Searching for Meg White | Hacker News Reader

Searching for Meg White

elle.com

72 pointsmooreds48 comments

Open articleView on HN

>> After roughly three years of persistent (yet respectful) inquiry

Three years of persistent inquiry is anything but respectful.

Journalists can get away with harassment and doxing that us mere mortals can’t even dream of.

Ironically, journalists feel that they deeply need privacy while denying it to anyone they see fit.

It sounds like they were going via an agent of some sort, not calling her personal phone or showing up at her door.

Well, and tracking down and harassing her personal friends to try to pass notes.

Depends on how they do it. It seemed they are going through an intermediary, not showing up at her door.

It sounds like she just wants to live a normal life, and here are the paparazzi that won’t let that happen. The writer should be ashamed.

Yeah.

“…coax her back into the spotlight?”

This sounds awful.

They aren't the first famous rock musician to seek a quiet life instead, and likely won't be the last. The most well-known example is Syd Barrett, formerly of Pink Floyd.

> paparazzi

That word refers to invasive photography and is totally irrelevant to the article that was shared.

The White Stripes are probably my all-time favorite band. As much as I'd love to see Meg perform again, let her do her.

It seems the author interviewed Meg White many years ago and either had a bit of chemistry with her or was simply more willing to quote a woman than average for the era:

When the story came out, the most common feedback I received from readers was that it was the first White Stripes story they’d seen that had featured more than one quote from Meg.

On the one hand, I appreciate the general sentiment (in HN comments) of oh, we should just respect her right to privacy and, on the other hand, I'm glad I read the piece anyway. I especially enjoyed the part where someone says, roughly, "On the one hand, she needs to talk. On the other hand, it's so much cooler and badass that she doesn't."

The incentive for this "journalist" (and for paparazzi) is: their managers and peers will be envious and admiring of her for her "get." None of them will react as we all do, namely: "just leave her alone, for god's sake."

The White Stripes produced such a tight, complete, profound body of work and then somehow and the awareness and self-control to stop.

Maybe it was just happenstance but it makes their limited catalog that much more timeless.

After their first 3 albums I feel that there are plenty of misses, one example is “Hardest Button to Button” which I feel needed like, a little longer in the oven. It could have become a good song. Anyway, still fun to revisit them with this piece, sad I never saw them live.

Funny that that's the one you mention, given its reference in the article:

> Alt-pop star Olivia Rodrigo was less than two months old when Elephant came out, but she grew up listening to the album and remembers falling in love with “The Hardest Button to Button.” “Meg’s drums really shine on that one, and from there I dove into all their other incredible albums and became a massive fan,” she says.

There are misses on nearly every artists albums, it's just that some folks have different opinions about what missed and what hit. Personally I loved the White Stripes and their lofi slightly unfinished aesthetic. One of my life's disappointments is that Jack White broke his hand when I was going to see them at some festival and I never got another chance to see them.

What an awful article by a supposedly feminist publication. Meg White doesn't want to do an interview, has never wanted to do interviews, has anxiety and quit the band because it was too much anxiety for her.

Maybe you should take no for an answer instead of hounding her for an interview she doesn't want to do.

It’s fine. The author seems respectful.

One must be brave and do things to break through anxiety. This is anecdotal of course, but in my early twenties I had severe social anxiety, and the only thing that worked for me to get over it is to do the thing that causes more anxiety/pain and that you are afraid of. You have to just push through it and do the very thing that is not in your nature over and over in order to overcome it—- in the short term this will incur more anxiety, but it the long-term it will reduce and one can often just leave it fully behind. Obviously this won’t work for everyone but..

I feel like this is a task for friends and family, not some random motivated by money?

I’m not sure it matters what the impetus is. You never know what random thing could spur things to another direction.

Meg White toured for 14 years and finally decided that it was too much for her and bowed out. Given all that time I don't think she needs more exposure therapy thrust on her against her will, she made a a decision and it should be respected.

The author doesn't seem respectful imo, the sarcastic "it's thrilling to say the least" in the first paragraph reads highly disrespectful to me, as well as persistently pushing for multiple years for an unwanted interview. The author was free to write a well researched piece about Meg's work and influence without getting her interview, but instead turned the core of the article around how she couldn't get what she wanted.

This part seemed crazy disrespectful and almost dismissive of anxiety but maybe I'm misinterpreting it?

"By this point, I’ve pretty much come to terms with the fact that I may never know what makes Meg White tick, other than what I’ve projected upon her as a fellow shy person and interminable mumbler—albeit one who unfortunately did not achieve a level of success in my twenties and thirties allowing me to not leave my house."

Anxiety disorders are a thing and a real form of depression. Onset is normally mid teens to mid thirties. “Man up” is categorically not any advice anyone should be giving out. Even if it is “merely” shyness, it’s OK to be shy and not want to open yourself up to any random stranger. Just because Meg White is a celebrity, doesn’t mean that this writer is owed an interview. Be respectful of people’s privacy.

>> One must be brave and do things to break through anxiety.

You must do this on your own terms, when you are ready. Having others force you into situations where you are uncomfortable will not work and will possibly make things worse.

I’m glad she wrote the article.

I wasn’t a “fan” of The White Stripes back then.. In that I didn’t look into anything about their personal lives, I just loved the albums. Kind of like the way I like Red Hot Chili Peppers or Weezer — it doesn’t go deep, but I also don’t turn off the radio or hit next when they come on.

I don’t think I knew a thing about Meg and Jack White other than that they were “siblings” before this. I actually don’t like any of Jack Black’s solo albums. Whenever I hear one of his singles and I always kind of wondered about what happened to his sister.

I’m glad I know what her deal is. Nothing more rockstar than being disinterested in the idea of being a rockstar.

> I actually don’t like any of Jack Black’s solo albums

NB: Jack Black and Jack White are not the same person. In some ways they're opposites.

Yeah, I know. No idea how I typed Black instead of White.

The nature of journalism is to get the scoop, regardless of what the subject wants or thinks or what we want or think, because there are enough people out there that do want to know and they're not particularly concerned, privately, about the state of the subject. Privacy is a good thing, but when you enter the public arena, you've implicitly agreed to become public property, you know your life will never be private again, the onus is on you to protect yourself and insulate yourself from public intrusion. If she's good at dodging the probing, she can hold them off long enough for people to lose interest and then she can ride off into the sunset.

Fame is a faustian contract, they know the price is public scrutiny forever, but they enter into it willingly, knowing the long term consequences. Im not interested in Meg White, but many others are and while that interest is there she's going to be a target of journalists.

Journalists are asking, thats what they do. Meg White is saying no. It feels like a non-issue to me.

This is a whole genre now… “I tried to do a nearly impossible thing—but in a stunning twist, I was not able to do it, because it’s nearly impossible.”

I could only get part-way through this article. We have her albums to enjoy and should be grateful. Please leave her alone.

I didn't find it as bad as all that... the definitely felt egotistical, with the author repeatedly going back to a central "but would she talk to me?!?" question but the actual text is a wonderful trip down memory lane for one of the truly legendary bands of my youth.

I'm going to Wichita, far from this opera forever more...

If you want to stalk someone without consequences, just say you're a journalist or paparazzi.

For what it's worth, this morning I heard on the news a judge ordered a spaniard paparazzi got a restriction order due to his harassment of a soccer player.

you could also say you're a hacker

Congratulations on living a sheltered life if you believe passing messages back and forth through trusted mutual acquaintances is "stalking."

This was terrible journalism, for reasons I'll leave as an exercise for the reader.

Please don’t make us read it.

I have been trying to get her to talk to me through constant harassment. In the meantime, here is what everyone already knows about her.

Meg's really been redeemed by time. The Raconteurs is amazing, the Dead Weather pretty great, Jack's solo work is nice too - but it's all not the White Stripes. And that distinctive White Stripes sound is very much the sound of Meg's drumming.

I hope she can enjoy the praise she does get, even as she gets pressed for interviews all the time.

Coincidentally, this is the week we found out what Jack White is up to:

https://twitter.com/consequence/status/1666571252880818178

Actual question, which one is Jack? Middle?

2nd from left, hand on Rivers Cuomo’s shoulder

Yeah- lots of commentators about how his appearance has changed

You’re shitting me. No way.

They weren’t siblings?

Under the pile of money from Seven Nation Army royalties.

I’d be interested in hearing about what these folks think, specifically those who in the face of an opportunity to say what they want in front of an eggar audience … repeatedly choose not to.

Most people I think would jump at the chance. Something an humanity drives people to want to be heard, but some folks don’t want to, I wonder what they think about it all.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com