sojourner

Crude/primitive is its own sound. The White Stripes' (commercial) genius is that they appear to be a reaction to both mechnical sound and the huge wash of noise some of the modern alt bands have. Jack White makes you think you can head into the garage with a drummer and churn out hits with your crappy set-up just the way he seems to. Technical genius and sophisticated playing ability are neither necessary nor sufficient to commercial success. How many players out there would commit time and resources to covering Son House and even making a video? Give the guy some credit. No record exec was clamoring for that...

Players of music are no less qualified than any other citizen to say what they want about current conditions. Nobody would say that musicians should keep their views about love and heartache to themselves, would they? What I appreciate are players that, while they have strong views, keep their art at the level of metaphor. A person singing about injustice in a general way doesn't bother me, there is plenty of injustice in all of our lives. And we are all struggling to overcome it. Its when the guy has to specify the exact "injustice" that I might reach for the dial.