Astro
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Contents |
Releases
- The White Stripes (1999)
- Live in Mississippi (2011)
Other Appearances
Credits
Performers
- Jack White: electric guitar, lead vocals
- Meg White: drums
Production
- Originally performed by The White Stripes.
- Written by Jack White and Meg White.
- Produced by Jack White.
- Co-produced and engineered by Jim Diamond.
- Recorded at Third Man Studios, southwest Detroit.
Meaning
- The Astro is whatever you do in secret that nobody knows about, or more specifically, doing something hypocritically in secret. AC (alternating current) and DC (direct current) are different ways of providing power via electricity. Thomas Edison did the Astro by being for AC/DC, when in reality, he was strongly against AC/DC and actually favored DC. Nikola Tesla, on the other hand, favored AC. As a result, a rivalry ensued over which was better -- alternating current or direct current. Ultimately, alternating current prevailed, as AC systems overcame the limitations of the direct current system used by Edison to distribute electricity efficiently over long distances, even though he attempted to discredit alternating current as too dangerous. Eventually, Tesla went insane, invented a death ray, and became engulfed by his intense mysophobia and obsessive-compulsive behavior. Shortly before he died, Edison said that his biggest mistake had been his attempt to develop direct current, rather than the superior alternating current system that Tesla had put within his grasp.
- Jasper and Lily are two characters in the Virginia Woolf novel To the Lighthouse. The book is written in third person, but frequently delves into what each character is privately thinking and doing.
- Jasper is also the name of a dog that Jack had. Jasper and one of Jack's other dogs, Elroy, are both thanked in the liner notes for Icky Thump.
- Jimmy presumably refers to the titular subject of "Jimmy the Exploder".
Band Quotes
- Jack White: "The Astro is whatever you do in secret that nobody knows about. Everybody does the Astro. Jimmy does the Astro. Actually, for awhile there, right before we recorded the album, that song was just an instrumental. I was just mouthing syllables; I didn't say anything. I didn't write lyrics to that until just a few minutes before we recorded it, and they ended up becoming about something I had been thinking about. It's about the things that people do in secret -- I called that the 'Astro', 'cause it just had a ring to it, but the things people do -- like, I guess, the clue to that was 'Thomas Edison is AC/DC.' He was only into direct current. He didn't believe in alternating current, and that was supposedly his downfall of delivering electrical power to people. But maybe he secretly knew that was the right way to do things."
Trivia
- Live guitar: The Airline in standard tuning.
- This is usually performed live (typically much faster) with the song "Jack the Ripper".
Lyrics
Maybe Jasper does the Astro.
Maybe Lily does the Astro.
Maybe Jackson does the Astro.
Maybe Momma does the Astro.
Maybe Tesla does the Astro.
Maybe Edison is AC/DC.
