''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' is the sixth studio album by American band the

Cherry Poppin' Daddies The Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American swing and ska band established in Eugene, Oregon, in 1989. Formed by singer-songwriter Steve Perry and bassist Dan Schmid, the band has experienced numerous personnel changes over the course of its 30 ...

, released on July 16, 2013, on

Space Age Bachelor Pad Records The Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American swing and ska band established in Eugene, Oregon, in 1989. Formed by singer-songwriter Steve Perry and bassist Dan Schmid, the band has experienced numerous personnel changes over the course of its ...

. Following the predominant world music slant of 2008's '' Susquehanna'' and the 2009

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

album '' Skaboy JFK'', ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' marks the Cherry Poppin' Daddies' first album since their 1997 compilation '' Zoot Suit Riot'' to focus exclusively on swing and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

music, eschewing the ska, rock and pop influences which typically feature on their albums. A two-disc "deluxe" version of ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' was released concurrently with the main swing album, featuring an additional full-length album of material composed in an "

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

" vein covering

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and

western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the Western United States, West and Southern United States, South among the region's Western music (North America), Western string bands. It is dan ...

Album overview

Music

Since plans for a new record were announced, singer/songwriter

Steve Perry Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the rock band Journey during their most commercially successful periods from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He also wrote/co ...

stated the primary musical direction of the next Daddies album would be returning to swing and jazz music, the band's first swing-oriented album since their 1997 breakthrough compilation '' Zoot Suit Riot''. ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' features few of the ska and punk influences which the Daddies are generally recognized for incorporating into their swing music, instead primarily drawing from various periods of traditional jazz and swing, including the hot jazz of the 1930s and the

jump blues Jump blues is an up-tempo style of blues, usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues was renewed in the 1990s as ...

and

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

of the 1940s and 1950s. A limited "deluxe edition" of ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' was co-released alongside the main album, featuring a bonus disc of additional material which Perry explained didn't fit into the stylistic context of the swing album. Heavily influenced by various facets of

music, the songs on the bonus disc cover such styles as

zydeco Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...

("Tchoupitoulas Congregation"),

("You Wiped Your Ass With My Heart"),

("Peckerheads & Badasses") and bluegrass ("Ragged Ol' Flag"), as well as several songs influenced by

. Elaborating on the band's interpretation of the latter, Perry explained " t'skind of like

psychobilly Psychobilly is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ram ...

with horns... 's like the swing stuff we deal with, it's a little straighter, but with still a swung beat and then some heavy guitar and some R&B and swing elements in there". ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' is the first Daddies studio album since 1994's ''

Rapid City Muscle Car ''Rapid City Muscle Car'' is the second studio album by American band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released in 1994 on Space Age Bachelor Pad Records. Overview ''Rapid City Muscle Car'' was structured around the Daddies' desire to create a styli ...

'' to include

cover songs In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or Sound recording and reproduction, recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referr ...

, and the first time the band has recorded songs from the

swing era The swing era (also frequently referred to as the big band era) was the period (1933–1947) when big band swing music was the most popular music in the United States. Though this was its most popular period, the music had actually been aroun ...

. While Perry has long been a critic of cover songs and in particular the overuse of covers in swing bands, he explained in an interview, "If we do a cover...we do it because we believe people won't recognize it rather than will. I would want to draw attention to an artist that is historically out there on the cobblestones". The main album features covers of

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

s 1939 song "Doug the Jitterbug",

Wynonie Harris Wynonie Harris (August 24, 1915 – June 14, 1969) was an American blues shouter and rhythm-and-blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. He had fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952. Harris is attributed by ma ...

s 1950

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

version of

Hank Penny Herbert Clayton Penny (September 18, 1918 – April 17, 1992) was an American musician who played banjo mainly in the Western swing genre. He also worked as a comedian best known for his backwoods character "That Plain Ol' Country Boy" on TV wi ...

s "Bloodshot Eyes" and

Bull Moose Jackson Benjamin Clarence "Bull Moose" Jackson (April 22, 1919 – July 31, 1989)Allmusic biography Accessed January 2008. was an American blues and rhythm-and-blues singer and saxophonist, who was most successful in the late 1940s. He is considered a p ...

s 1947 "I Want a Bowlegged Woman", while the bonus disc includes a French-language cover of

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

s "

Nuages "Nuages" () is one of the best-known compositions by Django Reinhardt. He recorded at least thirteen versions of the tune, which is a jazz standard and a mainstay of the gypsy swing repertoire. English and French lyrics have been added to the piec ...

" and a cover of "Flat Butts and Beer Guts (Or How I Learned to Vomit Standing Up)" by New York

cowpunk Cowpunk (or country punk) is a subgenre of punk rock that began in the United Kingdom and Southern California in the late 1970s - early 1980s. It combines punk rock or New wave music, new wave with country music, country, folk music, folk, and b ...

band the Barnyard Playboys, from their 2000 album ''Dumbass on a Rampage''.

Lyricism

In a June 2013 interview with ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

'' magazine, Perry briefly mentioned that he was inspired to start writing material for ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' during the

financial crisis of 2007-08 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fin ...

, drawing a parallel with the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

of the 1930s which prompted him to return to writing swing and jazz music. In a later interview, Perry elaborated on these influences, calling the album "an Americana examination of those

Bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...

into

Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

years and financial hard times", focusing on an amalgam of the social and political issues of the time, including "

Red State Starting with the 2000 United States presidential election, the terms "red state" and "blue state" have referred to U.S. states whose voters vote predominantly for one party — the Republican Party in red states and the Democratic Party in b ...

anxiety (i.e.

Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

phenomenon), growing class warfare (i.e.

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as sho ...

), American materialist/capitalist values ndthe pain of

nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek language, Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", ...

. I guess I wanted little vignettes and character sketches that would freeze this time period in amber, so to speak".

Production history

In a July 2010 interview conducted while the Daddies were still touring behind the release of '' Skaboy JFK'', Perry hinted at prospective plans for new Cherry Poppin' Daddies material, mentioning the band was in the process of writing music for possibly two new albums, one "a swing-rockabilly kind of thing" and the other "an R&B...pop thing". By the following January, however, Perry clarified that the swing album had become the band's sole focus, though elements of the R&B project would eventually contribute to the development of ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' bonus disc. Buckwheat Zydeco

Initial production on the album began in March 2011 at Gung Ho Studios in the Daddies' hometown of

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, where all of the band's previous studio albums have been recorded. Documented through Perry's personal

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account, this stage of production lasted throughout most of 2011, with recording lasting into summer, tracking finished by October and mixing taking place over the following months. These recording sessions marked the debuts of guitarist Bill Marsh and tenor saxophonist Willie Matheis, both of whom joined the Daddies in 2010, as well as trombonist Joe Freuen, who would later join the band in 2012 as their first full-time trombone player. This would also be the final Daddies album to feature longtime keyboardist

Dustin Lanker Dustin Ross Lanker (born October 7, 1976) is an American keyboardist, known for his work as a member of the ska- swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies and the ska punk band the Mad Caddies, as well as the singer-songwriter for the rock trio The ...

, who would leave the band in early 2012. Much like '' Susquehanna'', ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' features an extensive roster of guest musicians, primarily contributing instruments unique to the genres being performed. Most notably, the album features appearances by

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

ist

Buckwheat Zydeco Stanley Dural Jr. (November 14, 1947 – September 24, 2016), better known by his stage name Buckwheat Zydeco, was an American accordionist and zydeco musician. He was one of the few zydeco artists to achieve mainstream success. His music gro ...

on the

-styled song "Tchoupitoulas Congregation", and

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...

and

The Magic Band The Magic Band was the backing band of American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Captain Beefheart between 1967 and 1982. The rotating lineup featured dozens of performers, many of whom became known by nicknames given to them by Beefhe ...

guitarist

Zoot Horn Rollo Bill Harkleroad (born January 8, 1949), known professionally as Zoot Horn Rollo, is an American guitarist. He is best known for his work with Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band. In 2003, he was ranked No. 62 in a ''Rolling Stone'' magazi ...

, a Eugene resident and personal friend of Perry's, on the psychobilly cover "Flat Butts and Beer Guts". John Fohl, a former member of

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

s Lower 911 band and Daddies guitarist from 1990 to 1992, provided baritone and slide guitar for the western swing track "Peckerheads and Badasses". Although the band originally announced a projected release date of winter 2011, updates on the album's development went entirely unheard of until a December 2011 interview with Perry, where he vaguely mentioned continued work on the album but finally confirmed its title, ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts''. Perry later revealed that following initial completion of recording in late 2011, the band ultimately decided to record an additional batch of songs and release an exclusive version of ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' as a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

. According to Perry, he had simply written "so many damn songs" in both the swing and rockabilly/Americana genres that he thought it better to split them into two separate albums rather than attempt to merge the two styles into something stylistically cohesive. On June 20, 2012, the Daddies launched a

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

campaign accepting fan donations to help complete the final stages of production, reaching 100% on August 14 and continuing to collect further donations into 2013, ultimately raising 133% of its target sum. Perry announced through a PledgeMusic update on November 16, 2012, that the album and its artwork had been completely finished.

Release and promotion

On March 18, 2013, a digital download of the 11-track swing album was released exclusively for contributors to the Daddies' PledgeMusic campaign, while signed physical copies of the single and double-disc CDs were mailed out in the following weeks. The Daddies eventually confirmed a wide release date of July 16 for both versions of ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' in April, releasing the album's first single and video, " I Love American Music", on May 15, and the second, "The Babooch", on July 2. On July 8, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' released a full stream of the swing album on their website. Both CD versions of the album were released on July 16 along with a limited vinyl release of the swing album, the first Daddies album since 1990's '' Ferociously Stoned'' to be issued on vinyl. Having retired from full-time touring after their hiatus in late 2000, the Daddies carried out a short fifteen-city tour in support of ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'', primarily playing within the West Coast and New England. In the midst of the tour on July 25, the band appeared on the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

-owned

KTTV KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV outle ...

program ''

Good Day L.A. ''Good Day L.A.'' is an American morning television news and entertainment program airing on KTTV (channel 11), a Fox owned-and-operated television station in Los Angeles, California, owned by the Fox Television Stations subsidiary of Fox Corpo ...

'', performing the song "I Love American Music" in promotion of their show at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood that same evening.

Music videos

Five music videos were filmed in promotion of ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'', shot by Steve Perry and the Daddies in conjunction with the

Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, with a population of 99,178 at the time of the 2020 U.S ...

-based

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...

AMZ Productions. " I Love American Music", the first single/video off the album, was premiered on ''

The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is based in Chicago but originated as a weekly print publication on August 2 ...

''s A.V. Club website on May 15, 2013, while the song was released to

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

and

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

on May 20. In a blog post released the same day, Perry elaborated at length behind the song and the video, noting that it was written as a tribute to the unknown

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

musicians he idolized who remained dedicated to their music despite living in poverty and obscurity, while the video reflects how the same dedication affects an musician's family life, describing it as "a

Sisyphean In Greek mythology, Sisyphus or Sisyphos (; Ancient Greek: Σίσυφος ''Sísyphos'') was the founder and king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth). Hades punished him for cheating death twice by forcing him to roll an immense boulder up a hill ...

struggle with more downs than ups". The video, directed by Perry and Jesse Locke, humorously depicts Perry at his home, intently composing and singing along to the song while his frustrated wife stands to the sidelines. On July 2, the album's second video, "The Babooch", was premiered on

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

. Again directed by Perry and Locke, the video had a decidedly political tone, featuring the Daddies performing the song while super-imposed over a montage of postcards and stock film, intercut with footage of

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

luxury and figures including

Henry Paulson Henry Merritt Paulson Jr. (born March 28, 1946) is an American banker and financier who served as the 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury from 2006 to 2009. Prior to his role in the Department of the Treasury, Paulson was the Chairman a ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

and

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

with news footage of

Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a protest Social movement, movement against economic inequality and the Campaign finance, influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial District, Manhattan, Wall S ...

and American homelessness. Perry described the video as being inspired by "punk rock clip posters",

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

s '' 200 Motels'' and

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and m ...

s ''

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie ''The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'' (french: Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie) is a 1972 surrealist film directed by Luis Buñuel from a screenplay co-written with Jean-Claude Carrière. The narrative concerns a group of bourgeois people ...

'', while noting the song was about a Gatsby-esque " one-percenter self-importantly celebrating his success", "the most American character, seduced by luxury but pricked by conscience". The album's third music video, "Huffin' Muggles", debuted on the website for

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

magazine '' Out'' on August 27, 2013. Depicting Perry dressed in drag and several members of Eugene, Oregon's drag community, Perry described the song as an homage to the

Warhol superstars Warhol superstars were a clique of New York City personalities promoted by the pop artist Andy Warhol during the 1960s and early 1970s. These personalities appeared in Warhol's artworks and accompanied him in his social life, epitomizing his fam ...

, namely

Candy Darling Candy Darling (November 24, 1944 – March 21, 1974) was an American actress, best known as a Warhol superstar and transgender icon. She starred in Andy Warhol's films ''Flesh'' (1968) and '' Women in Revolt'' (1971), and was a muse of The Velve ...

Jackie Curtis Jackie Curtis (February 19, 1947 – May 15, 1985) was an American actress, writer, singer, and Warhol superstar. Early life and career Jackie Curtis was born in New York City to John Holder and Jenevive Uglialoro. She had one sibling, half-br ...

and

Holly Woodlawn Holly Woodlawn (October 26, 1946 – December 6, 2015) was a transgender Puerto Rican actress and Warhol superstar who appeared in the films ''Trash'' (1970) and '' Women in Revolt'' (1971). She is also known as the Holly in Lou Reed's hit glam r ...

, as well as actress

Maria Montez María África Gracia Vidal (6 June 1912 – 7 September 1951), known professionally as Maria Montez, was a Dominican motion picture actress who gained fame and popularity in the 1940s starring in a series of filmed-in-Technicolor costume ...

and the filmmaking style of experimental director

Kenneth Anger Kenneth Anger (born Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer, February 3, 1927) is an American underground experimental filmmaker, actor, and author. Working exclusively in short films, he has produced almost 40 works since 1937, nine of which have been grouped ...

. In addition to "huffing

muggles In J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' series, a Muggle () is a person who lacks any sort of magical ability and was not born in a magical family. Muggles can also be described as people who do not have any magical blood inside them. It differs fr ...

" being 1930s/1940s slang for smoking

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

, Perry elaborated on the meaning of the song by calling it "like an ear to the door of a casual conversation between an old experienced 'urbane' male and his younger acolytes with whom he is holding court. There is a lot of shit talking going on, and everyone is 'getting loose'", highlighting the lyrical references to

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

s ''

Songs of Innocence and of Experience ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience'' is a collection of illustrated poems by William Blake. It appeared in two phases: a few first copies were printed and illuminated by Blake himself in 1789; five years later, he bound these poems with a ...

'' and noting " at I was really interested in here was the kind of cultural apprenticeship angle, and the bittersweet generosity behind the transferring of hard won cultural knowledge". On April 25, 2014, a week before the May 2 European release of ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'', the Daddies released their fourth video for "Doug the Jitterbug", a cover of a 1939

song. Unlike the album's previous videos, "Doug the Jitterbug" didn't feature a narrative, but was instead a filmed live performance in

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

of the Daddies performing the song at the

Whiteside Theatre The Whiteside Theatre is a historic Theater (building), theater building in Corvallis, Oregon, Corvallis, Oregon, United States. Constructed in 1922 and closed as a commercial theater in 2002, the 800-seat venue was named to the National Register o ...

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city and the county seat of Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2020 United ...

on September 21, 2012, occasionally interspersed with clips of vintage films and cartoons. On October 20, 2015, over two years after the album's release, Perry posted a music video for the song "Brown Flight Jacket" to the band's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

account. In a Facebook post, Perry revealed the video was shot the same day as the video for "The Babooch", but " eforgot to put it out there for the world to enjoy". Similar in aesthetic style to "The Babooch", the video depicts Perry wandering across a desert landscape singing the song, intercut with vintage footage of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

Reception

Critical response to ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' was generally favorable, though, like ''Susquehanna'' five years prior, the album's independent release and distribution flew under the radar of most major music publications.

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

gave the album a 7 out of 10 rating, considering it to be a superior effort over ''Zoot Suit Riot'', complimenting the band's "bizarre/twisted/out of left field sense of humor" and agility at "slinky, slow-burning numbers" such as the title track, though criticized parts of the album they felt steered too close to the sounds of other contemporary swing bands like

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is a contemporary swing revival band from Southern California. Their notable singles include "Go Daddy-O", "You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)", and "Mr. Pinstripe Suit". The band played at the Super Bowl XXXIII h ...

. Pop'stache contributed a glowing review, calling it "beautifully recorded" and the Daddies' "most mature and polished release to date", praising their "unconventional lyrics, bouncy guitars, and some strange drums" in making a "contemporary twist on a classic style". ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' also gave a positive review, though expressed mixed feelings over the Daddies' "modern spin" on swing music, writing that most of the songs sounded like "contemporary bar-rock songs in a swing style than the work of a retro act", though highly praised songs such as "Brown Flight Jacket" for the "tender" lyricism and level of subtlety for what the reviewer considered "a group that has never seemed to grow out of its bawdy lyrics and rambunctious style". '' Cityview'' offered a more indifferent opinion, calling the album "a solid, well-developed piece of music" which was "more mature and nuanced than maybe anything the band has previously released", though noted that it felt like an "album out of time" and it was "hard to shake the feeling that it's come about a decade too late". In a brief 2014 review, Matt Collar of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

rated the album with 3.5 out of 5 stars, summarizing it as "an album of exuberant, urbane dance music that moves from popular standards to new compositions with devilish ease". Of the few publications to review the double-disc deluxe edition, ''Ink 19'' called the second disc "more experimental and generally more fun than the first", though recommended both discs as featuring worthwhile material, singling out the "touching" "Brown Flight Jacket" and the "fun to sing along with" "Flat Butts and Beer Guts". ''ReadJunk'' called the album "a great swing-influenced album", describing the first disc as containing "some pretty good swing songs", but urged readers to pick up the deluxe version, writing " u'll be missing out an entire disc of great songs if you don't".

Track listing

Previous availability

*"Jake's Frilly Panties" is an outtake from the ''

Soul Caddy ''Soul Caddy'' is the fourth studio album by American band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released on October 3, 2000 by Mojo Records. Written and recorded after the multi-platinum success of their 1997 compilation ''Zoot Suit Riot (album), Zoot Sui ...

'' recording sessions, previously released as a

fan club A fans club is an organized group of fans, generally of a celebrity. Most fans clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to support them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the per ...

download on the Daddies' website in 2001. The ''White Teeth'' version adds a low fidelity crackle effect to replicate the sound of

78 RPM A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove ...

vinyl. *"Subway Killer" is a re-recording of a song by Steve Perry's

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

band

White Hot Odyssey White Hot Odyssey was an American hard rock band formed in Eugene, Oregon, United States, in 2002 by Cherry Poppin' Daddies vocalist Steve Perry (Oregon musician), Steve Perry and guitarist Jason Moss (musician), Jason Moss, along with guitarist ...

, originally from their 2004 self-titled album. *"The Babooch (Director's Cut)" is the same recording as featured on disc one, except with an alternate set of explicit lyrics in the chorus.

Personnel

;Cherry Poppin' Daddies *

– vocals, guitar, washboard *

Dan Schmid Daniel Joseph Schmid (born November 22, 1962) is an American musician, known for his work as the bassist and co-founder of the ska-swing music, swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. Schmid was also part of the rock duo the Visible Men, and has w ...

– bass *

Dana Heitman Dana Conrad Heitman (born January 18, 1966) is an American musician, known for his work as the trumpeter for the Eugene, Oregon ska-swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, of which he has been a member since the band's formation. Biography Heit ...

– trumpet *Joe Manis – alto sax *Kevin Congleton – drums *Willie Matheis – tenor saxophone *Bill Marsh – lead guitar *Joe Freuen – trombone ;Additional musicians *

– keyboards on tracks 1–5, 8–10 *Reinhardt Melz – drums on tracks 6 *Jason Palmer – drums on track 11 *Dave Captein – bass on tracks 1, 2, 5, 9 *Cassio Vianna – keyboards on track 11 *Greg Goebel – keyboards on track 6 *Tim Donahue – drums on track 8 * Jason Moss – guitar on track 8 ;Additional musicians on deluxe edition bonus disc *

– guitar on track 6 *

– accordion, background vocals on track 1 *

– keyboards on tracks 1, 12 *Bill Barnett – bass, drums, guitar on tracks 1–3 *John Fohl –

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schec ...

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

on track 3 *Joe Weber – guitar on track 4 *Monti Admundson – guitar on track 5 *Paul Brainard –

lap steel The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional a ...

Dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

on tracks 2–3, 8 *Reinhardt Melz – drums on track 7 *Jason Palmer – drums on track 1 *Allen Hunter – bass on track 5 *Dave Captein – bass on tracks 3, 10 *Sean Shanahan –

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

on track 8 *Thomas "Johnny" Schiller – background vocals on track 8 *Cassio Vianna – keyboards,

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usual ...

on track 9 *Greg Goebel – keyboards on track 7 ;Production *Produced by

*Recorded and mixed by Bill Barnett at Gung Ho Studio,

*Mastered by Brad Blackwood at Euphonic Mastering,

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

References

{{Authority control 2013 albums Cherry Poppin' Daddies albums Crowdfunded albums