"Danger! High Voltage" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Electric Six Electric Six is a six-piece American rock band formed in 1996 in Detroit, Michigan. Their music was described by AllMusic as a combination of garage, disco, punk rock, new wave, and metal. The band achieved recognition in 2003 with the singl ...

. It was released as the band's debut single and the lead single from their debut studio album, ''

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

'' (2003), in 2002 as a 7-inch vinyl. It was re-released by

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six album ...

on January 6, 2003. It peaked at number two on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It received positive reviews from critics and was named Single of the Week by the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''.

Background

The song was originally recorded in early 2000,Handyside, 2013, pg. 180 when the band was under the name the Wildbunch. They were forced to drop this name following legal pressure from the Bristol

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...

collective of the same name.Handyside, 2013, pg. 183 The later album and single version was produced by British music producers, Damien Mendis and Stuart Bradbury—who also created club mixes under the name of Soulchild.

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

the White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums with ...

, a fellow

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

native, performed the secondary lead vocals on the track. Members of the band have claimed in interviews that the singer was an auto mechanic named John S. O'Leary and not White, although music critics suspected this name was a pseudonym for White.

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called the song "catchier than anything on the radio by the White Stripes." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called it "insanely catchy", though "the archetypal comic novelty single."

Josh Tyrangiel Josh Tyrangiel is an American journalist. He was previously the deputy managing editor of ''TIME'' magazine and an editor at ''Bloomberg Businessweek''.Stephanie Clifford (November 17, 2009"Josh Tyrangiel Named Editor of BusinessWeek"/ref> In Ju ...

with ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine also praised the track. ''

s Piers Martin wrote " lectric Sixrustle up the sort of pop-party thrash which sounds like the idiot half-brother to The Rapture’s ' House Of Jealous Lovers'. That good." The song is listed at number 234 on the best songs of the 2000s by

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

. It was also featured in ''

The Pitchfork 500 ''The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present'' is a book compiling the greatest songs from 1977 to 2006, published in 2008 by Pitchfork Media. The book focuses on specific genres including indie rock, hip-hop, el ...

''. Writing for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'', Amy Phillips said, "The two men shout declarations of affection to each other over a sizzling Saturday Night Fever groove, and the sax sounds as if it's being played by someone with a long, luscious mullet. The video features taxidermy and a glowing

codpiece A codpiece () is a triangular piece that attached to the front of men's hose, covering the fly. It may be held in place by ties or buttons. It was an important fashion item of European clothing during the 15th–16th centuries. In the modern era ...

Music video

The video for this song was produced by

Tom Kuntz Tom Kuntz (born July 7, 1972) is an American director and filmmaker who is most known for his unique television commercials and music videos, which either have colorful settings, time-lapse photography or wildly eccentric humans. He has enjoy ...

and Mike Maguire. Set in a manor house, it shows lead singer Dick Valentine and actress Tina Kanarek as a wealthy couple, outfitted with a brightly flashing

and

bra A bra, short for brassiere or brassière (, or ; ), is a form-fitting undergarment that is primarily used to support and cover breasts. It can serve a range of other practical and aesthetic purposes, including enhancing or reducing the appea ...

respectively. Paintings featured in the video were created by artist Brian Rea.

Track listings

US CD single # "Danger! High Voltage" (Soulchild Radio Mix) # "I Lost Control (Of My Rock & Roll)" # "Remote Control (Me)" # "Danger! High Voltage" (

Thin White Duke The Thin White Duke was the persona and character of the English musician David Bowie during 1975 and 1976. He is primarily identified with Bowie's 1976 album '' Station to Station'' and is mentioned by name in the title track, although Bowie ...

remix by Jacques Lu Cont) UK CD1 # "Danger! High Voltage" (Soulchild radio mix) # "I Lost Control (Of My Rock & Roll)" UK CD2 # "Danger! High Voltage" (Soulchild 12-inch Blitz mix) # "Danger! High Voltage" (Thin White Duke mix) # "Danger! High Voltage" (Kilogram remix) UK 7-inch single :A. "Danger! High Voltage" (original 7-inch mix) :B. "I Lost Control (Of My Rock & Roll)" Australian CD single # "Danger! High Voltage" (Soulchild radio mix) # "I Lost Control (Of My Rock & Roll)" # "Remote Control (Me)" # "Danger! High Voltage" (Soulchild 12-inch Blitz mix) # "Danger! High Voltage" (Kilogram mix)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

Bibliography

*Handyside, Chris (2004). ''Fell in Love with a Band: The Story of The White Stripes''. Location unknown:St. Martin's Griffin

External links

*
Pitchfork review
{{Authority control 2001 songs 2002 debut singles 2003 singles Electric Six songs Jack White Number-one singles in Scotland UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles Male vocal duets XL Recordings singles