I just bought and am now listening to Elephant with The White Stripes. It seems that every quarter brings another band to the scene, playing indie rock (with punk roots) and billed as 'the next big thing' in music. The bands are rarely English (in contrast to the situation in the 90s), and their music does not sound British either (previous examples would be The Vines and the The Strokes). It is interesting in itself that straightforward pure-genre Rock is so fashionable. The last British invasion was marked by bands with 'unique' sounds, genre-breaking single acts.
These new bands have a more generic sound - not that the music is lacking in personality - it is just unashamedly based on an indie rock/punk rock tradition.
In writing that down it becomes clear that we are now in a situation where the same thing is happening to the hard rock and punk rock of the 70s and early 80s as happened during the 80s to blacks 60s soul: It is no longer, by any stretch, contemporary. The original performers of this music have almost left the music scene. It is simple one more of the great traditional styles of music that you can draw inspiration from.

With that general comment over, 'Elephant' is a great album. Complete with Burt Bacharach covers, and Jack White posing as Robert Plant and Jimmy Page in one on the Led Zep parody 'Ball and Biscuit'. Real rock'n roll!