The White Stripes

The White Stripes emerged from Detroit in 1997 as a two-piece garage rock revival, comprising Jack White on guitar and vocals and Meg White on drums. Their aesthetic was stripped back and theatrical: red, white, and black colour schemes, sibling mythology (they were actually ex-spouses), and a deliberate primitivism that rejected studio excess. Their breakthrough arrived with White Blood Cells (2001), though Elephant (2003) brought commercial triumph via "Seven Nation Army", whose bass-line riff became a global football chant. The band's sound drew from Delta blues, punk's raw energy, and Led Zeppelin's dynamic shifts, with Jack's distorted guitar timbre and Meg's minimalist drumming creating space rather than clutter. They won six Grammy Awards and sold over 14 million records worldwide before disbanding in 2011. Their influence reshaped early 2000s rock, proving that constraint could generate power. The White Stripes rejected the polished, digitised zeitgeist of their era, offering instead a visceral, analogue rebellion that felt both古 and urgent.