Oh, also White Stripes appreciation thread
 

As far as mainstream (kinda) modern rock/roll that actually winds up on the radio, the White Stripes are pretty much as good as it gets. (strictly speaking of popular rock, here)

I can't believe how interesting they managed to sound with only two instruments and a rather limited general sound (garage rock), or how heavy they were. I also can't quite wrap my mind around how awesome a guitarist Jack White is.

I know- they're a pop band and everyone knows about them. But so what? At least a FEW of those bands have to be good.

Stripes are one of'em.

I saw Pavement in 2000 also, and yeah- I wasn't blown away.

I'm a moderate Pavement fan (as in, I love the first three albums + Westing) but hearing some of my then favorite songs stumbled through by five bored-looking poorly dressed geeks was not exactly the thrilling experience I was anticipating.

I saw the Stripes three times (I think) between WBC's and Icky, and they just plain brought it. Earlier on, in the club shows, the sheer heaviness was particularly palpable. But they could even fill ARENAS with that sparse little arrangement they had.

There are plenty of Stripes songs I don't love, or skip thru, but on the whole, they had a much better career than any of their contemporaries.

Yea seriously, remember when they guys were actually thought to be on the same level as the stripes?




Anyway I always loved the white stripes I just remember being so happy hearing fell in love with a girl, loving it and then being amazed that the group was being widely accepted by the radio. They proved you could still kick ass within the mainstream, if you didn't get to see these guys live ever you really missed out.

^ why so much hating on the vines?


Anyways.....destijl luv. I haven't listened to much after Elephant....I don't know why...maybe I should....oh well.

I have always thought White Stripes is a poor man´s Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. JSBE was the first band in that genre and also the best. White Stripes have some great songs but all the albums I´ve heard are too mediocre to me. I say listen JSBE instead.

"Offend in Every Way" is an amazing song

i read
the olson twins appreciation thread

"The Union Forever" quotes fucking Citizen Kane. Plus they're color-coordinated. How classy can you get?

If you need to ask, my friend, you're lost.

Indeed.

A band I've tried to like on a number of occasions, but never with any success. I lump them with The Cure and The Pixies as bands that other people like, for reasons I can't quite fathom.

remember that (fake) sex video of Meg?

I remember reading, back in '01, some SPIN writer's verbal diarrhea saying the Srokes and Stripes were the new Beatles and Stones....

Baha!

As it turns out, the White Stripes are more like the Beatles than the Strokes (who strike out almost always, but have three or so great songs) ever were, even during the Is This It? explosion. How? Well, the Stripes, like the Beatles, had a definite and elemental look and feel. They started out as experts in simplicity, making just plain right-on pop songs, just like the Beatles. "Third Man" is like "Apple".... both bands expanded on their initial perfect-pop sound with the addition of psychedelics and bizarre experimentation. Granted, the Stripes are no Beatles... but they're closer to the Beatles than the Strokes, especially now that their career is over and we can look back at the non-stop stream of hits they released, and critically acclaimed, platinum selling albums, each of which built upon the last..... Except for Icky Thump, which was great record, but more like a return to their original sound, only thicker and with more color and radiance.

Also.... some asshole at pitchforkmedia.com said, in 02, that the BLACK KEYS were better at playing the blues, and shamed the Stripes. The Keys, he said, delivered TRUE "delta" blues, while the Stripes were just some "mid-western rich-kid interpretation" of it.
Bullshit.
The Stripes are not a blues band, they're a rock band, in the tradition of the Stooges, and they came from motherfucking Detroit, a city whose only real benefit to society has been garage rock (Stooges, MC5).
The Black Keys are JSBX and Stripes imitators, blatantly. I can't believe how loved they are by the populous. They write bullshit stoner rock that has nothing to do with the blues. Anyone with eyes and ears can see that they're just the Stripes without character, talent, muscle, or red and white.

I like the Black Keys more than Stripes altough I´m not a big fan, I have only Brothers. In my opinion Brothers is much stronger entity than any of Stripes albums I´ve heard.

The Cure is great and Pixies is good!

The Cure is godlike, and the Pixies were brilliant and eccentric.

I still really love the Pixies, but none of their material gets me going like it did when I was 15.

Eh... difference of opinion, I guess. White Stripes came first. White Stripes were more interesting, and Jack White is definitely a better guitarist and song-writer than what'shisname from the Keys.

I haven't heard a lot of Keys, but to me they seem like a slightly blusier Fu Manchu or at best QOTSA. It's stoner rock, more influenced by Sabbath than Zeppelin.

Show me some of their good shit and maybe I'll at least tip my hat to them. As of now, they're just sitting in Jack's massive shadow, and always will be unless I'm shown something worthwhile.

Plus, the Keys have become a mainstream party rock band. Also, whenever I say their name I feel like I"m saying "Blackies", and that's weird.

To me is still the same is music mainstream or not (whatever the mainstream is).

I don´t believe you will change your opinions when you heard these (I don´t have need to change it anyway, it´s just positive people have different opinions) but here´s some of my favourite songs from brothers (although I think there is no bad song in that album):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5SHOX6eomk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iacm...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymwLv...eature=related

As I said, I don´t think they´re great, I think they just make quite enjoyable music, nothing new (like for example Warpaint).

I am a huge Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath fan. I´m not a huge stoner fan, but Kyuss is just great! I also like some Monster Magnet albums, don´t like Queens of Stoneage that much, but their desert sessions 9 & 10 is just great! (there´s Pj harvey also). I think there´s no genre where I like all it´s bands, but there´s not genre that´s music I don´t like at all.

Although I first started that "who was first" I don´t think it is essential. And White Stripes is not first band with only guitar and drums, there was for example band called Deja Voodoo at eighties (the guitarist has only four strings)!

I think Black keys is mix of JSBE and Lenny Kravitz.

Yeah, I saw the show in Baltimore.

The audience actually BOOED the White Stripes, who were unknown at that point. After "Jolene" someone yelled "Fag!"

I bet the fuckers who booed eventually became fans and nowadays tell people, "Yeah, I saw them back in the day. I was into them before anyone else."

And yes, I think every Pavement memember was drunk and would've rather not been on a stage playing music.

People here sure are dissing Pavement during what the band admits was them falling apart because they were about to go on hiatus and just not giving a shit anymore.....

Well, I grew up with Pavement. I can't really dis them, as they have been such a mainstay in my life, but their live shows and overall attitude really shifted after the incredible Wowee Zowee. BTC has its moments, and I enjoy Terror Twilight, but they've got nothing on their first few records. And they really disappointed every time I saw them

You ate diarrhea and shat out ramen?

Yup. That is definitely what you said. ;)

White Stripes were the first band I saw live. They were OK. At the time I felt they were better live than on record...I still think this is mostly true.

And Pavement always sucked, period.

Yes. Anytime I hear something even remotely OK by Pavement, it just makes me want to listen to a Modern Lovers record instead.

^ I'm so over my Pavement phase, but Anne, I thought you'd at least appreciate Malkamus' utter nonsense lyrics.

Is this a joke? The only way Pavement could have been a good band is if someone confiscated S.Malkmus's pen and paper. Better still, they should have kicked him out of the band altogether. Or he should have left like that twat Gary Young.

let'sbehonest, Slanted & Enchanted was their last great album.

Totally agree. A. Ashtray has expressed a dislike for meaningful lyrics, so I thought she'd find Malkamus' lyrics a fine antidote. That's all I meant.

I, myself, feel that he has NOTHING to say to the world. However amusing or clever the stuff was at first, after years of gibberish I've concluded that he's just a shallow man.

Fuck, where were you when I brought this up on a much earlier thread and took a ton of shit?

Ah ok, it makes sense. I haven't read that thread. Myself, Glice (the racist one) and some others have been saying the same for a while now. Malkmus is not only crap at writing lyrics, I think he's one the worst frontmen in a band ever.

I'll go as far as saying that Sonic Youth's association with Pavement has been an incentive for their attracting the sort of ''Should I like this or not'' indie wuss we see on this forum so often to their fanbase. Fragile little creatures that are so easily devastated by one's display of confidence it makes them question how helpful the hours spent on Pitchfork and mediafire have been for their psyche. You just have to read or look at Stephen Malkmus' interviews in his heyday to see what I mean.

Has anyone on this thread said that The White Stripes are shite yet?

i've listened to some of their albums, but i don't even remember any songs.

I wouldn't feel right if I didn't mention that I once had a pleasant five minute chat with SM, the topic of which was WASHING MACHINE, which he loved.

Has nothing to do with Pavement's music, of course, but at least he's not a cold cunt.

edit: Realized we talked about Washing Machine because not even SM has anything interesting to say about Pavement.

Don't bother. You seem like a fine conoisseur of hip hop. No need to waste time on this crap.

ps: EL-P's new album is indeed excellent.

edit - @louder

No, you're absolutely right. I haven't been a fervent Pavement fan in years and years, but I also don't give a shit if the current trend among elitists is to act like they weren't a great band.

Genteel, I see very little actual elitism or in-group trend hopping and judgment passing on this board from anyone other than you. You go out of your way to say things that reveal you to be a perfect example of the kinds of hypothetical people you complain about.

This board is chiefly occupied by adults, it seems. Why do you assume there are so many people here who are still motivated by the adolescent compulsion to only like what they feel they should like? You seem to think in these terms more than anyone.

If Pavement was a great band, why don't you like them anymore?

QED

I do. I don't listen to them as often as I did, but I still like them.

No type of lyrics, weird or otherwise, can ever fix terrible music. The only reason I prefer nonsensical lyrics is because I tend to not enjoy songs as much when they are obviously about something in particular.

Again, there are those lyrics that mean something to me. It's just rare.

This is something I was irritated about a few years ago. I remember feeling (and certainly it's a thing that does exist) that a certain demographic of SY fan tends to lean toward whatever other bands are somehow associated w/ the Youth. Not uncommon on any level to come across someone who listens to little else outside of the Dinosaur, Pavement, SY camp etc...despite whatever their age may be. This is no longer anything I find irritating. I just don't care.

If the objective of the music is the message, immediate turnoff. This isn't to say that there's never been a number of songs like this that I do enjoy (assuming the alternative would just be crazy), but it's rare. I don't tend to enjoy meaningful, heartfelt, thought provoking lyrics.