De Stijl (album)

Background and recording

The White Stripes band members Jack and Meg White divorced in 2000, however, Meg insisted that they continue working together. De Stijl was recorded by the duo in Jack's living room, exclusively using an 8-track analog tape. Its cover art sets Jack and Meg against an abstract background of rectangles and lines in red, black and white, and utilizes common elements from the aesthetics of its namesake.

De Stijl takes its name from the De Stijl ("the style" in English) art movement, which included the painter Mondrian. Jack had been an admirer of the style for some time, especially of furniture designer Gerrit Rietveld, who designed the Rietveld Schröder House which the band had visited. De Stijl was dedicated to both Rietveld and Blind Willie McTell.

On February 5, 2008, Canadian media reported that former Radio-Canada host Dominique Payette filed a lawsuit against the White Stripes for using a nine-second clip of her interview with a little girl at the beginning of "Jumble, Jumble". She demanded $70,000 in damages and the removal of the album from store shelves. The dispute was settled out of court.

Music and lyrics

De Stijl features the band's early blues-inspired sound, which was prominent on their self-titled debut album. Tom Breihan of Stereogum said the album showcased delta blues, hard and psychedelic rock influences, and Lizzy Goodman of NPR similarly noted its "camp" blues sound.

Release

De Stijl was released on June 20, 2000, through the Sympathy for the Record Industry label. A re-issued vinyl LP version of the record was pressed at United Record Pressing in Nashville, Tennessee and mastered all-analog from the original master tapes. The album was re-issued again for its 20th anniversary.

Reception

De Stijl earned positive reviews from critics, who noted its simplicity, and fusion of blues and "scuzzy garage rock". It was a sleeper hit, earning a following after the White Stripes began to grow popular outside of Detroit. NME included it on their "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list in 2013.

Heather Phares of AllMusic said that "As distinctive as it is diverse, De Stijl blends the Stripes' arty leanings with enough rock muscle to back up the band's ambitions." William Bowers of Pitchfork wrote that the album "contained thunderous, honky-soulful, lacerating pop at various stages of evolution". Jenny Eliscu of Rolling Stone called it "feisty and clever" and praised the drumming, guitar and vocal performances, stating that "like everything about the White Stripes, it [De Stijl] proves that you don't need bombast to make a blues explosion." Ann Powers of the New York Times described the album as "what many hip rock fans consider real music."

De Stijl later appeared at number 38 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart in 2002, and is now considered a cult classic. The song "Why Can't You Be Nicer to Me?" appeared on The Simpsons in 2010, used in the episode "Judge Me Tender" from its twenty-first season. The song "Apple Blossom" was featured in the 2015 Quentin Tarantino film The Hateful Eight.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

The White Stripes

• Jack White – vocals, guitar, piano (tracks 4, 8 and 9), double bass (track 5); production, engineering, mixing, cover concept
• Meg White – drums, tambourine (track 9), shaker & floor tom (track 5); cover concept

Additional personnel

• John Szymanski – harmonica (track 2)
• Paul Henry Ossy – violin (track 5), electric violin (track 12)
• Jim Diamond – mixing
• Artes Graficos Por Cholomite! – layout
• E Wolf – photography

Charts

Certifications

References

References

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