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The White Stripes: Elephant
By Kate Sheppard
After their regrettable “Saturday Night Live” performance
in October, there was plenty of room for improvement on the latest release
of this Detroit two-person band. But Elephant emerges as a rounded presentation
of the band's talent, showing more musical depth from both musicians
and better song writing than previous release, White Blood Cells.
While no one knows exactly who Meg and Jack White are, it's inarguable
that the two are producing some of the funkiest, hippest, left-of-center
music of today. Are they siblings? Spouses? Former spouses? Cousins?-no
one really seems to know. But together they've constructed a CD that
treads not-so-softly on relationships of every sort, despite leaving
their own relationship ambiguous.
“I love Jack White like a little brother,” Meg sings on “Well
It's True That We Love One Another,” the closing track. “Well
Holly I love you too, but there's just so much that I don't know about
you,” he responds. Who Holly is, we don't know, but we do know
that the pair revel in their own eccentricity, which fans seem to appreciate.
Blues, funk, balladry and nostalgia contrast the Stripes to other recent
releases. The songs on Elephant sneak from folk to British pop to spy
music seamlessly, with the bass line of “Seven Nation Army”
evolving to the Beatles’ reminiscent “Black Math.”
Meg White's vocal talents, seldom featured in Stripes songs, are an
appreciated break from Jack, “In the Cold Cold Night.” Meg's
voice recalls jazz legends, smoky bars and lounge acts, making track
five a far classier number than others on the album.
While The White Stripes don't produce what I'd call feel-good music,
what they have produced once again in Elephant is an album worthy of
multiple listens. And hey, you can always feel better while listening
for three reasons: Chances are you sing better than Jack, aren't as
pale as Meg, and don't have as odd a relationship with anyone who may
or may not be your sibling.
Kate Sheppard is a freshman journalism major. Email her at geekgirlks@aol.com.
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