05. Jack White – Blunderbuss (2012)

Runtime: 41:52 (12 tracks)

“They’re Gonna Rip It Off”: Blunderbuss’ title track is a picturesque display of White’s lyricism at its most poetic. The Americana instrumentation sways, accented by a weeping pedal guitar, as White recounts a dream of forbidden love. Though some have interpreted the track to be about Jack and Meg’s relationship, the song transcends the personal with striking, romantic imagery (“An ancient grand hotel of Persian thread and ivory”). The song is soft and tender, a soothing front porch jam instead of a rough garage anthem. But inside the calm is an emotional blast deserving of the ballad’s name.

“Bored Rotten”: “Freedom at 21” is certainly not without merit. White’s anxious vocal performance coupled with the scornful lyrics about a past lover keep the song interesting. However, in an album full of breathtaking Americana instrumentation, the track’s discount “Seven Nation Army” riff is unfitting and uninspired. It’s a wonder that out of the entire Blunderbuss tracklist, this was the song chosen for Grammy nomination. Still, “Cut off the bottoms of my feet/ Made me walk on salt” is a great opening line.

“The Eyes Were Peeping”: The Dori Oskowitz-directed video for “I’m Shakin’” features a lighthearted sing-off between mirrored images of White accompanied by his two backing bands. While the black- and powder blue-clad bands face each other, the duality of the singer’s desire and anxiety is put on display. The faceoff is enjoyable, but the real show stealer is the young dancer who truly brings the 1960 rock & roll tune into the present with his effortless performance.

“It Bears Repeating”: “Such a trick pretendin’ not to be doin’ what you want to/ But seems like everybody does this every waking moment” — “Blunderbuss”

“Shut Up and Learn”: In terms of lyricism and musical arrangement, Blunderbuss is White at his finest. Themes of love lost, love desired, and love resisted ooze out of the album’s poetic lines as White deals with The White Stripes’ breakup and the emotional whirlwind of stepping out alone. White isn’t afraid to share his anxieties about necessary change both in his personal life and his music, singing, “The stones in the sky never worry/ They don’t have to hurry, they move in their own way/ But I have to choose what to do/ How to act, what to think, how to talk, what to say.” Despite this anxiety, White pushes himself wholeheartedly forward, shifting his color palette from an aggressive red to a pensive and vulnerable blue. The colors White paints with on Blunderbuss may be different, but his fundamental goal of creating something novel and timeless by remaining true to America’s musical roots is never lost.

–Chris Thiessen

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04. The White Stripes – The White Stripes (1999)

Runtime: 43:38 (17 tracks)

“They’re Gonna Rip It Off”: A bold and killer choice for a second track on a debut record, “Stop Breaking Down” is a rendition of Robert Johnson’s 1937 Delta blues song. The record starts with an original, as though introducing themselves, and immediately steps outside themselves with an infectious cover of a seminal track for an entire genre/style of music. It’s our first real taste of the duo’s musicianship.

“Bored Rotten”: This isn’t an inherently bad song, nor do the early White Stripes really have a song that is so awful that it should be blacklisted. However, the second half of their lesser records can tend to bleed together and become forgettable. “Little People” is when this record wanders off for a bit. The musicality is sparse and the lyrics, alluding to childlike innocence and then corruption, are repetitive and executed in only a blasé manner.

“It Bears Repeating”: “The big three killed my baby/ No money in my hand again/ The big three killed my baby/ Nobody’s comin’ home again.” — The Big Three Killed My Baby

“Shut Up and Learn”: The first White Stripes album is one made by a band that loves the blues and is trying to figure out what that means to them. In doing so, the band attempt to sound like everyone they love. The debut is dedicated to Son House (a notable American Delta blues singer), a record of whose was gifted to Jack White as a teen living in Detroit. (Jack White was also once tied to the church and had grown up as an altar boy on his way to becoming a priest, before getting a new amplifier he couldn’t take with him and deciding on public school instead.) The record begins with the heavy beating of drums on “Jimmy the Exploder”and showcases how much noise can be riled up by just two people. That noise being much more noticeable on this first album as the pair are still trying to figure out how to work with each other. The entire record, peppered with covers of Robert Johnson and Bob Dylan, is a spiritual dedication to many styles and sounds of their favorite music. There’s wailing vocals, devotional lyrics, and a preachy loud-hush-loud sound. It wouldn’t take long for them to figure out how all these pieces fit together.

–Samantha Lopez

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03. The White Stripes – De Stijl (2000)

Runtime: 37:31 (13 tracks)

“They’re Gonna Rip It Off”: “Hello Operator” is the second track off the record and starts with White’s powerful siren guitar sounds, which showcase the duo’s increasing confidence in their ability. It’s also a recording that accentuates how pivotal Meg’s role is in the band. De Stijl, especially “Hello Operator”, employs the juxtaposition of her deceivingly simple drumstick “solos” between Jack’s verses, which may seem trivial, but it really highlights the bombastic sound the two can achieve together.

“Bored Rotten:” Only a “bad” song on a record this good, “Jumble, Jumble” remains one of the most underwhelming tracks off the album. Returning home in just a little less than two minutes, it’s a forgettable track that doesn’t detract from the record’s larger theme and style in any major way. Thankfully, it just blends in with the rest.

“It Bears Repeating”: “I got a little bird/ I’m gonna take her home/ Put her in a cage/ And disconnect the phone.” — “Little Bird”

“Shut Up and Learn”: The record’s namesake stems from an art movement that began in Amsterdam in the early 20th century. The aesthetic combines cubism with neoplatonic mathematical theory to create a very minimalist artwork and architecture. It’s prevalent in everything Jack White does, particularly within The White Stripes: the clothing, instruments, cover art, etc. However, the aesthetic soon bled right into the structure of the music they made, starting with this album. De Stijl takes this art-thought to heart, creating 13 tracks that come together to make a killer pop-rock album; however, as simple as this music sounds, there’s a complexity derived from how much thought went into its production and how transgressive the record can actually be.

–Samantha Lopez

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02. The White Stripes – White Blood Cells (2001)

Runtime: 40:25 (16 tracks)

“They’re Gonna Rip It Off”: It’s 2001. You can’t get through even one issue of Rolling Stone, Spin, or whatever other music publication without hearing about some garage rock duo from Detroit. So, you go head out to your favorite CD retailer and purchase a copy of their new album, White Blood Cells, for $15.99. You put it in your Discman, and the searing distortion of opener “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” has you hooked, and by the time White’s ragged vocals have entered the fray, there’s no getting out. Every blast of guitar and cymbal smash has you nodding along to a modern rock song like never before. The White Stripes aren’t just hype. They’re the real deal, and they’re going to change your life.

“Bored Rotten”: “Little Room” is cute and surprisingly memorable considering how it’s just 50 seconds of Meg bashing out a consistent beat while Jack howls about rooms of various size before doing some scatting. It’s a fine buffer on an album stuffed with brilliance, but it feels more like a fun lark than anything.

“The Eyes Were Peeping”: “Fell in Love with a Girl” is so inextricably linked to its Michel Gondry-directed music video that it’s practically impossible to listen to the song without imagining Lego-fied White Stripes. What’s most impressive about Gondry’s video isn’t the concept or even all the painstaking work that went into animating Legos by hand; it’s how much filmmaking skill is shown through each euphoric transition and movement of figures across the screen as they cycle, dash upstairs, and swim. This ode to infatuation was fitted with a video that you’ll fall in love with over and over again.

“It Bears Repeating”: “Well, any man with a microphone/ Can tell you what he loves the most/ And you know why you love at all/ If you’re thinking of the holy ghost” — “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground”

“Shut Up and Learn”: White Blood Cells was the Stripes’ third album, and like OK Computer or Born to Run, it signals an absolute arrival of an artist/band, even if fans can debate about whether or not it’s their best. Even years removed from the garage rock revival of the early 2000s, it still stands apart. White and his “sister” put so much heart and attitude into this album, without coming across as cloying or glib. You can sing along to “Hotel Yorba”, rage along to “Fell in Love with a Girl”, and smile from ear-to-ear with “We’re Going to Be Friends”. Never on White Blood Cells do Jack and Meg ever seem confined by the restrictions of their setup or concerned about having to stick to one particular mood or sound.

–Brody Kenny

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01. The White Stripes – Elephant (2003)

Runtime: 49:56 (14 tracks)

“They’re Gonna Rip It Off”: What song but “Seven Nation Army” has the unbridled energy and fighting spirit able to unite indieheads, sports fans, dad rockers, and Egyptian government protesters? The Elephant opener finds White dealing with an antagonistic society spreading gossip at his expense. At first, White responds with fury and a singular drive to push through the noise with perhaps the most recognizable and aggressive guitar riff of the 21st century. By the song’s end, White is so fed up with the drama of “this opera” that he resolves to return to a simpler organic life away from the glaring spotlight. “Seven Nation Army” and its iconic hook have transcended White’s personal history, however, becoming a rallying cry for anyone seeking the courage to defiantly stare down their enemy and shout, “Go back home!”

“Bored Rotten”: Nestled between the Stones-esque stomp “The Hardest Button to Button” and loud and loose jams on “Hypnotize” lies “Little Acorns”, a sludgy jam that begins with a minute-long news bulletin. Broadcaster Mort Crim’s story about Janet and her search for courage and squirrels is immediately jarring, lifting the listener out of the baptism of distortion Elephant provides. Even when the songs kicks in, Jack’s adjuration to “Give it a whirl, be like the squirrel” feels out of place.

“The Eyes Were Peeping”: Once again, the Stripes teamed up with Michel Gondry to create a striking video for the album’s third single, “The Hardest Button to Button”. Gondry used 32 drum kits, 32 amplifiers, and 16 mic stands to create a stop-motion effect where the band duplicated with every kick drum like an old frozen Windows system multiplying all over the screen. Jack and Meg travel through streets, weave through subway trains, and oscillate like ceiling fans as the video becomes more surreal. The video may not necessarily add to the song’s narrative or themes, but the visuals are unforgettable.

“It Bears Repeating”: “I’m gonna fight ’em off/ A seven nation army couldn’t hold me back.” — “Seven Nation Army”

“Shut Up and Learn”: Rejection is a primary catalyst that has pushed rock and roll’s persevering spirit forward from Chuck Berry to the present. In 2003, it energized The White Stripes’ Elephant with a ferocity and gut-punching power that has hardly been matched in rock since. Throughout the record, White vents about colloquial elephants in the room, frustrations that have gone unspoken and unheard by those who wronged him. “I had opinions that didn’t matter,” White sings on “The Hardest Button to Button”, an understandable feeling growing up as the youngest and “seventh son” in a family of 13. But the rejections White felt in the past serve to fuel his resolve on Elephant, as he tells a lover on “Ball and Biscuit”: “Right now you could care less about me/ But soon enough, you will care by the time I’m done.” Later on in the track, White gets on his soapbox to “say one or two things about it.” But didacticism and verbal berating aren’t White’s way. Instead, he fills the entirety of Elephant with scathing guitar solos and intimidating riffs, allowing the music to do the shouting for him. To answer White’s question, yes, we get the point now.

–Christopher Thiessen