White Blood Cells

Personally, a classic. So influential was this album to me in high school that Citizen Kane is full of references to The Union Forever, not the other way around.

I usually like the white stripes, but this sounded like it was made by a 13 yr old

White Stripes. So massive, so popular and.................. I never understood it. Bores the pants off me

Look, I think Seven Nation Army is great but there was nothing on this album to get excited about. If some of those noises emanated from your teenage kid's bedroom, you wouldn't be rushing them off to sign a record deal, you'd be asking them to move out. "Little Room" was included just to try my patience.

I'm going to be frank- I hate Jack White's nasally voice. I don't love his composition or guitar skills much more, either. I can't even be very objective about this, but practically everything he touches just irritates the hell out of me, and I had no fun here. At least it's brief- 40 minutes in the CD era is basically EP material. I'll try to meet half way for those who see the appeal and give this an extra star, but it's an F for me, dog.

A perfect album that came out at the right time to prove to the world real rock wasn't dead.

2.5 | ¿Qué pasa cuando en un periodo de 3 años sacas 3 discos y 50 canciones? Paja... mucha muchísima paja. Tomando en cuenta que de los primeros tres discos este (merecidamente) es el mejor y el que los hizo famosos es todavía más extraño ver entre canciones brillantes como Hotel Yorba, We're Gonna Be Friends o This Protector tanta... tantísima paja y canciones intercambiables y que suenan 75% iguales entre unas y otras. Creo parte de mi problema es algo que tengo con todo el género, todo ese renacimiento de Rock Garage a inicios de los 2000's, todas esas bandas de The... Strokes, Hives, Vines, White Stripes, Killers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arctic Monkeys etc etc. Todas tienen el mismo sonido de manera general, regresando sí, a un sonido crudo, de producción simple y poco trabajada, inmediato, "relatable", todas logran sonar "bien"... De hecho en muchas ocasiones sonar "muy bien" pero hasta ahí en mi opinión. Terminan siendo muy intercambiables, con algunas canciones y sencillos muy muy buenos pero como para prestar atención a un disco completo terminan en una nube de rock crudo de buen sonido pero indistinto y con un dejo de sensación de superioridad. Hace bastantes años que no escuchaba este disco y me dejó con la misma sensación que la primera vez... Tiene un par de buenas canciones y lo demás cansa.

When the White Stripes first appeared in summer 2001, I was initially very keen. However, I quickly found that their songs didn't have staying power - they sound great on first listen, but I don't have a strong urge to revisit. So, this was my first listen to this in nearly 20 years. I haven't really changed my mind - there are some strong singles here, but none that would make my personal playlist, and some of the other songs are one-dimensional. I also particularly dislike his 'proper gentleman' attitude, which I think at the time was mistaken for charmingly retro, but I think in fact is backward chauvanism. Not one I would want to listen to again.

Good record. Out of the context of the time, it doesnt make sense anymore. Not because the record is bad, but because in that moment it was shocking, then everyone else came behind and copied Jack White. It's no longer uncommon to find 100 records that want to be Jack White. But if you can listen with the ears and imagination that this sounds fresh, it's a great listen.

I love The White Stripes, I'm happy to see this on the list. This is the least good of their albums and it still kicks the ass of almost anything else. Their music is so simple, yet so different, and they always sound like they're having so much fun. I could listen to them all day and have done so many times. Fun stuff, love it lots.

The musical equivalent of supermarket sushi.

I was somewhat surprised that it was rated one of the 1,001 albums I must hear before I die. I suspect I am some sort of musical philistine, because I could not for the life of me understand why it was unique or important. It had me questioning the merit of the selection committee for this project, though I know it is probably me who is the problem. Nevertheless, it was a heap of lightly smouldering trash.

By the end it was barely listenable. Hated it. I can hear the good intentions and enthusiasm, but they didn't make up for the bad songs, awful and intrusive drumming, grating vocals, overbearing harsh sounding guitar. I appreciate the idea of a 'back to basics' stripped down sound, but get a producer.

Solid album. I like the raw, demo feel it has. A lot of songs seem like they could fit into a 90's iPod commercial with the black silhouette and bright background colors. Fuzz. Blues. Garage. Killer.

Blues and bangers coupled with some sweet folk noise. It’s bonkers and it’s fun and dark in all the right ways.

This is where I came in with them. Saw them on this tour in St Louis. An integral part of the soundtrack to my life and one of those relatively rare instances where the mainstream sucks an indie act into the stratosphere and got it right. Something akin to Nirvana injecting raw energy back into mainstream rock music a decade before.

Jesus Christ with this fucking band. "Our drummer is barely competent and we recorded in a bathroom using a dictaphone!" The American music buying public: "YES!"

This album was such a breath of fresh air when it came out. Popular music had really reached a nadir at the turn of the millennium. These two really reshaped things in a really good way. I can remember hearing “Fell in Love with a Girl” the first time and really felt like I could breathe a sigh of relief. Thank goodness for Jack White I say.

I'm familiar with later White Stripes, but not this album. This album rocks! It feels a bit like classic 70s rock to me a lot of the time, which is a good thing. "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" is one of the harder rocking songs. I wouldn't have been surprised to have heard something like this from Bad Company in the 1970s. Great opening to the album! "Hotel Yorba" has a really great jaunty beat and a fantastic chorus. SO so good. One of my favorites. "I'm Finding It Harder To Be a Gentleman" is a slower but still awesome rocker with some great organ. Really great organ. "Fell In Love With A Girl" leans away from 70s hard rock and more towards punk. It's another impressive song and makes me wonder how a single person created such a diversity of songs. There is not a song on this album that I don't like or love. "Expecting" has a very interesting stuttering guitar. "Little Room" brings an intense drumbeat with some incredible vocalizations by Jack White. This guy is amazing. "The Union Forever" is a dark, moody rock song and I love Jack's voice with its incredible intensity especially as it cracks on the choruses. Then suddenly near the end has a vocal solo accompanied by a tapping drumstick before lapsing back into its somber melody. Incredible! "The Same Boy You've Always Known" is one of my absolute favorite songs on this album. Again that strong 70s rock vibe with a beautiful vocal performance. This is a perfect rock song. "We're Going To Be Friends" is a really sweet song that is about a school day in the lives of a couple of kids that perfectly captures that infatuation and joy of a young kid making a new friend. It gave me chills in its ability to take me back to the best times in elementary school. "Offend in Every Way" has really great, interesting guitar work and that strong beat that drives so many of The White Stripes' songs. I can rave about all the rest of the songs. But instead I will just wrap up by noting that this is one hell of an album that offers so much. Rock was alive and well at the turn of the 20th century in this incredible album. There is great variety but the album holds together well. Really liked the piano-driven closing song "This Protector." Meg White joins in to great effect! One of my favorite listens in what has been a journey filled with great listens. This is a great rock album!

Good stuff - gonna listen to this one most of the day. May be biased because of past two days of bleh albums, but 5*

I love the energy Jack Black brings. It always feels a little hillbilly meets hard rock. Sort of carrying the CCR, John Cougar-Melloncamp thread alive.

I truly forgot about this album so it felt like rediscovering an old friend

Well this is not very enjoyable. I have respect for Jack White and everything he does for the music industry, namely actually pressing decent quality vinyl records, but dear lord is his voice ever annoying. He’s got this weird whiny early Beatles John Lennon style that I just can’t seem to enjoy listening to. Musically it’s.. fine.. nothing groundbreaking. Meg Whites drums continue to be the bare minimum. The guitar riffs are full of boring powerchords and again, very boring. Full disclosure: I had absolutely no idea that “We’re Gonna Be Friends” was a white stripes song. It’s perhaps the only redeeming part of this record. Delightful little folk track that, despite being overused in every indie movie of the era, is still really fun to listen to! I won’t be listening to this again. 2* but only cuz “We’re Gonna Be Friends” is catchy as hell.

Whilst there are a couple of stand out tracks, this feels more like a collection of songs than a coherent album, so once it finished I was left feeling underwhelmed and unimpressed

There is so much I could write in detail while actually analyzing my feelings and thoughts and strangely enough - emotions - about each song, each chord change, the arrangements and each note of this record. Instead I'll keep it simple: I unequivocally and wholeheartedly hate everything about this album. 2/10 1 star.

Uspakajająco pozytywny rock :)

Energetic <3<3<3 We're going to be friends

Recording in a studio for the first time did not take the garage out of the rock! Even then it was possible to hear the beginning of what would come later with the expansion of musicians, instrumentation and genres.

Simplicity at its best. They feed off of each other so well that yo I forget there is only 2 of them in the band. This is what brought back rock music after grunge. Sure, Jack White may look like Michael Jackson’s brother at this point but so what, this was long before that happened. 16 songs and only 2 I don’t care for. That really doesn’t matter because this album takes you on a foot tapping journey. This album is so good that your mind can lead you to believe that Meg White is a 10. Seriously. It’s that good. Choice cut: offend in every way

The first half of this album is incredible, the second half isn't quite as strong but still great. More raw than Elephant which I think is mostly a good thing, don't think it's quite as good but it's nice to have a bit of progression in the sound between albums. 4.5.

Very strong start, Dead leaves and dirty ground is excellent. The album as a whole felt complete, nothing out of place, a lot of variety. Cannot fault it

Absolutely influential Early 2000s rock band. Incredible album. No Seven Nation Army though so 0/10

Includes "we're going to be friends", one of my favorite songs. Great variety of melodies, solid album all the way through.

I guess I kinda like the White Stripes.

The thin vocals paired with minimal instrumentation somehow result in a sound that is greater than the sum of its parts. I think the Whites could have shaved off 3 or 4 songs to maximize the punch of these particular Blood Cells.

This was a badly needed breath of fresh air when it came out and now I'm pretty tired of breathing it. So stripped down, it brought to mind Billy Bragg and Violent Femmes, at least to me, at least in 2001. Just the way that, without a ton of studio tricks, these songs were compelling. 'Hotel Yorba' is a sentimental favorite and I still like its optimistic view toward relationships. 'I Think I Smell a Rat' is abysmal and I don't want to hear it ever again. That's a big range. A lot of it sounds kind of samesy after a while and fades into the background.

Not quite avant garde traditionalism, but elevated for sure by its commitment to playing fast and loose with its own fidelity to the blues. Barely any of the songs feel like they've been conceived as songs, but all lined up they definitely sounds like they've been conceived as an album. So okay, maybe avant garde traditionalism after all.

Has the same energy as rice crispies, a static television or a scratched record. Impressive what you can do with just a guitar and drums. Far from virtuosic on either of those instruments but the album has an energy and rawness which you can only admire. I'm a fan of The White Stripes but given a choice of their albums this is not the one I would listen to.

boy, i haven't listened to this since it came out, and i forgot how great it is. it's amazing how much noise these two make and how much range they have. it's charming, fun, funny, angry, rebellious, esoteric, and raw. quite a feat. it feels more like a 4 to me but i can't find anything to ding it, so we're going with the full 5.

16 songs in 40 minutes. Often feels like a Led Zeppelin demo tape … a bare bones riff driven delight.

Such a great album! All energy. Basic but not simple. How do they get this energy out of such stripped down instruments? Felt fresh when it came out. Still does today.

Raw, rough around the edges, bawdy and bold - and a grreat fit for my Tidal library.

Core garage rock and rock revival. Not all the songs here are interesting, but I've had half of them already saved. I wish there was more of a theme to them, but there are a lot of lovely hitst here. Not pure 5/5, but good enough

The first 30 seconds of "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" permanently altered my brain chemistry

Very tough decision between a 4 and a 5, but calling this a 4.5 rounded up because I listened to it probably 5 times today and kept adding more songs to my faves playlist.

If forgotten how much I listened to this (and the first 2) album. I learned nearly every song in the guitar. Hard not to give this a 5 for nostalgia’s sake.

more samples from the white stripes. like their previous album i listened to, this one is SUPER similar in sound; fans of the last one will certainly like this one. aggressive and frantic indie rock; music perfect for a moshpit. despite the compressed and arguably lo-fi sound, these two have a LOT to bring to the table. a pivotal and popular rock album of the 2000s, really!

One of the best rock albums of the 21st century. Jack White would write more iconic songs but I don't think he was ever better than this, where each song is a short, sharp blast of innovative guitar playing and yelped lyrics. Makes you want to form a band.

As a card-carrying snob, I’d have gone with de Stijl but it’s whatever. Jack has made no albums that aren’t a five

One of my favourite albums

Incredible

I use to love them for the first couple records and then fell out of love with them. Listening again I remember exactly why I loved them. They're exactly what we needed in the early 2000's.

I knew 'Fell In Love With a Girl' before and had seen this around but never listened before. I liked 'Now Mary' right away. I think this is currently 4/5 for me but definitely has 5 star potential so I'm giving it 5.

amazing album, would give 6 stars out of 5

Love this album, it has been one of my loyal companions since high school and all the way through college. No way this isn't a 10/10 I relistened to this while playing the Boo levels in Super Mario 64

It many songs that I've heard before that I could not did not know the title of. Amazing album

With the 2000s and the decline of grunge, rock was in need of a revival. There appeared a few main paths towards rock exploration: either you take the Butt Rock with all of its aggressive drunk, divorced dad tendencies as they pushed you to push your fist through the drywall; or you can allow a new exploration of blues and indie influences with some absolutely torturous guitar riffs. This is the later, music that is poetic and beefy. Jack White taking cheaply built guitars and absolutely ripping them apart along with Meg's simplistic, yet mathematical drum beats adds up to some gut punching beauty. I personally love both avenues of 2000s rock, save for the Hinder, Five Finger Death Punch, Avenged Sevenfold nonsense. However, I would not lie to myself and say the path that Jack White forged isn't infinitely more impactful to the advancement of modern rock, because it absolutely is. Chicago took Blues and added electricity, The White Stripes took Chicago Blues and created mayhem.

Amazing album so many different styles of songs. Loved it!

There are some real bangers on this album. It gets a little less great towards the end, and I'd have loved more of the precious acoustic stuff but great album.

Big fan of Jack White and his early work, so I gotta go 5 with this one.

You’re gonna need a bigger room…

This is one of my all time favorite records. A true, raw, garage rock LP full of bangers. All that we loved about The White Stripes in a single, awesome package. It has some weaker songs, but still delivers in a nice all-rounded package.

yeeee

lots of good ones, a classic

Old favourite

I really liked this album by the White Stripes. A great sound. 5/5

Really cool that Jack White has been Jack White since the beginning. He's such a unique dude, but his magic seems to be a lack of excess or change. Like he knows who he is, knows what he likes, but still finds manages to create stuff that's fresh. He's tapped into something pure. Also seems like he hasn't let production get in the way. The spirit is the through line. 4.5

Very Hood album classic Indie rock 15/10

Nostalgic classic.

Fuck Rush and all the other overblown prog bands. *This* is perfect rock and roll. Long live Jack and Meg. 5+/5

I love this….takes me back to being 12 and I loved it then too

I love The White Stripes. They introduced me to indie rock. It hasn't gotten boring since. Love the guitar. Love the drums.

Super interesante

Talk to me Jack

Top to bottom, this is classic White Stripes. A blend of blues, folk, punk, country and rock with a minimalist structure. Loud and raucous

A nearly flawless album (I don’t love “I Can Learn”). Boundless energy.

This is the album that got me into the White Stripes originally. Still love listening to it from start to finish. It's a great album - very different from their blues-rock prior albums, and starts their transition to being a rock band with this garage rock style album. So good! From start to finish, I can't get enough of this album.

no complaints

Rating based on how much I loved when it was new

That's Icky

Solid from start to finish.

I really liked this album. I had heard of the band but hadn’t listened to their music. It’s a little raw, a little unpolished and authentic. Just the antidote for all the over- processed drivel that passes for music these days.

Is this my favorite White Stripes album? No. Are The White Stripes my favorite band? Yes. Do they instantly get 5 stars on all albums that pop up here (which is 3 btw, WBC and Elephant are assumed but GBMS? Really?) also yes. 10/10

White Stripes and any Jack White project get 5/5 from me. 5/5

Kick ass

This is one of the best albums of all time in my opinion. My love of TWS and Jack came from this, hearing Fell in Love... On music channels, dead leaves, hotel Yorba. The imagery, the musicianship, the riffs and Drums as I'd never heard them used before! I know the whole thing back to front side to side and word for word.

Own it. Still an awesome album

Maybe my favorite overall White Stripes album.

The White Stripes are easily one of the best and most consistent rock bands of their time. They thrive off simplicity and have made their unpolished sound so iconic. With that they have managed to create some of the most explosive and energetic rock music ever, all packaged perfectly in this album.

I discovered them through De Stijl, but this was the album that made me love the White Stripes. In fact, I don't think any of their other albums can live up to this one. Great mix of garage rock, blues, punk, R&B and just a primal thump of garbage. So good.

Love it.

could i write poetry to this? raw and complexly simple ones. good. Y

All White Stripes albums are great. The first three in particular are raw and amplify the capabilities of an act that constrained themselves to just vocals, guitar, drums, and piano. Speaking of the drums... There has long been a debate over whether Meg White is a good or bad drummer. I fall into the pro-Meg camp. Her style of playing is exactly what the music calls for and any added complexity would have diminished the songs greatly. I would give this one four stars, as I like their self-titled debut the best. However, I'll give this an extra because the White Stripes knew when to end the band and keep their integrity mostly intact. Their closest contemporary (and perceived rival band), The Black Keys chose another path. They kept adding more and more instruments and became a bloated, overproduced version of themselves. Online beefing with fans and celebrities alike did not serve them well. The Black Keys were last seen canceling an ill-advised arena tour and instead playing a big-ticket party for a bunch of Trump-loving crypto-bros.

One of ,y all time favs

A perfect example of how to get a whole lot out of very little. This has super basic instrumentation but the songs still all completely kick the llamas ass. This is absolutely stacked with classic songs that have been with me for over 20 years now. It's been awhile, though, since I listened to the full album start to finish, and I found myself loving the songs that I had forgotten about. An excellent listening experience start to finish.

It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to the White Stripes. And I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever listened to a whole album all the way through. This has been great!! And it had that great song We’re going to be friends! 5 stars for this one.

So good! Unique and different each track is so special and yet goes well with the album as a whole!

I'm old enough to remember this being a big thing. Rough and ready and lo-fi, but Jack White is a great songwriter and they still stand up.

Outstanding. This album has a little bit of everything for everyone, and it cooks. 5/5

Gets an extra star for the memories.