The White Stripes were an American rock duo, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the couple, married at the time, Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, bass and keyboards) and Meg White (drums and occasional vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums within the Detroit music scene, The White Stripes rose to prominence in 2002, as part of the garage rock revival scene. Their successful and critically acclaimed albums White Blood Cells and Elephant drew attention from a large variety of media outlets in the United States and the United Kingdom, with the single "Seven Nation Army" and its now-iconic guitar line becoming a huge hit. The band recorded two more albums, Get Behind Me Satan in 2005 and Icky Thump in 2007, and dissolved in 2011 after a lengthy hiatus from performing and recording.
The White Stripes used a low-fidelity approach to writing and recording. Their music featured a melding of garage rock and blues influences and a raw simplicity of composition, arrangement, and performance. The duo was also noted for their fashion and design aesthetic which featured a simple color scheme of red, white, and black—which was used on every album and single cover the band released—as well as the band's fascination with the number three. The band's discography consists of six studio albums, one live album, two extended plays (EP), one concert film, one tour documentary, twenty-six singles, and fourteen music videos. Their last three albums each won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.
The White Stripes is the debut studio album by American alternative rock duo The White Stripes, released on June 15, 1999. The album was produced by Jim Diamond and vocalist/guitarist Jack White, recorded in January 1999 at Ghetto Recorders and Third Man Studios in Detroit. White dedicated the album to deceased blues musician Son House.
Johnny Walker of the Soledad Brothers played slide guitar on two songs: "Suzy Lee" and "I Fought Piranhas". Walker is credited with having taught Jack White how to play slide, a technique featured heavily on the White Stripes' first two albums. Walker explains, "[Jack] had a four track in his living room and invited me to come by and do some recording. In return, I showed him how to play slide."
The duo covered "St. James Infirmary Blues" after, according to Jack, he and Meg were introduced to the song from a Betty Boop cartoon.
The album received mostly positive reviews. Norene Cashen of The Metro Times said the LP "serves better to remind us that [Detroit's] local identity has more options than a membership card to the latest cliché...or a one-way ticket to the coast."
I just don't know what to do with myself
I don't know what to do with myself
Planning everything for two
Doing everything with you
And now that we're through
I just don't know what to do
I just don't know what to do with myself
I don't know what to do with myself
Movies only make me sad
Parties make me feel as bad
'Cause I'm not with you
I just don't know what to do
Like a summer rose
Needs the sun and rain
I need your sweet love
To feel all the way
Well, I don't know what to do with myself
Just don't know what to do with myself
Planning everything for two
Doing everything with you
And now that we're through
I just don't know what to do
Like a summer rose
Needs the sun and rain
I need your sweet love
To feel all the way
I just don't know what to do with myself
Just don't know what to do with myself
Just don't know what to do with myself