FEATURE:
A Goddess Behind the Sticks
Celebrating the Underrated and Influential Meg White
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IT might seem unusual talking about a musician…
IN THIS PHOTO: Jack White alongside Meg White/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
who has not performed for years and was part of a now-defunct duo. Meg White is forty-five today and, as part of The White Stripes, she is responsible for some of the most memorable and original songs of the past two decades. Actually, there is more to this piece that a birthday nod to Meg White. The White Stripes’ debut album, The White Stripes, was released in 1999 and it is great to look back at this twenty-year-old record. I discovered The White Stripes when I was in university back in 2002. By then, the band had released three albums and were getting a lot of traction in the U.K. Thanks for D.J.s like John Peel, we were being exposed to this remarkable and intriguing duo. Aside from the uniformity and the love of the number three (they wore red, white and black clothes) and familial lies (Jack White claimed he and Meg were siblings; they used to be married but saying that would have brought the wrong attention their way), The White Stripes bedazzled with their incredible music. Many might say it was all about Jack White; he wrote the songs and played most of the instruments, after all. Meg White played on Jack’s drums impulsively in 1997 and, with Jack inspired by a minimalist form of drumming, things sort of clicked. The White Stripes became favourites in the Detroit underground and brought something new to the world.
With Jack White inspired by the Blues and Hard Rock bands like Led Zeppelin, few had heard anything like The White Stripes. I always found myself gravitating towards Meg; not just in photo shoots and listening to interviews, but on records and live performances. Although the relationship between Jack and White was not always solid – the two didn’t communicate an awful lot; Meg was extremely shy -, the musical telekinesis between them is clear. When I was at university, I was given a couple of White Stripes albums by a friend – The White Stripes (1999) and De Stijl (2000) were my first tastes of the duo. Before hearing The White Stripes, I listened to a lot of Rock; a more produced sound with emphasis on chunky beats and stadium riffs. There was something much more captivating and sparser about The White Stripes. With homemade vibes and lo-fi production, my eyes were opened to a new world. I had huge admiration for Jack, of course, but there was something hypnotic about the beats of Meg. To the untrained ear, it might have sounded child-like and arrhythmic, but that would be unfair. Three is definitely an innocence and looseness, but Meg White, to me, is one of the most underrated drummers. I know a lot of musicians who have been inspired by Meg White, because her drumming is so different and effecting. One of the tags that was applied to is that of an extrovert. True, Meg was very quiet and did not do a lot of talking in the interviews.
Jack led the duo and wrote the songs, so it is understandable Meg would take more of a back seat when asked about the albums and story of the band. Whilst she was rarely vocal in interviews and did not chase a celebrity lifestyle, her drumming spoke volumes. That might sound cheesy, but those who think her drumming is lacking and ramshackle needs to listen to the music! There are so many artists out there today who owe a debt to Meg White. She was part of a duo who were hugely celebrated before their split in 2011 and have made an enormous impact on music. I understand a certain lack of enthusiasm by Meg helped contribute to the decline of The White Stripes. Maybe the touring and work rate took its toll and she was exhausted. I can see why she wanted to move out of the spotlight and enjoy a more settled and quiet life. It is a shame, because White’s talent and style is hugely impressive. I am not surprised she has appeared on lists of the greatest drummers of all-time. This exert is taken from a feature in Rolling Stone, who ranked Meg White the ninety-fourth best drummer ever:
“Meg White's idiosyncratic, primal take on drumming was fundamental to the appeal of the White Stripes, who rode their candy-colored outfits and stripped-down blues to rock stardom in the early Aughts. Tracks like "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" and "Blue Orchid" were jolted to life by her deceptively simple backbeat bashing, which helped define the Stripes' stomp. "I would often look at her onstage and say, 'I can't believe she's up here.' I don't think she understood how important she was to the band, and to me and to music," Jack White told Rolling Stone in 2014. "She was the antithesis of a modern drummer. So childlike and incredible and inspiring. All the not-talking didn't matter, because onstage? Nothing I do will top that”.
I think Meg White was overlooked as a drummer because there is not that same power and pummel you get with a lot of Rock drummers. Rather than see Meg White as lacking proficiency, I think other drummers lack personality. As far as ringing endorsements go, getting kudos from Dave Grohl sort of proves my points. In this NME article, Grohl talked about Meg White (Grohl originally spoke to Rolling Stone about the film, Sound City):
“Speaking to Rolling Stone about his new movie Sound City and the way the film tackles the issue of digital versus analogue in modern production, Grohl said that modern day drumming has lost its personality and that he enjoys listening to drummers who may not be technically proficient but have made great music nonetheless.
“Nowadays, I think it could be hard for a kid to find a favourite drummer, because a lot of that personality is being robbed from these musicians for the sake of perfection, and it’s kind of a drag. It’s nice to hear drummers like Meg White – one of my favorite fucking drummers of all time. Like, nobody fucking plays the drums like that. Or the guy from The Black Keys. Watch that guy play the drums – it’s crazy. The dude from Vampire Weekend. Like, if any of those people went to the Berklee School of Music they’d never be accepted, because they’re not considered technically proficient. But their music has totally changed the world”.
I want to end with a playlist that brings together some of the best performances from Meg White but, before that, a couple of articles that highlight the brilliance of Meg White. In this article, the writer discusses a more elusive White these days; how Meg White deserves enormous respect:
“Of course, in an irony of ironies, if there’s one thing Meg White seemingly wants more than anything, especially in the years since The White Stripes disbanded, it is to be left alone and not be talked about. While I certainly respect her desire for privacy, I just can’t avoid writing about her and it’s because of how symbolic her playing is when cutting through the literal and metaphorical noise. No other drummer has been able to do that in the past two decades, and it may not happen again. It’s telling that when Jack White started doing solo tours and playing his old material, he put together a fairly large band. But when they played White Stripes songs, it somehow didn’t match the power of Jack and Meg. Jack White is also a great drummer: he plays drums in the Dead Weather. And surely he could have played drums on the White Stripes’ recordings, but he didn’t. Meg has something that neither he, nor any other drummer, has.
Twenty years after the release of The White Stripes, one of the strongest debuts of the ‘90s and a mere peek at what was to come from this Detroit duo, we’re all still talking about their influence and what Meg White and her playing mean to the rock genre. Maybe in five years from now when The White Stripes are eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the impossible will happen and we’ll see Jack and Meg together on stage again to remind us why the noise they made together was so beloved. If that does happen, one thing is for certain: That moment will be impossible to ignore”.
I do think The White Stripes will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, because of how they brought Blues and Garage to the mainstream. They did it without selling out and creating a unique framework and vibe. In many ways, I think we lost something when The White Stripes called it quits. How many bands now have the same incredible catalogue and energy of Jack and Meg?! Listen to drummers now, and I think there are very few who match the chops and personality of Meg White – even though she has influenced a lot of modern drummers, male and female. In another article, Meg White is put firmly under the microscope:
“Jack and Meg White weren't a comedy duo. But they also kinda were. And Meg was always the straight man. Listen to "Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine" as Jack builds towards total vocal and guitar hysteria, challenging Meg's drums in a race to the cliff's edge. Jack's tiptoes are hanging off as he wails, "Give me a sugar pill and watch me just rattle down the street." Meg doesn't give in, instead she hits a simple "boom crack" and then "ts ts ts ts ts ts" — laughing her high-hat head off watching him rattle. Hear Meg's insistent thwack in the face of absolute frustration followed by the four-beat desperation of bashing her metaphorical head against the wall on "The Hardest Button to Button." Hear Jack wail the title lyric of "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" and feel Meg's wry smile as she lets him suffer all alone for just a hair too uncomfortably long before barreling back in. The timing of their dynamic, and the balance between bonkers and basic, is what made The White Stripes stand out among the garage-rock bands who would usher in the 21st century. It allowed Jack and Meg to mash the simplicity of the blues with the spirit of punk to create theater.
Jack has said that "the whole point of the White Stripes," since the band's beginning, was "the liberation of limiting yourself." Meg's simple style of drumming was the absolute embodiment of that goal and, paradoxically, the primary source of criticism lobbed against her as a musician during the band's ascent to fame. Meg's role in the band was often framed by critics (professional and civilian alike) as an audition rather than an essence due to her lack of training or elaborate technique. Just Google "Jack White Defends Meg's Drumming" or search for Meg White on Reddit. To question whether someone has earned the right to a seat at the table (or the kit, as it were) in a band that she has been half of since its inception, to play the songs that she originated, is ludicrous. But the question is significant, and even helpful, if it helps us understand the way many people see women in bands as accessories rather than authors. In the same 2005 Rolling Stone feature where Jack explains to journalist David Fricke how the foundation of The White Stripes is finding creativity through imposing limitations, Fricke later asks, "Are there times when Meg's style of drumming is too limiting — that you can't take a song as far as you'd like to go?" Jack responds: "No. I never thought, 'God, I wish Neil Peart was in this band.' It's kind of funny: When people critique hip-hop, they're scared to open up, for fear of being called racist. But they're not scared to open up on female musicians, out of pure sexism."
By all accounts, including his own, Jack White was the more outwardly emotionally demonstrative member of The White Stripes — the big personality foil to Meg's straight man. See the end of any given live performance: Jack's hair is drenched in sweat and he looks like he might crumple into a catharsis puddle; Meg, whose job was arguably the more athletic of the two, is bone dry and still exuding the same composed air as she did an hour earlier. But do not make the mistake of confusing Meg's outward persona of nonchalance for a lack of tremendous musical emotion. On the drums, Meg White smashed out carnal, visceral, raw, sometimes funny and always urgent stories that told of the human experience. Maybe that's the thumping feeling that penetrates our pores and anchors our attention when we listen to The White Stripes. Maybe that's why we ever cared about the band in the first place.
As the great Meg White is forty-five today, I would encourage people to buy The White Stripes’ albums on vinyl and experience the music in its pure form. You can find out more about Meg White and her kit if you are interested in following in her footsteps. Since The White Stripes disbanded, we have seen far less of Meg White out in the world. In 2009, she married Jackson Smith (son of Patti Smith and Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith), and the two divorced in 2013. I understand she still lives in Detroit, and I wonder whether we will ever see her back behind the drums. Regardless, her work is out there…and I do maintain Meg White is one of the most underrated drummers ever. She and Jack fitted perfectly; if you had anyone drumming, the songs would seem odd and lack that certain something. In honour of Meg White turning forty-five, I am ending this feature with…
A forty-five song salute to a drumming legend.