However, classifying the White Stripes as two kids in a stellar live band in no way describes their curious career arc and often contradictory aesthetic. “The point,” says Meg, “is being a live band.” The technological metronome of the United States is obsessed with progress, so now you have all these gearheads who want to lay down three thousand tracks in their living room. “The last twenty years have been filled with digital, technological crap that’s taken the soul out of music. However, tonight they’ll play a blistering set at the Metro that won’t start until 12:55 A.M., and it will annihilate the molecules of Illinois’ air: They will do an extended version of a new song (“Ball and Biscuit”) that makes references to being a seventh son and includes a grinding guitar solo that’s shredded over the beat from Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” They’ll cover the Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun.”Įverything is raw and unrehearsed and imperfect.
The night before, the duo played the Metro club near Wrigley Field, and it was an acceptable 90-minute show. Drummer Meg mostly hugs a pillow and curls her legs underneath her body, hiding feet covered by rainbow-colored socks that resemble Fruit Stripe gum’s zebra mascot. They represent a sound (postmodern garage rock) from a specific place (downtown Detroit), and it’s a fascinating mix of sonic realness and media boondoggle.Īs we talk, guitarist Jack speaks in full, articulate paragraphs. Mixing junk punk and tangled roots music, singing some of the most complex love songs since Liz Phair’s heyday, the White Stripes have done what great rock bands are supposed to do - they’ve reinvented the blues with contemporary instincts. If you ignored their songs, you’d assume they were a novelty act: They wear only matching red, white, and black clothing, they have no bassist, and they’ve built their public persona around a fabricated relationship (they claim to be siblings, but they’re actually an ex-couple whose divorce was finalized in 2000 see sidebar). You wonder if you’ll end up being any different than everyone else, and usually, the answer is no.”Īctually, the answer is yes. You start asking yourself, ‘What are we getting from this? What are we destroying by doing this? Does it mean anything?’ So you try it.
The white stripes movie#
It was like being on the MTV Movie Awards.
“To be honest, I have a hard time finding a reason to be on the cover of SPIN. “We’re in a weird spot right now,” Jack says. He and Meg White are sitting on a couch in an überswanky hotel room in downtown Chicago, trying to explain how it feels to be a punkish underground band - with modest sales and an antimedia aesthetic - that has somehow become America’s most frothed-over rock group. All you music lovers out there will enjoy this for sure.Jack White flicks his cigarette ash into a glass of water. Unfortunately I never had a chance to see The White Stripes play live so seeing this meant even more. I might sound a bit overexcited but this truly is a beautiful documentary about two interesting, grounded, real and beautiful people. Jack White is definitely one of the most original and inventive musicians of his generation and listening to him being interviewed is always a treat. If you are a true fan of the band you will already know most of the things talked about in interviews, but if you are not, I am sure you will still be interested to hear how Jack and Meg approach their music, what inspires it, how they work on stage because it seems quite different from the approach of many other musicians. This film is perfectly shot, the combination of black and white and color footage was great, the tempo is perfect and it is emotionally charged as well. It offers an in-depth look of the band on their tour of Canada, capturing great live performances as well as interesting interviews. I believe that every fan of The White Stripes and music in general will appreciate this documentary.
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