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The Black Keys - “Hard Row”

Since we enabled submissions, we’ve received mostly new music recommendations, but every now and again someone reminds us of great music we’ve so far failed to highlight. Suggested by Luis, The Black Keys are one of those bands.

The Black Keys is a simple band: two guys out of Akron, Ohio who make some of the best rock-blues music I can remember hearing. Distorted, gritty, and full of energy, the Black Keys simply deliver. “Hard Row” is the second track off of thickfreakness, their second album and a personal favorite, released in 2003 on Fat Possum Records.

The other day I ran an experiment. I loaded onto my iPod Shuffle all the Black Keys albums and all the White Stripes albums—clever, right? I wanted to see which tracks of which band(s) I’d skip the most. The results: I skipped a ton of shitty White Stripes tracks, and nearly no Black Keys tracks. Conclussions: The White Stripes have a broader musical palette that’s not exactly apposite for the steady, up-tempo pace of the gym; the Black Keys have a whole stable of solid, awesome rock songs, and riffs to spare.