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"Hotel Yorba" is the lead single from White Blood Cells, by Detroit, Michigan garage rock band The White Stripes, and their first single to be released commercially. It was released in November 2001.

Built in 1926, the Hotel Yorba is a former hotel in southwest Detroit that can be seen along I-75 near the Ambassador Bridge to Canada. The single version of the song was recorded in room 206 of the building which is now used as government subsidized housing.[1]

The White Stripes shot much of the song's music video outside the hotel, but were denied permission to film inside; it's rumored the duo is banned for life from the hotel.[2]

The song was used for a deleted scene in the 2002 movie 28 Days Later. The scene does not appear on the DVD, while the song itself is featured on the soundtrack CD released by XL Records.

The single was reissued on opaque red vinyl for Black Friday Record Store Day in 2012 by Third Man Records and later released on standard black vinyl.

Contents[]

 [hide*1 Track listing

Track listing[edit][]

7"
No. Title Length
1. "Hotel Yorba" (Live)
2. "Rated X" (Live) (Loretta Lynn cover)
CD
No. Title Length
1. "Hotel Yorba"  
2. "Rated X" (Live)
3. "Hotel Yorba" (Music video)

Music video[edit][]

[1]The Hotel Yorba from Fort Street.

The music video, directed by Anthony Ernest Garth and Dan John Miller, combines footage of Meg and Jack playing inside what is presumed to be the Hotel Yorba, lounging on a porch in the woods, and being part of a wedding ceremony in a cathedral. Miller's wife, Tracee Mae Miller, is featured in multiple scenes: when Jack marries her in a cathedral, when they are sitting on the porch, and when they are walking through the woods. During the marriage ceremony, Meg is tied to Jack with a rope that links from his waist to hers. They are also tied together when Jack and Miller are walking though the woods and sitting on the porch.

Cover versions[edit][]

Use and parody of the song[edit][]

  • According to the audio commentary of the "Extended Pilot" episode of Arrested Development, this song was to be heard when the Fünkes were leaving their Beverly Hills hotel without paying their bill, but it was decided that it would be too costly to obtain permission.
  • Australian Comedy TV show The Chaser's War On Everything parodied this song. In the parody Jack White accidentally mixes his red and white clothes in the washing machine which turns them pink.
  • American comedian Arj Barker used "Hotel Yorba" for an episode of his online animated series Arj and Poopy.
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