It suddenly occurred to me that the only thing that separates Jack White from They Might Be Giants is a very loud guitar. And thats a bad thing indeed. Clever is a wonderful characteristic in Thomas Pynchon or a four-year old composing a spontaneous song about whats in their sandwich; it is (most frequently) a despicable, soul-killing trait in a rock artist. Compelling poor Neil Young into that old Make-Your-Own-Record box, recording and releasing a vinyl record on the same day -- these are all artless stunts They Might Be Giants would have proudly called their own (and there must be dozens of others I didnt hear about because I was too busy thinking about Neu!). Surely, its only a matter of time before Jack White releases something on Edison Roll. Clearly, Jack White must redeem himself by giving half of every dime he makes to Dexter Romweber, which would be the most honest act of his clever-trousers life. N.B.: there ARE artists who can get away with clever -- Robyn Hitchcock, Andy Partridge, the Monochrome Set, Kay Kasperhauser, and Ace Baker are a few that come to mind; but mixing clever with the brutal blues/Americana aesthetic White claims to champion is just patronizing and ugly and about half a rat-hair away from minstrelry.
Posted on: Mon, 19 May 2014 16:17:14 +0000
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