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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2015 13:09:27 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2015 13:46:14 GMT -5
I have this album on my music shuffle for commutes, and to me it holds us as much as any other White Stripes album. I've always been a big big fan, though. "Death Letter" and "Hello Operator" are standouts in particular. |
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repulsionist
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Post by repulsionist on Jun 3, 2015 15:12:35 GMT -5
De Stijl (The Style) - Dutch art movement seeking what appears to most easily analogize as Platonic ideals of form. Begins
as a means of building furniture to express the movement/aesthetic. Jack White was a furniture builder, upholsterer.
I think White Stripes strive to abstract forms of rock'n'roll and blues to an ideal, and the art that is achieved in this
work reflects that motivation. Not a perfect form, but an emanation of that form that persists because it is a material
work that humanity can come back to observe intelligence observing itself. That's I(ntelligence)-cubed for those Discordians out there counting.
"Hello Operator" - Classic blues and Bob Newhart bit where a one-sided telephone conversation to the "operator" that can
reach the receiving party is sounding board for yearning. Rest of lyrics are bossy demands. All of which, in my opinion, is
a distillation of such blues/rock tracks Chuck Berry "Memphis, Tennessee"; The Band "Long Distance Operator"; and,
Andrew and Jim Baxter "Operator Blues".
"You're Pretty Good Looking For A Girl" - Distillation of all young punk 60s garage rock. Filled with cootie fear and hormonal
desire to bone. Riffs sound somewhere between early Who and most of the rockier tracks from Crypt Records' Back from the Grave
series.
"Little Bird" - again a reference/distillation/abstraction of blues lyrics and melodies.
"I'm Bound To Pack It Up" - Honing Led Zeppelin and delivering as a limning of ideal of form.
"Death Letter" - Perfection attained in original. Homage as obeisance.
You, you get the picture. Like this album. Never owned it. Started and stopped at White Blood Cells. That was
my "in". Like most of Jack White's other musical endeavors, and I am truly envious of the Third Man Records thang.
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Post by Pops Freshenmeyer on Jun 3, 2015 17:45:06 GMT -5
This is my absolute favorite White Stripes album, for so many reasons. Besides the debut, it is their rawest 'garage rock'-y effort, while still offering plenty of styles from song to song to song. Plus, there is something to love about the lack of polish on this, being so awfully lo-fidelity.
But I also think this is before Jack officially honed in on his bag of tricks. After "White Blood Cells," all of his projects -- including his work in the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather -- seem to have similar motifs - melodic ideas, mostly, not always lyrics - that pop up every once in a while. There isn't anything on "De Stijl" that immediately comes to mind that would be later referenced in his later work.
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Post by Lord Lucan on Jun 5, 2015 21:42:04 GMT -5
I never took to their particular brand of blues/garage rock, despite being an obviously talented duo. After listening to this and reflecting, I still have no insight into why. Just unmoved by it, I guess. I'm glad for the inducement to hear it, though, since I don't think I've ever listened to one of theirs in full. I did feel like replaying the particularly Zepplinesque "I'm Bound to Pack it Up". On the other hand, I don't think the jaunty vaudeville turn on "Apple Blossom" particularly flatters them or accomplishes more than displaying the breadth of their interests. As to the rest, I can imagine the appeal for others, though it seems it's not for me.
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eldan
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Post by eldan on Jun 7, 2015 18:11:58 GMT -5
This was technically the first White Stripes album I owned, though naturally I only became aware of them thanks to "Fell in Love With a Girl". I always liked this album a lot more than White Blood Cells because the latter has a pretty specific sound that the entire album sticks to. It has some of their most perfect garage rock tracks, but there's not much variation from that, whereas De Stijl is all over the place in a great way. The White Stripes always sounded better the more lo-fi they were, so that aspect of the album works great. Overall, Elephant is probably still the album I consider their best, but this one will always be my favorite and the one I still listen to most.
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Post by ganews on Jun 8, 2015 7:33:43 GMT -5
Finally back from conference and mostly done being sick: now I can participate in the review thread for the first winner I've ever picked! Now there's nothing but stray thoughts.
I don't think I've ever sat and listened to this album all the way through, but every track was on my shuffle playlist after I downloaded them in the good ol' pirate days after "White Blood Cells" came out.
"You're Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)" - Jack White sounds about twelve
"Let's Build a Home" - sounds like a precursor to "Black Math", which is in close running for my favorite White Stripes song
"Your Southern Can Is Mine" - I already appreciated the White Stripes sound, but this really sealed the deal for me. The blues were big in my house, and my family has gone to the Blind Willie McTell Blues Festival every year since it started in the early 90s. Same goes for "Death Letter".
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eldan
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Post by eldan on Jun 12, 2015 13:25:29 GMT -5
The blues were big in my house, and my family has gone to the Blind Willie McTell Blues Festival every year since it started in the early 90s. I've been considering going to that for years since it's only about 45 minutes away from me. Every year I put it off though. At least this year I was unemployed so I had a reasonable excuse. |
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Post by ganews on Jun 12, 2015 19:42:11 GMT -5
The blues were big in my house, and my family has gone to the Blind Willie McTell Blues Festival every year since it started in the early 90s. I've been considering going to that for years since it's only about 45 minutes away from me. Every year I put it off though. At least this year I was unemployed so I had a reasonable excuse. It's OK, not as good as it used to be since they expanded their scope to Americana-ish. I don't get down there every year any more, but last time I went a couple years ago Little Feat headlined and it was awesome. |
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eldan
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Post by eldan on Jun 13, 2015 1:58:11 GMT -5
I've been considering going to that for years since it's only about 45 minutes away from me. Every year I put it off though. At least this year I was unemployed so I had a reasonable excuse. It's OK, not as good as it used to be since they expanded their scope to Americana-ish. I don't get down there every year any more, but last time I went a couple years ago Little Feat headlined and it was awesome. That would've been awesome. Kinda sorry to hear it's moved away from blues, Americana-ish festivals are a dime a dozen around here these days. |
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Post by ganews on Jun 13, 2015 7:58:49 GMT -5
It's OK, not as good as it used to be since they expanded their scope to Americana-ish. I don't get down there every year any more, but last time I went a couple years ago Little Feat headlined and it was awesome. That would've been awesome. Kinda sorry to hear it's moved away from blues, Americana-ish festivals are a dime a dozen around here these days. It hasn't moved away, just expanded the scope. Most of the ticket is still solid blues. Worth checking out, especially when they get acts like Delbert McClinton. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2015 10:06:29 GMT -5
Unfortunately, I don't have a ton to say about this record--this band and blues-rock in general was never a favorite. However, I do have a few stray thoughts.
This era of The White Stripes interests me because of how it fits into the culture of the time. Looking back, early 2000s pop culture had a pervasive minimalist aesthetic, likely in response to the excesses of the go-go late '90s. Jack & Meg, through their sound and their design, certainly fit the zeitgeist as I see it.
I remember clearly when "Fell In Love With a Girl" and White Blood Cells blew up, as I was a college freshman and doing a show on my dorm's rinky-dink little radio station. The line in the music press then was that the culture was experiencing a "return to rock," though, even at the time, it felt like that all boiled down to the White Stripes and The Strokes' Is This It. Something always felt different about the The White Stripes, though, largely because of Meg's atavistic drumming.
The quality or lack thereof of her drumming was a source of a debate with friends throughout The Stripes' career. At some point, I read that Jack finds deliberately placing limitations of himself to be creatively stimulating, which was expressed in choices like never doing overdubs until Elephant, etc. After reading that, their sound made much more sense to me. Meg was never a versatile drummer, which presumably stoked Jack to push himself creatively.
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repulsionist
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Post by repulsionist on Jun 16, 2015 11:51:57 GMT -5
Unfortunately, I don't have a ton to say about this record--this band and blues-rock in general was never a favorite. However, I do have a few stray thoughts. This era of The White Stripes interests me because of how it fits into the culture of the time. Looking back, early 2000s pop culture had a pervasive minimalist aesthetic, likely in response to the excesses of the go-go late '90s. Jack & Meg, through their sound and their design, certainly fit the zeitgeist as I see it. I remember clearly when "Fell In Love With a Girl" and White Blood Cells blew up, as I was a college freshman and doing a show on my dorm's rinky-dink little radio station. The line in the music press then was that the culture was experiencing a "return to rock," though, even at the time, it felt like that all boiled down to the White Stripes and The Strokes' Is This It. Something always felt different about the The White Stripes, though, largely because of Meg's atavistic drumming. The quality of lack thereof of her drumming was a source of a debate with friends throughout The Stripes' career. At some point, I read that Jack finds deliberately placing limitations of himself to be creatively stimulating, which was expressed in choices like never doing overdubs until Elephant, etc. After reading that, their sound made much more sense to me. Meg was never a versatile drummer, which presumably stoked Jack to push himself creatively. I list the following hodge-podge of forgotten history with respect to minimalism/return-to-roots/return-to-rock below. Stripes and Strokes did blow up big time between 2000 and 2004, but the roots'n'roll has always been around. Just serially returned to prominence when a galvanizing record pops up, as you alluded to above. Crypt Records In The Red Records Man's Ruin Records Estrus Records |
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Post by Djse (and a Sack of Cats) on Jun 27, 2015 11:53:16 GMT -5
This is probably my favorite White Stripes album from beginning to end. Here are some scattered thoughts as I listen to the whole thing for the first time in far too long. (In under the wire!)
I remember "You're Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl)" hooked me right away when I first heard this album. It's just raw and fun and made me wish my sister played the drums. (Yeah, I know.)
I would like "Hello Operator" to be my theme music in the exaggerated movie version of my life. It would play as a garage door opened and I rolled out in some amazing vehicle that I can not afford in reality.
"Little Bird" and "Sister, Do You Know My Name?" (and most of the songs on this album, really) make me wish I was not terrible with a slide.
There's something terribly familiar about "I'm Bound To Pack It Up", but I'm not sure what it's reminding me of. There's a Zeppelin-ish vibe with a hair of Allman Brothers maybe?
"Truth Doesn't Make A Noise" sounds like it belongs on the soundtrack of the end credits of an indie western. Not a bad thing.
"Let's Build A Home" and "Jumble, Jumble" are super fun - they feel most like songs born from little riffs that showed up by accident during warm-ups at some point and got fleshed out enough over time to become <2 minute songs.
I imagine "Your Southern Can Is Mine" is the kind of song that could go on for an hour at the right sort of campfire.
I kinda miss this stripped down raw version of Jack White.
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