Where do the White Stripes rank with the best ever?

[cc3078]

I'm having an argument with a colleague of mine about a new article being written where the White Stripes rank as one of the most important and best rock bands since the Beatles. Curious of the opinion that each of you have.

I personally rank the White Stripes, or at least give them proper consideration up against other legendary bands/artists such as the Rolling Stones, Dylan, U2, Radiohead, Nirvana, R.E.M., Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, etc. Aren't the Stripes in that conversation at least?? I think they are given their influence, their reputation, their stellar catalog, etc. I agree the Stripes aren't at the top of that list but they are at least close - and are in the conversation.

Thoughts?

[Kaber]

Depends if you rate the Beatles that highly.
Largely a pop band until the later albums
where they got creative in the studio.

As a body of work The White Stripes take some
beating in recent times.

[bh1644]

I like the comparison. I have said on here before that I think Jack is the Lennon of this generation. Both super imaginative figures in rock that changed music for the better.

[cc3078]

As a body of work The White Stripes take some
beating in recent times.

Not questioning, but can you clarify this sentence for me? Just want to understand. Thank you for the reply.

[destijl]

They fall somewhere behind Led Zep, The Smiths and The Dogs D'Amour in the bands that have influenced my life

[flattop2001]

Important to me, not certain of their legacy against the other bands listed. So if you measure importance by influence or sales the stripes are nowhere near the Beatles once you step outside the JW bubble most of us spend far too much time in.

[bh1644]

Important to me, not certain of their legacy against the other bands listed. So if you measure importance by influence or sales the stripes are nowhere near the Beatles once you step outside the JW bubble most of us spend far too much time in.

sales yes, influence has yet to be determined...

[hellosmith]

I've got a feeling that in the long run, Jack will be higher up on the list than the Stripes.

[bkramer10]

I rank them pretty high on my list, but other than that I don't think they rank at all. The majority of the time when people ask what I'm listening to and I say the White Stripes, they have no idea who they are until I mention 7NA or hum the riff. And that's about the extent of their knowledge of the Stripes. Sometimes they don't even know 7NA if they aren't sports fans. When you mention Dylan, Zep, Beatles, Springsteen, U2 and all the others on your list, people know who they are

[bh1644]

I rank them pretty high on my list, but other than that I don't think they rank at all. The majority of the time when people ask what I'm listening to and I say the White Stripes, they have no idea who they are until I mention 7NA or hum the riff. And that's about the extent of their knowledge of the Stripes. Sometimes they don't even know 7NA if they aren't sports fans. When you mention Dylan, Zep, Beatles, Springsteen, U2 and all the others on your list, people know who they are

well their popularity shouldn't matter as to where you rank them... for instance, Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, etc were flat broke and relatively obscure until The Rolling Stones, Clapton and the Beatles among others mentioned them as influences... but their contribution to music couldn't be greater...

[flattop2001]

Important to me, not certain of their legacy against the other bands listed. So if you measure importance by influence or sales the stripes are nowhere near the Beatles once you step outside the JW bubble most of us spend far too much time in.

sales yes, influence has yet to be determined...

That's why I say legacy is yet to be determined, nobody can compare with the Beatles yet. They changed music in 8 years

[flattop2001]

Depends if you rate the Beatles that highly.
Largely a pop band until the later albums
where they got creative in the studio.

As a body of work The White Stripes take some
beating in recent times.

Interesting, I dont disagree with you often but. I do on this. The Beatles may be seen as a pop band on the surface but they were covering Motown black artists, chuck Berry et al at a time that was far from the norm, or popular.
Love me do sounds like a pure pop song, but was written by a teenage boy in a different era. substitute "sleep with me" for the love me do lines and you get the real meanIng and purpose of the track ( to get girls to sleep with him) love has little to do with it. Some one LIKE you? Aka a girl, any girl.
Please please me is a pleas for oral sex. Listen to the words in that context and it's not such an innocent little tune.
I wanna hold your hand (or joint as the Liverpool slang was) prompted Dylan to wonder how these boys got away with it. (I feel happy inside, it's such a feeling that my love, I cant hide i get high) listen to it that is the line. Epstein denied all such links to preserve the clean cut image but the truth is on the vinyl.
I could go on all night so i will shut up. Tame by today's standards yes but scratch the surface.

[mojoryan]

I'm with Jimmy on this where the Beatles are concerned. Really, although TWS are an important snapshot in our PERSONAL (and that's the important part) musical history, only time will tell if they prove to be as prolific as the bands originally mentioned in the thread-starting-post. Unfortunately, I think the current degree of the United States population at least is spoonfed what to believe; no fault of TWS, simply an unfortunate time in this nation's musical history.[As for the rest of the world, well, the US has ALWAYS been behind the times as a whole regarding what the populace deems important, so maybe it's different around the world...I simply don't have the geographically proximate knowledge with which to speak.] Could it change? I sure as hell hope so. Could TWS prove as iconic as the other bands mentioned? That would been fantastic.

[Kaber]

Jimmy,
I'd never deny their influence and I definitely
see plenty of folks in Beatles t shirts in London
I'm sure you know I've always been a Stones man.
Probably down to my parents dislike of the
the Beatles clean cut image.
Give me hot rocks over Beatles red /blue
any day of the week.

[flattop2001]

Jimmy,
I'd never deny their influence and I definitely
see plenty of folks in Beatles t shirts in London
I'm sure you know I've always been a Stones man.
Probably down to my parents dislike of the
the Beatles clean cut image.
Give me hot rocks over Beatles red /blue
any day of the week.

I agree that Hot Rocks is a better listen than the 62-70 collections, but as with most bands they can't be judged on a greatest hits type package. The stones first hits were a Beatles cover and a Chuck Berry song that they heard the Beatles sing on a radio session. If you check out early pictures they wore the same suits. They were marketed in a different style but both were marketed without a doubt and played to the image, in reality if you read bios from people around them at the time, both bands partied as hard as the other, we just didn't have 24 hour news so the public only saw the image that the management wanted out there. I think the Stones are a great band but in terms of influence on others way down the list IMO.

Back on topic, its impossible to say where TWS will rank, but I am sure much lower than the artists mentioned elsewhere in this thread. I agree Jack will have a much bigger solo legacy through the work at TMR helping new bands break through, but much as I love his work I am struggling to think of many serious bands that I can point to as "influenced" by the Stripes? anybody??