t really enunciate his words, but sings them in such a way that they sort of make themselves clearer after repeated listens. Apparently, he said in concert that the track is about an old man waiting for death, and so when’s he asking when his doorbell is going to be rang he’s actually asking when is death gonna come knocking so I can join other friends who have passed on. Kinda sad. But quite humorous when you think about that and then watch the music video.

It appears that this’ll be the last White Stripes song in this whole series thing that I write about. I’ve known a lot of White Stripes tracks, though I’ve never been that huge of a fan. I do appreciate them quite a bit though. I wrote about another of their tracks in the past. Two of them actually, one is quite hidden. But here is a list of other White Stripes tracks that I think are crackers: ‘Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground’, ‘I Think I Smell a Rat’, ‘Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine’, and ‘The Denial Twist’. That’s all she wrote.