The Black Keys

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"Asking the Black Keys 'Why do you play the blues so good?' would be like asking a cloud 'Why are you fluffy so good?' How the hell is someone supposed to answer that? It's like a Zen koan." —Brian J. Bowe, Creem Online

The Black Keys are a Grammy-winning Blues Rock band hailing from Akron, Ohio. While some of their albums have featured session musicians, the core band consists of only two members - Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The band was formed in 2001, and have released the following albums:

• The Big Come Up (2002)
• Thickfreakness (2003)
• Rubber Factory (2004)
• Magic Potion (2006)
• Attack and Release (2008)
• Brothers (2010)
• El Camino (December 6, 2011)

Early in the band's career, much media attention was placed on their raw, minimalistic style (the result of a recording technique euphemistically referred to as "medium-fidelity", described by the band as "equal parts broke-ass shit to equal parts hot-ass shit.") Since Attack and Release, however, their sound has been a bit more expansive, adding more sonic detail while keeping the band's Blues Rock sound front and center.

The music video for Howlin' For You is so troperrific that it now has its own page.

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The Black Keys provide examples of:

• Chiaroscuro: The front cover of The Big Come Up.
• Cover Version: Almost every Black Keys album, save for Magic Potion, Attack and Release, and El Camino, has included at least one cover.
• Instrumentals: "Black Mud".
• Gratuitous Spanish: In the Howlin' For You video the band is referred to as Las Teclas de Negro. Also of course El Camino.
• Insult Backfire: They infamously decried Nickelback, but in the process called them "The biggest band in the world." This is not really an insult.
• Long Runner Lineup: Category 1 (not counting session/tour musicians).
• Minimalistic Cover Art: Brothers, though not in the usual sense.
• New Sound Album: Attack and Release, due largely to the involvement of Danger Mouse.
• Real Trailer Fake Movie: The video for Howlin for You.
• Record Producer: Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse) produced Attack and Release and El Camino as well as "Tighten Up" from Brothers.
• The Rival: The White Stripes, appropriately enough.
• Textless Album Cover: Inverted with the art for Brothers, which is nothing but text.