Image via Tim Roney/Getty Images //
Meg White has been making headlines after a critic recently took aim at her “terrible” drumming.
If you haven’t been following the controversy around The White Stripes, and more specifically, Meg White’s drumming, it all started when US political reporter and writer Lachlan Markay posted a tweet in response to an article celebrating the 20th anniversary of The White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’.
“The tragedy of the White Stripes is how great they would’ve been with a half decent drummer,” Markay wrote. “Yeah yeah I’ve heard all the ‘but it’s a carefully crafted sound mannnn!’ takes. I’m sorry Meg White was terrible and no band is better for having shitty percussion.”
meg white’s drumming is a rorschach test for how you feel about women musicians. unless you also hate all punk music, which was also basic on a technical level and that was the point and it slapped pic.twitter.com/mxi5ccu2wq
— Emily Suzanne Lever (@SnarlsDeGaulle) March 13, 2023
It didn’t take long for people to rush to Meg White’s defence, including Questlove from The Roots and other high-profile drummers:
“I try to leave ‘troll views’ alone but this right here is out of line af,” Questlove tweeted. “Actually what is wrong w music is people choking the life out of music like an Instagram filter—-trying to reach a high of music perfection that doesn’t even serve the song (or music).”
I try to leave “troll views” alone but this right here is out of line af. Actually what is wrong w music is people choking the life out of music like an Instagram filter—-trying to reach a high of music perfection that doesn’t even serve the song (or music) pic.twitter.com/hCj43qNpcG
— Plug 5. (@questlove) March 14, 2023
Karen Elson (who married Jack White following his divorce from Meg White) also reacted to the tweet, writing: “To the journalist who dissed her, keep my ex husband’s ex wife name out of your f*cking mouth. (Please and Thank You).”
Not only is Meg White a fantastic drummer, Jack also said the White Stripes would be nothing without her. To the journalist who dissed her, keep my ex husband’s ex wife name out of your f*cking mouth.
(Please and Thank You) https://t.co/qnnxgT3Rxh— Karen Elson (@KarenElson_) March 14, 2023
Now it seems Jack White himself has addressed the controversy, taking to Instagram to post a picture of Meg White alongside this poem:
“To be born in another time, any era but our own would’ve been fine,” White writes. “100 years from now, 1000 years from now, some other distant, different, time. One without demons, cowards and vampires out for blood, one with the positive inspiration to foster what is good.”
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While Meg White herself has described her drumming style as “childlike”, Jack White has previously called her “the best part of the band”, commenting that “her style is just so simplistic that I can work around it and work with it. We have this kind of telepathy onstage where we can just read each other’s minds”, adding that: “if we had anybody else onstage it would just get ruined, I think. It feels really good to perform like that.”
Markay has since deleted his post and issued an apology, calling the Tweet “ill-advised” and writing “[it was] just truly awful in every way. Petty, obnoxious and just plain wrong.”
Meg White is one of the greatest drummers of all time, a true inspiration with incredible feel and musicality. Easy love ya Meg xo Cavs
— King Gizzard (@kinggizzard) March 16, 2023
