White Stripes - "Get Behind Me Satan" Review
“Get Behind Me Satan”
Folk Music For The Modern World
The White Stripes
5 stars
This originally ran in the Redding Record Searchlight in July 2005
The White Stripe’s fifth album, “Get Behind ME Satan” is the rare album that makes art out of imperfection and creates an endearing warmth and infectiousness from a lack of polish. The Detroit rock-duo of Jack White (guitar, vocals, marimba, piano, tambourine) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals) create music that evades both genres and commercial conventions, crafting an album in the process that is like a brief and modern folk music anthology. In a world where popular art is dominated by formulae, sequels, and risk-free expressions, The White Stripes take chances to make their boundary-breaking music. They break away from the style of their previous album, the grammy-winning “Elephant” into previously unexplored musical territory. The result is a refreshing and energizing album that will both reward and challenge fans and casual listeners alike.
I am a relative newcomer to The White Stripes, having discovered them through Jack White’s production work with Loretta Lynn on her recent grammy-winning album “Van Lear Rose.” I came to the album with a set of expectations that was blown asunder by the depth and wonder of the material on the album.
I found the searing guitar and quirky time signatures that I had heard in my limited exposure to the band on the album’s lead track “Blue Orchid.” However, this track is followed by several featuring the marimba and the piano. Although the album contains a few electric numbers similar in sound to earlier White Stripes’ material, the acoustic songs “Little Ghost,” “Take, Take, Take,” and “As Ugly As I Seem” make the biggest impact. There is an old, weird feel to these songs that is reminiscent of old American folk music.
Interestingly, the conviction with which these songs are delivered is the constant that holds “Get Behind Me Satan” together. This conviction is what makes the disparate elements and genres touched by the album common and cohesive and is the root of what defines the White Stripes. They are put into the genre of rock-n-roll because of the fact that they play loud electric music. However, “Get Behind Me Satan” is really a folk album. It covers an enormous amount of ground and emotion and is the expression of two folks.
Although all of the songs on the album are great, there are a few highlights. “The Nurse,” a song about the risks of trust that sounds as though it could be a theme song from an old radio game show or children’s show. It is almost a calypso tune but it is punctuated with sonic blasts of drums and distorted guitar. It very deftly leads into the next track “My Doorbell,” a piano based, bubble-gum pop song that sounds like it could have been sung by the pre-adolescent Michael Jackson. “Little Ghost” is a mountain song that echoes acoustic Led Zeppelin and tells a tale of being in love a ghost. “The Denial Twist” another rollicking piano tune that is eerily reminiscent of the first time I heard Jerry Lee Lewis, capturing the exuberance and swagger of Lewis’ piano assault perfectly. The album’s closing track “I’m Lonely (but I ain’t that lonely yet)” has all of the hallmarks of a Hank Williams, Sr. classic all the way down to the line about jumping into the river but leaving “before my lungs could get wet.”
It is not much of a stretch to say that “The White Stripes” are a brilliant band and that Jack White possesses formidable talents as a musician, a writer, and a producer. Although they made their reputation as a rock duo, the depth of expression on “Get Behind Me Satan” illustrates the band’s other dimensions. Somehow, the album makes sense of all of the streams of music that act as its tributaries. Hank Williams mingles with Jack White who embodies both Robert Plant and Jimmy Page mingling with Michael Jackson who is mingling with Jerry Lee Lewis. “Get Behind Me Satan” is both an eclectic party and a folk music lexicon set to the inimitable music of the White Stripes. Above all else, it is an excellent album that stands up under repeated listening.
Brian J. Kenny
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Olive oil maker earns gold-medals at L.A. County Fair - Christy Lochrie
This originally ran in the Redding Record Searchlight in July 2005
Brian Kenny doesn't have time to gloat. He's too busy tending olive trees in Gerber.
TENDING: One olive tree produces about 150 pounds of olives, enough to make about 15 bottles of olive oil, said Brian Kenny, sales and marketing manager for Pacific Sun Olive Oil. Here Kenny hangs fly traps in an olive tree at Pacific Farms in Gerber.
The orchard, owned by Pacific Sun of Gerber, earned some Southern California recognition recently at the L.A. County Fair in Pomona. The Olive Oils of the World competition includes both California and international extra virgin olive oil judging.
Four of the farm's olive oils took gold-medal awards and one a bronze in the domestic extra virgin olive oil categories. Kenny expected the oils to do well -- last year they earned several silvers. But with just three years' fair experience, which pits olive oil producers against the best in the state, he didn't expect to take so much gold.
"I thought Wow!' That works," Kenny said. "I would have been elated with one."
Gold medal-winning oils include: Manzanilla blend, Sevillano, Ascolana Proprietor's Select and Ascolano blends. Bronze was earned for the medium oil in the Frantoio, Leccino, Pendolino, Maurino and Moraiolo olive oil categories. The names refer to the species of olives.
ONE AT A TIME: Rather than a mechanized production system, Pacific Sun Olive Oil is hand-labeled and boxed in a chilled room.
Kenny said Pacific Sun keeps temperatures low when making its oil and uses a single-press process, which yields extra-virgin olive oil. Rather than pressing olives a second time or extracting residual oil with chemicals, the leftover olives and pits are recycled into a soil amendment, Kenny said. Some olive oil producers, by contrast, mix first press oils with the lower quality oils and sell it as extra virgin olive oil. The difference is the fresh taste, Kenny said.
During a recent tour of the Gerber farm, Kenny, a former freelance writer and software engineer, said he and longtime friend Brendon Flynn decided to venture into olive oil production in 2000. Historically, the farm has produced prunes, peaches, walnuts and such. Still does. But they wanted to stretch into olive oil, which yields about 15 bottles of oil per tree.
But production is both time intensive and costly. Rather than compete on price, a near impossibility with a small operation, they educated themselves and crafted the best product they could, Kenny said.
The farm cold-presses the olives on site and maintains even temperatures both during the milling and in storage. Kenny said the process has taught him the subtleties of olive oil taste, which he insists should be tested straight -- not on foods -- similar to wine tasting.
HARVESTED: A hand-dipped and packaged bottle of olive oil ready for shipment.
Kenny's biggest pet peeve: A deregulated olive oil industry in the United States. Blends, which can include oil extracted with solvents, don't have the same flavor profile as a single-press, extra virgin oil. But an oil may be labeled extra virgin, even if it truly isn't.
Roberto Zecca, chairman of the L.A. County Fair's olive oil competition states on the competition's Web site: "Most people don't realize that the production and sale of olive oil is totally unregulated. As a result, quality and production practices vary greatly. Our organization is trying to change this situation by imposing quality standards for production and judging. The L.A. County Fair Olive Oil Competition is a key part of our strategy to improve the industry."
Kenny said raising the standard of olive oil production, and reaching out to educate connoisseurs is the cornerstone of Pacific Sun's quality-standard. But it's hard work.
He, along with the farm's three full-time and two part-time employees, work long days during oil production and then they hit markets to showcase and sell the product. This Friday, for instance, Kenny is slated to offer an olive oil demonstration at Sunset Marketplace in Redding. There, he'll offer up advice about cooking and seasoning with the oils, which sell for $11 to $20 a bottle. And on Aug. 6, he's offering an olive oil class at That Kitchen Place on Hilltop Drive in Redding.
"Specialty food is exclusive a lot of times and it doesn't need to be," Kenny said.
Meanwhile, here are a few Pacific Sun-created olive oil recipes:
TOP-SECRET PESTO
Chef's note: Requires a food processor or a mortar and pestle. This is more of a conceptual sketch than a scientific formula. Black walnuts and arugula make an exciting substitute for basil and pine nuts. Use this pesto sauce as a bread dip, vegetable condiment or sauce for chicken.
2 Handfuls fresh arugula
6 to 8 ounces extra virgin olive oil
2 ounces black walnuts, chopped and crushed
4 bulbs fresh crushed garlic
Sea salt to taste
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Shaved Parmesan cheese
Place washed arugula in a food processor and add black walnuts, garlic, and olive oil. Process until the mix has a uniform consistency. Transfer mix to a bowl and add salt and pepper to taste. Ladle over pasta and cover with shaved Parmesan cheese.
BASIC OLIVE OIL DIP
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon dried parsley
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
Mix all ingredients together and place in a small saucepan. Heat on low for about 1 minute or until oil is warm to the touch. Pour into a small serving bowl and serve with baguette pieces or rustic bread.
GREEN BEAN SALAD
1 pound fresh green beans, snipped
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence
2 ounces almond slivers, toasted
2 ounces olives
4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
Salt to taste
Vinegar to taste
Cook the beans in boiling water with a little salt for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on thickness and cooking preference. Drain and cool. Mix the olive oil, parsley, cumin and vinegar. Add salt or additional spices to taste.
Toss the beans in some dressing, reserving the rest. Place tossed beans in a serving dish. Add almonds and olives. Toss with a bit more dressing. Decorate with the hard-boiled egg slices and add remaining dressing.
PACIFIC SUN PORTERHOUSE STEAKS WITH TAPENADE AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR
¾ cup tapenade
4 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
2 porterhouse (each one about 2 inches thick) steaks
2 to 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper both sides of the steaks and place on a platter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle steaks with olive oil. Add two tablespoons olive oil to a skillet large enough for both steaks. Please on high heat. Brown the steaks for approximately 2 ½ to 3 minutes on each side. Remove from heat. Drizzle steaks with balsamic vinegar. Divide tapenade evenly and spoon over the two steaks. Bake steaks for 20 minutes; adjust time to suit your taste. Reserve juices in pan for au jus and drizzle over steak, if desired.
Currents reporter Christy Lochrie can be reached at 225-8309 or at clochrie@redding.com.
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Pacific Sun Wins Medals - Marc Beauchamp
this originally ran in the Redding Record Searchlight in July 2005
Another fellow who's returned to his north state roots and improved our culinary quality of life in the process is Brian Kenny.
Kenny, 31, is sales and marketing manager for the award-winning Pacific Sun Olive Oil, made in Gerber. Kenny studied Greek and Roman archeology at the University of California at Berkeley, worked for Apple Computer and several dot.coms as a software engineer before returning to Redding and partnering with high school chum Brendon Flynn, whose family owns Pacific Farms.
The thick, full-bodied olive oil is available at Holiday Quality Foods, Sunset Market Place, Rene-Joule Patisserie, Orchard Nutrition Center, among other locations. At the recent Olive Oils of the World" competition at the Los Angeles County Fair, Pacific Sun entered five oils and got four gold and one bronze medal.
A good number of Kenny's customers are celebrity chefs such Chris Bianco, whose Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix was recently rated No. 1 in the country by the New York Times. Kenny also sells the stuff to better-known celebrities, including musicians David (Talking Heads) Bryne, Boz Scaggs and Dave Matthews.
The oil sells from $11 to $18. It can also be purchased online at www.pacificsunoliveoil.com.
"It's as fresh as you can get," boasts Kenny.
"It's a raw food, technically. No additives. It's made for people to enjoy. It's really a food as opposed to a fat."
With several bottles in my cupboard at home, I concur.
Reporter Marc Beauchamp can be reached at 225-8221 or at mbeauchamp@redding.com.
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