helterskelter.ca

THE WHITE STRIPES
1999 - The White Stripes.
2001 - White Blood Cells.
2003 - Elephant.
way more Helter Skelter.

June 15, 1999 - 2019: 20 years of: The White Stripes.

Putting Detroit back on the map.

While MC5 and THE STOOGES spearheaded the proto-punk movement of the late 60s, it took a full 30 years for THE WHITE STRIPES, the world's simplest band, to make the Motor-City roar again.

There were not too many guitar-heroes in the mid-to-late 90s, a titled that was left to rot in the flamboyant 80s, but by 2003, you just couldn't look away at the musical-genius that is John Anthony Gillis AKA Jack White. THE WHITE STRIPES brought rock-guitar back into the mainstream with one riff, one single riff ...the leaders of a seven nation army if you will. And just like their heroes from the glorious foundations of classic blues to British heavy-rock: THE STRIPES rocked the house with the simplest tribal rhythms.

The "bro-n-sis" duo started right here with their 1999 debut, the basis of garage-rock: hard-hitting drums, loud guitars and a hold-on-to-dear-life vocals ...and that vibe, that live vibe, that explosive live vibe that swallows you into this electric performance. THE STRIPES's debut lo-fi record is just that: a raw organic jam !

Meg White's drums hit loud with massive headroom on the almost-heavymetallesque opening track "Jimmy The Exploder". "The Big Three Killed My Baby" is about the city's car-industry dominance of the second half of the century and it displays Jack's heavy stompboxed-toned guitar: pure and effective rock !

The slick bluesy licks of "Suzy Lee" elevates the band's street-creds by 100%, while the 1:54sec "When I Hear My Name" will again require proper ear-protection. 1-2-3-4: "Astro" is an all-frills obnoxious 2-note-riff-raff that will peel your face off, while "Screwdriver" is another energetic track that uses clever high-and-low dynamic build-ups.

The evident roots are present on: Robert Johnson's "Stop Breaking Down" uses the classic bottleneck-riff pattern to kick things into high-gear, while "Cannon" is another über heavyrock number with a borrowed middle-part in Son House's all-time classic "John The Revelator"

Fact:
THE WHITE STRIPES saved rocknroll at the turn of the new millennium. Jack was a local struggling indie-rocker ...and in a mere 20 years turned into a hip scene-leader in not one (THE WHITE STRIPES), not two (THE RACONTEURS), but three (THE DEAD WEATHER) full Grammy-winning and Platinum-selling bands and then Billboard-Charting solo-career ...but also record-label exec, studio-engineer, record store owner and record-plant operator (Third Man Records) with offices in both Detroit and Nashville. Rocknroll's busiest man, a full 360° artist and entrepreneur, a unique guitar-hero.

III

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Broken Bricks = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3alD9PPvrYA
The White Stripes = full record
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqtVUGMZFEU&list=PLJNbijG2M7Ozxvs79JgfzAfwnY5o3fNid
Live in 1999
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPwc6l9Ids4
TMR shop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0zjgva-p88
TMR event
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPGK84Yuihc
TMR plant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF4A4wdnXkU

July 3, 2001 - 2021: 20 years of: White Blood Cells.

The alternative to alternative.

Welcome to the new millennium, we've survived the eclectic 90s and finally loud-rock is back. Numeric-technology is here, yet our two-some terror still stick to the classics. Analog two-inch tape, large headroom drums, vintage pedals and ribbon microphones ...nothing is spared in this retro 60s setup.

Detroit's dearest delightful duo are back for a third slab of hard-hitting crude rocknroll.

The party starts with "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground", an overdriven almost 70s doom-rock track, which is a 90° to the happy bus-ride-sing-along beat of "Hotel Yorba". The legendary Detroit skid row hotel still stand on West Lafayette Boulevard, inches from the Canadian-border.

More heavy-rock is present on "Expecting", some doom-rock with "Aluminum" and the decibel-decadent "I Think I Smell A Rat". The blues rear it's ugly head on "I Can Learn" and "The Same Boy You've Always Known". Welcome inside the "Little Room", 0:50sec of Jack and Meg free-style mayhem and another folk sing-along makes an apparition in the adorable "We're Going To Be Friends".

And finally, the slam-dancing starts on "Fell In Love With A Girl", a 1:50sec burst of punk-energy. A shorty filled with strength beyond strength attitude, this BLACK FLAG-like rips through the stereo like a rabid Tasmanian devil.

See matching video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTH71AAxXmM
and the making of:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzebYFxuB-A

RIAA-certified Platinum, the harmonious / cacophonous White Blood Cells CD solidified THE WHITE STRIPES has a genuine rock-band, in a very crowded grungy scene.

Be warned, these lovely siblings were on the verge of being hijacked by the ravaging hipster-doom trend, as 2003 would break the band into Grammy-territory, with one of the world's most revered guitar-riffs.

III

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Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OyytKqYjkE
Hotel Yorba = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZPEUyiNcjA
Fell In Love With A Girl = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTH71AAxXmM
White Blood Cells = full record
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNDWo0y87IM&list=PLC80P4gsPr-b2Y_1TngjlWT5umQJGn1jX
Hotel Yorba overview
https://www.google.com/travel/hotels/s/ykusG
Interview in 2001
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SacXooFU6Ho
Live on Letterman in 2001
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JEpyokXCcI
Live in NYC in 2001
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWBPYLIEWSs

April 1, 2003 - 2023: 20 years of: Elephant.

Time for another game-changer.

It's been too long since this sterile scene had a serious face-wash. After their 2001 White Blood Cells CD, the grass-root took notice ...and it was now time for the mainstage. From the garage to the Grammy, the machine rolls on full steam as THE WHITE STRIPES were now, the hottest ticket around.

Speakers melt from the almost metal "Black Math" to the Herculean stomp of "The Hardest Button To Button" ...never a dull moment. From the eclectic ecstasy of "Little Acorns" to Meg's icy performance of "In The Cold, Cold, Night", this is one ride you'll never forget.

Expanding their horizons, we now get piano pizzazz of "I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart" and a special hard lounge-version of the Chuck Jackson / Dionne Warwick / Dusty Springfield / Isaac Hayes classic "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself". The earthy blues of "Ball And Biscuit" keeps the room warm, until the gang sing-along closer "Well It's True That We Love One Another".

...and now, the riff:
Crafted in the spur of the moment during a sound-check, a simple pentatonic E minor riff became a worldwide juggernaut. After the early 70s "Iron Man" and "Smoke On The Water" and early 90s "Enter Sandman" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" crusher, this one is now an obligatory staple in guitar-learning. Part doom and part revolution-rock, the repetitive mechanical beat is a now stellar rock-icon. The hypnotic "Seven Nation Army" has since crossed-over to the mainstream. A melody almost as common as "Happy Birthday", the cut found a welcoming home in sport-stadium events around the globe. It's been twenty years and still no riff has captured the essence of both the innocence and rage of American rocknroll.

It's 2003: the overdriven electric-guitar was cool again, ready to be assaulted by a new generation of disgruntled youths. From indie-rock to RIAA-certified Platinum, the now both Billboard and NME revered Elephant was the elephant in the scene you just couldn't notice. THE WHITE STRIPES conquered every step of the ladder, their way.

Flying high with his Airline guitar, Jack along sister Meg would break eardrums and break the bank again, with 2005's suave sonic sonata Get Behind Me Satan CD.

III

*
The Hardest Button To Button = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4dx42YzQCE
I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzDG0jA3XVY
Seven Nation Army = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J2QdDbelmY
Elephant = full record
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_QLxj8jCF0&list=OLAK5uy_lSlpCTGU6SqP4ryd4Fo1byPnN1RJj-XPg
Interview in 2003
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqDkjNeZMGs
Live in Sydney in 2003
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCIjWXyGXgU
some guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH5Y9-xj8NQ