I have not posted any ramblings on music so here is my first one. This is my favorite band The White Stripes. De Stijl is the album that I fell in love with. My dear friend Mary and I did a road trip to Boston a few years back. We both share a similiar taste in fine music so we each had CDS that we brought to listen to. This is the CD she popped in when we started going through the mountains. I was floored by Mr White's talent. I just could not get enough of it and was a rabid fan by the time we arrived in Salem. I loved each and every song off of De Stijl. It was a mixture of the blues with amazing guitar playing that just blew me away. I was able to see them live in Cleveland at the Odeon on March 29th 2002. They opened with Dead leaves and a dirty ground off the White Blood Cells album. I was then blessed to witness Rated X (with Meg as lead vocals), Hello Operator, I just dont know what to do with myself (It would later appear on Elephant), Jack the Ripper, and Boll Weavil. Mr White was so energetic and Meg was lovely. The next time I saw them live I went to the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Mary and I planned the perfect NYC that involved seeing Mr B play with his band, La Boheme on Broadway and seeing the White Stripes with the opening act Loretta Lynn. It was a magical evening. Jack came out and asked the crowd to treat Loretta with respect and reminded all of us that she is a lady. He stated that he expected the crowd to behave. He then went and escorted Loretta Lynn on the stage. It was so respectful and gentlemen like. The crowd went nuts and she went into her first song. The audience loved her and were wild with their appreciation. She was touched and seemed blown away by the response. I can imagine how nervous she was to perform to a non-country audience. I was an instant fan by the first song. She performed Rated X with Jack and it was amazing. Jack and Meg were fantastic as always. The crowd was great but not as wild as a Cleveland audience. The place was filled with celebrities ranging from Winona Ryder(she pounded her fists on the ledge to the music), Jim Jarmusch(who we spotted the night before at B's gig), and Tommy Lee(who knew?). I will do more posts on other White Stripes albums and the other bands I adore including Radiohead, The Raveonettes, Pixies and the Halloween Nirvana show.