The White Stripes

Album Reviews:

2000: De Stijl

---

De Stijl

1. You’re Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl) 2. Hello Operator 3. Little Bird 4. Apple Blossom 5. I’m Bound to Pack It Up 6. Death Letter 7. Sister, Do You Know My Name? 8. Truth Doesn’t Make a Noise 9. A Boy’s Best Friend 10. Let’s Build a Home 11. Jumble, Jumble 12. Why Can’t You Be Nicer to Me? 13. Your Southern Can Is Mine

My coffin doesn’t have a phone

Contrary to popular belief or the art movement alluded to on the cover, the album is quite a bit more diverse than just straight blues rock and garage rock. There’s uncompromised electric blues played with a teriffic slide guitar („Death Letter“), there’s the acoustic country blues of Blind Willie McTell’s „Your Southern Can is Mine“, and there’s even some folk rock material in singer-songwriter style („I’m Bound to Pack It Up“, „Apple Blossom“). This makes the album’s scope much wider and much more influential when it comes to their audience’s taste than usually acknowledged. Do you know how many teenagers back then fell all over because of this new cool garage rock band who weren’t aware they were listening to straight blues covers of Son House and Blind Willie McTell? I sure don’t.

Anyway, mix this with some solid hard rocking garage sound („Let’s Build a Home“), the ability to write earnestly beautiful blues ballads („Sister, Do You Know My Name?“), some instinctive flashes of pop hook genius („You’re Pretty Good Looking“, „Apple Blossom“) and a highly energetic youthful eagerness to put a foot down in front of contemporary music (a highlight: „Hello Operator“), and you’ve got yourself one of the essential rock albums of the dawning millenium – be it garage, blues or whatnot. Just a tight, concise, overall terrific record.