Jack White?!

[bostjan]

Ok, I'm getting sick of hearing that Jack White is uber-awesome on guitar, and that I just haven't heard him shred because I'm biased against giving him a chance. When I ask what song he shreds in, the people who brag about how awesome he is fail to give me one stinking example.

If you know of his shredding, please inform me. I'm beginning to think this is a rumor someone started and somehow it got to me three times.

 

[Jason]

im pretty sure that jack white said himself that he "sucks" on guitar so this is probably fans of his and again im pretty sure he doeosnt "shred" at all

 

[Drew]

He's not horrid, in the amped-up blues school of playing - think a drunken Jimmy Page. On those grounds, "Ball and Biscuit" is actually a pretty damned good blues track

It's just mainstream america's idea of what a good guitar solo is and sevenstring.org's idea of what a good guitar solo is are at pretty extreme edges of a wide, wide spectrum.

 

[Donnie]

I don't think the ability to "shred" makes a guitarist awesome or not.

 

[bostjan]

Ok, that's what I suspect. I did see an article in Guitar World (or maybe it was Guitar One or something) years ago where he was mentioned Yngwie and said he could shred. The article seemed like he was either sarcastic or stroking his ego. Not sure which, because I never could pick up sarcasm very well in print.

I don't think the ability to "shred" makes a guitarist awesome or not.

True! I suppose I am confusing different sources under different contexts with different agendæ.

 

[Shannon]

I have never heard anyone say that he "shreds." He is a good minimalist songwriter & that's basically what the blues is all about.

 

[Jason]

*shrugs* i don't really care enough to notice or look into it further.As a rule i dont listen to fanatical people or whats "cool" My knowledge of the white stripes and jack white is what i have heard on the radio and maybe coming across something in a guitar mag. Overall not my thing but not important enough to go out of my way to talk about them

 

[bostjan]

This is the second time Jack White has wound up on disabled list mid-tour.

In 2003, the low-fi duo was forced to cancel a string of European dates, including two major headlining festivals, when he was involved in a car accident in his native Detroit with former girlfriend Renée Zellweger.

The guitarist suffered a compound fracture to his left index finger, leaving him unable to shred.

Jack & Meg shred with just guitar, drums & Jack's rough hewn 'n desperate voice.

The crowd roared, and an annoyed White proceeded to shred a few guitar strings during the punk-blues number "The Hardest Button to Button."

I saw Jack White shred through a 2-hour set. I saw Meg White knocking stars out of the sky.

there are more, but they are all like these, perhaps tongue-in-cheek. i don't know...

 

[eaeolian]

Can I put a "and could care less" at the end of "I have no idea"?

Seriously, for a blues-ish player, he's not horrid. Then again, he's appealing to the same group of people who used to talk about what a great player Cobain was. (Hi Drew - you'll notice I didn't mention writing in there, right?)

Of course, "shred" is about the fourth-most over-misused word in guitar, right after "riff", "lick" and "good", so...

</bitterness>

 

[David]

jack admitted he sucks, but he said he does rhythm guitars for his vocals only. People should only look up to him as a rhythm guitarist to accompany vocals, not as a serious insane guitarist.


I like the white stripes music.

 

[WayneCustom7]

Hey I suck also, but then again I don't have a record contract

 

[Leon]

I don't think the ability to "shred" makes a guitarist awesome or not.

if Jack White can play a mean guitar, and he wants people to know about it, he'll record an album of it someday.

 

[Drew]

there are more, but they are all like these, perhaps tongue-in-cheek. i don't know...

If you read any of those, though, I think it's pretty clear that they're not using "shred" the same way one would to discuss a Yngwie solo.

eaeolean - don't make me ban you on principle anyway.

 

[garcia3441]

He's not the worst I've seen or heard.

 

[Dormant]

Seriously, Please kill me now.

 

[distressed_romeo]

Methinks everyone doth protesteth too much...his fifteen minutes will be over soon. Just ignore him 'til then.

 

[anarchistwar]

he can't shred not in the correct use of the word (applied to guitar) but he is a fairly good blues player...

 

[distressed_romeo]

That's the thing...the guy's a sloppy player, but he's completely aware of the fact, and it's an important part of the style he's going for. I don't think the WS are really deserving of a lot the praise heaped upon them, but the guitar playing is actually a minor factor in that opinion.

 

[Naren]

Jack White has said himself that he sucks at guitar. He's not a virtuoso or anything. He makes music that he likes and I commend him for that. I hate the opinion I've heard a lot of "shredders" say when they hear a guitarist/singer in a style other than metal/shred/classical/jazz playing something uncomplicated and say "he should quit guitar."

I like some of the White Stripes' songs and I think he's good at what he does, whether you like that or not. He is a VERY VERY sloppy guitarist (completely on purpose). He actually said in an interview I read that he's a much better drummer than a guitarist (he's played drums much longer than he's played guitar).

I'm sure Jack White can't shred, but so what? Neither can I. Neither can a lot of guitarists that I respect and look up to. I love Jimmy Page's playing in Led Zeppelin, although he is a very sloppy player and probably can't shred either (although he's a lot better than Jack White).

Although, I do know what you're saying about the people who think he's an amazing guitarist. I have a friend who is a huge White Stripes' fan and she said "Jack White is an amazing guitarist" and I said "All of the stuff on their albums is very basic and sloppy." and she says "yeah, but he CAN play really complicated stuff" to which I replied "Prove it" and she couldn't and still hasn't to this day (although she maintains that he is an "awesome guitarist").

Of course, I knew a very very very good Blues guitarist who had played for about 20 years who wasn't even in the least impressed by shredding or metal solos (I'm sure he wouldn't like The White Stripes, though). A lot of it comes down to taste.

 

[distressed_romeo]

All true...a lot of people tend to confuse being a good songwriter with being an accomplished guitarist...the two frequently don't go together unfortunately. A lot of guitarists do tend to look down on simple music, but I think that's a serious mistake...there's just as much crap music made by guys who've been playing since they were 3, gone to Berklee for three years etc. as guys who've had their guitars for a week.
One of the things that tends to annyo me about a lot of 'shredders' (note I don't use the word virtuoso here) is that they tend to be very 'safe' players...everything's been practiced to within an inch of its life, and you'll never here them really stretching out or taking a chance onstage. I saw Pat Metheny jamming with Ornette Colman on tv last year, and Metheny's playing was obviously extremely slick harmonically, but it was still really raw and aggressive rather than being overlly slick and polished. That's the kind of vibe I'd really like. The same goes for Vai and Malmsteen; when you see or hear them onstage there's a sense of real abandon and expression in their playing, which I think really seperates them from the 'internet shredder' crowd.

OK...got a bit off topic there, so I'll shut up...