Oh, Manchester, So Much To Answer For

The White Stripes are incredibly overrated. Yes, they're good. No, they're not changing the world. Or the world of music. But that's not to say there aren't some fine tracks on Elephant, among them current single "The Hardest Button to Button." While it's not destined to be as immediate as "Seven Nation Army" and its attendant guitar lick, it's better. And the Stripes are so damned tight - while sounding, at times, shambling - which is something I appreciate more than you know. Why is "Button" better? Because it sounds like a Troggs outtake, because it has lots of loud cymbal, and because its title is "The Hardest Button to Button," for no apparent reason. Yay, obscurity!