# Am I the only one who thinks the White Stripes are disgustingly awful? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 3, 2003, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-the-white-stripes-are-disgustingly-awful/192697 "2003-08-03T07:16:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-the-white-stripes-are-disgustingly-awful/192697/41 "2003-08-05T15:14:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Does anybody else think the White Stripes are a total rip-off of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion? Actually, I think they’re ripping off The Oblivians > **[AllMusic | Record Reviews, Streaming Songs, Genres & Bands](https://www.allmusic.com/)** > > AllMusic provides comprehensive music info including reviews and biographies. Get recommendations for new music to listen to, stream or own. The last time they played Memphis (September 10, 2001–ask me how I remember that date0 Greg Oblivian set up the show and they thanked him and the Oblivians from the stage. Jack White said “We’ve taken a lot from this scene.” But they’re not really “ripping off” anybody. There are several bands who have that sound. I’ve liked them since I saw them. I think Jack’s a great songwriter, and they really rock live. They’re just overexposed right now–how rare for an indie band to be called “overexposed”! I’m just happy someone has broken through the indie glass ceiling–that means there may be hope for the rest of the great bands out there. Most people who have chimed in on this thread saying they don’t like them seem to be put off by their style. Like Jon Spencer, Doo Rag, and the Oblivians, they’re primitivists\*. They came out of punk rock and noise rock and were heavily influenced by Delta blues–not B.B. King electric blues or Chicago Blues, but Robert Johnson / Son House / One-guy-with-an-acoustic-guitar-on-a-scratchy- 78 blues. A visual art analog would be like Grandma Moses or something like that–the emphasis is not on technique, which they would consider stifilng, but rather on rawness of expression. If you’re put off by that, so be it. Go back and listen to your Rush or your Yes. \*Or rather they USED to be primitivists. A couple of songs on _Elephant_ sound like Queen to me. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-the-white-stripes-are-disgustingly-awful/192697/42 "2003-08-05T15:22:35Z")
Yes, because everyone who doesn’t like the White Stripes listens to Rush and Yes. They’re just another flavor of the week band. Anyone else remember The Strokes? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-the-white-stripes-are-disgustingly-awful/192697/43 "2003-08-05T15:26:10Z")
I am inclined to go with **Sam Stone** , **gex gex** and **vibrotronica** - I love the White Stripes’ music, but can see that the over-hyping and the burdensome gimmicks would be off-putting. But they have great songs and sounds - hearing the slide work on “I Want to be the Boy to Warm Your Mother’s Heart” is great, and the leads on “Ball and Biscuit” are great, too. Jack White has a primitive sound and a calculating mind - sometimes it feels a tad pretentious to me, but again, I look to the songs… I think that Elephant is a truly great album, and my 3 and 5-year-old kids _love_ the intro to Seven Nation Army. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-the-white-stripes-are-disgustingly-awful/192697/44 "2003-08-05T15:34:03Z")
Ugh I can’t stand the 'stripes. 3000 degree loathing would be an understatement. Hopefully they’ll drop off the face of the earth in the next hour or so. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-the-white-stripes-are-disgustingly-awful/192697/45 "2003-08-05T16:06:50Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by Neurotik_ > They’re just another flavor of the week band. Anyone else remember The Strokes? The Strokes? Yeah, had an album out at the end of 2001, it’s been about two years since their last. They’ve been recording a new album and that’ll come out in the next couple of months or so (October 13 according to one magazine I’ve read, but I don’t know how accurate it is). Does a band have to release a new album every six months or you write them off as just another flavour of the week act? ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-the-white-stripes-are-disgustingly-awful/192697/46 "2003-08-05T17:32:22Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by gex gex_ > **The Strokes? Yeah, had an album out at the end of 2001, it’s been about two years since their last. They’ve been recording a new album and that’ll come out in the next couple of months or so (October 13 according to one magazine I’ve read, but I don’t know how accurate it is). Does a band have to release a new album every six months or you write them off as just another flavour of the week act?** Nope. Lots of good bands take years between albums. However, considering the media blitz that accompanied them, and how the _Rolling Stone_/trendy, indie, my-music-is-more-hip-than-you’re-music-and-if-you-don’t-like-my-music-then-you-must-be-tragically-lame-or-without-the-mental-superiority-of-me-and-my-kind, and how they were supposed to be the saviors of rock, etc., the only single they released that got a lot of airplay was _Last Night_. And then nada. Nothing. I heard that song on the radio every hour for a few months then never heard from them again. Now we have the White Stripes undergoing the same thing. Except I think they’ve had more singles. Incidentally, I think the White Stripes have magnitudes more talent than the Strokes. ---
**Author:** ![dimsie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/77aa72/32.png) [@dimsie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dimsie)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-the-white-stripes-are-disgustingly-awful/192697/47 "2003-08-05T21:01:53Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by gex gex \* > \*\* Now they’re stuck in the uncomfortable position of feeling fake by continuing the obviously untrue “gimmick” but unable to drop it because, after all, why should they?_\* You might be right about the brother/sister thing, but I think the red/white thing is deliberate, even now. It’s distinctive. It’s clever. From what I’ve heard, their stage show falls in line with the theme (Little Red Riding Hood cartoons between sets, etc). The variants they use - western gear and so on - keep it fresh. At least for the meantime. Neurotik, I am confused. Since when has Rolling Stone been ‘indie’? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-the-white-stripes-are-disgustingly-awful/192697/48 "2003-08-05T21:24:08Z")
You’ve got to get past the pretention, and listen to the music. “Ball and Biscuit” is a truly great song. So is 'Seven Nation Army". And a few others on the album are really good. That they do it with just a guitar and percussion is very impressive. And even the pretention is a staple of Blues/R&B. It’s part of the genre to create characters and play off them. Everyone from Muddy Waters through James Brown had a schtick that they used in their music. So I can ignore that stuff. Just listen to the music. Forget the hype. You’ll find it’s pretty damned good. ---
**Author:** ![Peach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/67e7ee/32.png) [@Peach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peach)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-the-white-stripes-are-disgustingly-awful/192697/49 "2003-08-05T22:16:07Z")
**Miller** _high five_ I love the White Stripes. They are a great band I still get chills listening to ‘Dead Leaves…’ . I love that guitar - so raw! ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-the-white-stripes-are-disgustingly-awful/192697/50 "2003-08-05T22:19:35Z")
Yeah, **Sam** , I’ve done that. Again, their music isn’t that great. It’s not bad, but it’s not really great either. And **dimsie** , I don’t think _Rolling Stone_ has ever really been indie, but the magazine annoys me so I threw it in there. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-the-white-stripes-are-disgustingly-awful/192697/51 "2003-08-05T23:39:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vibrotronica \* > \*\*Actually, I think they’re ripping off The Oblivians > > \*\* The only song I’ve heard sounds like a rip-off of “Cream”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-the-white-stripes-are-disgustingly-awful/192697.md?page=2)