1. You're Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)
This song is a pretty good opening, just not quite great. It just isn't one of those songs that gets under your skin.

2. Hello Operator
This one is one of the better songs on the album. Jack sounds pretty crazed which makes for an interesting listen.

3. Little Bird
The best song on this CD. It really shows off Jack's awesome guitar skills.

4. Apple Blossom
Again a song that is OK but not quite great. The lyrics are on the idiotic side.

5. I'm Bound to Pack it Up
This song starts out really good until Jack gets to the line about "I'm sorry to leave you all alone" etc. GOOD GOD! Can't he tell that isn't his key??? Ugh, it's like listening to someone scratch their fingernails across a chalkboard.

6. Death Letter
I liked this song, but according to other reviewers, the Son House version is better. I haven't heard the Son House version, so I can't express an educated opinion.

7. Sister, Do You Know My Name?
The guitar on this song is good, but it is ruined by the GOD AWFUL lyrics. Ugh. It's painful.

8. Truth Doesn't Make A Noise
Once more, here is a song that is OKAY but just NOT QUITE great. Those stupid cymbals in the backround are very distracting.

9. A Boy's Best Friend
There's good bizarre and there's bad bizzare. This song is a good example of bad bizarre. "A boy's best friend is his mother or whatever has become his pet." Hmmmmmmmmm

10. Let's Build a Home
The intro is bizzare in a good way, but then it breaks into the most TERRIBLE FILLER YOU HAVE EVER HEARD IN YOUR LIFE. All Jack does is make us listen to the same chord over and over again while he babbles about god knows what. Oh it's so painful. Because you know that the White Stripes can do SOOOOO much better than this.

11. Jumble, Jumble
Here is another stupid filler song. There is no point to it whatsoever. I am actually MAD at this song for wasting 1 minute and 53 seconds of my time.

12. Why Can't You Be Nicer to Me?
This song is just plain dumb. That's it. Dumb.

13. Your Southern Can is Mine
Ok, ok I'll admit it. I LOVE THIS SONG. I'm glad I got this album because I got to listen to this song. I love the twangy hill-billyness of it.

All in all, this CD has a FEEEEEW good songs. A FEW. But all the other songs are frustrating because you know that the White Stripes have the ability to do so much better. If you're a hardcore fan, you might like this album. But if your'e just a casual fan, I would save your money.

Chapter two of the gospel of Jack White
Only a few bands in history have been as consistantly excellent for their first four albums as the White Stripes. The Beatles, The Smiths, and Radiohead are the only three that come to mind(if I left anybody out let me know). The most obvious differences between De Stijl and the self titled album are the songwriting and the production. Jack's writing matured quite a bit on De Stijl, and the production is more polished, yet still raw enough to be considered vintage Stripes. "You're pretty good looking (for a girl)" is a solid opening track and more accessible than "Jimmy the Exploder" from the debut album. "Hello Operator" and "Little Bird" are two classic White Stripes songs. They feature some great blues guitar and Meg's thumping drums provide plenty of rhythm. Jack's voice is awesome as always, and it is a shame that he doesn't get more credit for his terrific vocals. On "I'm bound to pack it up" Jack plays a stand up bass. The song also features violin and maracas. Of course the cover of Son House's "Death Letter" is electrifying(they played the song live at the grammys recently, much to my delight). "Truth doesn't make a noise" is a mid-tempo acoustic piece with a piano accompaniement in a Dylan-esque tradition. "Let's build a home" is one of the best songs on the album. It's fast and to the point with some slide guitar mixed in between verses. They close the album with "Your southern can is mine", a very catchy acoustic blues sing along which is the perfect ending to The White Stripes most bluesy album. It will be nice to sit down and listen to this in about thirty years and just reminisce.

Before White Blood Cells there was this album...
...which I had never heard of. White Blood Cells was the first Stripes album I bought, and once I discovered the genius in that one I went back for the older stuff. The sound here is of a more unrefined garage rock album with an added blues feel to it. Definately more bluesy than White Blood Cells. I can't tell you this is a better than the other albums from them because I think they are all brilliant in their own way. The White Stripes are an amazingly talented band that has only gotten better with each album they put out and they exemplify what music is about. Meg White is not a great drummer but what she can do works well for every song in my opinion. Some notable songs from De Stijl include Hello Operator, You're Pretty Good Looking, Let's Build A Home and my fave from the album Death Letter. I believe they performed that one at the Grammy Awards and it sounded great then as well. So it pretty much sounds like a great garage blues rock cd that is superb, although for me it is # 3 next to their two latest albums. This is nothing short of great though and I know many people have only heard WBC and Elephant, but give this a listen. Im pretty sure you will like what you hear.

for true believers only
After years of the commercial-marketing overload of talentless musicians, finally a spark of hope has arisen within mankind. My faith in humanity had been restored when I first heard this album. There is a reason to live afterall. The White Stripes are REAL.

Best CD....ever
This is probably my favorite white stripes cd, and they're my favorite band ever!!!! This album is way more on the bluesy side which is great. Basically everything about this album kicks serious ass and rocks hard, buy it its gr8.
De Stijl, the Dutch word for the style, is the sophomore CD from the Southwest Detroit brother and sister duo THE WHITE STRIPES. This album is based more on piano, open-A tuning and primal drum beats. It is also augmented by electric violin, acoustic bass and presents the listener with more melodic pieces. 13 tracks.