The back-handed compliment Noel Gallagher gave to The Black Keys
Shuffling is a controversial act. For meticulous playlist creators and album purists, hitting that little button with the two converging arrows verges on sinful, working in direct opposition with the considered curation of the artist or selector. But there are some situations where shuffling is more acceptable than others, in the car or at a party, for example, and there is one artist that Noel Gallagher believes thrives in that environment.
As the lead songwriter of Britpop outfit Oasis, Gallagher’s songs have found their way into countless indie house party playlists. The singalong-worthy choruses of ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Champagne Supernova’ have been blared out of speakers in student halls up and down the country, preparing starry-eyed freshers for their first nights out away from home.
Even the kids who proclaim to be too cool for Oasis will let ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ play out when it comes on shuffle. But Gallagher’s own experiences of house parties in the 2000s were soundtracked by a guitar band from the other side of the Atlantic: Ohio’s The Black Keys, who he declares “the greatest shuffle band of all time”. But how, exactly, does a band become the best shuffle band of all time?
According to Gallagher, the Black Keys harbour an ability to stop party-goers in their tracks when they come on shuffle, leading them to inquire about the creator of the song. “I’ve been at many, many, many parties,” Gallagher boasted, “Thousands. There’s just something on, it’s on shuffle. Every time the Black Keys come on, everyone goes, ‘Hey, who’s this?’ ‘That’s the Black Keys.’”
“They’re the best band on shuffle in the history of rock music,” the rock ‘n’ roll star shrugged. It seems like a back-handed compliment of sorts. The Black Keys aren’t quite good enough to be a band that people know and love — they don’t attract obsessive fans who pore over their discography or marvel at their contributions to guitar music.
Rather, they’re a passable rock band who might attract the attention of a few drunk party-goers amidst an otherwise unnoteworthy collection of guitar tunes. Tunes like ‘Lonely Boy’ and ‘Gold On The Ceiling’ have managed to win over countless listeners with their blues-inspired rock, but they’re not particularly exciting or revolutionary in the genre.
This stands true for most of the Black Keys’ discography. The band pull from more intriguing genres such as blues and garage, but their sound often feels disingenuous or devoid of real creativity or feeling. In fact, almost a decade on from Gallagher’s comments about the band being “the greatest shuffle band of all time,” even that comment seems to have waned.
It’s difficult to imagine a party where the Black Keys come on shuffle in 2024. It’s even more difficult to imagine a party where the Black Keys come on shuffle, and an attendee inquires about the band in question rather than recognising their palatable take on rock music immediately.
In fact, it’s much easier to imagine a scenario wherein the Black Keys come on shuffle, and whoever’s on the aux runs to their phone to hit the skip button before the inevitable moans and groans from party-goers. The Black Keys might have been the ultimate shuffle band when Gallagher was in his partying heyday, but they certainly seem to have lost their appeal with modern audiences.
