Hyped and Striped

The White Stripes' self-titled single from the upcoming Icky Thump is currently available on iTunes, having gone on sale today at 12:01 a.m. We really recommend you purchase the song, especially given the continued slump in music industry sales... but here's a free MP3 anyway. The song was played over XFM radio before iTunes got their hands on it, and you can get the radio rip at Web Vomit. Interesting instrumentation... recognizable riffs... some odd disjointed solos... Overall, we like it. "Icky" thumps in all the right places.

Of course, the folks at Rolling Stone are cooler than all of us. They were treated to a sneak preview of the entire album during a recent post-lunch afternoon lull. The magazine approves:

Icky Thump will be released stateside on June 19th, around the same time that the Raconteurs should be wrapping up the recording of their follow-up to last year's Broken Boy Soliders. Head to Pitchfork for a big picture of Thump's country-fried album art, and check out the band's website for their most recent tour accouncement. (Hint - it involves all ten of the Canadian provinces. Move over, Bryan Adams!) For assorted media goodies, check out the videos and audio bootlegs at WhiteStripes.net.