31 Reasons The White Stripes Icky Thump is the best album of 2007 (thus far).

21. The whole are Meg and Jack White siblings or were they once married thing came up again yesterday. Best I can tell they are brother and sister. But I’ve heard from others that they used to be married, and the whole brother sister thing is a little joke. I’m not going not going to try and find out for sure. I actually don’t care either way, the whole thing totally amuses me.
22. I need to call out track 12 “Catch Hell Blues” again. That song is also completely unreal. It is so raw, but so perfectly crafted. The drums, the Zombie guitar riff—it’s one giant spiral of a rock song. I can’t wait to play it for my kids, it will melt their minds.
23. I’d be remiss not mention the other half of the duo. I must say Meg kills it on the drum kit on Icky Thump’s biggest songs including “I’m Slowly Turning Into You” and “Catch Hell Blues.”
24. Someone once said this to me about the White Stripes. “It’s like you’ve found the worst Led Zeppelin record. It might be the worst one, but hey it’s still Zeppelin.” I think that might even be selling them short, but in a world of Zach Braff shoe-gazer rock, I must say anything that rubs against Zepp or AC/DC is just fine by me.
25. The back half of Icky Thump is southern fried. Like the first couple Kings of Leon records, the Stripes get their woods on. This side of the album, the music suddenly has a crinkly brown paper bag on it.
26. On songs like “Rag & Bone” Jack sounds like Tommy Lee Jones in the Fugitive, “Doghouse! Outhouse Old folks house!” – holding court over the music like Johnny Depp playing Boss Hog.
27. “Rag & Bone” is also reminiscent of old Van Halen stuff (“Hot for Teacher”) with it’s tap-tap intro and loose top-hat vocal.
28. Another plug for “Catch Hell Blues” is how it sounds like they laid it down in one take. But if you listen to Jack it’s just taunting. He knows this song kills it. “If you’re looking for hot water, don’t act shocked when you get burned baby,” “If you really want some hot water I can help you find it” and “Try and catch me!” make me thing he knows The White Stripes are the heavyweight champion of the world. And the water is boiling.
29. The White Stripes continue to populate their tour with the most random places on the planet. Deciding to visit states and provinces they haven’t been to previously. Last I read when they had to postpone the tour for Jack’s new baby they were playing in some small town in New Mexico.
30. The solo in “Catch Hell Blues” leading into the final riff.
31. Even “Little Cream Soda” – not the best song on the album has guitar big enough to be played on the Apaches flying into Baghdad. God bless The White Stripes.