The White Stripes
Anyone who knows me, knows that i like the blues. Good blues, old blues. A great example of good, old school blues is Not the Same Old Blues Crap Vol. 2 from Fat Possum Records. Now, I also happen to enjoy re-invented old blues, in the form of The Rolling Stones (see: Midnight Rambler), or Led Zeppelin (see: Whole Lotta Love Live Blues Medley).
Really, and truthfully it was the Rolling STones and Led Zeppelin that introduced me to the blues, and there are more people like myself that enjoy the raw goodness of the blues, and would like it carried on. Well, I think I’ve found today’s Led Zeppelin — in the form of a brother/sister duo called The White Stripes.
Geoffrey, a colleague of mine at work was a fan, and had an album (De Stijl) of theirs. I gave it a listen, but for some reason I forgot about it. Well, then I saw them on The Late Show, doing Fell In Love With a Girl (which has an awesome video). I was blown away!
Fast forward a week to today or so, and I got a hold of their BBC recording (Live at BBC – Maida Vale), and I start to hear the blues influence — specifically in “Death Letter. The dirty blues riffs, the quoting of nearly every kick-ass hard-rock riff ever packed into one little song.
The new album, White Blood Cells, is one of those albums — much like Pinkerton — that you can listen to over and over, and due to it’s perfect balance, you never get tired of. So — the next obvious question — when are they coming to Louisville? Answer: never.