That Black Bat Licorice

Album: Lazaretto (2014)
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Songfacts®:

  • The Lazaretto album was named after a word for a quarantine hospital island.

    The title was inspired by this personal song, which finds White talking about being a confined prisoner in a hospital. "That really is me, personally," he told NPR. "My sort of fantasy that I have is, I wish that some other forces, some powers that be, would push me into this scenario for a month and lock me somewhere, instead of me doing it to myself all the time. I'm always imposing restrictions on myself. And so I guess my fantasy is, it would be so nice to be in a quarantine hospital, but not to die from it - just to know that I had to stay here for two months and I can't do anything else. That's why I named the album Lazaretto."
  • The song finds White virtually rapping the lyrics as he references a fast black hearse, Nietzche, Freud and Horace in the same couplet:

    She's built for speed like a black castrum doloris
    Good for the needy like Nietzche, Freud and Horace


    "That's basically a hip-hop song," White told Jam! Music. "I wasn't going for it but I just found myself in the middle of it. I think I've done that a lot in my career and people haven't noticed. 'Icky Thump' is a hip-hop track. 'Freedom at 21' on the last album was a hip-hop track but I don't think anyone really categorizes that."
  • The "three-in-one" interactive video features a live action clip directed by White himself, an animated version helmed by James Blagden, and a "headbang" edition shot by Brad Holland. Viewers can switch between the three visuals by holding down the '3' or 'B' keys on their keyboard.

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