Around the turn of the century,The White Stripespractically launched the whole garage rock revival of the ’00s. The duo played dirty, blues-based rock with energy, defining the modern sound - that is, until they didn’t. After a string of acclaimed albums and the anthemic “Seven Nation Army,” the group made a strange and sudden turn forGet Behind Me Satan.
Twenty years ago, the album was a puzzling statement, withJack Whitelargely ditching his electric guitar as the duo collected a baker’s dozen unusual numbers. The cuts ranged from full-bore rockers to acoustic ditties.
The wild approach worked, as thealbum reached number three on theBillboard200and won the Grammy for Best Alternative Album. Looking at each track and ranking them from worst to best reveals how this oddity works.
13Passive Manipulation
Track 9
One of the strangest cuts in The White Stripes' discography, “Passive Manipulation” sounds more like a half-finished chant than an actual song. Over light percussion (a triangle!) and piano chords played on every other beat, Meg White sings the same four lines repeatedly. The song becomes its own sort of thing before quickly ending after little more than half a minute.
That doesn’t mean it doesn’t work.Meg’s off-key voice actually serves the track well, suiting the rough and spontaneous feel. Her four lines become a sort of feminist mantra. The melody has just enough hook for it to stick, meaning that we get 35 seconds that are actually pretty memorable before the band moves on.
12Instinct Blues
Track 8
On an album primarily designed for experimentation, “Instinct Blues” doesn’t make much sense. It’s not exactly by-the-numbers, because The White Stripes find ways to twist the tune, especially in the middle, but it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. As one of the longer tracks onGet Behind Me Satan, “Instinct Blues” bogs it down in a bit of bluesy redundancy.
Its purpose seems to be to help ground the more inventive moments, but it’s a bit too much to do that properly.
To be fair, if the group shortened its runtime or had it on an album with less going on, it might not stick out. Here, it soundstoo much like the sort of bluesy stomp fans had come to expect from the band, only without a memorable guitar or vocal hook.
Jack’s guitar sounds great, but it’s not enough to carry the track. Its purpose seems to be to help ground the more inventive moments, but it’s a bit too much to do that properly.
11The Nurse
Track 2
Just two tracks in, the band’s radical shift becomes apparent. “The Nurse” keeps the garage instruments in the background, but this one largely relies on Jack’s marimba. The song starts with a little run and then a repeating melody line. The band throws in some guitar and drum moments for texture, but this is almost a solo performance for the first half of its run.
It’s to The White Stripes' credit that they make it unique. The marimba doesn’t like it traditionally does, largely becauseit’s deployed in something that’s distinctly a White Stripes number rather than a jazz- or Latin-influenced number.
The song doesn’t quite work, but it’s not a miss either. It feels like a band stretching itself without quite knowing where it’s headed, and that’s not a bad thing.
10Forever For Her (Is Over For Me)
Track 4
Maybe the marimba doesn’t quite suit The White Stripes. “Forever For Her (Is Over For Me)” brings the instrument back for a second run, and like “The Nurse,” it works as an interesting experiment, even though the song doesn’t stand up as one of their best. It has a more traditional structure, which benefits this particular track well.
It never really takes off, though, making for nice pacing on the album, and meaning thatthe more subtle dynamic shifts become more effectivethan they would in a banger. Jack’s vocals take over, mixing lament and plea. He’s up for the challenge of shifting moods within restrained (though pained) delivery, and that, more than the instrumentation, makes the song.
9As Ugly As I Seem
Track 11
“As Ugly As I Seem” gives us the softer side of The White Stripes. Backed by bongos and acoustic guitar, Jack sings more likea folk singerthan a rock star. The song glides along with a lo-fi delicacy, sounding more like a demo than a finished track, except adding much more to it would probably only make it worse.
The lyrics offer an appealing indeterminacy. Jack’s probably not being straightforward that he’s even worse than people think, butit’s unclear how much honest self-recrimination factors into the song.
The ambiguity creates an effective atmosphere, working as the sort of meditation someone might have in a romantic relationship or thinking back on life choices or more. The duo finds a relatable mood without defining its full terms.
8White Moon
Track 7
“White Moon” brings the piano to the fore in another cut that leads to multiple possible interpretations. Most directly, Jack sings aboutRita Hayworth, the actress who he mentions as an inspiration throughout this album’s development.
The emotional meaning rings like the piano chords, reverberating well after the song ends.
At times, though, it sounds as if he’s singing to Meg, an idea made more likely given the footage from the documentaryUnder Great White Northern Lights.The song also works as a more abstract number, which is probably the best way to hear it.
The sense of longing for something unreachable (a pin-up girl, an old romance, a girlfriend on the other side of the world, a deceased partner) comes through with every line. Specifics aside, the emotional meaning rings like the piano chords, reverberating well after the song ends.
7The Denial Twist
Track 6
“The Denial Twist,” the album’s third single, updates the traditional White Stripes sound, with piano chords taking the place of the expected electric guitar works. The bluesy garage rock aesthetic comes through, just a little obscured by the instrumentation. It fits Get Behind Me Satan, holding to the band’s core compositional sensibilities while changing the sound to suit the current context.
The lyrics, like many throughout the album, address concepts of truth, including a relationship understood from different perspectives. What Jack argues for here isa deeper understanding of the truth.
He wants to break our ideas of superficiality, whether in the meaning of a touch or the way we think through a relationship. With lyrics this clever, it’s easy to follow his lead in reexamining what we think.
6Little Ghost
Track 5
Take the easy route, and “Little Ghost” is simply about falling in love with a ghost. The lover isn’t ready to die yet, so he can’t figure out how to connect with her. It’s probably not a haunted tale in that sense, but one about the challenges of love: of admiring the unreachable, of seeing what others can’t, of fearing what might come next.
And yet it’s a fun little cut, properly jaunty and full of traditional folk energy. The White Stripes have long been able to pull off light-sounding acoustic numbers, often with a child-like pleasure, and"Little Ghost" is one more quality entry in that category.
You can read this one as a scary story or a warning about mental illness, but it’s simply far too fun to get bogged down in that line of thinking.
5Take, Take, Take
Track 10
The genius of “Take, Take, Take” lies in The White Stripes' ability to shape something new in an old frame. Change the instrumentation around, and this one becomes a classic rock song. Given the banging percussion and the heavy piano style, it can only be a White Stripes cut, and only fromGet Behind Me Satan. A ’70s-style composition turns into something truly contemporary.
The song centers around the reappearance of Rita Hayworth, butit’s less about her than about the singer denying his own greediness. Jack’s character can’t be content - no matter how much he claims to be - and has to take more and more.
In this case, it’s at personal cost to an idol of his, making the song also about the complications of fandom and celebrity, giving the song a rich fullness.
4I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely Yet)
Track 13
Get Behind Me Satancloses with a solo Jack number, just his singing and piano. “I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely Yet)” takes on a heavy gospel feel (along with a touch of the American South), adding another element to the album’s array.
It’s steady and barely controlled (Jack’s delivery is excellent), with a memorable melody that shines in the spare setting of the song. Jack sings about his degree of loneliness with vulnerability.
He’s feeling isolation, and knows it can worsen (hear that “yet”), but right now, he’s hanging in there. Not that we can relax; his trip to the river may have had awful intentions even if he kept himself dry. The singer holds on to his knowledge of the people that are out there for him, and that’s just enough for now.
