On The Deconstruction of Jack White
In an era when nothing in music is universal, and music has become one of the primary battlefronts in the culture war, the likeability of Jack White was one of the few things that passed for a consensus builder. Like former Nirvana drummer and current Foo Fighter Dave Grohl, Jack White was hard to hate, even if you weren’t particularly fond of his music, past or present. His accidental superstardom, his respect and proficiency with music from many different genres, his forward-thinking, quirky style at promotion, and his independent spirit made him a champion of almost every conscious music lover. He was the rock star that wasn’t one: the prototype of the new-school, likeable guy that just happened to become famous, and that we could relate to and appreciate as one of us, no matter how “us” was defined.
And then something changed. I’m not exactly sure where or when specifically, but it changed. At some point it seemed like Jack White has started to buy into his own image and marketing, while his image began to reveal itself as marketing. He kept getting older, yet refused to lose the whiteface or black hair. And then the gimmicks started rolling in, and now the feuds.
August of last year is when the first major cracks in the Jack White facade began to appear. Amidst the divorce proceedings from his wife Karen Elson, it came out that she was alleging Jack was both verbally and physically abusive toward her, that she had asked for a restraining order and a psychiatric evaluation, and then she released emails to the public where White was portrayed as spiteful toward The Black Keys guitarist (and another one of music’s few universally-likeable guys, Dan Auerbach), speaking on the circumstance of the two’s kids being in the same school, “You aren’t thinking ahead. That’s a possible twelve fucking years I’m going to have to be sitting in kids chairs next to that asshole with other people trying to lump us in together. He gets yet another free reign to follow me around and copy me and push himself into my world.”
If you were anything like me, at the time this information came out, you put yourself in both Jack White and his ex-wife’s shoes, and felt it was a shame that the information had been made public. And of course there were counter-suits by Jack, claiming it was all lies and smear. Who is right or wrong in affairs of the heart is usually anyone’s best guess, and it’s usually better for the whole business to be kept under wraps and out of the public consumption feed before speculation and misnomers are allowed to thrive. But still, there it was; a chink in the armor. If this info was coming out about Axl Rose or Jason Aldean, whether you were a fan of their music or not, you’d be likely to shrug your shoulders and say, “Yeah, sounds about right.” But this was our likeable, champion of independent music Jack White; the guy that wasn’t a bastard, on stage or off.
It was the the Tiger Woods effect. Nobody was surprised, and nobody cared when it was found out that Michael Jordan, or Shaquille O’Neil cheated on their wives. Of course they did. But Tiger Woods had been sold to us for years as this upstanding, product-endorsing family man. Jack White was supposed to be the champion of all independent music; the sage leader who wouldn’t lose his temper, and was blessed with the ability to see everything both ways.
But really the erosion of Jack White looming large over the musical landscape started years before. I remember when it was first announced that he would be partnering with Wanda Jackson to make a revival album in the same vein of his award-winning and critically-acclaimed work with Loretta Lynn on 2004’s Van Lear Rose. My country music head just about exploded from excitement at this news (and here too is where you see why Jack White has an important and worthy country music connection). 2011’s The Party Ain’t Over from Wanda Jackson was one of the most anticipated records of 2011 in rock, rockabilly, and country. And what happened when it was released? No much. Nowhere near the zeal and accolades piled up as they did for Van Lear Rose.
The Jack White-produced The Party Ain’t Over felt flat. It seems to be about Jack first, and Wanda second. Her signature growl wasn’t present, her voice was buried in the mix. Jack White’s guitar wankery ruined songs in places, and seemed to be the predominant feature of the project. And Jack’s insistence on cutting directly to tape gave the entire recording a filmy, ever-present hiss, despite whatever “warmth” it captured. The album wasn’t terrible, don’t get me wrong. But it was one of those records you listen to once or twice, return to its sleeve, and then never think about again—Wanda’s cover of Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” notwithstanding.
So maybe Jack White wasn’t flawless, says the 2011 me to myself. Then I began to think what the last Jack White project was that really spoke to me. Of course, I’m a country guy, so maybe I’m not the best test specimen, but the one I came up with was The Raconteurs first album Broken Boy Soldiers, and that was from way back in 2006. But I’d tasted pretty much everything he’d done subsequently, and hey, Jack had won himself a good bit of latitude to stretch his wings if he wanted, or even turn in some missed targets and snoozers because he was Jack White. Music aside, I liked the guy, and he never put out anything that seemed downright ill-advised or bad.
And then the bits started: the all-girl band, the record booth, the tying of records on balloons and releasing them in downtown Nashville, and this with records, and that with records. Yes, we all love vinyl. It sounds so much better! But at some point it all was starting to feel like one big gimmick. This year during Record Store Day when Jack White pulled another bit by making the “World’s Fastest Record,” it seemed to symbolize the whole silliness and extreme of the new vinyl revolution, where we’re putting out records without any quality control or thought, stuff like Ron Jeremy playing classical piano just to get people to pay to collect something nobody would ever want if it wasn’t being pushed by hype and being sold as an exercise in independent values. Everybody was trying to look cool for each other, and somewhere the focus on the music itself got lost in the shuffle.
And then here comes Jack White late last week talking shit on Adele, his ex White Stripes partner, The Black Keys, and pretty much everyone else in modern music to Rolling Stone. But wait a second, I thought White’s hatred for The Keys was all hyped in the mudslinging of his divorce? And almost making it worse, he comes out 48 hours later to apologize. White seemed like he wanted to have his cake and eat it too: get the idea out there that The Black Keys and pretty much all popular guitar-based music is a ripoff of him and The White Stripes, and then turn around and apologize as everyone is lobbing grenades back at you so you look like the bigger person. Justin Townes Earle, the artist that produced Wanda Jackson’s subsequent album Unfinished Business, let rip on Twitter yesterday, “Jack White is such a pussy,” illustrating that one of independent music’s untouchables had now become a whipping boy.
The simple fact is though, Jack White is right, at least to some extent. Last weekend I was attending redneck comedian Jeff Foxworthy’s inaugural Red Fest on the outskirts of Austin, TX. While hanging out with one of the performing artists, they elucidated to me unsolicited and out-of-context, “You know, everything these days just sounds like bad White Stripes to me.” And they’re pretty much right. This two-piece, new rock, blues and roots-referencing scream fest has pretty much permeated American popular music, and with it, the misguided notion that everything must be cut directly to tape and pressed on vinyl to where we’re now making a bunch of great music that purposely sounds bad. This is Jack White’s contribution to planet Earth at the moment, and maybe he has a reason to be pissed off, and wanting to piss off others because of it.
But of course, Jack White has his influences as well. Ever heard of the Flat Duo Jets, or Dex Romweber? In fact Romweber just put out a new album through Bloodshot Records called Images 13. He plays in a duo with a girl drummer. Even Jack will admit, Dex was a big origination point for The White Stripes and his later incarnations. Dex recorded a live album at White’s 3rd Man Records in 2010. “It was obvious when you watched Dexter perform, he didn’t care what people though about him, he just wanted to express these songs that were coming out of him,” says White on Dex. Is Dex Romweber pissed off that everyone’s running around, copying him by playing cheap Harmony guitars in two-piece bands, including Jack White? We may never know until he gets divorced.
So lo and behold, the whole time we were holding Jack White up on a pedestal for being just like the rest of us, in private he was juggling family bullshit, and hiding resentment … just like the rest of us. And now you know the importance behind the saying, “It’s all about the music.”
June 2, 2014 @ 12:04 pm
“And then here comes Jack White late last week talking shit on […] his ex White Stripes partner”
He’s never said anything bad about her. Come on Trig, you’re better than this.
June 2, 2014 @ 12:14 pm
“I don”™t think anyone talks to Meg,” he said. “She”™s always been a hermit. When we lived in Detroit, I”™d have to drive over to her house if I wanted to talk to her, so now it”™s almost never. She”™s one of those people who won”™t high-five me when I get the touchdown”¦She viewed me that way of ”˜Oh, big deal, you did it, so what?”™ Almost every single moment of the White Stripes was like that.”
And this was a passing point at best. I encourage you to try and read deeper here. If you think I’m dog piling, you missed the point. No disrespect.
June 2, 2014 @ 12:46 pm
Do you really consider this to be “shit-talking” ?
June 2, 2014 @ 1:47 pm
No I don’t. I do think it is criticism, and the point of that sentence I wrote was simply to list off the people he expressed grievances with. I feel like we are arguing semantics. Maybe I will revisit the sentence and see if better wording is more appropriate.
June 2, 2014 @ 2:06 pm
I personally do think it’s ‘shit-talking’. I’d be pretty damned hurt if someone publicly said something like that about me. He makes her sound like a bitch. He said a bit more as well, referencing the Beatles and Elvis. Did you read that bit too, Trig?
June 2, 2014 @ 2:20 pm
He pretty much flamethrowed everyone in a moment of narcissistic emotion, or at least that is what Rolling Stone portrayed.
June 7, 2014 @ 8:09 am
Carla commented that he made her sound like a Bi$%?. He also made her sound a bit unstable.
June 2, 2014 @ 12:07 pm
Good piece. White’s comments about Auerbach really turned me off. I’m a fan of the Black Keys, but I thought at the time that if every shitty thing I’d said about somebody else in private was made public out of spite I wouldn’t be really happy about it, so I tried to maintain a proper perspective and not read too much about it.
A friend of mine, a Rock DJ, just commented this morning on Facebook that for years every rock band was trying to be Nickelback, but now it’s the White Stripes and it’s even worse.
June 2, 2014 @ 2:06 pm
Exactly. We all have a right to our private thoughts, and nobody is going to look good if they get dragged out in public. I guess that’s why I was surprised White doubled down with Rolling Stone.
June 2, 2014 @ 3:42 pm
I’m not a big White Stripes fan, I’ve only ever heard them randomly on the radio in fact. If bands are going to try to sound like someone though I’d rather it be the White Stripes than Nickleback. At least the White Stripes are listenable.
June 3, 2014 @ 7:19 am
Yes, Theodore. Most of us were gagging when we read the reference to Nickelback. Same reflex as bro country.
June 2, 2014 @ 12:11 pm
I really hate that Jack White has become a caricature of himself. I took my son to Third Man Records when visiting Nashville a few months back and the level of snobbery is unbelievable. Almost $200 for a cheap plastic record player emblazoned with Third Man logos…if they really wanted to push already high priced LPs on his fans why not practically the player away for next to nothing? It’s all a little too precious and forced for me.
June 2, 2014 @ 1:18 pm
Keep in mind Jack was both married at a time and was a co collaborator, in the art experiment that was the white stripes with Meg, both of these levels of relationships are intensively personal and dynamic to where you know your partner deeper than any common working relationship on so many deeper levels.. the fact the stripes went on to create on the latter in their relationship of music, after a divorce speaks volumes in itself.. so when Mr White makes the passing comment regarding Meg today, that you’ve quoted, it really can be mis interpreted. We arent privy to the nature of their relationship really.. so its prolly unfair to speculate it as a jab?
for me as a fan of his work, (and Im surprised you did not mention this collaboration) I was horrified at the efforts he contributed to the I.C.P. thing they worked together on… that for me was a huge crack in a obviously very conscious career. you do have to admire however, the the lack of apology for simply pursuing his interests and going through with it, before allowing blunderbuss to divert our attention to a more really interesting career chapter. some Ive heard say Nashville itself is sorta bogging him down creatively , the same way america bogged down the later work of John Lennon, interesting observation that only time will tell. in the words of Nick Cave..”dont trust a band who doesnt make at least one bad record”lol regarding this whole Keys/Jack White feud, I believe this is an old trick.. both the keys and Mr White are about to release a record, nothing gets peoples attention more than a little mud slinging.. pearl jam and nirvana did it, oasis & radiohead did it, hank 3 and shooter etc etc..its a old trick aimed at getting buyers to compare records while usually the artists carpool all the way to the bank..no such thing as bad publicity, & no shortage of rubes…new country proves this daily.
June 2, 2014 @ 1:22 pm
Keep in mind Jack was both married at a time and was a co collaborator, in the art experiment that was the white stripes with Meg, both of these levels of relationships are intensively personal and dynamic to where you know your partner deeper than any common working relationship on so many deeper levels.. the fact the stripes went on to create on the latter in their relationship of music, after a divorce speaks volumes in itself.. so when Mr White makes the passing comment regarding Meg today, that you”™ve quoted, it really can be mis interpreted. We arent privy to the nature of their relationship really.. so its prolly unfair to speculate it as a jab?
for me as a fan of his work, (and Im surprised you did not mention this collaboration) I was horrified at the efforts he contributed to the I.C.P. thing they worked together on”¦ that for me was a huge crack in a obviously very conscious career. you do have to admire however, the the lack of apology for simply pursuing his interests and going through with it, before allowing blunderbuss to divert our attention to a more really interesting career chapter. some Ive heard say Nashville itself is sorta bogging him down creatively , the same way america bogged down the later work of John Lennon, interesting observation that only time will tell. in the words of Nick Cave..”dont trust a band who doesnt make at least one bad record”lol regarding this whole Keys/Jack White feud, I believe this is an old trick.. both the keys and Mr White are about to release a record, nothing gets peoples attention more than a little mud slinging.. pearl jam and nirvana did it, oasis & radiohead did it, hank 3 and shooter etc etc..its a old trick aimed at getting buyers to compare records while usually the artists carpool all the way to the bank..no such thing as bad publicity, & no shortage of rubes”¦new country proves this daily.
June 2, 2014 @ 1:56 pm
When writing this, I knew there was some embarrassing collaboration that was probably worth mentioning in this context, but I kept forgetting what it was. The Insane Clown Posse situation certainly points to someone either stretching or out-of-touch, though as I said above, Jack’s certainly won himself some latitude.
November 8, 2021 @ 4:13 am
Pitch some crap, lean into a bit of shade… cmon we all do it. Jack really is just like any one of us.
June 2, 2014 @ 1:33 pm
I don’t know Jack White personally, but in my experience from reading and listening to his interviews over the years, he has always come across to me as a nice, somewhat eccentric, ultra-creative guy who is extremely passionate about music. The comments I have heard about him from people who actually know him seem to corroborate this.
However, it seems like his tendency to be somewhat overly forthright in stating his opinions about things feeds all too easily into the sensationalized, soundbite-driven media which routinely capitalize on critical statements by turning them into “beefs.” It seems like Jack is starting to realize that he is, perhaps unintentionally, playing into this process. I thought the recent apology he issued on his website seemed sincere, and was a good first step in trying to amend the situation.
I will say that his hatred of the Black Keys is sort of puzzling, given that he typically seems to have a generous attitude towards other artists, but the fact of the matter is that were it not for his private e-mails (sent to his wife in the midst of a divorce) being leaked to the internet, his personal feelings about that matter would likely remain private, as they were intended to be. Unlike Justin Townes Earle, it wasn’t as if Jack went on Twitter and issued a public statement insulting someone. And from what I understand, his recent comments in Rolling Stone were intended to as an honest attempt to explain his issue with the Keys, which again, he apparently never meant for people to know about in the first place. If you read his actual statements in context, they seem less like insults and more like mostly accurate criticisms that, all things considered, might have been better left unsaid. But of course the internet, lacking subtlety in its characterization of events, turned this into “Jack White SLAMS The Keys!!!!” which is sadly typical.
Ultimately, his recent comments will blow over, but I personally hope that in the future he will be a little more cautious about speaking his mind to magazines and such.
As for crappy White Stripes imitators, White can’t actually be blamed for that phenomenon anymore than Kurt Cobain can be blamed for the army of bad faux-grunge bands that rose to prominence in his wake. It’s the nature of the beast.
June 2, 2014 @ 1:53 pm
Let’s also note that Rolling Stone specifically has a history of really riling up interviewees and then reworking their angry words to where they seem to be the centerpiece of the entire interview. Remember when that happened with Eric Church a while back vs. Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert?
This latest volley smacks of planning. Jack White says a bunch of controversial things, releases an apology 48 hours later, and now American Songwriter is writing puff pieces on how sincere he is. The system feels like it’s being gamed at the moment. Not sure as Good Neighbor pointed out above if this has to do with generating pub, but I just don’t see the point of any of it.
June 2, 2014 @ 5:07 pm
So, this entire incident is a calculated ploy on White’s part to generate attention for his new album? I find that really hard to believe. He doesn’t come across as calculating schemer, more like an passionate but volatile guy who shoots his mouth off too much at times. If this were a calculated move, it would be a pretty stupid one, as this incident has done a good bit of damage to his reputation and forced him to genuflect big time in his detailed apology letter. I guess the main point for me is that I just don’t think Jack is the type of guy who would be willing to trade on his mostly good reputation in exchange for publicity.
I haven’t read what American Songwriter had to say, but I did find his apology genuine. It went way beyond the typical “I’m sorry if I offended anyone,” celebrity pablum. Also, as you say Trigger, this wouldn’t be the first time Rolling Stone goaded someone into making controversial comments, which is something to consider moving forward now that Rolling Stone is getting into the country music business.
I do hope Jack will shut up about this Black Keys business though. Even if he’s right, his comments make him sound petty. Also, this “feud” is adding an incredibly lame and unwanted element of drama to the Nashville music scene. I and many others would love nothing more than to see Jack and Dan Auerbach come together to jam harmoniously and trade a few blues licks. Guess that’s not going to happen though.
June 2, 2014 @ 6:45 pm
“So, this entire incident is a calculated ploy on White”™s part to generate attention for his new album?”
Not what I said whatsoever. This is what I said,
“Not sure as Good Neighbor pointed out above if this has to do with generating pub, but I just don”™t see the point of any of it.
…meaning that I have no idea if it was meant to generate pub or not. But I also don’t think it could be ruled out. I kind of think Jack White meant everything he said to Rolling Stone, AND that his apology was sincere. He’s a complicated guy going through a divorce, and now all of a sudden all of this stuff is happening in the public eye. Is that fair to him? Would any of us like for thoughts we’ve shared privately to be made public? Should it somehow reflect negatively on his music? My assertion, and the whole point of this article is to say, “no.”
June 2, 2014 @ 2:17 pm
If your from Detroit you know the cracks started a LONG time ago ..
June 2, 2014 @ 6:37 pm
I saw them at the magic stick before I had ever heard of them. Half way into the second song the band was yelling at each other, cussing, throwing drinks. A real shit show.
June 2, 2014 @ 4:15 pm
I can’t comment on Jack White’s musical ability. I didn’t get it. I never could anything that interested me, and couldn’t hear whatever it was that people liked about him.
I do feel that his comment towards his ex-wife shows a disturbing lack of empathy. My take on it was that Meg White has a social anxiety disorder, and Jack was only able to perceive how it intruded upon his life.
Any one who has ever dealt with a family member with a mental illness knows that it is difficult, but would never blame or denigrate the person.
For me, Jack White just excluded himself from being even considered a worthwhile human being.
June 3, 2014 @ 9:41 am
I tried to check him out, it was on Austin City Limits. Nothing I saw clicked with me. And in that movie It Might Get…..he seemed like a pretentious kid. Obviously he has done some good things but his music doesn’t appeal to this old fart.
June 2, 2014 @ 4:56 pm
If the things listed in this article are considered the worst of Jack White I’m not sure what the big deal is here. Piling on because he called somebody out, stupid or not, truth or lies, seems a bit much. With all the garbage coming out of Nashville today Jack White should be considered the light. If we are focusing on the music, his last album was great. Forget the rest of this reaching bullshit.
June 2, 2014 @ 6:38 pm
First off, I didn’t even give the tip of the iceberg of the things Jack White said in the Rolling Stone article, and I did that on purpose because as I tried to explain in this piece, I really don’t think it’s any of our business. But he did say those things, and the things he said were pretty broad based in cutting people down left and right.
I understand how some, especially Jack White fans could read this article and take it as an attack. And I’m not saying that I did not have some negative things to say about him. But more my point was to try to explain how public sentiment has shifted on him, and why, and how some of it is valid, and some of it is invalid. My global point was to point out that we put so many of these artists on pedestals and expect them to be superhuman without personal problems, and by doing that, we set them up to fail. In the end, as fans we should focus more on the music, and leave artist’s personal lives personal. If this was a treatise on all of Jack White’s wrongdoings, it would have taken 10 more paragraphs.
June 2, 2014 @ 5:04 pm
Honestly, I never even viewed Jack White, myself, as particularly likeable outside of his respect for all sorts of genres much like Beck. He always seemed a little arrogant to me.
That said, I do appreciate this nuanced commentary immensely.
Personally, even though his music doesn’t speak to me as much as White’s in that it can often be generic, I personally like Dave Grohl more. He seems as genuinely impassioned in his work as ever, and just seems like the kind of guy it would be fun to have a beverage with. He gains special points with me in how he responded (along with the rest of the Foo Fighters) to the Westboro Baptist Church protest in Kansas City, Missouri, and his involvement in producing the recent Zac Brown Band EP.
How I wish we had more all-around entertainers with the charisma of Dave Grohl and the broader musicianship of Jack White or Beck.
June 2, 2014 @ 6:41 pm
Dexter Romweber’s drummer is his sister Sara. They are amazing live. It is true, without Dexter’s first project The Flat Duo Jets, there is no White Stripes or Black Keys. And of course the Flat Duo Jets draw upon a wide array of influences..none of which were nearly as drawn upon back in the 80s than they are today.
Say what you will about either the Black Keys or Jack White, but they are the only artists that I really really like that get any airplay on mainstream radio.
June 2, 2014 @ 7:42 pm
For a guy who puts so much music out, I like more than I don’t of his work. So that’s a compliment to his creativity. And as far as his feelings toward other artists… I’ve said 10 times more crass stuff about people, probably in the last week. It’s funny how we hold people with a little (or a lot) of fame to a higher standard than we do ourselves. But like was stated earlier, with a new album coming out, this is some finely-timed press. Good/bad/ or otherwise.
June 2, 2014 @ 8:48 pm
Trigger,
I read your website daily, but rarely comment on the articles, I guess I’m not one for internet comment sections. I’m only commenting here because I’ve noticed a slight trend (emphasis on slight) of your distaste for live-to-tape recordings. You’ve mentioned the “hiss” that comes along with this recording method a few times and I’m just curious if this is your only qualm with this recording style? Personally I like the authentic sound that comes with it, but I’m getting the vibe that you feel this is almost the auto tune of underground music. No disrespect intended, just my curiosity getting the better of me.
Grant
June 2, 2014 @ 9:51 pm
Hey Grant,
Glad to hear from you.
I am a big proponent of analog sound and recording to tape, and I am more than willing to trade the hiss for the presence in most cases. What I am not a proponent of is doing it poorly, or doing it poorly on purpose to try and cop some sort of manufactured vintage feel that results in inferior recordings, especially when it is employed throughout an album and not as an effect on a song or two. The very first record I noticed this being done was Wanda Jackson’s “The Party Ain’t Over.” I just went back and pulled up my review of the album.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/album-review-wanda-jacksons-the-party-aint-over
“come at you like a wall of sound, with very little to no space, and no elbow room between instruments or parts. Wanda gets buried as a horn section and Jack”™s guitar vie for attention, and a muddy drum and bass duo walk all over each other. If you can zero in on any individual part, it is probably pretty damn good, but the band feels like it is playing at each other, instead of with each other.
There”™s just a lot blurriness on this album, much of it in the bass and drums. I”™m all for warmth and volume and a vintage feel, but the rhythm section seems to reverberate and clog up any breathing room in these songs, especially the more up-tempo ones.”
Since then, I have been noticing this phenomenon happening more and more with independent releases, and becoming even more pronounced. I honestly think this is the biggest problem with most independent roots music today, and it has held back recent albums from The Devil Makes Three, The Secret Sisters, Lee Bains III, and I even think it’s a detriment to Sturill Simpson’s “Metamodern Sounds”. There are many albums that are cut to tape that sound excellent, but this school of thought that music must sound bad to be cool is resulting in recordings that will not withstand the test of time as good as they could with more crisp recordings, and it also holds these recordings back from being enjoyed by the more general population.
Like with everything, there is a balance. And unfortunately, we are not finding that balance between clarity and warmth in some of the best music and artists our generation has to offer.
June 2, 2014 @ 10:13 pm
In my opinion, the best balance of clarity and warmth from modern artists is found in the albums from the critically acclaimed female artists. It would be great if the underground folks could at least try to sonically emulate Kacey Musgraves, Brandy Clark, or Ashley Monroe.
June 3, 2014 @ 2:22 pm
The first time I had any notion of Jack White not being in love with the Black Keys was when reading a quote from him in Rolling Stone (where else?) a few years back. Something about having more in commom with Jay Z than the Keys and how he loved hip hop if it had a sense of the blues. Made no sense to me. Here the Black Keys did a 7 song EP of songs by Hill Country Blues legend Junior Kimbrough, as well as doing a few other songs by him on their other albums. Also, they did a great cover of Taj Mahal’s Leaving Trunk that I doubt The White Stripes could have pull off as well as the Keys did. I mean, I like Jack White a lot. I thought the first 4 White Stripes albums were just great and the last two uneven but worth having. I also like the Raconteurs and his first solo album and will probably buy the one coming out next week. But I think this notion that the Black Keys were ever a cheap knock off of the White Stripes is a bit much. If anything, I think the Black Keys in their earlier years were closer to the blues/hard r&b bone that the White Stripes. Certainly, Auerbach is a much better blues/soul singer.
July 2, 2014 @ 1:25 pm
Wow, as soon as a person becomes famous (mainstream) everyone has an opinion. Usually negative. Especially by those who haven’t followed Jack White’s music or career. He’s a gifted, brilliant musician. If you don’t like someone or something, and only have negative comments, don’t say anything at all. Hypocrites.