The Raconteurs
Photo: Autumn de Wilde/V2

This is probably the most obvious statement of all time, but White Stripes frontman Jack White is not like the rest of us.

As if his superhuman guitarwork, penchant for wearing reds and whites and quixotic moustache weren't all constant reminders of that fact, consider the way he's been preparing for the coming of Super Bowl XL, to be held this weekend in his hometown of Detroit.

While most of us have been stocking up on chips and dip and other Super-snacks, White has launched the official Web site for the Raconteurs, his side project with fellow Detroiter Brendan Benson and good buddies Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence from the Greenhornes (see "The Greenhornes Get By With A Little Help From Their Friend Jack White").

In addition to rocking a truly retro interface (like, Apple IIe retro), the site also features two previously unheard Raconteur tracks, a fuzzy rocker called "Steady, As She Goes" and the psychedelic number "Store Bought Bones," both of which sound, as Benson told MTV News in late 2004, "weird, man" (see "Jack White's Found A New Loretta: And It's A Guy Named Brendan Benson").

According to the site (www.TheRaconteurs.com), both "Steady" and "Bones" will be released in the U.S. on March 7 as a limited-edition 7-inch single (that same single hit shelves in the U.K. on Monday), and a full-length album, titled Broken Boy Soldiers, will follow in May. While there are no dates currently listed, the site does promise that at some point the Raconteurs will be hitting the road in support of their album.

There's also a poem/band bio, which — much like everything else on the site — sort of speaks for itself (without actually saying much of anything): "Remember a time/ When all was not fine/ And up from the dingy sewers came four lousy thieves/ Who flourished like trees/ Behold the Raconteurs."

Well put. We think.

• The White Stripes
• Brendan Benson
• Greenhornes

The Greenhornes
Photo: V2

How do you go from playing a dingy bar in Cincinnati in late July to opening two nights at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles two weeks later? It helps if you're pals with Jack White.

Though they're from Ohio's Queen City, the Greenhornes have gotten in good with the Detroit garage-rock music mafia, which helped the Cincinnati band land an opening spot on the White Stripes' current U.S. tour (see "Toreador Suits And Cherry-Danish Dreams: The White Stripes Storm Cincinnati"), an opportunity they're using to promote their new EP, East Grand Blues.

"We got started around the same time as the White Stripes did, and we were always doing shows together," said Greenhornes drummer Patrick Keeler. "It was easy to get up [to Detroit], and it seemed like our audience grew quickly. We just developed a friendship [with Jack] because we hung out there for a while and we liked the same kind of music."

Though early albums such as Gun for You and Dual Mono established the Greenhornes' place in the modern garage-rock movement, alongside pals like the Dirtbombs and the Mooney Suzuki, East Grand finds the group refining its sound with hints of late-'60s psychedelia and Byrds-inspired harmonies.

The EP, which includes the jangly "I'm Going Away" and the ominous blues tune "Shelter of Your Arms," was produced by Brendan Benson, a Detroit singer/songwriter who also has close ties to the Stripes (see "Jack White's Found A New Loretta: And It's A Guy Named Brendan Benson"). Benson and White formed a band earlier this year called the Raconteurs, which features Keeler and Greenhornes bassist Jack Lawrence, who, not coincidentally, also served as the rhythm section for last year's Jack White-produced Loretta Lynn album, Van Lear Rose.

"We started off making a full album with Brendan in his studio in Detroit and had nine or 10 songs done, then he got busy with his own record and we started talking to Jack and Meg about touring together," said Keeler. "So we decided to do something for the road, and it turned out that the five completed songs made a kind of cool record, with this dreamier, darker mood than some of our other stuff."

The Greenhornes can also be heard on the soundtrack to the recent Jim Jarmusch movie "Broken Flowers," which uses "There Is an End," their collaboration with Holly Golightly (who was featured on "It's True That We Love One Another" from the Stripes' 2003 album, Elephant), and "Unnatural Habitat."

"We don't feel like we've created something new," said singer/guitarist Craig Fox of songs like the Doorsy blues number "At Night" and the paisley rocker "Pattern Skies." "But there are a lot more bands now playing hard rock and blues, and we fit in with that."

Whether Fox thinks they're innovative or not, the band displays a flair for unique thinking on songs like "Skies." The track, which features Keeler banging on pots on the chorus, was inspired by a news story that might not have struck most people as fodder for a song.

"I read something about a weather surveyor in a balloon in Antarctica that broke free and drifted off and disappeared," Fox said of his inspiration for the song's trippy lyrics. "It seemed like a weird, scary idea to me. Kind of a bad way to go, but I think at some point I might start liking something about it."

The group plans to hit the studio again in November with Benson and former Afghan Whigs bassist John Curley to complete work on the album. Fox said they're planning to bring it home and work at Curley's Cincinnati studio, Ultrasuede. "I think it will be a combination of some of the songs we were going to record before and some newer songs we've written since then," he said.

• Greenhornes
• Jack White
• The White Stripes

<i>Roc-A-Fella Records Presents Teairra Marí</i>
Photo: Roc-A-Fella

The Princess Awakes: Detroit's Teairra Marí has melted L.A. Reid and Jay-Z alike, but it's the latter mogul who'll be giving the singer a presidential push this week with Roc-A-Fella Records Presents Teairra Marí. She's already made waves with "Make Her Feel Good," which samples Eric B. & Rakim and appears on this record along with two versions of "No Daddy," co-written by Sean Garrett (Destiny's Child, Beyoncé).

Yes, They're Related: New Zealand-born singer Natasha Bedingfield — sister of dance-pop artist Daniel — hopes to replicate her substantial European success with the U.S. release of her debut, Unwritten (she's only the third solo singer in U.K. history to debut at #1). The DualDisc has behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and more.

Another Blonde Gone: Faith Hill, who showed up on the cover of 2002's Cry as a tempting, sweat-drenched blonde befitted with a crucifix, now appears as a sleek, Pantene-d brunette on Fireflies. (Maybe husband Tim McGraw, who duets with her on "Like We Never Loved at All," had a few words to say this time around.) Expect a big splash from Hill's sixth record, which contains "Mississippi Girl," a song that debuted higher than any of her previous singles on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Fans can get the album signed through a limited offer on FaithHill.com.

The Prom Kings Got Game — But Where?: Funky L.A. rockers the Prom Kings have opened for Sum 41 and Papa Roach and have shipped to radio two hip-shaking cuts from their self-titled debut: "Alone" and "Birthday." Only time will tell if the Kings will crown their Game-featured golden egg, "Down," as single number three. Yes, that's the Game.

Rewriting History: Michael Penn tells a history lesson with his long-awaited fifth album, Mr. Hollywood, Jr. 1947, with wife Aimee Mann stepping in for a brief bit of bass playing and backup singing. A limited run has a bonus track, "Down by the Riverside," plus a video for "Walter Reed."

Song Titles of the Week:
"In a Lose, Lose Situation," followed by "In a Win, Win Situation" (Emery's The Question)

Other Notables:

• Alice Cooper - Dirty Diamonds

Has the Coop flown the way of Christina Aguilera ("Dirrty") and Kanye ("Diamonds")? Nope, he's just back to his bizarro ways, dishing up "Gutter Cats vs. the Jets," featuring a horn section; an obscure cover of the Left Banke's "Pretty Ballerina"; and a nod to 1973's watershed Billion Dollar Babies with "Sunset Babies (All Got Rabies)."
• Deadman - Our Eternal Ghosts and D'Nell - 1st Magic (BBE)

Texans Steven and Sherilyn Collins name-check authors (William Faulkner, on "Absalom! Absalom!"), painters ("Monsters of Goya") and Native Americans ("Sad Ole' Geronimo") on their third record, which has been getting raves in the U.K. In the meantime, D'Nell, another co-ed duo (don't be fooled by the SWF on the album cover), recorded their soul-meets-hip-hop debut in a London studio apartment.
• The Greenhornes - East Grand Blues EP

The White Stripes' tour partners don't really sound bluesy at all on songs like "I'm Going Away" and "Shelter of Your Arms." Think classic-rock throwback instead.
• Maria Muldaur - Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul

Grammy-nominated Maria Muldaur tips her hat to female blues legends like Memphis Minnie on Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul, getting a boost from Taj Mahal and Alvin Youngblood. And fans won't want to miss Muldaur on peer Angela Strehli's Blue Highway, which also features longtime collaborator Stevie Ray Vaughan.
• Various artists - The Free Design: The Now Sound Redesigned

In case you haven't been scooping up Light in the Attic's series of 12-inches hailing lost soft-psych group the Free Design, the label presents the entire fleet of remixes, plus a few unissued tracks, as The Free Design: The Now Sound Redesigned. Producers include Danger Mouse, Stereolab, Super Furry Animals and members of Belle and Sebastian and the Mars Volta.
• Various artists - Generations: A Hardcore Compilation

Sinking Ships and Robot Whales bring an aquatic feel to this Revelation roundup of punk up-and-comers.

Out Tuesday, August 2:

New releases:

• Amadou & Mariam - Dimanche a Bamako (Nonesuch)
• Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (Epic)
  Buy Now: Unwritten (Epic)
• BA - Sports (Rah)
• Danny Barnes - Get Myself Together (Terminus)
• Bass Freq - Neon Skyline (Neurodisc)
• Blindside - The Great Depression (RTE/DRT)
  Buy Now: The Great Depression (RTE/DRT)
• Bliss - Quiet Letters (Quango)
• Bootcut - Hammond vs. Drums (Gadfly)
• Brazen Abbot - My Resurrection (Melodic Symphony)
• Alice Cooper - Dirty Diamonds (New West)
• D'Nell - 1st Magic (BBE)
• Deadman - Our Eternal Ghosts (One Little Indian)
• Benjamin Diamond - Out of Myself (!K7)
• Emery - The Question (Tooth & Nail)
• The Greenhornes - East Grand Blues EP (V2)
• Johnny Freeman - How Much Is Free (Southern Signal)
• Don Friedman VIP Trio - Timeless (441)
• Mitchell Froom - A Thousand Days (Inner Knot)
• Faith Hill - Fireflies (Warner Bros.)
  Buy Now: Fireflies (Warner Bros.)
• Stan Hope - Put on a Happy Face (Savant)
• Houston Calls - A Collection of Short Stories (Rushmore/Drive-Thru)
• I Self Divine - Self Destruction (Rhymesayers)
• Lorene Drive - Romantic Wealth (Lobster)
• Madball - Legacy (Ferret)
• Madredeus - Faluas Do Tejo (Metro Blue)
• Teairra Marí - Roc-A-Fella Records Presents Teairra Mari (Roc-A-Fella)
  Read: "Jay-Z's Picks: Teairra Mari, Rihanna, Ne-Yo"
• Milk Inc. - Closer (Water Music)
• Mr. Del - The Future (Holy Hip Hop)
• Maria Muldaur - Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul (Stony Plain)
• Greg Osby - Channel Three (Blue Note)
• Michael Penn - Mr. Hollywood, Jr. 1947 (spinART)
  Read: "Free At Last, Michael Penn Attempts A Comeback With Mr. Hollywood Jr."
• Doug Pinnick - Emotional Animal (Magna Carta)
• Tristan Prettyman - Twentythree (Virgin)
• The Prom Kings - The Prom Kings (Geffen)
• Darryl Lee Rush - Llano Avenue (Infinity Nashville)
• Sahnas - Odyssey (Native Language)
• Sons of the Never Wrong - Nuthatch Suite (Gadfly)
• Angela Strehli - Blue Highway (MC)
• Turning Point - Matador (Native Language)
• Various artists - Dark Trance vs. Neogoth (Cleopatra)
• Various artists - Desire: Piano Tribute to U2 (Vitamin)
• Various artists - Fashion Lounge (Cleopatra)
• Various artists - Fusion for Miles (Tone Center)
• Various artists - Generations: A Hardcore Compilation (Revelation)
• Various artists - Harley Davidson: Ride (Capitol)
• Various artists - Kidz Bop, Vol. 8 (Razor & Tie)
• Various artists - Nu:Jazz Brasilia (Sunswept)
• Various artists - The Piano Tribute to Iron Maiden (Vitamin)
• Various artists - Pick Yourself Up From the Ground: Pickin' on Eric Clapton Vol. 2 (CMH)
• Various artists - Pickin' on Beck (CMH)
• Various artists - Pickin' on Franz Ferdinand (CMH)
• Various artists - Pickin' on Nickelback (CMH)
• Various artists - Prinz Myshkin: Treats From the Garden of Earthly Delights (Radikal)
• Various artists - Smooth Sounds Tribute to Mariah Carey's Greatest Hits (Tribute Sounds)
• Various artists - The String Quartet Tribute to Queens of the Stone Age, Volume 2 (Vitamin)
• Various artists - Tribute to Insane Clown Posse (Big Eye)
• Various artists - "Broken Flowers" soundtrack (Decca)
• Various artists - "Rainbow Six: Lockdown" soundtrack (Calvin) (dualdisc)
• Warren Brothers - Barely Famous Hits (BNA)
• Abigail Washburn - Song of the Traveling Daughter (Nettwerk)
• Wetton/ Downes - Icon (Frontiers)
• Reuben Wilson - Fun House (Savant)
• Madelin Zero - Gotta Know (Indecent Media)

Notable reissues:

• Johnny Cash - The Legend (Columbia) (box set)
• June Carter Cash - Keep on the Sunny Side: Her Life in Music (Columbia)
• John Coltrane - The Bethlehem Years (Shout! Factory) (two CDs)
• Bill Cosby - Inside the Mind Of (live) (Geffen)
• Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt (Kemado) (with second disc containing five unreleased bonus tracks)
• Richard Hell - Spurts: The Best of Richard Hell (Rhino)
• Marshall Tucker Band - Just Us (Shout! Factory) (with two bonus alternate takes)
• Charles Mingus - East Coasting (Shout! Factory) (with eight bonus remixes)
• Public Enemy - Power to the People and the Beats: Greatest Hits (Def Jam)
• The Rolling Stones - Forty Licks (limited-edition box set) (ABKCO/Virgin)
• Six Feet Under - 13/ Graveyard Classics, Vol. 2 (Metal Blade)
• The Slits - Live at the Gibus Club (Castle/Sanctuary)
• Various artists - The Free Design: The Now Sound Redesigned (Light in the Attic)
• Various artists - "Raging Bull" soundtrack (Capitol)

DVDs:

• Beulah - "A Good Band Is Easy to Kill" (Music Video Distributors)
• Impotent Sea Snakes - "Alive in Germany" (Music Video Distributors)
• Suzanne Vega - "Retrospective: The Videos of Suzanne Vega" (Universal)
• Various Artists - "Cool Runnings: The Reggae Movie" (Universal)
• Various Artists - "Give 'Em the Boot (A Film by Tim Armstrong)" (Epitaph)
• Various Artists - "The Industry" (Image Entertainment)
• Various Artists - "Poets in Hip Hop" (Music Video Distributors)
• Various Artists - "Rap Life: Behind the Scenes" (Bayside Distribution)

• Teairra Marí
• Natasha Bedingfield
• Faith Hill
• Michael Penn
• Alice Cooper