pitchfork: Pitchfork: The White Stripes' Icky Thump Due on USB Drive


The White Stripes' Icky Thump Due on USB Drive
Jack White shocks world by embracing technology invented after 19th century



As proof that they will go to great lengths to get Icky Thump into fans' headphones and onto their hard drives, the White Stripes have announced that they will release the forthcoming full-length in USB drive format.

The 512 MB USB 2.0 flash drives will come in two editions of 3,333 apiece. Half of them will creepily look like Meg, and the other half will creepily look like Jack (both are pictured).

The drives are available separately or as a pair, and all of them will come pre-loaded with Icky Thump in Apple Lossless format. They will ship the week of June 19, which is, not coincidentally, the album's U.S. release date (June 18 in the UK).

Finally, in addition to Grinderman, Porter Wagoner, and Cold War Kids, Dan Sartain will open some of the Stripes' previously reported tour dates, which continue tonight (June 12) in London.
Dates:

06-12 London, England – Rivoli Ballroom
06-14 London, England - Hyde Park (O2 Wireless Festival)
06-15 Leeds, England - Harewood House (O2 Wireless Festival)
06-17 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Festival
06-24 Burnaby, British Columbia - Deer Lake Park ^
06-25 Whitehorse, Yukon - Yukon Arts Centre
06-26 Yellowknife, Northwest Territories - Shorty Brown Multiplex Arena
06-27 Iqaluit, Nunavut - Arctic Winter Games Arena
06-29 Calgary, Alberta - Pengrowth Saddledome ^
06-30 Edmonton, Alberta - Shaw Convention Center ^
07-01 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - TCU Place ^
07-02 Winnipeg, Manitoba - MTS Centre ^
07-03 Thunder Bay, Ontario - Community Auditorium ^
07-05 Toronto, Ontario - Molson Amphitheatre ^
07-06 Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre ^
07-07 London, Ontario - John Labatt Centre ^
07-08 Ottawa, Ontario - LeBreton Flats Park (Ottawa Bluesfest)
07-10 Moncton, New Brunswick - Moncton Coliseum Arena ^
07-11 Charlottetown, Price Edward Island - Charlottetown Civic Centre ^
07-13 Halifax, Nova Scotia - Cunard Centre ^
07-14 Glace Bay, Nova Scotia - Savoy Theatre ^
07-16 St. John's, Newfoundland - Mile One Center ^
07-22 Portland, ME - Cumberland Civic Center ^
07-23 Boston, MA - Agganis Arena ^
07-24 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden #
07-25 Wallingford, CT - Chevrolet Theater ^
07-27 Wilmington, DE - Grand Opera House ^
07-28 Fairfax, VA - Patriot Center ^
07-29 North Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues ^
07-30 Birmingham, AL - Sloss Furnaces ^
07-31 Southaven, MS - Snowden Grove Park Amphitheater ^
09-15 Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
09-16 Austin, TX - Stubb's BBQ (Austin City Limits Festival)
09-19 Inglewood, CA - The Forum *
09-21 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre *
09-24 Anchorage, AK - William A. Egan Civic Center
09-26 Seattle, WA - Paramount Ballroom *
09-27 Seattle, WA - Paramount Ballroom *
09-28 Boise, ID - Idaho Center Theater *
09-29 Salt Lake City, UT - The "E" Center *
09-30 Jackson Hole, WY - Snow King Center *
10-02 Rapid City, SD - Rushmore Plaza Civic Center *
10-03 Fargo, ND - Fargo Civic Auditorium *
10-04 Lincoln, NE - Pershing Center Auditorium *
10-06 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom *
10-07 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom *
10-11 Albuquerque, NM - Kiva Auditorium *

^ with Dan Sartain
# with Grinderman, Porter Wagoner
* with Cold War Kids


Video: The White Stripes: Icky Thump [from the Icky Thump LP]

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Hey at least they look cool. i don't think I'll be buying one though.

holy crap that is awesome!!! i'm going to get the album, then that ... if it even comes out here?

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i think there may be something on my head.

Creative idea

Haha, its sassy. Has any other band done that recently?

i've never heard of this, yet. it's a great idea with everyone being so media crazy lately.

while nin was on tour in europe this past winter, a usb drives were found in various areas of the venues with a new track. every show seemed to have a new track from year zero.

fans then posted them to the web and the nin boards. it was a clever way to leak your own music.

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They look like those Russian wood doll things, where there's a smaller one inside

How much will these USB drives cost? lol... Can you store your own data on them?
Heh. I graduate when the new White Stripes album is out.

the fratellis did it with their last single

Do you think it will catch on and become a trend? I don't really want cds to become dinosaurs

cute. too bad it isnt meg on one side and jack on the other. i dont wanna buy two, but i'd feel incomplete buying one

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getting tired of the collective orgasm at the public declaration of the word "change"

Dr. Nathanson

on their website store its $57 for one and $99 for the set. they're not shipping outside of the US yet though! i hope a store near me gets them in.

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i think there may be something on my head.

i dont think any stores will have them, just the website
i mean theyre only doing 3333 a piece

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dithyrambic does not:
have a husband
have a child
fight over ice cream
care that you dont know who she is.

damn. well they'd better start shipping internationally ..........

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i think there may be something on my head.

New edition of NME includes a 7 inch red vinyl of the new single "Rag & Bone" for free. It's quite exhilarating to see that they're putting an effort into finding cool and innovative ways to get their fans excited again.

The White Stripes' new 7-inch single free in NME this week!
How we brought you Jack and Meg's new song for free

Vinyl pressers overseas worked round the clock to bring you the most historic covermount in over a decade - our seven-inch vinyl copy of the new White Stripes single.

Pressed onto red vinyl with a special etching designed exclusively by Jack White, this unique record release of 'Rag & Bone', the band's first from forthcoming album 'Icky Thump', forced French based manufacturers Moulages Plastiques de l'Ouest to employ extra manpower to cope with capacity demand.

Covermount sales manager Andy Higgins told NME that over 120,000 copies have been pressed for the exclusive release - the biggest vinyl order the company has dealt with in over 15 years.

"When I told our workers how many copies needed pressing, they thought I was talking about a yearly capacity because normally, the vinyl industry isn't geared up for this kind of order," he explained. "CDs are geared up for high volumes but the vinyl industry is only geared for up to 4,000 copies in any one order. So they couldn't believe their ears when they realised it was for one order alone."

Production has been based at MPO's main vinyl pressing plant in France along with an outer branch in the Czech Republic.

Formed out a family business by Monique et Pierre de Poix in 1957, the company has previously pressed vinyl over the years for the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

Of the pressing process, Higgins said: "(Legendary indie label and home to The White Stripes) Beggars Banquet handed us the artwork for the cover and the special etching on the 7" and we produced a stamper for both of them. In this case we had to produce quite a lot of stampers because they normally wear out after two or three thousand pressings every time. We've gone through a lot of them I can tell you that.

"In terms of the vinyl itself we were given a colour match which we tried to get as close to the colour the record company requested as we could. Basically the process starts off with the vinyl looking clear and then we just put a red pigment in to cover the vinyl itself."

The exclusive seven-inch comes in special gatefold packaging, which not only features more exclusive artwork from the band, but also contains space for The White Stripes' official seven-inch comeback single 'Icky Thump', out on June 11.

That track will also feature a special etching, so that when the two are combined they will become an essential part of The White Stripes' history.

"It's been a very tough challenge but it's been great fun to get involved with something like this because we normally only ever do CD cover mounts. To work on a seven-inch cover mount is fantastic and just goes to show that vinyl is still very much alive and kicking," Higgins concluded.

the free 7" was last week actually. its a free mixcd made by muse this week

No it ain't outside the UK. Here in Finland, newsstands are still carrying naked Beth Ditto.