#43 - Phil

The White Stripes

De Stijl

2000

At the start of this decade, this hokey due from Detroit was an unknown to the mainstream music population. They had released their self-titled debut in 1999, but had yet to establish a following in any significant way. That all changed with the release of De Stijl, a record I first heard about three ago when I started to uncover the early works of my favorite band of all time.

What makes De Stijl such a cult classic among Stripes’ fans is its extremely low-fidelity approach. This record – production wise – sounds like something a couple of dedicated high school kids could churn out in their basement. But the songs are so rich in their simplicity and come together as well as any collection of songs The White Stripes have ever written that it doesn’t matter; you’re still rocking out just as hard as anything you’ve heard from the band since! The album’s first two tracks – “You’re Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)” and “Hello Operator” – are two of the catchiest songs of The White Stripes’ career. Their garage-band feel serves as the perfect appetizer what’s to come on the album’s remainder. Their cover of Son House’s “Death Letter” – one of lead singer Jack White’s greatest influences – is only four and a half minutes long but so rock-out perfect it could last for ten minutes if it wanted to. Tracks such as “Sister, Do You Know My Name?” and “A Boy’s Best Friend” carry such drugged-out sounds they could have been released during the early 90s grunge era. And “Jumble Jumble” will have you sweating from banging your head so hard despite being less than two minutes in length. -P.W.

I began listening to The White Stripes with the release of Elephant and knew little to nothing about their three previous albums before seeing Phil’s top albums of the decade. With all of the lame White Stripes offshoots like The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather, I was worried the early White Stripes output might be more like this bland blues rock revival. While it is less eclectic than albums like Icky Thump and Get Behind Me Satan, De Stijl is certainly not bland. I particularly enjoyed “Death Letter” because I had just listened to the original by Son House the day before. Another reason to love The White Stripes. - Ryan

A brilliant second record that proves the Stripes have had this swagger and this talent since the beginning. A consistent band with an ever-evolving vision, "De Stijl" catches them earlier enough on that straight blues-based garage was still their status quo. This thing is excellent front-to-back and certainly indicative of the great things to come. - Steve