The Delightful Simplicity of The White Stripes’ Self-Titled Debut Album

March 23, 2025 3:00 pm

In 1999, The White Stripes released their debut self-titled album, unleashing Jack and Meg White on an unsuspecting world. Their aesthetic minimalist and their relationship mysterious, they wouldn’t earn a proper breakthrough until their third album, White Blood Cells, in 2001. However, their debut is still worth noting for its delightful simplicity and the beginning of The White Stripes’ alt-blues takeover.

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I want to lay things out like this: if Jack White is the spice, Meg White is the sauce, and The White Stripes is the meal. Jack White, of course, often goes crazy on the guitar and vocals. He has a distinct vocal style (which I have only heard matched in the wailing of Gerard Way), as well as a recognizable sound on guitar. As of a 2023 article from Mixdown, Jack uses only two pedals (a DigiTech Whammy pitch-shifting pedal and the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff). He also has several guitars that he used during The White Stripes years, but primarily played a 1964 JB Hutto Airline guitar.

These allow him to get his signature sound, while his talent and influences allow for his signature style. That’s the spice. Meg White, in comparison, mainly used Ludwig drum kits, an Accent 5-piece and a Classic Maple. The sauce, if you will, didn’t really come from her gear, however, but from the way she played.

In 1999 when The White Stripes came out, Meg had only been playing drums for two years. She began by practicing on Jack’s drum kit after they met in Detroit (according to her biography, she began her practice on Bastille Day 1997, but how that’s relevant I’m not exactly sure). The two went on to start the band that same year.

The Subtle Simplicity of The White Stripes’ Debut Comes Down to Meg White’s Rudimentary Yet Powerful Drumming

Meg White hadn’t been playing drums for long when The White Stripes debuted, and her simplistic approach to percussion is what made the band’s following albums so delightful and lasting. Essentially, she didn’t change her style much through the years because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Throughout the band’s discography, Meg’s resonant tom and bass work can be heard backing up Jack’s more flamboyant guitar style. She also goes hard on cymbal that led to recognizable crashes and explosions of sound. Her drumming may be rudimentary, but it’s also powerful, simple yet passionate. She bangs the crap out of her drums and calls it a day. It’s genius, and essentially aided in making The White Stripes more than just another garage rock band.

Meg White’s drumming on The White Stripes album may be simple, but she’s still incredibly expressive with her percussion. That simplicity balanced out Jack’s more colorful guitar work, and together they created something utterly unique.

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