For the greatest American band debate, today, I'm going to nominate a band that I once adored, but now, I cannot stand them and I can't believe that I ever defended them or thought that they were great musicians.

That band is the White Stripes.

I used to love this band, and I mean LOVE them. I thought that Jack and Meg White were two of the most unique, most proficient musicians I ever heard. They burst onto the scene in 2000 with the album "De Stijl". This was a classic blues/rock throwback album. It was a lot of old blues covers and the way they played the songs was quite phenomenal. Jack White's voice and guitar playing was top notch. Meg White was a good drummer, keeping the rhythm, but that's about it for her.

It was also around this time that I discovered the Black Keys, a band that I still adore and I think is ten thousand times better than the White Stripes, but you have to know, I was a teenager when I first heard the White Stripes and my mind wasn't fully developed as far as my musical taste went. Not yet at least. Then, I saw their video for the song "Seven Nation Army" and I was immediately hooked. There was nothing better at the time, not even the Black Key in my mind. I was so, so wrong. But, "Seven Nation Army", the song and the album both, were huge hits that showed the world that a two piece band could make great music.

So, from about 2001 to 2004 I was one of the biggest White Stripes fans there was. I devoured every record they put out. I already owned "De Stijl" and "Seven Nation Army", but then I went out and bought "The White Stripes", "White Blood Cells" and "Elephant". Their very first record, "The White Stripes" was a lot like "De Stijl". It was raw, old timey blues covers that Jack White turned into rock and roll. It was a good album, at least I thought it was at the time. Then I bought "White Blood Cells". I absolutely loved this album when I first heard it. It wasn't all covers this time around. Jack White was making his own versions of old timey blues/rock songs and they were good. He also threw in some acoustic stuff that I really enjoyed. The song, "We Are Gonna Be Friends" is still, even though my feelings on the band have changed, one of my favorite songs to listen to and play on guitar (plus it is featured in my favorite movie ever, Napoleon Dynamite). My kids, especially my son, loves when I start to finger pick this song. This is still a very good song that I will always enjoy, no matter how big my hatred gets for this band. Then, the album "Elephant" blew me away. It was mixtures of old and new songs. Some of the songs on the record are timeless. And then there was another awesome video for the song "The Hardest Button to Button". That video is incredible. Go check it out if you haven't seen it. The White Stripes, to their credit, knew how to make a memorable music video.

In my personal opinion, their album "Elephant" was the last great record they made. In 2005, they released "Get Behind Me Satan", and that was when I started to lose interest. The album is okay. Songs like "My Doorbell", "The Denial Twist" and "Instinct Blues" are all classic White Stripes, but I was growing weary of their sound. 2005 was also the year that my love affair really took off with the Black Keys. That was the first or second time I'd seen them and I loved everything they were doing. They definitely took the throne, as far as two piece bands, away from the White Stripes. It was also around this time, either 2004 or 2005, that I saw the White Stripes live, and that's when I kind of gave up on them. They were okay live, but it was their demeanor on stage, especially Jack White's, that made my distaste for them first appear. He was rude, arrogant and seemed like he didn't want to be there. The songs sounded boring, almost like they were recording in the studio. He yelled at the techs that were back stage whenever his guitar would go out of tune. He's a professional musician, I'd think he'd be able to tune his own guitar. His solos lacked proficiency and flare. He kind of just picked a pattern, and that was his solo. No fuss, no muss. I need some excitement out of my lead guitar player when I see a band I enjoy live. And then there was my big revelation about Meg White during that show. She is the second luckiest person in the history of music, behind only Ringo Starr. She's not that good of a drummer I realized. In fact, she's quite terrible. She just banged away simple 4/4 rhythms all night and seemed brain dead. Even when she sang, it was boring and pretty awful. After that show, I kind of lost interest in the band.

The White Stripes seemed to lose interest as well, only putting out one more album, a live one, in 2010. Jack White went off and did other projects like, The Raconteurs and Dead Weather and produced new records for old country singers like Wanda Jackson and Loretta Lynn. The Raconteurs and Dead Weather are fine, just not my cup of tea. They are too emo to be rock and too rock to be blues. Both bands are White Stripes light, and that's not a compliment. Meg White, I haven't heard from her in about 7 years now. I'm sure she's living large on the enormous amounts of money that the White Stripes made.

What angers me the most about this band though is Jack White's off stage attitude. He's a bully. He picks fights with random other musicians and when they call him out on it, he verbally abuses them via social media. He has a bad attitude. I don't buy the tortured genius bull shit either. He is a straight up bully, there's no other way to put it. He should be happy that he gets to live his dream life, but he picks fights and complains about the state of pop music. Screw you Jack White, you're a supreme asshole. I just can't believe I invested so much of my time, energy and money on this band. I got caught up in the hype, and for five years, they reeled me in. I'm glad I got out and found much better two piece bands, like Deadboy and the Elephant Men and, of course, the Black Keys. When the White Stripes were great, they were awesome. But, their attitude and off stage act became too much, at least for me, to handle. They definitely belong in the conversation, but I can now say, without any hesitation, that I loathe the White Stripes and more importantly, Jack White.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He finds it therapeutic to write about musicians he used to like and now hates. Is Puff Daddy next? Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.