White Stripes single from Sub Pop

The website for Jack White's new record label Third Man Records has piqued my interest with a service called the Vault. The Vault offers the expected online goodies (i.e. streaming video and chat rooms) for all of its members. But for its "Platinum Members" who pay $20 per month, the label is offering exclusive vinyl items, in the form of LP's and 7-inch singles. More information is at the site:

https://thirdmanstore.com/tmr-vault-platinum-subscription-new#faq

While explaining why prospective members should spend 20 of their hard-earned bucks per month on this service, the site mentions this:

In 2001 the White Stripes were featured in the Sub Pop singles club. It was a subscription-only service where the lucky subscriber received a 7" every month for a very reasonable price. A six-month subscription in 2001 would have cost you $35. The White Stripes' Sub Pop single on Sub Pop now consistently sells for $250 on reputable online auction sites.


What "Sub Pop single on Sub Pop" are they referring to, you ask? That single was actually pressed in December of 2000. Party of Special Things To Do, pressed in red-and-white-colored vinyl, contained three Captain Beefheart covers. The Stripes’ version of the titular 1974 Beefheart song was its A-side, and their covers of Beefheart’s 1969 song “China Pig” and his 1980 song “Ashtray Heart” were on its B-side. Beefheart was such an odd and original musician that he made his friend Frank Zappa seem like a normal guy by comparison. It’s probably impossible for anyone besides Beefheart to fully duplicate a genuine Beefheart groove, but Jack White’s renditions of Beefheart’s songs are respectable enough. White’s versions are a bit more accessible but less vibrant than the originals, as he logically applies his own minimalist blues-rock style to that of the Captain.


The White Stripes - Party of Special Things to Do / China Pig / Ashtray Heart

White Stripes “Party Of Special Things To Do” (b/w “China Pig/Ashtray Heart”) (Sub Pop single SP 527) 2000

Track Listing:

a. Party Of Special Things To Do
b. China Pig/Ashtray Heart

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