The White Stripes

[Custard]

Seeing as they're sticking out a best of, maybe it's time for a new thread

I really loved them when they first appeared. Rollicking, visceral, real simple rock n roll tunes, with just rip roaring guitar and manic drums.

It still sounds brilliant now, but back then I'd never really heard anything like it. I was 20 and living on a solid diet of Oasis, Radiohead, Pulp, and similar. Hearing this slightly off-kilter bluesy rock band from the Americas was revelatory to me

I loved their fabricated brother and sister back story, their red and white outfits, the fact that no one really knew much about them. Astonishing stuff

I love all their albums, and was gutted when they split, but least it was amicable and they went out while they were still great. A brilliant body of work to discover or return to.

The live album/dvd Under Blackpool Lights could be their absolute peak. Jaw dropping stuff. Great artwork too, but then they always had that

Quite a decent listing for the best of

Side: 1
Let's Shake Hands
The Big Three Killed My Baby
Fell In Love With a Girl
Hello Operator
I'm Slowly Turning Into You
The Hardest Button to Button
The Nurse

Side: 2
Screwdriver
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
Death Letter
We're Going to Be Friends
The Denial Twist
I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself
Astro

Side: 3
Conquest
Jolene
Hotel Yorba
Apple Blossom
Blue Orchid
Ball and Biscuit

Side: 4
I Fought Piranhas
I Think I Smell a Rat
Icky Thump
My Doorbell
You're Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)
Seven Nation Army

Might nab it on vinyl, as there aren't really many glaring omissions. Bit gutted Your Southern Can Is Mine isn't on there, but then it wasn't a single, and you can't have everything can you

[Ferris]

I still think they're brilliant. A fun rock and roll band that doesn't take themselves too seriously (apart from the times they do, for which I've already forgiven them). The live albums are also excellent, I have Under Great White Northern Lights on vinyl and it's great fun.

Not sure I'll bother with the best of though, already have your records lads.

[PlanktonSideburns]

Drummer who absolutely knew what time it was, elavated the material

Jack white is nothing without her, forever doomed to gurning rockschool tomflubbers by his success

If you've lost all of your THE CRAMPS records, or have never heard them like when I taped their John peel session, they're all right

But I mean, if you have access to the cramps, what is point

And I can get the cramps on my phone now, 24/7

The electric typewriter of shed rock

[madhair60]

i like them

[iamcoop]

Meg White is one of my favourite drummers of all time. What she does is absolutely perfect for that band.

[Pauline Walnuts]

I liked them. I don't really like them anymore, I'm not quite sure why, maybe due to the fact I can't stand Jack White now?


Oh, and they went right off towards the end, they started sound like solo Jack White albums, only with better drumming.

[Jockice]

Another Meg fan here. It's one of those strange things where her contribution might be minimal but it's absolutely essential. Got to admit though I saw them live when they were really hyped up but not yet massive and I found them quite boring.

[PlanktonSideburns]

Glad people are on board with the fun as hell way meg white drums

I've lots of drummer friends who don't understand it, feel bad from them

[famethrowa]

First time I heard of them, I was on tour with a bunch of older musos, all worshipping Steely Dan or Quincy Jones overproductions, and we were in the hotel room watching some live band Jools Holland style show. The guys had just been frothing about some soul singer rubbish that was on, backed by various LA session musos, when on comes The White Stripes doing Hotel Yorba. I was enraptured by these lo-fi rascals, it was sweet balm against all the schmaltz and syrup and "professionalism". They were real good but Jack is real annoying outside the band.

[The Mollusk]

As a lifelong lover of all things percussion, I've gotta chime in with my adoration for Meg. Her style is absolute and all-encompassing, and what it deliberately lacks in technicality it more than makes up for in raw, hypnotic passion which bleeds out in every beat. The more freewheeling style of a Bonham or a Mitchell just wouldn't sound the same here - it's a glorious blend of minimal songwriting delivered with maximal output, which serves as a perfect backdrop for Jack's guitar and vocal work, whether it be playful and light or cranked into screeching overdrive. You can hear every anguished drop of sweat or bright, beaming smile radiating off her playing, and you can see it in her face as well. Meg White fucking rules.

I still haven't ever got around to properly investing my time in their albums after Elephant but that one is utterly spectacular to me. "Seven Nation Army" is one of those tunes that was played to death, which is unfortunate, but you can objectively see why it received that treatment because it is a fucking barnstormer, oozing effortless cool that's just as well-suited to weekend goal-scoring montages on Match of the Day as it is to rambunctious boozy festival crowds and small town indie club nights with 2-for-1 deals on voddy red bulls.

I think my favourite White Stripes song has to be Ball and Biscuit.

[SteveDave]

I would've had "Handsprings" on there somewhere.

I saw them twice and both times they were extraordinary.

[George Oscar Bluth II]

Saw them live around 'Elephant' and it's still one of the best ever gigs. The noise two people could make was astonishing and I absolutely loved the interplay between the two, how connected they clearly were.

Meg took a lot of shit at the time didn't she? Weird that.

[PlanktonSideburns]

Saw them live around 'Elephant' and it's still one of the best ever gigs. The noise two people could make was astonishing and I absolutely loved the interplay between the two, how connected they clearly were.

Meg took a lot of shit at the time didn't she? Weird that.

Feel like a bloke doing what meg did would have had an easier time of it, the lack of 'chops' (horrible word) would have been written  of as punk

[Custard]

As much as I love them, they are one band I hope never reform. I can only see them growing in stature as the years go by, if they leave it as it was

Jack White does seem like a bit of a wally though, sadly. And so far his solo records haven't even come close to the brilliance of the Stripes. Quite like some of the output from The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather, mind

[The Mollusk]

I don't think it's likely that they would get back together is it? One of the reasons they called it quits was that Meg had become extremely anxious about touring and couldn't enjoy the gig experience as much any more.

[Custard]

You never know though! If someone threw enough money at them

I think I read that Meg is now married with a baby, so I can't see it happening for a fair while, if it ever does. I really hope it doesn't, though

[buzby]

I don't think it's likely that they would get back together is it? One of the reasons they called it quits was that Meg had become extremely anxious about touring and couldn't enjoy the gig experience as much any more.

I vaguely remember a story of a sex tape made by one of her exes being leaked around that time too,

[Custard]

The sextape wasn't her, apparently

Apparently the greatest hits is made up of the most streamed Stripes tunes on Spotify, which is a pretty good way of doing it I suppose

WOT NO BLACK MATH THO?!

They could've easily made it a 3 LP job. Candy Cane Children, There's No Home For You Here, Rag and Bone. I guess it has to stop somewhere!

[jobotic]

Me and my mate won tickets to see The Soledad Brothers do a Peel Session at Maida Vale. Can't remember much about it apart from going to a lovely pub beforehand, but Meg White was there. Said "hi", she was nice. She was going out with one them, and was on their first album, which Jack White produced. Preferred a few of those Sympathetic Sounds of Detroit lot to The White Stripes to be honest, but remember their first Peel sessions fondly. And the song they did with Holly Golightly.

Bit dodgy three white blokes naming themselves after three incarcerated Black Panthers, maybe I dunno.

[Pauline Walnuts]

The sextape wasn't her, apparently

Of course it wasn't.


The woman in that was banging in time.









(sorry)

[Blinder Data]

'Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine' should definitely be on their Best Of. What a tune.

[Pearly-Dewdrops Drops]

White Blood Cells is a 10/10 album, which I seem to remember thinking was their debut album even though it clearly wasn't. Diminishing returns from there for me, but still a very good and fun band.

[Custard]

Elephant was a great follow up though. Absolutely loaded with great tunes. I'd say that was the peak, those two records

Agreed on Girl You Have No Faith In Medicine. Blistering stuff

[Spiteface]

Jack White for me was up there with Billy Corgan in terms of guitarists that made me want to use a Big Muff.

Just that bit in the middle of Black Math where that FUZZ kicks in.

Haven't listened to them in a while. Might put Elephant on tomorrow...

[itsfredtitmus]

saw them on the cover of the mojo cover whilst buying a mask today
been listening to 7 nation army a lot recently for some reason too

[DrGreggles]

White Blood Cells is fantastic, really like the first 2 albums too.
Never really got into Elephant though, even though there's some decent tracks on there (most of which have been mentioned above).
Not sure I've ever heard Icky Thump.

[Hundhoon]

saw them at Reading festival 2002. they played before Janes Addiction, Perry Farell standing by side of stage dancing in a really camp way.
i didnt like that NME retro scene in 2001-2002 they were associated with but i always liked them,  saw them as bit of a minimal band , back to basics never retro. just a bit country.
Fell in love with a girl and dead leaves on dirty ground are my favourites, loved their music videos. 

[spaghetamine]

not listened to them in a hot sec but i will echo the general sentiment that meg is a legend and jack is a bit of an arse, love love love the odd occasion where meg sings, gorgeous voice 

In the Cold Cold Night

Passive Manipulation

[The Culture Bunker]

They seemed to hit big over here during my last year of uni, and a friend played that White Blood Cells album a lot. I thought 'Fell in Love With a Girl' sounded like Buzzcocks, and nothing else they've done has really gotten that much of a positive reaction from me since. During a three day trip to Dusseldorf in 2008, I must have heard 'Seven Nation Army' about 30 times, which was about 29 too many.

[Wonderful Butternut]

Feel like a bloke doing what meg did would have had an easier time of it, the lack of 'chops' (horrible word) would have been written  of as punk

Around the peak of The White Stripes' popularity Brad Wilk played the same drumbeat (boom snare. boom boom snare) for nearly 2 full Audioslave albums and didn't get the shit Meg White got.