Boards

Every band on the planet since the beginning of time have had influences, eh? Unless the members learned to play piano/guitars/drums in a vacuum, but even then once the player deviated from 1,2,3,4 chords and scales and started playing someone else's song....

"Retro" as I understand it has to do specifically if those influences are 70s fringe bands. I think the Dandy Warhols do it (did it?) well (on 13 Tales they do it very well indeed). For a time it seemed the Vines might do it well - turns out they can't. The Music's first record showed some promise. The tracks off their latest were horrible Led Zeppelin anthems without Page's guitar, without Plant's vocals. Where the White Stripes separate themselves from these guys is that Jack White is talented, if not an underrated lyricist as well. Instead of some bluesy Rolling Stones rip-off, WS are able to set a powder keg of musical twists in their tunes.

There's a difference between being some lame AC/DC tribute band and taking those influences and elevating them to a new and exciting sound. Of course, it's an eye of the beholder thing. But you'd have to have a pencil sticking in yer eye if you thought Jet were any good.

If it helps a label to shift its back catalogue of 'similar sounding artists from a bygone age' then retro is good for some. The White Stripes scare me with thier lack of imagination
At the same time the way that boybands are given covers only depends if the song rights are owned by their label on the first place, then they dont have to pay anyone else if they already own the publishing - clever eh?

Retro is basically excepting defeat, and making music that was popular before, lazy bastards, and retro is shit yes all of it