why do so many idiotic critics and rock fans say the white stripes play the blues?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

they dont. they play blues-rock. which might be splitting hairs, but i dont think it is.

they learnt their blues through led zep and the who and the stones and whoever else, not directly through muddy waters and robert johnson and co.

how they learnt it isnt that important though, whats more important is that they play bluesy rock, not blues. isnt it obvious?

― pedanticbluesbore, Wednesday, 8 June 2005 11:50 (twenty years ago)

What idiotic critics say the White Stripes play the blues?

― RS (Catalino) LaRue (RSLaRue), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 11:54 (twenty years ago)

I'm not a great lover of rock critics, but I've never seen any of them say that, and I can't imagine most of the ones around here doing so.

― RS (Catalino) LaRue (RSLaRue), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 11:55 (twenty years ago)

The white stripes, you say? I'm not familiar with their work.

― geyser muffler and a quarter (Dave225), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 11:55 (twenty years ago)

they sound like g love and special sauce minus hip hop

― hmmm (hmmm), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 11:57 (twenty years ago)

Oh, so blues-rocky, then?

― geyser muffler and a quarter (Dave225), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 12:07 (twenty years ago)

can blue stripes sing the whites?

― zappi (joni), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 12:10 (twenty years ago)

These rock critics grew up thinking The Edge played the blues.

― Mark (MarkR), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 12:29 (twenty years ago)

"Death Letter" is a blues, however.

― Keith C (kcraw916), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 12:42 (twenty years ago)

I'd never claim to be any variety of Blues expert, but I'm relatively certain Jack White's appreciation for the Blues extends beyond Zep and the Who. And so what if those were his starting points?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 12:44 (twenty years ago)

Exactly. Almost no one listens to Robert Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson and THEN finds out about Led Zeppelin and Cream. Jack's name-checked plenty of the old masters in interviews.

― Keith C (kcraw916), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 12:54 (twenty years ago)

Keith and Alex NYC OTM.

Jack has said his favorite songwriter is Blind Willie McTell, and the Stripes have done amazing covers of songs by McTell, Robert Johnson, Son House....in addition to Louis Armstrong, Bob Dylan, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and others.

And I'll take his cover of Johnson's "Stop Breaking Down" over the Rolling Stones' version any day of the week.

― PB, Wednesday, 8 June 2005 13:39 (twenty years ago)

THE BLUES IS WHATEVER WE SAY IT IS!

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 13:56 (twenty years ago)

And I'll take his cover of Johnson's "Stop Breaking Down" over the Rolling Stones' version any day of the week.

good lord yes.

― Lee F# (fsharp), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 13:58 (twenty years ago)

I thought "Blues-Punk" was the most succinct description of them I'd ever heard (whoever said).

"Blues-stripped-down-to-a-ridiculous-minimalism,but-not-metronomic" being ... less memorable. Punk is kind of a misnomer obviously.

― fandango (fandango), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:00 (twenty years ago)

"Blues-stripped-down-to-a-ridiculous-minimalism,but-not-metronomic" being

lots of blues was already stripped down to a ridiculous minimalism if you ask me....robert johnson could've used a drummer.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:02 (twenty years ago)

the Stripes' punk influence is pretty slight

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:03 (twenty years ago)

and oddly limited to riot grrrl

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:03 (twenty years ago)

Jack White can talk all he wants--I don't really hear his influences that much on his records myself. He just sounds like a guy who's making simple records for whatever reason, unfinished-sounding kind of records. I think citing your myriad influences while not sounding one bit like what you claim you sound like is a great and venerable rock tradition--the Beatles did the same thing. You say that was your Motown song? Wha?? Wilson Pickett, because you used a cowbell? That's great. I think Jack White is good, writes good songs and all that, but I don't care about his records one way or another because there's no interaction in them, they always seem kind of lifeless to me, whether it's the lousy drumming or whatever. I'm one of those boring people who thinks he ought to get in there and make a proper-sounding record and quit fucking around.

― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:09 (twenty years ago)

I have never seen a description of them playing the blues. What most critics will say (rightfully) is that their music is mainly blues based, and that is something anyone with a couple of ears is able to hear.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:10 (twenty years ago)

xpost - "Blues-stripped-down-to-a-ridiculous-minimalism,but-not-metronomic" being
lots of blues was already stripped down to a ridiculous minimalism if you ask me....robert johnson could've used a drummer.

-- M@tt He1geson

That was meant to say "PUNK-stripped-down"

Guess why I'm not a music writer!
But it still doesn't apply well. I don't think many punks had fetishes for vintage amps & pure analouge quality myself.

― fandango (fandango), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:13 (twenty years ago)

why do so many idiotic critics and rock fans say wolf eyes play noise?

― Cool Hand Luuke (ex machina), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:26 (twenty years ago)

the Stripes' punk influence is pretty slight

They once covered a Gun Club song........so there's that.

― PB, Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:33 (twenty years ago)

Haha.. I'd been wondering that, based on a utterly prejidical download of exactly one Wolf Eyes song which was 'Stabbed in the face'.

I was like... huh? So basically accessible verse-chorus-verse structures + lots of atonal clanging + boring, boring testostoronal screaming = "noise"?

I thought I had misunderstood what it was about. Although I heard Nic Endo's "White Heat" soon after and understood pretty fucking quick. Ouch. Blimey.

― fandango (fandango), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:35 (twenty years ago)

xpost: Gun Club was a blues-influenced band, yeah

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:41 (twenty years ago)

Jack White is always talking about blues artists. I just thumbed through a Hubert Sumlin biography the other day, and there was Jack White talking about Sumlin's singular tone. Add to that all the Delta and acoustic players from the 30s and 40s he's enamoured with.

The Blues are a huge part of the White Stripes sound.

― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:45 (twenty years ago)

I was like... huh? So basically accessible verse-chorus-verse structures + lots of atonal clanging + boring, boring testostoronal screaming = "noise"?

Wolf Eyes rarely use "verse chorus verse" structure and scream way more often in concert than they do on album.

― h@#fh.c, Wednesday, 8 June 2005 15:56 (twenty years ago)

Far more legitimately blues-influenced than most of the so-called modern blues (Stevie Ray Vaughan, etc.), in my opinion. If you listen to the slide work, it's pretty noticible, especially if you reference acoustic delta blues. Also, having read some interviews with Jack White, he's far beyond a casual listener, and knows what he's talking about.

― John Justen (johnjusten), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 16:02 (twenty years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.