The White Stripes song Meg White liked least
Jack and Meg White, the enigmatic duo behind The White Stripes, had a singular impact on the US garage rock revival and played a pivotal role in rejuvenating the wider genre for a new generation. Their signature blend of bluesy rock, primal “thumping” energy, and laid-back approach breathed new life into an industry that had become somewhat saturated with polished production and elaborate stage shows.
The White Stripes were distinguished by their audacious minimalism, consisting of Jack’s punchy, overdriven guitar riffs and Meg’s simplistic yet uniquely engaging drumming style. This raw and unapologetic front seemed to disguise the fact that, under the surface, Jack’s then-wife was plagued by shyness and insecurity. Against the odds, she joined her husband to become half of one of the most successful modern rock bands.
Meg’s minimalistic yet quaking beats have described her as the world’s “loudest introvert.” For the most part, she would ride on Jack’s comparatively self-assured demeanour, compliant and nurturing to his creative whim. However, Meg had to put her foot down on at least one occasion.
When recording The White Stripes’ fourth studio album, Elephant, Meg resisted ‘Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine’. The song addresses the placebo effect observed in pharmacology. Concerned that the song was about herself, Meg demanded that some words be altered before agreeing to record it in the studio.
“I suppose it is just about this tongue-in-cheek take on male and female relationships when things are bothering girls about headache medicine,” Jack explained in a Q&A on Genius.com. “Aspirin, Tylenol and things like that. It’s like men can take anything like a sugar pill, and it will make their headache go away but there is always some sort of special care for women. It is sort of a metaphor for taking the time to care for someone, I guess.”
It is unclear whether Meg was unhappy with the song’s gender stereotype, as Jack explained it, or whether it hit too close to home. Either way, she was expressly not its biggest fan, inciting Jack to joke that he would change the lyrics to “Meg, you have no faith in medicine” when performing it on stage.
Listen to ‘Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine’ below.
