Exclaim!

"Is Meg White a Good Drummer?" Discourse Has Returned

Let's bring back the "should they have a bassist" debate as well!
'Is Meg White a Good Drummer?' Discourse Has Returned
By Alex Hudson
Published Mar 14, 2023
"Meg White from the White Stripes?" "She can't drum!" "She's a better drummer than you! At least she has rhythm."

That's a quote from 2003's School of Rock, which is around the last time "Is Meg White a good drummer?" discourse was relevant. But now, thanks to the wonders of Twitter, the long-since-resolved question of whether the White Stripes would have been better with a different drummer has returned.

As of this writing, "Meg White" is a trending topic on Twitter. It all started with former journalist Lachlan Markay, who tweeted, "The tragedy of the White Strips is how great they would have been with a half decent drummer. 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." He has since made his Twitter private — which should give some indication of which way the discourse has gone.

Since that tweet yesterday (March 13), many have extolled Meg's virtues as a drummer, pointing out why she was the perfect person for the job. Unknown Mortal Orchestra praised Meg's "impeccable taste and cool" as well as her "intuitive sense of time," while Ben Lee wrote, "If you're dissing Meg White you fundamentally misunderstand what makes music good."

Some people have pointed out that the world already has numerous examples of Jack White playing with more technically proficient drummers — including his solo work and his band the Raconteurs — and how, not coincidentally, the White Stripes still remain his most celebrated and iconic project.

Read some of the tweets below. Meanwhile, the White Stripes are preparing to reissue their beloved 2003 album Elephant, which turns 20 on April 1, and definitely wouldn't be the same with anyone else behind the kit.