Black or White?

[Beware the Beast Man]

Poll question: Black or White?

1. Black


2. White

[johnnie]

1. Based on what I have seen and heard

Based on the few Jack Black movies I have seen, some of his stand-up routines, his SNL appearance and a few other things I have seen and heard from him, and the few minutes I have heard Jack White's music...I am going with Jack White.

[fudge stripe cookays]

2. Based singly

on his music snob in "High Fidelity", I'm going with Black. He skewered half the people I used to work with in the "music biz" and I loved it.

Jack White reminds me of the guy in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang that had the big jail cart and stole children. He's freakishly pale and scary looking and I only hear about him beating people up. Not really a White Stripes fan.

Black is a little wound up perhaps, but still....
FSC

[kick-ass-bob]

3. So then I'll go with Lemmon.

He's just too funny!

:crazy:

[imenja]

9. I second that

[asthmaticeog]

4. Reluctantly, I go with Jack Black.

His torpedoing of record geeks in "High Fidelity" was genius, and if you didn't love "School of Rock," I'm sorry, you've got no soul. That said, I find Tencaous D tedious after a very short while, and his one-joke persona's becoming grating. OTOH, Jack White needs to make another record as good as "De Stijl" again or he's gonna lose me for good.

[Magrittes Pipe]

11. Not gonna happen.

Jack White needs to make another record as good as "De Stijl" again or he's gonna lose me for good.

Most bands don't have a record half that good in them. Especially when they're little more than a second-rate Bantam Rooster with less skills and more style.

I think Jack White is a great showman -- so was P.T. Barnum, and he was no great shakes as a musician, either. And Meg is just so super sweet, I hate to say anything negative about her; but she really can't play the drums.

The first three White Stripes albums were good, with De Stijl being truly classic. They made some great singles, too. Elephant sucked ass (and the closing track was the only time I've EVER heard a Holly Golightly song that sucked).

I hope I'm wrong about this, but I don't think Jack White is going to replicate his earlier achievements. I think he's gonna ride us suckers as long as he can. And then Jack Black will make fun of us.

[asthmaticeog]

12. Re: Bantam Rooster

Ain't that always the way? There were superb blues-garage duos for 10 years before the White Stripes made it big - B. Rooster, Bassholes, Cash Money (my personal fave, no offense to Bim), a few others, and it was a great conceit. Really, you don't need anything more than a singer/guitarist and a drummer to make really great rock music. And it goes nowhere until someone figures out how to turn it into a cartoon.

[Magrittes Pipe]

15. Cash Money's my least-favorite of the three.

But they're still pretty good.

I'm a Bassholes/Gibson Bros. fan from way back. Don's a great blues howler, and a hell of a guy (when he's not depressed, which is 90% of the time).

[asthmaticeog]

16. It doesn't surprise me

that of Bantam, Bassholes and Cash, that Cash is your least fave - they're the most stylized, you generally seem to be more of a naturalist.

Agreed that Don Howland is a badass. And even in a bad band, Bim Thomas is brilliance personified (you've probably never seen him in American Standard, which is good - they were one of those unfortunate "three worthy musicians somehow = useless band" scenarios). There ain't a whole hell of a lot wrong with the Bassholes.

[Shredr]

19. But, come on, give the guy his due

He is a talented producer.

Loretta Lynn's VAN LEAR ROSE (which he produced for her when she was, what 90?) is a work of genius.

[Susang]

20. Humbly disagree

I've known of Jack White since he was the drummer for Goober and the Peas when he was 17 years old. He has a long career ahead of him and has not come close to peaking.

I also loved Elephant, but I'm from Detroit, so it's required. Unless you're a member of the Von Blondies, of course.

[Magrittes Pipe]

22. But Goober and the Peas SUCKED!

I love the record he did (as part of 2-Star Tabernacle) with Andre Williams, though.

As I said, didnae like Elephant. But, in case I didn't make it clear earlier, I find De Stijl to be a work of genius. I don't doubt Jackie's ability to do it right, because he's proven he can. I don't doubt his love for what got him to this point -- Delta blues and old-timey country, specifically; and the White Stripes' covers thereof are usually among their best songs.

De Stijl is better than (to refer to stuff mentioned earlier) any Bantam Rooster record, and half of the Bassholes' albums. Better, also, than the Black Keys' stuff (another Delta blues guitarist from the rust belt). Still, I find Jack to be the least talened guitarist of any of those bands -- okay, he may be better than Howland, but Don's true gift is his voice -- and I also find him being swept up in his image. And it makes me sad that he gets all the attention, while sweet little Megan gets ignored (even though she's not a very good drummer, and is very shy and retiring; while he's a good if not brilliant guitarist, a nice singer, and a FANTASTIC entertainer).

Again, it goes back to Ron's first post -- although I'll even take it a step further: if Jack doesn't write a song that approaches "Truth Doesn't Make a Noise," and if he doesn't cover a song as brilliantly as he did "Death Letter," I'll be very disappointed -- but I won't be surprised in the least.

[Susang]

24. Goober & the Peas were a great live band

Don't you besmirch my youthful memories!

http://www.motorcityrock.com/index.shtml

[Nailzberg]

5. Always bet on Black

Actually, I just don't know what the fuss is over Jack White. The White Stripes don't sound like anything special to me. Neither does Tenacious D, but then again they don't take themselves seriously.

[underpants]

6. No contest

[underpants]

7. The Evolution of Rock

[Huckebein the Raven]

8. Black

[imenja]

10. Someone please explain to me the appeal of Jack Black

If ever there was an example of a double standard in Hollywood, Jack Black is it. Can you imagine a woman of his comparable appearance making it?

So why do people like him? Is he especially funny? Is his demographic 25 and under?

[democracyindanger]

13. Um...Rosanne?

[HeyManThatsCool]

23. I was JUST about to say Roseanne!

lol

[MissMarple]

21. Well...I'm over 50 and I like him. He's funny, and seems genuine.

He just seems like a quirky, interesting guy. :shrug:

[Donkeyboy75]

14. Redd all over.

:shrug:

[jswordy]

17. The White Stripes rock!

Jack Black is lame.

I don't read fanzines so I don't know all the bullshit printed about them. Nor do I care. I make my judgments purely on the product they have produced.

:headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

[Emops]

18. I listened to "Elephant" by the White Stripes

and it was like someone jammed an icepick in my ear.

Are any of their previous albums better?