White Stripes: White Blood Cells

     Sometimes I can be a stubborn jackass. I lived in the Metro Detroit area during the Great Garage Rock Revival of the early 2000's and I missed it. My friends and co-workers frequently tried to get me to go downtown and check out The White Stripes. They told me all the crazy stories about Jack and Meg. They were already mythic. When "Fell In Love With A Girl" came out I LOVED it, but I still didn't go. I just hated going downtown. The few times I had gone downtown, I either got lost or had my hubcaps stolen or been panhandled. And trying to find somewhere to park was annoying. I was also in my thirties and married with children, so I didn't have the luxury of going to hang out at clubs in Detroit. Looking back, I wish I had...at least once. I never did see The White Stripes play live, nor have I seen any of Jack White's other bands. Maybe he'll change his mind some day and get The White Stripes back together.
     White Blood Cells is my favorite White Stripes album. One of my prized lp's is White Blood Cells on red vinyl. It looks and sounds stunning. "Fell In Love With A Girl" is one of the all-time great two minute songs and one of my favorite music videos. It has a couple of my favorite lines; "these two sides of my brain need to have a meeting" and "I must be fine cuz my heart's still beating". Here's my top three music videos.

1) Fell In Love With A Girl- White Stripes
2) Buddy Holly- Weezer
3) Pony Ride- Bumblebeez 81 (if you've never seen or heard it check it out on the Youtubes)

White Blood Cells has many other standout tracks including "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground", "Hotel Yorba" and "We're Going To Be Friends". I strongly recommend it to my kids. I also have De Stijl, Elephant and Icky Thump. If they like White Blood Cells, they should try these as well. Elephant is my second favorite. It's coming out on colored vinyl on Record Store Day this year and I'm thinking about getting it. This album features the tracks "Hardest Button To Button" (another great video), "Seven Nation Army", "Black Math" and "Ball and Biscuit". "Hardest Button To Button" is my favorite set of Jack White lyrics all-time. In addition, I have Jack White's Blunderbuss which incudes the awesome song "Sixteen Saltines".
     I've already written a post entitled "In Defense Of Neil Peart". At this time I'd like to defend Meg White. Her drumming gets crapped on even more than Ringo's and it's completely unfair. Meg's drumming style is perfect for the White Stripes' sound. She doesn't have to play like John Bonham or Keith Moon or Stewart Copeland to be effective. In fact, my advice to aspiring drummers is to find your own style.
     Finally, I haven't been posting much lately because I've been sick for three weeks. I'm starting to not feel like a crap sandwich now, so I should be posting on a regular basis again. Peace.