Meg White

Nice snare sound I must confess. :)

LOL ... after all this time :) Yes, it's a nice WHACK she gets. If I was the WS drummer and walked out of a session with a take like that I'd be a very happy girl. Love the hard rockin' vibe.

One good concession deserves another so here's mine ... I just listened to that track again and wondered how killer it would have been with Bonzo playing. It would have been, like, "lock away your children!" :)
 
Any drummer can play like Meg does in Icky Thump IF they:

1) play the correct notes ... in time (harder than it looks - ask any guitarist lol)

2) hold the tempo steady - not speeding or slowing (harder than it looks - ask any guitarist lol lol)

3) maintain consistent volumes throughout the kit - expecially backbeats and kick

4) stay tuned to Jack White regularly switching arrangements on a whim at gigs - and come back in after long refrains confidently, accurately and with a bang

5) have a fair degree of control of all of the above through every song of every gig, day after day, year after year

6) have a great sounding and well-tuned kit and be capable of drawing those sounds out of the kit.

They are big IFs since most non-pros cannot tick all those boxes. I listened to the recordings of our last band practice and I sped up noticeably in three songs and I've been playing for eons. Most non-pros are so busy trying to do impressive drummerish things that they miss those fundamentals, which are musts to play at a pro level.

Certainly the only 7-year olds who might be able to do it are YouTube prodigies who can also play everything that Charlie and Phil can do as well - not to mention drum a lot of DW members under the table :)
 
Hooray for Meg White! I have taught her beats to many happy students. She's the prefect drummer for the White Stripes. Raw and powerful.
 
What Meg plays works because that's how the whole thing is designed - it's just a post-punk sensibility, choosing expression over being impressive. The rawness is all part of the charm - and the band does have charm, which is why heaps of people love the WS.

It comes down to not letting lack of skill stop you from expressing yourself. This translates to kids being encouraged to play, thinking "Hey, I can do that!" ... and then once they can do that, some will go on to more advanced stuff. I'd rather that than drum machines. Some young 'uns may well get carried away on YouTube and say that Meg's the most bestest most awesomest drummer in the whole world but we all know about the QC of YouTube comments :)

I don't care about musical talent anywhere near as much as I care about the aural candy. I don't need musicians to be admirable, I just want them to please me. Most bands I enjoy have admirable skillsets, but not all ...

I loved reading Herman Hesse's deep and brilliant Steppenwolf and Siddhatha, but at the same time I also love Anita Blake Vampire Hunter trash erotica horror ... and at the same time I find great appeal in both Mahivishnu Orchestra and The White Stripes.

Yeah, I think you're probably becoming a grouchy old bugger, but I get grumpy too, what with aches and pains, being unable to do all I used to do, wrinkles, less energy - we've earned the right to be grouchy :)
 
As long as I've been alive, skill has never been a determinant for popularity. I remember when Tony Orlando and Dawn's Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree was No1 and Jud Strunk's Daisy a Day was No 2 in the Top 40. That was 1973, when these albums were released ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_in_music#Albums_released

LOL ... I mean, the world bought more of that shit than Miles ... the world is absurd, it always has been absurd and always will be. Justice only exists as a happy accident.

As an old fart I'd rather kids take up drums and play approachable WS covers in the garage than sit behind their PC and do stuff like this ... trouble is, their neighbours probably won't.

Whatever, I enjoy a number of WS tunes and couldn't give a rat's posterior how talented or otherwise they are, so I listen to the studio versions rather than the live ones because I prefer it. Their live shows are popular so they probably generate a good vibe that doesn't translate to recordings.
 
I guess things like guitar hero etc are good ways to ruin the music industry too, as it allows people to falsely believe they can play an instrument when they can't. Everyone wants to be a star but most arent prepared to do the work that is required, so ways are invented to make you feel like one when you are not. What about the world championship for air guitar? What the hell is that all about? Maybe white stripes aren't that bad after all.
I get so much enjoyment from playing and listening to music and I listen to every instrument in the band (including the vocalist). I am sure most of the general public only hear the surface of the sound. They are missing the real beauty of music. I kinda feel sorry for them.
P.S. I won't listening to any more white stripes.
 
Skill says nothing about one's musicality. It is just a indication that a musician can, if needed, use his/hers instrument to it's full potential. If with few skills you can still make good music, you're no less of a musician than a extremely well skilled musician who's only capable of playing the instrument fast with no 'feel'.

Meg White is good. Not bad, not amazing either, just good. She does what's needed and nothing more. And she does that well. I won't list her in my top 10 though. Not just because of her elledged lack of skill, but also because her drum compositions are too simple for me to be inspiring. Still I won't call her bad, because her work with the White Stripes fits the music fine.

I know of many, many drummers who play as basic and simplistic as she does, but do not nearily get the same amount of bashing she gets. Funny, 'cause I am usually front in line to (constructively!) critisize those musicians for underplaying.
 
The White Stripes are one of the most influential rock bands of the past 10 years, and I think deservedly so. I find them a hugely refreshing break from the copycat, over-produced sounds that have been coming from the "industry" in the Auto-Tune era. Sometimes I want to hear the raw, gut-bucket, garage sound. Their appeal is like punk's appeal in a lot of ways; in a lot of ways, punk and garage rock are about the band sounding kind of crappy. Meg is simple and sloppy and it is part of the sound of the band, and I like it.

My favorite musicians - the ones I would consider influences - generally fall in the "highly-skilled" category. But music is an emotional art form and an outlet for expression for a broad spectrum of feelings. It serves different purposes at different times. And sometimes, the music the White Stripes make is just what I need. As musicians who tend to hone our craft, this is sometimes a bit harder for us to come to grips with, I think. I mean, I don't think I could play loose and sloppy and feel good about it, ever. But I like to listen to music that has those characteristics, sometimes.
 
The White Stripes are one of the most influential rock bands of the past 10 years, and I think deservedly so. I find them a hugely refreshing break from the copycat, over-produced sounds that have been coming from the "industry" in the Auto-Tune era. Sometimes I want to hear the raw, gut-bucket, garage sound. Their appeal is like punk's appeal in a lot of ways; in a lot of ways, punk and garage rock are about the band sounding kind of crappy. Meg is simple and sloppy and it is part of the sound of the band, and I like it.

My favorite musicians - the ones I would consider influences - generally fall in the "highly-skilled" category. But music is an emotional art form and an outlet for expression for a broad spectrum of feelings. It serves different purposes at different times. And sometimes, the music the White Stripes make is just what I need. As musicians who tend to hone our craft, this is sometimes a bit harder for us to come to grips with, I think. I mean, I don't think I could play loose and sloppy and feel good about it, ever. But I like to listen to music that has those characteristics, sometimes.

Thanks 8mile. You put it how I wished I'd put it.

"... a hugely refreshing break from the copycat, over-produced sounds that have been coming from the "industry" in the Auto-Tune era" is so spot on IMO. Retro with a modern twist. Not too many blues-influenced bands aged under 100 filling the stadiums these days as far as I can tell.
 
Meg does what's required well enough to help Jack keep millions of people happy. Her lines are approachable so she encourages young people to start playing - especially girls - and she demonstrates more clearly than anyone that you don't have to be blowing chops all over the place to be part of enjoyable music.

Many of her detractors seem to be young drummers who don't realise how badly they compromise the groove while focusing on showing off like their drum idols (not you, Matthias haha).
 
Dear Meggie - you are loved/underestimated but you are famed!!! clever woman.
 
Many of her detractors seem to be young drummers who don't realise how badly they compromise the groove while focusing on showing off like their drum idols (not you, Matthias haha).
Actually I did belong kind of in that category when I was in my teens. But really (and maybe I should just let this thread go ;) ), Meg White wouldn't ever come to my mind when it comes to superb grooving. (As wouldn't necessarily Mike Portnoy by the way - despite the fact that I was a big fan for some years, and I do still admire his work)

And I'm generally with the few in the thread who point out that just the fact that what Meg can do fits the music quite well, and that she inspires a lot of kids because her playing is very accessible doesn't make her a genius, really. Somewhere in this or another thread there's a nice Peter Erskine (I believe) quote floating around that say it beautifully: You have to be able to do the complex thing in order to deserve credit for consciously playing simplistic for musical reasons.

I don't want to bash Meg or say she is bad, I just think her playing is very, very average, and it doesn't really deserve a lot of attention in my book. And it wouldn't if it weren't for the Stripes I believe. (I'm not saying she doesn't deserve attention, she can have all the fame in the world, I don't mind, but not her playing.)
 
Matthias, I don't think a lot of us here are trying to say she's a genius, or amazingly talented, or the best drummer in the world due to her style. I don't think anyone actually has said that. But for what she's shown, she's certainly not a bad drummer.
 
You have to be able to do the complex thing in order to deserve credit for consciously playing simplistic for musical reasons.

QFT.

I know it's been touched on before in this thread, but it's worth highlighting the point again. If I can only draw stick figures......am I a great artist because of my minimalism or just severly limited?

I don't want to bash Meg or say she is bad, I just think her playing is very, very average, and it doesn't really deserve a lot of attention in my book. And it wouldn't if it weren't for the Stripes I believe. (I'm not saying she doesn't deserve attention, she can have all the fame in the world, I don't mind, but not her playing.)

I wouldn't call her bad either. I've heard far worse than Meg. She's achieved much with limited ability......more power to her. I admire anyone who gets up and gets on with it. She's never claimed to be anything she's not and what she does is fine by me.

But I've gotta agree with Swiss.....her playing is really nothing to write home about. "Great", it just ain't IMHO. She's just another drummer that I'm more than happy to listen to, but will never aspire to.
 
Comment:

But I've gotta agree with Swiss.....her playing is really nothing to write home about. "Great", it just ain't IMHO. She's just another drummer that I'm more than happy to listen to, but will never aspire to.

Response:

I don't think a lot of us here are trying to say she's a genius, or amazingly talented, or the best drummer in the world due to her style. I don't think anyone actually has said that. But for what she's shown, she's certainly not a bad drummer.

You know what i think is cool about Meg? Until she came along I didn't think it was possible to play so simply and for it to work - to sound pleasing. That opened my mind, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I also think it's cool that there are so many wanna-bes on YouTube who diss her but who can't play with functional tightness like she does (again, not including you in that group, Pocket). I like the idea of learning to play properly first and then add to your repertoire if need be (or in Meg's case, stay put). I find that lack or pretence refreshing.

There are a ton of kids out there thrashing away with headache-inducing efforts as they try to be Aaron or Joey or Neal or Gavin etc because they want to be DRUM SUPERSTARS, but they are really sloppy. Then you get someone like Meg who wouldn't be able to play the things those kids do, but she doesn't care about being lauded, just playing appropriately and tight enough for her parts to work with the music (and with a sweet-sounding kit).

The Meg Controversy is very similar to The Ringo and Charlie Controversies, just taken to another degree ie. she's less sophisticated again than those guys ... thought I'd better spell that out :) ... I repeat, I am not comparing Meg's playing with Ringo's and Charlie's, just noticing the similarities in the debates about them.

Perhaps it's right that there are controversies. It's radical. Just as Pridgeon and Bruner and Harrison etc are pushing the boundaries of rock virtuosity, Meg's pushing the boundary the other way (probably without ever giving it the slightest thought) ... that's always going to get people talking, especially since it goes against the grain of the usual push for bigger, better, faster, stronger ... to be ever more amazing.

The boundaries of drumming are being pushed in every direction and I see no problem with that.
 
I also think it's cool that there are so many wanna-bes on YouTube who diss her but who can't play with functional tightness like she does (again, not including you in that group, Pocket).

A point well highlighted on a recent youtube ref you made Pol. As I said, there are far worse than Meg out there.

No arguments from me. Meg's cool......in fact, Meg can do whatever the hell she wants.....minimalistic or not, she's the one getting paid, not me.
 
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