The White Stripes – The White Stripes

20th Anniversary

The groundbreaking debut album from the Detroit duo The White Stripes celebrates its 20th Anniversary. Jack White (guitarist and singer-songwriter) and Meg White (drummer) 20 years ago released their debut record in 1999. Given this special occasion, it seemed fitting to talk about the band’s history leading into their creation of this unique self-titled album.

A LITTLE HISTORY

The White Stripes unofficially started on an unsuspecting day in 1997; Jack and Meg White (husband and wife) were in their attic. Jack White was recording something and asked Meg White, ‘Would you mind playing a simple beat for me?’ Meg picked up the drum sticks and played it. This exchange might seem insignificant but Meg never played drums until that moment. Jack White explains: “When she started to play drums with me, just on a lark, it felt liberating and refreshing. There was something in it that opened me up.” That sudden creative energy prompted them to create. They wrote “Screwdriver,” and days later created their band name. Jack talks about why he chose the name: “Meg loves peppermints, and we were going to call ourselves The Peppermints. But since our last name was White, we decided to call it “The White Stripes”. It revolved around this childish idea, the ideas kids have—because they are so much better than adult ideas, right?”

On July 14th, 1997, only two months after Meg first picked up the drumsticks they played their first-ever live performance at a Detroit bar. Jack White was on vocals and guitar while Meg played the drums. During this open mic at the Gold Dollar, they played early renditions of “St. James Infirmary”, and “Jimmy the Exploder”. After a promising performance, they were seen frequently at the Gold Dollar. A recording studio owner Dave Buick watched with great interest during these early shows of the white stripes. What intrigued Buick was the care and attention that The White Stripes had in their stage presence. The colors they used on stage we’re red, white, and black; Even their clothes matched this aesthetic. These striking color combinations would become synonymous with The White Stripes many years later.

After watching multiple shows Dave Buick offered Jack a deal to record a 7-inch vinyl. Jack declined at first, but after convincing accepted Buick’s offer. The White Stripes recorded “Let’s Shake Hands,” and“Look Me Over Closely,” the latter was a cover. After Jack and Meg recorded the songs in their living room, handed over the tapes to Buick to press into vinyl. Buick pressed a thousand copies, which the band sold at their shows. Eight months later: in October of 1998, they released their second single, “Lafayette Blues,” in a similar fashion. These two singles would be massively important to the future of The White Stripes.

With them playing locally and supporting other bands they gathered a small following but nothing substantial. Unexpectedly Sympathy for the Record Industry (Record label) contacted The White Stripes to finance their first full-length album. Amazingly “Let’s Shake Hands,” and “Lafayette Blues” Singles was monumental in getting The White Stripes album made. Sympathy for the Record Industry listened to these released singles and liked what they heard. With a record contract in hand, The White Stripes had enough money to make a full album. In January of 1999, they set their eyes on recording their debut records.

RECORDING PROCESS

Jack and Meg White booked only a handful of days at Ghetto Recorders. These days were spent recording in the “cold, amenity-free” analog recording studio that was in an apartment space in downtown Detroit. Jack White used vintage guitars and old equipment to retain a gritty and raw sound that was reminiscent of blues musicians in the 1960s. During the recording, Jack’s biggest inspiration musically was Sun House. Eddie James “Son” House was a preacher and church pastor in the 1920s. In 1927 at the age of 25, he turned to the performance of the blues.

In the documentary “It Might Get Loud” in 2009, Jack White talks about how Son House inspired him throughout this album and his career. “By the time I was Eighteen, somebody played me, Son House. This spoke to me in a thousand different ways.” He says “I…huh..didn’t know you could do that (make a song) just singing and clapping and it meant everything about rock and roll, expression, creativity, and art.”

This inspired the White Stripes to challenge themselves by limiting themselves to the number 3. Jack explains this number 3 philosophy: …”A big component of The White Stripes you know is constriction to force ourselves to create. Only having the red, white and black on any of the artwork or presentations of the aesthetics of the band…guitar, drums, and vocals… revolving all these things around the number 3. All these components force us to create”. The finished album is a stripped-down version of rock. You can hear influences of blues, garage rock, and punk. Jack and Meg White put a lot of work into their sound. People might look at it and go, “Oh, it’s just a drummer and a guitarist which is kind of deceptive because there’s a lot more to it than that. It’s about the passion and dedication to your art.

THE ALBUM

The White Stripes Self titled album marks an achievement for melding blues and punk rock into a minimalist creation. Each song is built around three main elements that make for the basis of each song.-Vocals, drums, and guitar. The simplistic thumping of drums and the wild high-frequency buzzing of a guitar are mainstays on many tracks. Using their limitations of being a two-piece band they played to their strengths for creating insanely simple but catchy drum and guitar riffs. The vocals slice through the drums and guitar offering a raw and wild sound to the already unrestrained album. Jack has even said, “I still feel we’ve never topped our first album. It’s the most raw, the most powerful, and the most Detroit-sounding record we’ve made.”All these combined are the core fundamentals of The White Stripes song structure. It’s quite fascinating that The White Stripes never had any growing pains realizing their signature two-piece sound. They had a clear vision for their debut album- raw and powerful blues.

MY TOP FOUR FAVORITE SONGS

CANNON: The lyrics are quite interesting in “Cannon”. A narrator describes an apocalyptic vision he sees: “Wheels turning’ Scratching’ And burning’… I saw guns Tanks, Cannon. ” Whats adds to this apocalyptic sound is opening guitar riff. It sounds like an unending guitar progression and I believe that this guitar riff signifies the Tanks and soldiers’ unending march of destruction. Later the narrator talks about the biblical John of Revelations:“…”John the Revelator wrote the book of the Seven Seals” The seven seals marks the second coming of Jesus and the four horsemen. This song describes a bleak future if we continue to live in sin. Ending the song the narrator asks: “Lord above, How can a man be evil?” The tanks and guns at the beginning of the song signal the end of the world, all because of the evil and sin of man. “Christ went down on Easter morning Mary and’ Martha went down to see “Go tell my disciples, to meet me in Galilee”. How can a man be so loyal to Jesus, to travel to Galilee just to meet their lord, but also destroy themselves with their sins? How is man evil?

“SCREWDRIVER”: It’s quite fascinating that this song was written the very first day The White Stripes were formed. This song delivers an incredibly memorable guitar riff that has a great contrast between the singing. .Jack explains the lyrics: “I’d got threatened that week, just walking up the street and [Screwdriver] was retaliation. This feeling that I owe somebody I don’t even know something, and at the same time, my life is threatened.” My favorite line is: “What if someone walked up to me and like an apple cut right through me. I’m not just gonna stand there grinning, Cuz I’m not the one who’s sinning.”

“SUGAR NEVER TASTED SO GOOD”: Jack White sings “Sugar Never Tasted So Good” with a quiet and restrained voice while playing this acoustic song. My favorite lyrics are: “ I felt just like a baby Until I held a baby. What a fool this boy can be” My take on these lyrics is that he felt like a baby, young, but after introspection, he feels the weight of the responsibility of having a baby. When I first listened to this song I mistakenly thought this was a song from The White Stripes later albums. This made me realize that they already knew what sound they wanted from day one.

“THE BIG THREE KILLED MY BABY”: If “Sugar Never Tasted So Good” was The White Stripes at their most tender and quite then “The Big Three Killed My Baby” is oppugnant to all that. Loud banging of drums and enraged vocals Jack White sings against “The Big Three” .“The Big Three” refers to Chrysler, Ford, and GM, the largest automobile manufacturers. In 1999 over a thousand people had died in automobile-related deaths in the state of Michigan and Jack White was fed up. “Why don’t you take the day off and try to repair? A billion others don’t seem to care” The Big Three weren’t fixing their automobiles that caused these many deaths and they do anything for cheap and easy money. ‘So don’t feed me planned obsolescence”. Jack ending the sound sings: ‘Well, I’ve said it now, nothing’s changed.” Jack Knows that this song won’t be a catalyst for change. The creative minds at “The Big Three” are lazy and won’t think of any solutions to this problem.

CRITICAL RECEPTION

The White Stripes Self Titled album was released on June 15, 1999, and was reviewed mostly positively. During this time The White Stripes were still an unknown band outside of Detroit and much of the media feedback came in two or three years after its initial release. This album marks the humble beginnings of The White Stripes’ journey towards worldwide success. In the intervening years after this album, the White Stripes would release two more albums, the latter breaking them into the mainstream.

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