The Denial Twist

"The Denial Twist"
Single by the White Stripes
from the album Get Behind Me Satan
B-side"Shelter of Your Arms", "As Ugly as I Seem"
ReleasedOctober 31, 2005 (2005-10-31)
RecordedMarch 2005[1]
StudioThird Man (Detroit, Michigan)[2]
Length2:35
LabelV2, XL
Songwriter(s)Jack White
Producer(s)Jack White
The White Stripes singles chronology
"My Doorbell"
(2005) 		"The Denial Twist"
(2005) 		"Icky Thump"
(2007)
Music video
"The Denial Twist" on YouTube

"The Denial Twist" is the third single released from American alternative rock band the White Stripes' fifth studio album, Get Behind Me Satan (2005).

Music video

The music video for "The Denial Twist" was directed by Michel Gondry. Like some of his previous work (namely The Chemical Brothers' "Let Forever Be" and Kylie Minogue's "Come Into My World"), the video features a spectacular array of visual effects as it follows The White Stripes from a talk show performance to a late night drive back to an apartment. As the camera pans in a circle, Jack and Meg appear distorted. This refers to the lyric of the song; that what people think is true is often shaped by the context in which information is presented to them and their willingness to be deceived—even by themselves—as various aspects of the video radically shift in perspective, size, proportion and believability. The choice of Late Night with Conan O'Brien as a setting for the video, aside from the band's personal association, is due to the lesser known fact that, like many film and TV sets, the Late Night stage looks much larger on television than it actually is.

The optical illusion used in the video is the technique of forced perspective, through an Ames room and distortions derived from it.

Conan O'Brien in the music video for "The Denial Twist".

The creators of the distorted props, Jeff Everett and John Furgason, won a Music Video Production Association Award for Art Direction in 2006.[3]

Conan O'Brien makes a cameo appearance in the video; The White Stripes had been a week-long musical guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien when they were promoting Elephant. The square-headed O'Brien doll in the video was a reference to a similar one given to the comedian at the end of their week-long stay on the show. The plaster blow-up was actually created by Gondry.

This is Gondry's fourth video with The White Stripes, after "Fell in Love with a Girl", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" and "The Hardest Button to Button". The video can be found on the DVD compilation Michel Gondry 2: More Videos (Before and After DVD 1)

The song is also the final 3-inch record made for the triple inchophone. However, it was never on general sale and only Jack himself had them to give out to fans, friends and family. These 3-inch records are extremely rare and very few have ever come up for sale on eBay.

Track listings

  • UK CD single and 7-inch single 1[4][5]
  1. "The Denial Twist"
  2. "Shelter of Your Arms" (the Greenhornes cover)
  • UK 7-inch single 2[6]
  1. "The Denial Twist" (live on KCRW)
  2. "As Ugly as I Seem" (live on KCRW)

Personnel

  • Jack White – vocals, guitar, piano
  • Meg White – drums, percussion
  • Eddie Gillis – tambourine, shakers

Charts

Chart (2005–2006) Peak
position
Denmark (Tracklisten)[7] 14
Scotland (OCC)[8] 16
UK Singles (OCC)[9] 10
UK Indie (OCC)[10] 1
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[11] 5

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Australia October 31, 2005 CD XL [12]
United States November 7, 2005 Triple A radio V2 [13]
United Kingdom November 14, 2005 CD XL [14]
United States November 21, 2005 Alternative radio V2 [15]

References

  1. ^ Hilburn, Robert (June 5, 2005). "Little White Truths". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  2. ^ Perez, Rodrigo (April 12, 2005). "White Stripes Dancing with the Devil? We'll Find Out June 7". MTV. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  3. ^ "White Stripes ·· The Denial Twist". Director-file.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2008. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
  4. ^ The Denial Twist (UK CD single liner notes). The White Stripes. XL Recordings. 2005. XLS 223CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ The Denial Twist (UK 7-inch single sleeve). The White Stripes. XL Recordings. 2005. XLS 223A.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ The Denial Twist (UK 7-inch single sleeve). The White Stripes. XL Recordings. 2005. XLS 223B.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ "The White Stripes – The Denial Twist". Tracklisten. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  8. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  9. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  10. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  11. ^ "The White Stripes Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  12. ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 31st October 2005" (PDF). ARIA. October 31, 2005. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 19, 2005. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  13. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1631. November 4, 2005. p. 22. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  14. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. November 12, 2005. p. 37.
  15. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1633. November 18, 2005. p. 23. Retrieved May 24, 2021.