Fell in Love with a Girl

The brash first single from the White Stripes' third album, White Blood Cells, is an attention-grabbing chunk of primal punk rock confection that flames out in a breathless one minute and 50 seconds. The dynamic duo of guitarist/singer Jack White and Meg White on drums waste no time in revving up their rock machine, whipping up a brutal slashing guitar groove set to a hyper, stuttering rock beat, all thrashing crash cymbal and skipping snare drum. Right out of the gate, Jack White unleashes a manic vocal with truly visceral intensity: "Fell in love with a girl/Fell in love once and almost completely/She's in love with the world/But sometimes these feelings can be so misleading/She turns and says are you alright?/I said I must be fine, 'cause my heart's still beating/She says, come and kiss me by the riverside/Bobby says it's fine, he don't consider it cheating now." The music slams to a stop for the last line of each verse allowing Jack White's quirky high-range delivery to shine through with a wild, almost cartoonish inflection that gives the track it's distinct flavor. The good times just keep rolling as Jack White hurls a dose of bubblegum-snapping humor into the breathless onslaught of words with jittery banter, "Red hair with a curl/Mellow roll for the flavor and eyes for peeping/Can't keep away from the girl/These two sides of my brain need to have a meeting/Can't think of anything to do/My left brain knows that all love is fleeting/She's looking for something new/And I said it once before but it bears repeating." In place of a chorus, the arrangement sinks the hooks in even further with and insanely catchy backing vocal that reminds one of a wordless Ramones-style singalong, the incessant harmonized "ah-ah-ah-ah" mercilessly working its way into the subconscious of the helpless listener. Surrendering is the only option; to fight against the infectious brutal and relentless energy of "Fell in Love With a Girl" is an exercise in futility. It will all be over in a couple minutes and you can go on with your life, but beware, those backing vocals will linger on the brain for several hours.