Third Man Records – Label with the weirdest collaborations ever?

Third Man Records, the home of the prodigious Jack White, dirty blues rock revival and the strangest musical collaborations ever?

That’s right kids; forget Metallica and Lou Reed’s doomed ‘Lulu’, obliterate the memory that Ozzy Osbourne recorded a cover with an overweight potty-mouthed pig (literally). Independent labels are renowned for breaking the boundaries and sticking two fingers up to conformist culture, but by the way of collaborations go; Third Man Records takes the crown, shatters it to tiny pieces and crams it into the windpipes of any future concordant conformist collaborations. Here are some of the finest:

Jack White & Insane Clown Posse – Leck Mich Im Arsch

Jack White and the sexist, testosterone fuelled alter egos of Jedward, doing a rap metal cover of a Mozart sample that translates to “Lick Me in the Arse”. Why Jack, why?

Stephen Colbert & The Black Belles – Charlene II (I’m Over You)

American satirist & TV host Stephen Colbert teamed up with Third Man’s all-girl goth outfit The Black Belles last summer to release a homage to stalking your ex-girlfriend. As amusing as it is awesome it also remains the most bad-ass record with a whistling solo.

Tom Jones & Jack White – Evil

71 year old Welsh crooner and NME’s poster-boy of the 2000s coming together to record a Howlin’ Wolf cover shouldn’t sound this good. A whiskey-soaked romping stomper of a good time.

Foster the People & Luke Pritchard – Hold On

LA Indie-pop trio Foster the People teamed up with Kooks (remember them?) front-man last week to cover ‘Hold On’ by Third Man darlings Alabama Shakes. Although it misses the sun-drenched, rock’n’soul vibes of the original, Pritchard & Co deliver a justified indie-pop makeover.