Great !

This is the best music I've heard since the 60's.

White Stripes are a fabulous talent!

Songs are meaningful.

I love this amazing album.

How do you spell overrated? E-L-E-P-H-A-N-T

Whenever a band I don't care for becomes all the rage, I at least try to understand the music. I like to think that I've moved away from my judgmental, dismissive habits with popular music. When Dave Matthews was sitting on top of the world, I thought he got too much credit for doing what I thought was bland music. Still I think I understood why other people liked him. Big deal. I don't think the Strokes are all that special, but I know what people see in them and it doesn't, as well as shouldn't, bother me.



But I don't get the White Stripes. To me their bad quality is two-fold: their production/musicianship is amateurish and their songs are not the least bit interesting. That is the story of lots of bands around these days, and most of them happen to be 16-year-old guys who play with their stomp boxes in their parents' garages and basements. So what sets the White Stripes apart from the crowd is anyone's guess. It may have something to do with looks and fashion, for all I know.



Slop is not always endearing, and Elephant is one of those times that things sound just as bad as their circumstances. Seven Nation Army beats you over the head with monotonous guitars and drums. Black Math is nothing more than by-the-numbers punk featuring monotonous guitars and drums. Just Don't Know What To Do is Jack White's attempt to make something stretched-out and complex but it sounds like everything else on the CD because it has the same monotonous guitars and drums. You've Got Her In Your Pocket is an over-indulgent assault thanks to all of the monotonous guitars and drums. The Hardest Button To Button is nothing more than a brainless idea that chases its tale over and over with, you guessed it, monotonous guitars and drums. In The Cold, Cold Night features one of the flattest most unimpressive vocal performances since Nico. Is it any wonder this album was done in less than two weeks?



And why oh why has Jack White been singled out as a guitar hero for the 21st century? The fact that he outranked Steve Howe in Rolling Stone's pathetic top 100 list of all-time best guitarists is something that will baffle me to my dying day. I too can plug in a guitar, distort it, and pound out power chords until it goes out of tune. That doesn't make me a great guitarist. I can also sit down behind a drum set and keep an unsteady beat. Again, that doesn't make me a "raw genius."



I really had to chuckle to myself when so many professional critics anointed Elephant to be the best album of 2003. When I listen to Elephant (and yes I've listened to it, several times), I'm just reminded of how adolescent noise is so boring and unfulfilling.

Taking Advantage of Beautiful Creatures

I have been fascinated with Elephants since I was a young man. So, naturally when I saw the new White Stripes album I picked it up. I had to see what Jack Black and his sister had done with the great animals, musically.

I put it in, but to my surprise, not even one Elephant is on this album. What a lie! Obviously the White Stripes are trying to go mainstream by selling out to Elephant lovers everywhere. Why else would they title the album "Elephant"? To RIP US OFF!

There aren't any African beats, no Indian inspired music. Nothing infact has anything to do with elephants. It's one of the greatest letdowns of all time. I mean, how hard would it have been to sample an elephant making that classic noise of blowing through their trunk? If you expect elephant blowing, elephant stomping, and african beats (like I did) then you will be very disappointed by this album.



Jack Black, what are you going to name your next album?: "Reality Show", those are hot now! I bet you could sell lots of records to Reality Show fans too!

And, not one penny of any of these albums goes to protect Elephants or to restore their habitats. Unacceptable!