Album: The White Stripes (1999)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this early White Stripes stomper, Jack White keeps the lyric very simple, naming different people who might do the Astro, which presumably is a dance. In a 2002 interview with a 5-year-old named Lucas, he explained: "The Astro is whatever you do in secret that nobody knows about. Everybody does the Astro."
  • The last three lines make reference to Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, who came up with different methods of transmitting electricity. Edison's method was Direct Current (DC), which was more accepted at the time. Tesla championed Alternating Current (AC), which eventually became the standard, but not before Tesla went insane. Jack White is a big-time science buff. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France
  • "Astro" is part of the first (eponymous) White Stripes album, released in 1999 when the two members, Jack and Meg White, were separated but still married (they divorced in 2000). They settled in as friends and co-workers, with Meg on drums and Jack doing pretty much everything else, including the songwriting. Meg stayed out of the spotlight, avoiding interviews whenever possible. What started as a little husband-and-wife band got very big a few years later when they signed a deal with the major label V2 and released their album Elephant, with the hit "Seven Nation Army."

Comments: 1

  • Darrell from Eugene, United StatesOne thing's fer sure: This song is not about the dog from "The Jetsons", nor is it about the first Chevy minivan since the Corvair Greenbriar, both of which make the Lumina APV comparable to a Rolls-Royce in comparison.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."

Did They Really Sing In That Movie?

Did They Really Sing In That Movie?Fact or Fiction

Bradley Cooper, Michael J. Fox, Rami Malek, Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow and George Clooney: Which actors really sang in their movies?

Linda Perry

Linda PerrySongwriter Interviews

Songwriting Hall of Famer Linda Perry talks about her songs "What's Up" and "Beautiful," her songwriting process, and her move into film music.

Martin Page

Martin PageSongwriter Interviews

With Bernie Taupin, Martin co-wrote the #1 hits "We Built This City" and "These Dreams." After writing the Pretty Woman song for Go West, he had his own hit with "In the House of Stone and Light."

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica)

Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica)Songwriter Interviews

The former Metallica bassist talks about his first time writing a song with James Hetfield, and how a hand-me-down iPad has changed his songwriting.