TMS Muse of the Week: Meg White
(Ewen Spencer)
I’m fascinated by people who would have never become famous outside of the certain context and circumstance that gave them success. The biggest example of this is former rock drummer Meg White. If you were a fan of the White Stripes or just popular music in the 2000s, you will remember Meg was well known for her shyness and privacy. When she wasn’t with ex-husband and bandmate Jack Gillis [now recognized with Meg’s surname], she kept to herself in her hometown of Detroit, MI. Whenever the alt-rock duo was interviewed, the vast majority of the questions were answered by Jack and all of the on-stage banter was from the guitarist-songwriter. So why did Meg agree to co-form a now acclaimed and legendary band if she didn’t like attention on herself? Well, that’s been open interpretation for as long as the Stripes have operated. Way back in 1997, Meg was a local Detroit bartender while Jack managed an upholstery shop in between playing with local bands. One random day when Meg was messing around with Jack’s drumset, the musician had an epiphany to craft songs around his wife’s basic technique.
For years, Meg was unfairly criticized for her supposed lack of ‘drum skills’ since her signature style is generally considered simplistic and basic. But what fans and critics didn’t seem to realize is that was exactly what Jack wanted for his quirky music act. Popular White Stripes songs like ‘Hello Operator’ (2000), ‘Fell in Love with a Girl’ (2001), ‘Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground’ (2001), ‘The Hardest Button to Button’ (2003) and their monster hit ‘Seven Nation Army’ (2003) all exist because of Meg’s beats. In an attempt to get the public to focus solely on the art, Jack initially introduced Meg as his ‘sister’ during performances and interviews the first couple years of relevancy. But the cat was out of the bag when both their marriage license and divorce certificate leaked online in 2001. Though more vocal and extroverted than Meg, Jack is just as private and has been dodging questions about their marriage and backstories for the past 20 years. Asking the bigger question of why Meg bothered to stick around for the superstardom they received for their albums ‘De Stijl’ (2000), ‘White Blood Cells’ (2001) and ‘Elephant’ (2003)?
Jack and Meg not only carried on as a duo professionally for the next five years, but also participated in a tongue-in-check segment of Jim Jarmusch’s indie anthology feature Coffee & Cigarettes (2003), playing up their original ‘sibling’ aliases. Jack even convinced Meg to expand her efforts for the track ‘In the Cold, Cold Night’ on ‘Elephant’ with singing lead. By 2008, the White Stripes were on hiatus after promoting their sixth album ‘Icky Thump,’ and in 2011 officially announced disbandment. Music fans mourned the loss of the decade’s best output in the rock scene; but their legacy, mystique and place in pop culture lives on. Jack continued his career with solo work and other bands including the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather, while Meg went back to obscurity the minute their final tour ended.
(via medium.com)
A decade later, and there’s still a lot of mystery surrounding Jack and Meg. Listening to Jack’s lyrics, we can guess which Meg inspired. ‘Truth Doesn’t Make a Noise’ from ‘De Stijl’ or ‘Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy’ on Jack’s 2012 solo LP ‘Blunderbuss’ definitely sound like they could be about the dark brunette, as do parts of ‘Forever for Her (is Over for Me)’ on the Stripes’ 2005 album ‘Get Behind Me Satan.’ The duo’s cover of Son House’s ‘Death Letter’ on ‘De Stijl’ obviously isn’t about the former couple; though considering the track was recorded around the time their romance ended, one has to wonder how relevant the lyrics were at the time. In 2014, Jack claimed he hasn’t spoken to Meg since the White Stripes broke up and hasn’t suggested otherwise so far [despite archival and anniversary releases occurring under the band’s banner on Jack’s record label Third Man Records over the years]. On Meg’s end, we know she married again, this time to Jackson Smith [son of classic rocker Patti Smith] from 2009 to 2013 during which they lived in Nashville. But since then, she’s back in her native Detroit. What has she been up to for the past ten years? Does she have another ordinary job like bartending? How does she feel about being a part of music history forever? Or the fact that Jack kept her last name during his marriage and family with model Karen Elson? Has she heard Ray Lamontagne’s 2008 song titled ‘Meg White’? Does she ever miss drumming? Will she and Jack eventually reunite? Questions which might never be answered by the most elusive public figure of our time.