Happy Birthday, Jack

Gather round, wee lads and lassies. I can still remember it so very well. There I was, living (and occasionally living it up) in bonnie Scotland, many years ago, when I heard of some new American bands. These bands were causing quite a kerfuffle among the British contingent, and it's still entirely possible they were more popular, as are many a good band over the years, in the UK than in their homeland.

The bands in question? That would be the ones usually given credit for popularizing the "The" movement in band naming: The Strokes, and this birthday boy's band, The White Stripes. I instantly loved them both, and found something ever so fascinating about a red-and-white-clad duo who got their jollies keeping the music press guessing about whether they were siblings or ex-lovers. Ever the oddball, Jack White has managed to create many an album of good old, dirty bluesy rock. And while he's a pretty big name now, what with all those other bands and movies and whatnot, let's all pause to remember the olden days, the days of the red and the white and the way those two Whites crashed the scene like nobody's business.

So then, Happy Birthday, indeed, Jack White.

mp3: Hello Operator (The White Stripes from De Stijl)