It almost looks like they are playing their instruments, ...almost.
I wonder where they got the footage of the cheering crowd from?

But Mink you are still missing the point and being somewhat of a snob:

A person with good taste usually likes many genres, but chooses the particular songs and artists carefully. He/she usually plays an instrument or sings or has studied music or has had parents who constantly played good music in the house. Coincidence? Or education?
You are deciding what 'good' taste is... you're also being elitist by saying that those who have 'good' taste plays an instrument/sings and has studied... what bull.

There are people who have studied and play an instrument etc. etc. and yet have no emotional connection to music at all, who are lifeless and souless when it comes to music. Then there are those with NO musical training who can create the most amazing, soulful pieces of music ever.

Stop trying to suggest that those who have studied music are somehow 'better' or 'more qualified' to have an opinion on music... they just aren't.

And the statement of I just LIKE the theory of intelligent design, don't be such a snob with your evolution and your "evidence", it's all just a matter of taste. Is just pure drivel in this context, it has no baring at all. Musical taste isn't about 'evidence' or anything of the sort... music is what people ENJOY, what people LIKE, what people LOVE to listen to.

Creationism vs Evolution is a battle over the WAY THINGS WORK... music isn't, music is about feelings and emotions and the 'gut'... don't try and lower music appreciation to just another subject to be studied to death... that can kill an appreciation of music as much as promote it.

But I REALLY like bananas!

In reply to this comment by MINK:
I just disagree. there IS such thing as "good" music, and there is such thing as "crap" music. but there's some different issues getting mixed up here, so let me explain...

The comparison to filet mignon and bananas is pathetic. Man did not create bananas. Nobody had the choice of creating a totally new plant and decided on the banana. The banana is not art. You could even say the banana is a higher form of food than filet mignon, because god/evolution made it over a period of billions of years. That has nothing to do with 2unlimited making a pop song.

anyway. i could write a book about this but... consider this question:

is it possible to study music?

if you answer yes, then please stop with your postpostpostmodern "it's just my opinion" bullshit. There is a theory of music. It works. Pop sells because it uses the theory very well. Bad songs don't use the theory well. The theory is scientific. If you study it you will write "better" songs. Some people have better intuition, but you can study it.

Some writers, for example Elton John, churn out the same stuff over and over, and i personally can't stand it. But it is good music. I would prefer if he innovated more, and i vomit at the thought of having to endure one of his concerts, but i have to accept that he is a master songwriter. Not just because of his popularity and durability, although that's a pretty good indicator.

You are getting confused by genres. There is good pop and bad pop, good techno and bad techno, good classical music and bad classical music (but we kinda lost all the bad classical over time, because it was bad, so now it looks like all classical music was perfect)

You might not like these modern repetitive drum sounds, but your african ancestors did.

You might prefer Kylie to Celine Dion, but they both make good quality music. People use the words "bad" and "good" to encompass all things, but i would argue that there are fundamentals at work, and then your preference is a thin layer on top.

Peronally, I call Celine Dion "bad" but i am expressing an opinion on the way she does not innovate, she goes for the easy win, and i think innovation is essential because it's how we got to the great music we have today. But hey, not everyone wants to contribute, some people just want to cash in.

Bjork is right that if music makes you happy, you should listen to it and enjoy it and not worry about snobs.

BUT

She, and the commenters above, are wrong to dismiss the idea that you could actually educate yourself and improve your taste

Taste isn't a lucky dip of equally valid choices, it is a scale from bad taste to good taste.

A person with good taste usually likes many genres, but chooses the particular songs and artists carefully. He/she usually plays an instrument or sings or has studied music or has had parents who constantly played good music in the house. Coincidence? Or education?

I am not just being technical here, music has many facets which take more than 15 seconds and an IQ of 56 to appreciate, and the music industry and media distort the supply of music, and governments don't seem interested in teaching music, so look at the crap we get.

In summary, i just can't stand it when people say it's all a matter of taste. It is not that simple.

it should be noted that bjork has never made a shitty song in her life ... so is she just saying that's it's an accident that she was born with the same tastes as millions of people? Or is there something fundamentally powerful in her music that makes people change their tastes... to move their tastes closer to hers, because they learnt something without even noticing. Does she just write whatever frequencies she feels like? Or does she use a piano with strings tightened to frequencies which are mysteriously "good" and accepted by billions of people?

Does anyone "prefer" the 6.34572/42 time signature?? No.

Would you accept that the reason you don't understand some music is because you are ignorant? You say you "don't like it" as if you've taken the time to study it and come to a knowledgeable conclusion. I guess you haven't.

You just say it's all about taste because you can't be bothered to learn anything.

I just disagree. there IS such thing as "good" music, and there is such thing as "crap" music. but there's some different issues getting mixed up here, so let me explain...

The comparison to filet mignon and bananas is pathetic. Man did not create bananas. Nobody had the choice of creating a totally new plant and decided on the banana. The banana is not art. You could even say the banana is a higher form of food than filet mignon, because god/evolution made it over a period of billions of years. That has nothing to do with 2unlimited making a pop song.

anyway. i could write a book about this but... consider this question:

is it possible to study music?

if you answer yes, then please stop with your postpostpostmodern "it's just my opinion" bullshit. There is a theory of music. It works. Pop sells because it uses the theory very well. Bad songs don't use the theory well. The theory is scientific. If you study it you will write "better" songs. Some people have better intuition, but you can study it.

Some writers, for example Elton John, churn out the same stuff over and over, and i personally can't stand it. But it is good music. I would prefer if he innovated more, and i vomit at the thought of having to endure one of his concerts, but i have to accept that he is a master songwriter. Not just because of his popularity and durability, although that's a pretty good indicator.

You are getting confused by genres. There is good pop and bad pop, good techno and bad techno, good classical music and bad classical music (but we kinda lost all the bad classical over time, because it was bad, so now it looks like all classical music was perfect)

You might not like these modern repetitive drum sounds, but your african ancestors did.

You might prefer Kylie to Celine Dion, but they both make good quality music. People use the words "bad" and "good" to encompass all things, but i would argue that there are fundamentals at work, and then your preference is a thin layer on top.

Peronally, I call Celine Dion "bad" but i am expressing an opinion on the way she does not innovate, she goes for the easy win, and i think innovation is essential because it's how we got to the great music we have today. But hey, not everyone wants to contribute, some people just want to cash in.

Bjork is right that if music makes you happy, you should listen to it and enjoy it and not worry about snobs.

BUT

She, and the commenters above, are wrong to dismiss the idea that you could actually educate yourself and improve your taste

Taste isn't a lucky dip of equally valid choices, it is a scale from bad taste to good taste.

A person with good taste usually likes many genres, but chooses the particular songs and artists carefully. He/she usually plays an instrument or sings or has studied music or has had parents who constantly played good music in the house. Coincidence? Or education?

I am not just being technical here, music has many facets which take more than 15 seconds and an IQ of 56 to appreciate, and the music industry and media distort the supply of music, and governments don't seem interested in teaching music, so look at the crap we get.

In summary, i just can't stand it when people say it's all a matter of taste. It is not that simple.

it should be noted that bjork has never made a shitty song in her life ... so is she just saying that's it's an accident that she was born with the same tastes as millions of people? Or is there something fundamentally powerful in her music that makes people change their tastes... to move their tastes closer to hers, because they learnt something without even noticing. Does she just write whatever frequencies she feels like? Or does she use a piano with strings tightened to frequencies which are mysteriously "good" and accepted by billions of people?

Does anyone "prefer" the 6.34572/42 time signature?? No.

Would you accept that the reason you don't understand some music is because you are ignorant? You say you "don't like it" as if you've taken the time to study it and come to a knowledgeable conclusion. I guess you haven't.

You just say it's all about taste because you can't be bothered to learn anything.

I specifically said I don't have any issue with people who like this song, so I'm starting to think you all just enjoy being offended and/or arguing. Spoco, I give you credit for making a meaningful statement in your response. Unfortunately you've joined in with the squirrel, painting a false representation of me with your own brush and then blaming me for what it looks like.

I don't listen to much obscure music, especially these days. Even back in my teens, most of my favorite music was known artists: Stabbing Westward, God Lives Underwater, NIN, Fiona Apple, Live... None of them were exactly underground 10 years ago. I've never been one of those drones who turn against a band when they become popular.

To illustrate another point, I'll use the Damien Rice video just mentioned above. I just watched it. I didn't like it. It's in no way bad; it's just not my thing. I can respect it even though I don't like it because it's still obvious talent. He can sing, write and play. He has put that extra something into his work... that extra something that makes him an artist rather than an ordinary attention whore.

Chewbakawaka doesn't fit that definition. There's a dozen people in the band and apparently not one of them can write a song or music or play an instrument.

Do I have "guilty pleasures"? Probably, but I don't claim they are anything but. People keep ignoring me when I say that I'm criticizing the people who don't admit or recognize this is a stupid, meaningless song whether they enjoy it or not. I've said previously that if you just aren't that picky and/or just enjoy a dumb party song, I hold no judgment. I don't really get you, but whatever. If you're one of the many people I've met, including several of my friends, who think this is a great song, then I think there's something wrong with you or something missing from your life.

On a quick side note, several people seem to have missed the fact that this site is all about critique and passing judgment. This is the wrong place to be if you have a tantrum every time someone criticizes you or your taste.

Its roots-rock, JAPR. Folk and blues-revivalists (ex: Bob Dylan) tend to revel in the anti-perfection, anti-production, and singular voice of the originals (ex: Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson). By 'singular voice' I mean a minimally invasive backing following the lead wherever the lead wants to go.

Implying that for performers to be good they must skillfully comply to playing their instrument as 'professionally' as others is practically the definition of musical close-mindedness.

... not that I'm calling you close-minded; I don't know you, and for all I know you wrote your comment in 15 seconds based on watching 10 seconds of the clip... I'm just throwing that out there, is-all. Spicing up the boards!

You really think it was rigged with an animatronic trunk?? Its clear that the elephant can physically paint. The only question is whether it's been trained to paint that specific painting, or if it could create new recognizable images.

Elephants can play musical instruments and teach each other to do so. Some of the music is almost recognizable as such!

100 years from now people will ask "what's the point in playing an instrument - why not just let a computer do it?"

WTH? She isn't lip-syncing AND she plays an instrument? She must have to do that because she can't dance and they couldn't afford any good backup dancers.

upvote for content if not production values...
i am waiting for the machine to transfer the amazing music in my head onto mp3. somehow when i actually play an instrument it never sounds right

As far as Meg's drumming, I'm in agreement that it's all been said.

Here's a quote from Bamdrew in another White Stripes sift that I feel should be read by anyone who comes into a WS sift and complains about Meg's drumming:

"i'm tired of people raggin on her sucking at drumming. she had no musical training before she started banging the beat out for jack; its not like she's pretending to be a virtuoso, she's backing up the lead with simple, primal, 1-2 beats.

i think it would be distracting if there were some fucking danny carrey going nuts on all their bluesy, roots-rock songs. they've been around for a while now, they have a grammy award, its time to understand she's playing the drums exactly how jack wants them played." -Bamdrew

Couldn't have said it better myself.


@Hex, That's awesome. I would've loved to have seen that. Jack White once said that his favorite shows are when things go wrong and he's forced to improv. He feels that some of this generation of concert-goers are somewhat 'spoiled' in the sense that they come to a show, giving nothing to the energy/atmosphere and expect to be entertained. He says that's why they never have a specific set-list, plays with instruments that he's played with for years, and never has anything specific in mind as to how the show will go. Any disasterous event (IE- a broken string) would be the saving grace, and leave the audience with something that they'd remember.

Obsidianfire: Yeah, Meg White has an attractive body. Unfortunately she has no talent. I've heard 8th graders playing in their garage who are better than she is. Seriously.

Jack White is pretty impressive, though. I would love to see him do some collaborations with people who can actually play their instruments.

I hope that guy actually plays an instrument... because really... Instrument playing: Excellent, gives joy to you and others, allows you to create and perform.

Playing one of these button mashers: Just kinda short term impressive, long term waste of time.

RE: Two minutes of hate...

That crossed my mind too. It was pretty uncomfortable.
Though, many feel that Andrew Card played an instrumental role in selling a war to the U.S. public based on fabricated premises with horrific and hateful consequences a great deal more significant than two minutes of booing and catcalls.

The students of University of Massachusetts Amherst who protested Andrew Card receiving an honorary degree were expressing their displeasure after their initial organized attempts to persuade the university to abandon the decision fell on deaf ears. They were well within their rights of free speech and protest is not always comfortable.

This instrument consists of more than 4 octave tuned bronze bells, originating in the Low Countries: Flanders ca. 1480 (North-France/Belgium/South- Netherlands). Worldwide, there are about 600 instruments. You can find them in North-America (30%) and Europe (65%) but also in Japan, Philippines, South-Africa and some other countries.
* You can learn to play this instrument! The oldest carillon school, founded in 1922 at Mechelen Belgium, was sponsored by Americans Herbert H. Hoover, John D. Rockefeller, and William Gorham Rice.
* If you have just a few bells, played by computer, without carillon keyboard and not played by a musician called "carillonneur"... it is NOT a carillon, it is a CHIME!