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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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The White Stripes: The Aesthetics of Rawk
Wednesday 10 July @ 10:06:10 |
 by Celeste Tabora
What will be the claim-to-fame for today’s rock music generation? For the most part, today’s mainstream rock bands are the mutated byproducts of rock and roll genres that have already been established. Few genuinely new and avant-garde options are available to the public, almost as if Big Brother is sheltering us from music he feels we will not consume. It may be that our only hope for originality would be to try and reinvigorate what rock history has already given us.
For Detroit’s White Stripes, the chapters of rock history at issue are ’70s garage rock and ’60s blues-rock. If you were to ask front man Jack White (formerly of The Go) about the origins of their sound, you would hear about Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, the Yardbirds and Cream—perhaps even Cole Porter. And while such names would probably provoke blank stares from most of today’s MTV generation, the influence of all of those luminaries is fairly obvious to those familiar with rock’s past. But the ostensibly-brother-and-sister / actually husband-and-wife duo doesn’t claim to disguise any of this. They are certainly not doing anything new, only what their genre implies: rock.
The Stripes named their previous album, De Stijl, after the early 20th-century Dutch De Stijl art movement that brought art back to its simplest parts (and that later had to be abandoned because it just couldn’t get any simpler). Simplicity is something of an organizing principal for the Stripes, and one can’t begin to describe their fusion of rock remnants without mentioning their reductionist approach to their art.
They beat that saying into the ground with their latest album, White Blood Cells: Sixteen repetitious tracks of undressed electric guitar that tries to outdo itself with each loud garage rock blast; happy-go-lucky vocals that sound hoarse from over-rehearsing; and sparse organ and piano parts, all above aurally anorexic drumming. While Jack’s technique of strum-plucking (it’s quite odd, you’ll have to see it) is impressive and complex, his lyrics are the antithesis of his guitar playing: Straight and to-the-point, his words are performed with the angst of a disgruntled Cheapo employee. Listen to “Fell In Love With A Girl” or “The Same Boy You’ve Always Known” for a taste.
Casual fans of the Kinks or Television would embrace the White Stripes sound (die-hard fans might consider what they do theft, and not flattery), as would those who can appreciate the likes of various rock acts from The Stooges to The Strokes. But just about anyone in search of a good time can appreciate The White Stripes’ live show. Their “don’t give a rat’s ass, let’s-rock” demeanor can infect an entire room full of people. They’ve made even the most difficult arms-usually-crossed crowd lose their inhibitions and go wild with movement. It’s that kind of let-loose fun that makes their upcoming Main Room show such an eagerly anticipated event. After all, everyone loves a no-brainer good time.
So what about the White Stripes’ importance to today’s music, you ask? I think the Stripes’ take on music is something like Andy Warhol’s approach to art—particularly in his notion of art being more of a concept than a product. Think of Warhol’s immortalizing of simple images, so omnipresent as to be clichéd. Then think of Meg and Jack’s music “re-popularizing” blues/garage music for today’s generation. You may be able to digest their contribution to popular culture, and even appreciate their De Stijl approach to songwriting. The White Stripes are not innovators, but great translators.
The White Stripes play Sat. July 13 in the First Avenue Main Room with Clone Defects and The Dishes. Alas, the show has bee sold out for a while. 6 p.m. 21+. 701 First Ave. S., Mpls. 612-338-8388
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