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The White Stripes are a minimalist rock/blues duo from Detroit, composed of Jack White on guitar and lead vocals, and Meg White on drums. The group rose to prominence with the albums White Blood Cells and Elephant.
The White Stripes were formed in Detroit on July 14, 1997 (see 1997 in music).
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Early PhotoFor several years, even after touring with Pavement and Sleater-Kinney, they were a struggling local band. During this time, they released singles on various independent record labels including Sympathy For The Record Industry, the label for their first two albums.
Jack has described their eponymous debut album (released in 1999), as "...really angry...the most raw, the most powerful, and the most Detroit-sounding record we've made."
Their second release, De Stijl (2000), was named after the minimalist Dutch art movement which they cited as a source for the approach to their music and to their image. For a brief period before De Stijl was released, Jack studied fine arts at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, although he never graduated.
The album cover features a sample of De Stijl art in the band's signature colors - red, white and black. Those colors are also found in the duo's distinctive wardrobe. It is somewhat unclear why they chose those colors. In some interviews, the group has said that the colors red and white are from peppermint candy (representing childhood innocence) and the color black represents the equilibrium of the number three. Jack has also said that the colors are based on toys for infants, claiming that the colors red, white, and black are used in toys for newborns (because they are slightly colorblind when born). Even before forming the band, Jack was focused on a three color scheme. When he worked as an upholsterer, all his tools, his van, and his uniform were white, black, and yellow.
The number three also has a significance for this band, not only for their tri-colored uniforms but their three instruments: vocals, guitar and drums, although Jack plays organ and piano in the first four albums and marimba in much of the fifth. For live shows, the band does not rehearse or have a set list, Jack improvises frequently and often cuts a song short to jump into another.
Although Meg and Jack refer to themselves as brother and sister, they are actually ex-husband-and-wife and their divorce papers have been revealed online.
2001The White Stripes enjoyed their first significant success during 2001 with the release of their first major label album White Blood Cells. The stripped-down, garage rock sound drew critical acclaim in the UK, soon spreading to the United States and becoming one of the more hyped bands of 2002. In 2002, Q magazine named The White Stripes as one of the "50 Bands to See Before You Die". The Lego-themed video, directed by Michel Gondry for the single "Fell in Love with a Girl" off White Blood Cells, brought them wider attention.
Their follow-up, entitled Elephant, was released on April 1, 2003, again to widespread critical acclaim, and even more commercial success. Elephant became The White Stripes' first UK chart-topper and US Top 10 album. On February 8, 2004 the song "Seven Nation Army" won a Grammy for Best Rock Song, and the album Elephant won for Best Alternative Music Album. It was recorded with Liam Watson at Toe Rag Studios, London. Every instrument used to record the album was older than both band members. "The Hardest Button to Button" proved to be another popular single off of the album as was the cover of "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself", originally by Burt Bacharach. The release of Elephant continued a formula for White Stripes albums begun with White Blood Cells: the first song is a single, the sleeve contains odd photographs of the band members (dominated by red, black and white) together with a strange essay contributed by Jack, and the last song is moderately tongue-in-cheek.
In 2003, Jack and Meg White appeared in Jim Jarmusch's film, Coffee and Cigarettes in a segment entitled "Jack Shows Meg His Tesla Coil".
Released in 2004, the Under Blackpool Lights DVD has a special treat for fans who collect their bootlegs; it contains every major live cover that the band played during the 2003-2004 tours, approximately a dozen songs. Jack White alerted fans to secrets within the film on his site postings, one of which was sure to be the writing on his arm. Recorded over two nights shows, this writing says NOXIOUS which changes to OBNOXIOUS at certain points when film from a different night is used.
Jack has also enjoyed some success as a producer, helping launch the careers of fellow Detroit rock bands The Von Bondies and The Soledad Brothers. Jack also produced and contributed to Loretta Lynn's highly acclaimed 2004 album Van Lear Rose. His work on this album won him and Loretta a Grammy award for the track "Portland Oregon".
September 2005 cover of Rolling StoneOn June 1, 2005 Jack and model Karen Elson were married during the band's tour of South America. The ceremony took place on the Amazon River in a native celebration and the couple is currently expecting their first child. The band's manager Ian Montone was the best man and Meg was the maid of honor. The White Stripes website claimed that "this was the first marriage for both newlyweds", despite documentation showing that Jack and Meg were once married.
A fifth album, Get Behind Me Satan, was released in North America on June 7, 2005 and has garnered critical acclaim. So far three singles have been released from the album, the first being Blue Orchid, which was a popular song on satellite radio and occasionally FM stations. White's new spouse appears in the video for the song. The second single was My Doorbell. The third single, The Denial Twist featured a video by Michel Gondry which documented, in typically bizarre White Stripes fashion, the band's week-long appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien .
In 2005 Rolling Stone magazine said: "If you happen to be a rock band, and you don't happen to be either of the White Stripes, it so sucks to be you right now.
The band released a cover version of Tegan and Sara's song Walking with a Ghost on iTunes November 14, 2005. The song was later released on December 7th as the Walking With a Ghost EP featuring four other live tracks.
On December 1, 2005, the group appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, performing both The Denial Twist and My Doorbell. The White Stripes is one of the few bands to perform on the show (on an earlier show, the group Tenacious D had performed a song after their interview).
For the 2006 Grammy Awards, the White Stripes were nominated in two categories: Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the song My Doorbell and Best Alternative Music Performance for the album Get Behind Me Satan. |
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WHITE STRIPES PICTURES |
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