Photo credit: Raymond Flotat
Jack White and Jack Black joined forces on Saturday night’s episode of Saturday Night Live, delivering a comedic reimagining of the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” during the show’s opening monologue.
The collaboration came as part of Black’s induction into SNL’s Five-Timers Club, marking his fifth time hosting the long-running NBC sketch series. As is tradition, Black was welcomed into the club by fellow five-timers Jonah Hill, Tina Fey, Candice Bergen and Melissa McCarthy, who gathered in the club’s now-cobweb-covered lounge. The sketch leaned into self-parody, with Fey acknowledging that the recurring bit has been “brought back so many times, it has literally been run into the ground.”
White, serving as the night’s musical guest and also appearing on SNL for the fifth time as a solo performer, crashed the sketch wearing his own Five-Timers Club jacket. After quipping that five-time musical guests “only get their parking validated for 15 minutes” and that he had to “move his hearse,” White joined Black on guitar as the two launched into a reworked rendition of “Seven Nation Army” complete with new lyrics lampooning the Five-Timers Club and the night’s festivities. “It’s time to fix this place the only way I know how,” Black announced. “With the power of rock.”
Pitchfork recounts that SNL cast member Marcello Hernandez also appeared in character as Domingo, only to be playfully reprimanded by White with a cast iron skillet before the two Jacks took over the room.
“Seven Nation Army,” originally released on the White Stripes’ 2003 album Elephant, is widely considered one of the most recognizable rock songs of the 21st century. White also used the night to debut two new singles, performing “Derecho Demonico” and “G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs,” both released the day before the show. As we reported, 7″ vinyl releases of both tracks are available via Third Man Records.
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