Sharps and Flats

"As far as the whole indie thing goes," Carney adds, "if somebody just didn't like the record, it's fine. That's what people get paid to do — express their opinion. But I do think if there was some sort of weird indie backlash, which I don't think would happen, but if it did happen, I would call any motherfucker out on that."

He laughs. Despite some powerful drumming with much abandon, Carney possesses a lithe body that could be mistaken for a basketball goal post, and the scrappy skin-hitter maintains that the Black Keys are just keeping it real.

"If you're a band and you take a political view and say you're not a sellout, you're going to set yourself up to be a hypocrite," he says. "But all Dan and I have ever committed to is making music that we like to make and doing it honestly. That's more than most bands can say, I think."