#24 Hello Operator
Hello Operator is to Rock 'n' Roll what You're Pretty Good Looking is to pop music. After opening the album with a newfound pop accessibility, Jack and Meg show how they can also reconfigure the few components they have to create a chunky rock swagger. It sounds kind of silly to say this now when we all see Jack White as the pre-eminent example of the modern-day rock god but you have to remember how many standard rock tropes the Detroit garage scene rejected. The first album was certainly loud and heavy but it lacked a key ingredient that is now so essential to Jack and his music: an irresistibly cool sense of confidence. There's an earnestness that pervades the bands early recordings, an extreme effort put into avoiding anything dishonest and superficial. It's at the heart of any offshoot of punk rock (garage revival being one of them) and The White Stripes, wacky colour scheme aside, obeyed this rule reasonably carefully early on. To me this makes Hello Operat...
