Jack White
“Over and Over and Over”
limited edition one-sided tri-color, 200 something copies pressed, complete with custom picture sleeve that will be slightly different from the standard released version
Do you guys know how pumped I am?
For the record, I first heard this monster riff in 2005 at Jack’s house while he and Meg were recording “Get Behind Me Satan.”
I am pretty sure that the “Blue Orchid” riff pre-dates this one by a few days, but in my mind, they exist hand-in-hand. While “Blue Orchid” smashed that recording process wide open and gave Jack the inspiration to make that album as bad ass as possible, THIS riff, inarguably, is ten times stronger. I feel like Jack was originally calling it “Thermonuclear Counter-Thrust” but maybe I’m just imagining that. I can find no contemporaneous documentation of that name.
There are two takes of demo recordings of this song from 2005 (with the riff played solely on fuzz bass). There are demo recordings from 2007 with the White Stripes trying it in rehearsal leading up to the tracking of the “Icky Thump” album. Imagine the guitar profile more in line with the octave-pedaled presence of the song “Icky Thump” and that’s a good start for understanding the 2007 version. I guess the Raconteurs tried it but I never heard any evidence, same with the Dead Weather. It was apparently the main track that Jack and Jay-Z worked on together in 2009, under the title “Ray Bans” or “Behind My Ray Bans” and although I’ve never heard that working, I’m told to imagine the phrase “Behind my Ray Bans” to coincide with the last five notes of the riff.
As Jack has already said, this had been his white whale. We sincerely considered including the ’07 demo as part of the “Icky Thump X” Vault package last year. I have no recollection of Jack ever previously giving me such an impassioned plea…”I just really think we shouldn’t put this on the Vault” he said. My response was pretty matter-of-factly, “Well, it’s your label, so please don’t feel like you have to convince me.” Maybe he was trying to convince himself?
Regardless, at the end of 2017 when Jack finally had played me this version you hear now, upon the end of the song, I looked at him and said “I’ve been waiting twelve years to hear this song with lyrics.”
The final version of this song is everything I’d ever dreamed it would be. It is my favorite moment on the album, with the coda to “Humoresque” being a close second. I cannot wait to see this monster unleashed unto a sell-out crowd at Little Caesar’s Arena, a stone’s throw away from the Gold Dollar where this whole mess got started.
I’ve got an extra copy of this limited tri-color to give away here. AUTOGRAPHED by Jack White, today, explicitly for this purpose. Don’t use my give-away here as an excuse to miss going to any number of the listening parties we’re throwing at record stores worldwide though. Even though we’re giving away tri-colors at the listening parties, none of those will be autographed. Man we spoil you kids.
As for the giveaway, post a comment, can be about whatever, but maybe talk about a significant wait you’ve endured in life. Can be funny, pithy, in iambic pentameter, whatever. The “best” comment will be solely determined by me. Please chime in by noon central time on Tuesday, March 13th.
***WINNER HAS BEEN CONTACTED***
Wait, Wait, Wait… am I still on time???
My girlfriend and I had always wanted to see The Rolling Stones live. We’d never gotten the chance, let alone gotten lucky scoring heavily sought-after tickets. We’d also never been to Las Vegas even though we live in LA (her for 9 years after moving here from Indiana and me for my whole 30 years of life). To our surprise, the Stones announced a visit to Vegas; they were to play at the T-Mobile Arena on October 19th, 2016. We locked in, got our computers and phones ready for the tickets to drop, and I got lucky. We’d finally scored tickets to see them, within our budget, and we were finally going to Las Vegas. Excitedly, we booked short flights, a hotel, and 2 days before the show, off we went. On October 18th, a night before the Stones, we took a stroll to get to know the city, and as we made a quick restroom stop at a small casino (no gambling was allowed; we were to use whatever money we had left for concert merch), our phones lit up with social media notifications: Mick Jagger had laryngitis and the Stones had cancelled the concert. We were pretty damn devastated, to say the least. Now what? Well, my girlfriend’s been a big fan of Britney Spears since childhood and always wanted to see her perform from the pit, so we decided to make the most of our trip and get pit tickets to see her (as fate, and luck, would have it, she was to perform at the Axis Theatre on the 19th as well). Longer story short: we had a great time. We also met great people there and along the way and made some great memories. As someone who’s never considered himself a fan of Ms. Spears (but never disliked her), I came to appreciate her talent and hard work after seeing her leave it all on that stage that night. I learned something I thought I already knew: nothing compares to seeing an artist live. I never expected to walk away from Vegas a fan of Britney’s but after witnessing the amount of hard work that went into her live show, here I am. I appreciate concerts that much more because of that. And another, even bigger, lesson learned: some waits pan out and some don’t… but in the end… it’ll all work out.
I waited the first 10 years of my life for a dog, begging my mom every day. I did my research and my father and I went to every adoption event possible. I wanted a black lab more than anything. We got a chihuahua. I fell head over heels for my baby Pedro. He passed away a year ago, but I would wait 10 more years for another dog half as great as that chihuahua.
apologies, it was the first thing that popped up in my mind on what to comment. god bless you Blackwell for taking the time of day to read through all these comments.x
The most significant wait for me was supporting my wife during her job search after college from December 2016 until August 2017 as she applied for jobs all over the country. The intense rollercoaster of emotions for her as she thought she would get interviews, or a second interview, or a job offer was so painful to see her endure. Then the immense joy as she got a job, we waited to see if my transfer would be approved and then was, and got an apartment in the span of 5 days was equally intense. Although it took us away from Nashville and the opportunity to go to Third Man Records or TMR listening parties at Grimey’s, it gives us the most upside to our futures as best we can tell. I only wish Columbus, Ohio had a listening party for Mr. White’s new album…. I look forward to receiving my Vault version and continuing to be happy for those who win tricolors at the parties. Good luck to all and congratulations to whomever wins the autographed version from you, Mr. Blackwell.
“his face was drawn but the curtains were real,” the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime.
when I first read this line, I didn’t understand it. and instead of a google search like my friend suggested I did since it bothered me so much, I waited for my mind to understand it’s meaning like when you take a second to get a joke. I wrote it down everywhere, desks, walls, my homework sheets, and along my hands and arms. it took a couple of days to only realize that it described me at my then-current situation. I wasn’t happy… so my year started with me moving out because I wasn’t “there” in the first place.if you’re catching what i’m throwing. it’s funny how denial works.
This is my favorite new JW song!!! What a killer wrif! The winner of this tri color will be king or queen for the day!!!
Since there is not a grad program in AK in my field, I have been in OR for the past year and a half and will have to wait another six months before I finish my degree. I have lately been thinking about home a lot. My husband, my dogs, my cats, my family. My cozy, shabby little house on Pearl Drive. Along with the wait, I can’t help but wonder if I made the right decision to leave in the first place.
I was lucky enough to see The White Stripes and The Greenhornes live when I was in high school, and I have been waiting for the chance to see Jack again ever since! After missing tickets for his last tour, I have been patiently waiting for new music and shows to be announced. I’m lucky enough to see him headline this summer at a music festival in my hometown, and snagged tickets to see him in a nearby city the next night. Waiting until June for these shows is proving to be very challenging so far! Jack White and Third Man Records have had a huge impact on me, and I finally got to visit the Nashville storefront last year. I can’t wait to go back and do the guided tour next time. I love the back story of this song, and I can’t wait to get my vault package and hear the new album.
After a clear morning, the sky darkens, a violent wind picks up. It’s April 24th, 2010. I’m standing on a sidewalk outside of The Pageant with my sister in St. Louis, waiting in a GA line for The Dead Weather. I watch in horror as a billowing gust drags and scrapes hefty street barricades from our side of Delmar Boulevard to the other. Hail hammers down. Eerie, piercing tornado sirens wail. I’m grabbing the random fella’s back in front of me as all 8 of us hunker down for shelter, wind whipping, hair soaked in rain. I glance inside the venue window for any sign of assistance. A man at the bar dreamily slices a lime. 10 minutes pass. A sharply dressed Dead Weather roadie sporting a trilby steps out of the venue, beckoning us inside. We shake off the rain water, nervously laugh. We’re in a dark hallway. There’s a small viewing window in the door leading into the performance area. Jack is by himself onstage, dressed all in black. He’s sitting at the drumkit for soundcheck. We press our faces to the tiny window like a vaudevillian cartoon. Another kid chirps up with a faux Australian accent, “Jack Whoyte in his nat’rl envoyr’nment.” My sister & I giggle. Someone snaps a photo, flash blinding. “Hey, no photos!” an elderly man sitting in a chair no one noticed before booms. We shuffle back outside to a clear blue sky… Where about 20 people have taken our spots on the sidewalk. We managed to get side of stage front row that night & had to laugh when Jack shouted at us weathered & bedraggled crowd, “You all still ALIVE?”