They released their first album, The Big Come Up, in 2002, followed by Thickfreakness in 2003, and Rubber Factory in 2004. October 2005 saw the release of the DVD Live, recorded live at The Metro Theatre in Sydney, Australia March 18, 2005. In 2006 they released Magic Potion, as well as the lesser-known Chulahoma and a single version of Your Touch.
One of their trademarks is their preference for simple, lo-fi recording techniques. They refuse to use big-name studios, and do most recording, producing, and mixing themselves. Most of Thickfreakness was recorded in about 14 hours in Carney's basement, using only an early 80's Tascam 388 8-track recorder. Often, their recordings still have background noises (such as an owl hooting).
The Black Keys have achieved increasing critical acclaim and recognition since their debut album, which itself received praise from Rolling Stone magazine. Time magazine named them one of the "10 Best Acts of 2003" (behind OutKast and The White Stripes). They have supported a number of bands: they toured with Sleater-Kinney in 2003, had a short stint opening for Beck, have recently opened for Radiohead on the American leg of their brief 2006 tour, and performed at Lollapalooza in 2005 and 2007. In addition to this, they were also well-liked by influential British radio DJ John Peel and appeared on both Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Late Show with David Letterman. Famous followers of the band include Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, and Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammet. Matt Helders, drummer for the Arctic Monkeys, can be seen in a Black Keys T-Shirt in an interview on MTV's RAW.
Their song "When the Lights Go Out" was featured in the 2007 film Black Snake Moan, and also on the soundtrack for that movie. The Black Keys were included in the soundtrack of the 2003 movie School of Rock with their song, "Set You Free". "Lies" was featured in the conclusion of the February 4, 2009 episode of Lie to Me. One of their songs, "Girl Is on My Mind", was used in a 2006 Sony Ericsson advertisement, starring the tennis players Ana Ivanović and Daniela Hantuchová, gaining the band more commercial recognition. It was also used in a 2006 Victoria's Secret commercial featuring Heidi Klum and could be heard in the movies Rest Stop and Cashback. Their song "10 am Automatic" was used in the video game MLB '06: The Show, The O.C., The Go-Getter, and was also used in a 2007 American Express commercial starring Shaun White. "Your Touch" was featured in a 2007 Lee's jeans commercial, and can be heard both in an episode of NBC's Friday Night Lights and in an episode of "Eastbound and Down". Their cover "Grown So Ugly" can be heard in the background of the going away party in the 2007 film Cloverfield. "Strange Times" is used in Grand Theft Auto IV on the in-game radio station Radio Broker. "Strange Times" can also be heard during a preview for ABC's The Mole, and the trailer for season three of the Showtime series Dexter, as well as a promo for Gossip Girl. Their song "Just Got To Be" is used on the soundtrack for the video game NHL 08, and "Hard Row" is featured in the premiere episode of the FX show Sons of Anarchy. Sons of Anarchy has gone on to use "Keep Me" in both Episodes 6 and 7, as well as "Busted" in episode 7. The song "Lies" is featured in the advertising campaign for the third season of HBO's Big Love. "The Breaks" can be heard in Guy Ritchie' film RocknRolla. "Your Touch" can also be heard in the HBO series "Entourage" in the episode "Manic Monday", during the opening scenes. The song "Psychotic Girl" is featured the episode "Messin' with the Kid" in season 6 of One Tree Hill. "I'll Be Your Man" is the opening theme song for the HBO show Hungand was also featured in an episode of the FX Network show Rescue Me. "Your Touch" can also be heard in the film Zombieland and in an episode of "Eastbound and Down" on HBO. The song "I Got Mine" has been used in HBO's sports reality series 24/7 Pacquiao-Hatton" [13] as well as background music for the 2009 American League Championship Series. The song "Next Girl" is featured in the in game radio of Saints Row the Third.
Their fourth record that Danger Mouse produced Attack & Release was out April 1st 2008. The duo's fifth album is the first one recorded in a proper studio.
The Band's fifth album, "Brothers" was released in spring 2010 and has seen increasing amounts of exposure to the "Dancing T-Rex" video for the song "Tighten Up" that went viral...until the band asked it to be removed because they felt it made light of their music. A proper video was released later in 2010, featuring Dan Auerbach and Pat Carney at a playground and was pushed on the band's official YouTube channel, as well as through the iTunes and Zune marketplaces. The track "Tighten Up" was also used as the background music for a Subaru Legacy commercial and on the FIFA 2011 Soundtrack.
The Black Keys' seventh studio album, "El Camino," was released on the 6th of December 2011. Co-produced by Danger Mouse, the album was released to critical acclaim, receiving positive reviews from The Rolling Stones, NME and more. Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly commented on "El Camino", saying that "El Camino trades the soulful stylings of Brothers for harder-driving, faster-riffing rock & roll". At the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, El Camino won the award for Best Rock Album, while "Lonely Boy" received multiple honors, taking 'Best Rock Performance' and 'Best Rock Song'. The album has sold 1.4 million copies in the United States to date.
The Black Keys' eighth studio album, Turn Blue, was released on May 12, 2014 to generally favorable reviews.
Crawling Kingsnake
The Black Keys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well I'm a crawling king snake, baby
Crawl up on your door
Crawl up to your window, baby
Crawl up on your floor
I do anything I want to, baby
Crawl up on your doorCrawling king snake
And I'm going
Yeah, I'ma crawl up to your window, baby
Crawl up to your door
See anything I want to, baby
Crawl up on your door
Feel me coming in
Crawl up on your door, yeah
Crawling king snake
And I wanna
Well my mamma caught me crawlin'
With those girls I know
I wasn't very big then
And I wanna crawl some more
Do you love me, ma?
Crawl up to your door
Only thing you wanted, baby
Crawl up to your floor
Crawling king snake
And I wanna
Crawling king snake, baby
Crawl up on your door
Do anything I want toCrawl up on your floor
Catch me crawling in
Do you want some more?
Know I want you
Crawl up on your door
Crawling king snake
And I wanna
The Black Keys’ song “Crawling Kingsnake” is a cover of the 1941 blues classic originally performed by singer-songwriter, John Lee Hooker. The sexually-charged song follows the story of a man who is confident in his own abilities as he approaches a woman who he is eager to seduce. The lyrics are symbolic of Hooker’s persona as a bluesman and womanizer, using the image of a crawling snake as a representation of sexual desire and potency.
In the first stanza, the singer refers to himself as a “crawling king snake,” crawling up to the door, window, and floor, suggesting that he can go anywhere he wants to go. He knows what he wants and is confident in his own abilities to get what he desires. The repeated line “And I’m going” emphasizes his eagerness and determination to seduce the woman.
Further into the song, the singer recalls his childhood when his mother caught him “crawlin’ with those girls.” He asks the question, “Do you love me, ma?” which may suggest that he is seeking his mother’s approval, or it may be a metaphor for seeking approval from the woman he is trying to seduce. Ultimately, he declares his desire to crawl up to her door once more.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I'm a crawling king snake, baby
I am a sly, seductive person who will slither his way into your life.
Crawl up on your door
I will make my presence known to you by showing up at your doorstep.
Crawl up to your window, baby
I will use any means necessary to get closer to you, even if it means sneaking in through your window.
Crawl up on your floor
I will not hesitate to get down and dirty to achieve my goal of getting closer to you.
I do anything I want to, baby
I am a free spirit who will pursue my desires without regard for the consequences.
Crawling king snake
My reptilian nature drives me to pursue what I want at all costs.
And I'm going
I will not stop until I achieve what I desire.
Yeah, I'ma crawl up to your window, baby
I am not deterred by obstacles like walls or windows.
See anything I want to, baby
I will explore every part of your life, taking what I want along the way.
Feel me coming in
My presence will be felt by you even before I physically enter your space.
Crawling king snake
My pursuit of you is relentless and unrelenting.
And I wanna
I am driven by my desire for you, and nothing will stand in my way.
Well my mamma caught me crawlin'
Even from a young age, I have been driven by my natural instinct to crawl towards what I want.
With those girls I know
I have always been a ladies' man, using my charm to get what I want.
I wasn't very big then
Although I may not have been physically imposing, my cunning and charm have always made up for it.
And I wanna crawl some more
My crawl towards you is never-ending.
Do you love me, ma?
I will use flattery to win you over, appealing to your emotions and desires.
Crawl up to your door
I will continue to pursue you, even if it means pushing myself to extremes.
Only thing you wanted, baby
All you ever wanted was someone like me, who is relentless in the pursuit of what they desire.
Catch me crawling in
I am unstoppable in my pursuit of you, like a king snake who always gets what he wants.
Do you want some more?
I know you are attracted to my relentless pursuit, and I am willing to go even further to keep you interested.
Know I want you
My desire for you is all-consuming, and there's nothing I won't do to pursue you.
Crawling king snake
I am the embodiment of the king snake, unstoppable in my pursuit of what I want.
And I wanna
My desire for you is insatiable, and no obstacle will stop me from pursuing it.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Bernard Besman, John Lee Hooker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MrQuickrebuttle
The new Black Keys sounds like the old Black Keys. And I love it.
@conner1248
Rubber Factory deserves as much success as El Camino. That album is a masterpiece.
@jeanlecrenois4403
the new black keys sounds like junior kimbrough
@mxlxdxvialomas7693
Yeah cuz it’s a cover song
@harls3337
@@conner1248 El camino is in my top 15 favorite albums in my opinion it's actually underappreciated
@andrewmowbray7035
I love it but really hope they add some hard hitting loud blues rock to the album like just a little heat or I got mine. This is fantastic music but the last few albums have all been very soft where I’d prefer a mix of soft rock and some drumstick breaking, finger blistering rock.
@imuuri
Guy in the cowboy hat playing along is Kenny Brown, grew up an apprentice to the legendary Mississippi Hill Country Bluesman R.L Burnside! Lived on the same street and played since he was a boy, he has grown into a legend of his own..
@ny_bass_hole8158
Kenny is the man he used to tour with RL and his son Cedrick
@Durotomee
Back to where it all started. This is the black keys I loved years ago.
@carlosnoriega7296
This doesn't sound nowhere as near to their earlier stuff tbh