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Underground > Radio & Music >

The White Stripes - Elephant

17:54 / 02.04.03

The album's official release date has come and gone, so now all of us hipsters who got it off of Soulseek or whatever can talk about it without seeming cooler-than-thou.

So:

Resolve: Elephant: Best Rock record since....well, a fucking long ass time.

I love this record. As far as I'm concerned, I wouldn't change a bloody thing on it. The first three songs are bona fide classics. Even if the Stripes just wrote "Seven Nation Army" and stopped there, the album would have been a success, but then they followed it up with "Black Math," which starts off kind of "Fell in Love with a Girl" but then sticks in some ZZ-Top meets Sonic Youth buzzsaw guitar with Jack yelping over it in the middle. And then, the best song on the album "There's no home for you here," a virtual re-write of "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground," the best song from White Blood Cells, but with an overdubbed chorus of Jacks singing the title over a squealing guitar.

The rest of the album is mighty fine too, with standouts for me being "Ball and Biscuit," "The Hardest Button to Button" and "It's true that we love one another." I can't wait to see them live, and I believe that this will be one of my favorite records of all time. It certainly is my favorite record as of now.

Fun fact - in the newest issue of SPIN magazine, Jack White recounts a conversation with Keith Richards about appearing on TV, "selling out", etc. Richards allegedly said to White "In my day, you either came on before the elephants or after the elephants." What an ambitious title choice, then. (unless Jack White was lying to the interviewer about the Richards quote - but that would still be genius.

01:01 / 20.04.03

I forgot no one on Barbelith likes The White Stripes.

Elephant is a mighty record. I dig it big.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

02:28 / 20.04.03

i have yet to hear this album, bu i love the previous stuff, takes me back to my folk inspired childhood, full of great things like ancient sound gear and incest...um, no wait...

but yeah, i hear tell they did the whole album on 1960s era equipment, im dying to hear it, but i am quite broke...

Matthew Fluxington

03:17 / 20.04.03

I like the White Stripes all right enough. I just can't think of anything particularly interesting to say about them, and I've got a feeling a lot of other people feel the same way.

09:12 / 20.04.03

Yeah, I think so.

I think in and of themselves they're pretty good - especially their live performances (tho preferably not in an arena!).

But I don't they're anything that special - it's like they've been picked to be famous almost by a process of "we'd better pick up on one of these rockin' new garage-blues type bands - how 'bout that one?".

I thought "White Blood Cells" had some pretty fine songs, but had some pretty crap ones too. Got dull after a few listens - doesn't rock sufficiently. But I still like a live bootleg CD I've got. Haven't heard the new one.

I'm about to make an incredibly patronising and unkind comment, so retorts at the ready: I reckon the only people who'd praise the 'Stripes as "the best thing in rock" are people who don't listen to much rock..

Matthew Fluxington

11:24 / 20.04.03

I don't know about that - I think the Whites Stripes are the type of band which lend themselves very well to being a person's favorite band. They've got this whole self-made mythology, they've got a pretty deep catalog for a band that's only been around a little over five years, they've got a whole bunch of great songs, a terrific singer, and a certain timeless quality which will serve to their advantage later on.

They've got shtick, but they've also got a very specific aesthetic, and I think that's what makes them very different from the deluge of corporate "ROCK REVOLUTION!" bands. They've still got a lot of indie spirit in them, and they are in a position similar to Nirvana a little over a decade ago, with being able to impart some small bit of indie aesthetic to a massive mainstream audience. I think the rock world is definitely a lot better for having the White Stripes around these days.

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

13:45 / 20.04.03

I like them quite a bit now, I never did before, but I really quite like what I've heard of the new album. I think they're pretty fun.

And unlike the other great hope for "new rock" the Strokes, they've actually released records. Will anyone care by the time the Strokes get around to releasing something new?

Regrettable Juvenilia

15:25 / 20.04.03

The fuck? You think two years is too long a gap between albums?

Seriously, if more bands left it longer between records, we'd get less crap songs out there.

I didn't realise it was the perception that nobody here likes the Stripes. I kinda like 'em, but tell me this: am I the only person who thinks their new album sounds like Guns 'n' Roses?

Matthew Fluxington

16:38 / 20.04.03

I wish more bands were allowed to release as many songs as they wanted and stayed away from the 2/3/4 year model. Sure, you may get a lot of weak songs, but it allows bands to play around, write more songs, and progress artistically at a faster rate. Practice makes perfect, any everything.

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

17:32 / 20.04.03

Well no, I don't think two years is too long a gap between albums.

However, for the Strokes, I think it is. I think they've left it too long and spent too much time fannying about and partying and being superstars, and that by the time they release something new, they won't warrant any sort of superstar status. They were riding the wave of something of a fad in music, and so... yeah, I'd say that two years is too long a stop gap.

Of course, I am of the opinion that bands should release a couple new songs as singles in the "stop-gaps" between albums. You know? Like bands used to? To keep people interested in them?

Bands like the Strokes are just lazy. Most of the songs on their album had already been released prior to the album release, and it takes them two years from then to get something new out? Nah, I think they should try and be a little more like their heroes, Guided By Voices.

Sorry, I realise this is outrageously off topic, but jeez, it just bugs me.

19:27 / 20.04.03

>>> I the only person who thinks their new album sounds like Guns 'n' Roses? <<<

Seeing as I despise Guns n' Roses, and love Elephant - I'd say they're nothing alike.

See Flux, you DO have interesting things to say!

04:27 / 17.05.03

did anyone catch them four times in a row on conan?

Matthew Fluxington

04:57 / 17.05.03

I did. It was great.

And funny, too.

nedrichards is confused

14:40 / 18.05.03

Yes Elephant is good, yes it's better than White Blood cells. Yes the first 3 tracks are utter genius (for all the reasons above). Yet i still believe that De Stijl is better. Having only got to listen to it recently (after elephant) everything just sounds a bit fresher and more inventive. Of course they're still utterly amazing.

05:20 / 19.05.03

yeah, I recorded all four days. the part where their "mom" tells them to "tell everyone [they're] brother and sister." and jack says "but mom we are your son and daughter, we're brother and sister." and the mom's like "exaaactly" and the dun dun dunnnn with a slow close up on her.

connie rocks

they even did that country song and it was cool

08:52 / 19.05.03

agree with nedrichards, de stijl is the strongest release they have done, apart from that b-side cover of jolene which is breattaking and was live too

elephant just hasn't grabbed me in the same way, although 7 nation army and that track that comes on like voodoo child are great, and that song with holly goloightly at the end makes me smile

but what is this conan show ppl have mentioned above?

a

23:48 / 20.05.03

its a latenight show that has a freakishly tall host by the name of conan o'brien. on his show you'll likely see sketch comedy bits sometimes including a bear wearing a diaper that cannot go thirty seconds without masturbating or if conan hasn't forgotten he manages a boy band so aptly named dudez a plenty(yes with a z, and one member has a vanity respirator), uh why don't you just go here http://www.nbc.com/Late_Night_with_Conan_O'Brien/index.html check out the bob costas skit.

got to get de stijl.

whats m.o.t.? something to do with cars in the u.k.?

Matthew Fluxington

01:23 / 21.05.03

Wow. The way you describe Conan's show, you make a guy who is easily one of the funniest people to ever host a show in US broadcasting history sound very unfunny. I just want to point out that Conan has done literally thousands of shows in the past 10 years, and has been consistently hilarious from early on. His writing staff, his sketch actors, his former co-host Andy Richter, and his house band are among the best in the business. The show has an awkward, self-effacing charm, as well as a penchant for truly bizarre comedy.

If you've never seen his show, but are familiar with The Simpsons, it may help to note that Conan was the head writer of the Simpsons in its first few seasons (but not the very first season), and was a writer for Saturday Night Live during one of the show's peaks back in the late 80s/early 90s. Conan was also president of the Harvard Lampoon.

07:29 / 21.05.03

"The way you describe Conan's show, you make a guy who is easily one of the funniest people to ever host a show in US broadcasting history sound very unfunny." like it matters, I put the address there so they could see for themselves, but good thing you were around to set things right.

GOOOO WHITE STRIPES!

15:13 / 23.05.03

Heard a chunk of "Elephant" last night and, much to my annoyance, have to admit that it sounded pretty righteous.