why can't you be nicer to me, jack white?
Jul. 3rd, 2003 05:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
radiantbabyis the jack white we love slipping through our fingertips?
i don't know, perhaps its lack of sleep, but i just wrote this:
Why Can’t You Be Nicer To Me, Jack White?:
An Observation of Sorts
Okay, its official, I am in real trouble – Jack White has firmly slipped himself under my skin. The worst part is that I didn’t even see it coming.
It all started innocently enough. I thought for my show back on June 20th I would get myself in the “White Stripes mindset” by playing nothing but their four albums in constant rotation (well, pretty much – I’d say 99% of the time). That way, I could sort of “live” with the albums, get a good feeling for what they were about and how they made me feel. This was an old technique I used to employ when I was writing music reviews – of course this particular case being to an excessive degree.
Well, anyway, early this week, I realized that I hadn’t quite left that mindset and that I was still playing the albums a week later. I then worried that perhaps I would wear them out and that I had to distance myself from them for a bit so that I could appreciate them more upon returning to them. I liken it to be sort of like seeing a dear old friend after a few years of separation.
So, I pulled the Stripes CDs from the car and replaced them with a few carefully chosen favorites from my other CDs. This should have been nothing, right? Well, apparently the damage had been done. Nothing else sounded “right” anymore, it was like the music sounded flat.
See, initially, the White Stripes attracted me most for the purity of their sound as well as the passion of their expression. Jack was portraying himself as the “common man” (though his image of such is under heated debate at present, but I will go more into that below) and it was a sound and emotion that I believe all of us could relate to.
I found myself putting on my old CDs and they just seemed like they didn’t relate to me anymore. Like my aesthetic has taken some wrong turn somewhere. I was putting in CD after CD (and with about 2,000+ I had plenty to work with) and none of them made me feel the way the White Stripes music does.
The problem?
Well, things could never be really so simple, could they? Overall, though, I think this breaks down into two issues. The first issue is just plain fear, to be honest. This fear translates into many questions for me, some of which are:
• Will I ever truly enjoy any more music now that I have consumed the White Stripes?
• What is going to happen when the White Stripes stop making new music (which is supposedly on the not-too-distant horizon)?
• Is there a patch to alleviate this addiction (okay, this one is far-fetched, but hey, it’s a concern)?
My love for music is based on my love for adventure. I love to try new things and in music, I am always eagerly trying to find that next new fix that will resonate with me. So, now that I have seen/heard/felt how good it can be for me, can I go back and settle for everything else?
The other main issue, alluded to above, is the horrible timing of said “addiction.” I mentioned how it was the humility of their music’s subject matter was what really turned me on about the Stripes and it seems now that very same vital aspect of the music might be slipping right through my fingertips.
Who is the culprit? Mr. Jack White.
Let it be noted that I say his name in its entirety because I am not speaking of plain old Jack, that fellow you’d hang out with and maybe have a beer, no I am speaking of Jack White the Rock Star. Jack White, despite any posturing he’s made to the press and his audience, is falling in love. I do not speak of any woman, my friends, (though I know there is one in particular affecting a lot of people right now) no, Jack White is falling in love with fame.
If you would have spoken to me on this even a few months ago, I would probably call you crazy and cite all of the evidence contrary. The problem is now, there is more evidence to support this, than there is to deny it. Jack White used to be on the same level with his fans, a “common man” as I stated above. Now, he seems to be pushing us away like some annoying nuisance to him. After all the words he’s said about never wanting fame to go to his head, here it is seeping in.
I cite in particular this recent tour of the U.S. and the dodgy behavior that he has been exhibiting. There has been story after story of Jack snubbing his fans and though he did wave to the group of fans I was with in Atlanta, he has seemed to be distancing himself more and more from his fan base (this, oddly, soon after the Virgin Mobile incident). This brings up the classic argument – does Jack White owe us anything?
I know there are many differing opinions on the matter, but I personally feel that Jack does owe us something and that is respect. I am not saying that he always has to stop for an autograph or a conversation every time, but a simple acknowledgement should be given. I can understand being in a hurry or distracted, but full-on snubbing your fans is in poor taste – especially when it comes to a man who claims that he detests such behavior.
I know what you are thinking – “What is the bigger picture?” “Does this really even matter? “If you were a fan of just the music, you wouldn’t care about such things?” Well, it is my fandom of the White Stripes’ music that does make this matter to me. Jacks power is in his humility, it is the humble nature of his music that draws us in. If he is going to discard that same humility like some old coat and take on with full embrace this new “celebrity pomposity”, what is to become of his music? Will it all suddenly lose its luster or become a lie? How can Jack-Everyman exist when Jack-White-Rock-Star is becoming in control?
Perhaps I am a bit too sensitive, but honestly, I am worried about the future of the White Stripes. Maybe you should be too.
______________________
i don't care if you disagree, it my opinion...i hope i am wrong...
i don't know, perhaps its lack of sleep, but i just wrote this:
Why Can’t You Be Nicer To Me, Jack White?:
An Observation of Sorts
Okay, its official, I am in real trouble – Jack White has firmly slipped himself under my skin. The worst part is that I didn’t even see it coming.
It all started innocently enough. I thought for my show back on June 20th I would get myself in the “White Stripes mindset” by playing nothing but their four albums in constant rotation (well, pretty much – I’d say 99% of the time). That way, I could sort of “live” with the albums, get a good feeling for what they were about and how they made me feel. This was an old technique I used to employ when I was writing music reviews – of course this particular case being to an excessive degree.
Well, anyway, early this week, I realized that I hadn’t quite left that mindset and that I was still playing the albums a week later. I then worried that perhaps I would wear them out and that I had to distance myself from them for a bit so that I could appreciate them more upon returning to them. I liken it to be sort of like seeing a dear old friend after a few years of separation.
So, I pulled the Stripes CDs from the car and replaced them with a few carefully chosen favorites from my other CDs. This should have been nothing, right? Well, apparently the damage had been done. Nothing else sounded “right” anymore, it was like the music sounded flat.
See, initially, the White Stripes attracted me most for the purity of their sound as well as the passion of their expression. Jack was portraying himself as the “common man” (though his image of such is under heated debate at present, but I will go more into that below) and it was a sound and emotion that I believe all of us could relate to.
I found myself putting on my old CDs and they just seemed like they didn’t relate to me anymore. Like my aesthetic has taken some wrong turn somewhere. I was putting in CD after CD (and with about 2,000+ I had plenty to work with) and none of them made me feel the way the White Stripes music does.
The problem?
Well, things could never be really so simple, could they? Overall, though, I think this breaks down into two issues. The first issue is just plain fear, to be honest. This fear translates into many questions for me, some of which are:
• Will I ever truly enjoy any more music now that I have consumed the White Stripes?
• What is going to happen when the White Stripes stop making new music (which is supposedly on the not-too-distant horizon)?
• Is there a patch to alleviate this addiction (okay, this one is far-fetched, but hey, it’s a concern)?
My love for music is based on my love for adventure. I love to try new things and in music, I am always eagerly trying to find that next new fix that will resonate with me. So, now that I have seen/heard/felt how good it can be for me, can I go back and settle for everything else?
The other main issue, alluded to above, is the horrible timing of said “addiction.” I mentioned how it was the humility of their music’s subject matter was what really turned me on about the Stripes and it seems now that very same vital aspect of the music might be slipping right through my fingertips.
Who is the culprit? Mr. Jack White.
Let it be noted that I say his name in its entirety because I am not speaking of plain old Jack, that fellow you’d hang out with and maybe have a beer, no I am speaking of Jack White the Rock Star. Jack White, despite any posturing he’s made to the press and his audience, is falling in love. I do not speak of any woman, my friends, (though I know there is one in particular affecting a lot of people right now) no, Jack White is falling in love with fame.
If you would have spoken to me on this even a few months ago, I would probably call you crazy and cite all of the evidence contrary. The problem is now, there is more evidence to support this, than there is to deny it. Jack White used to be on the same level with his fans, a “common man” as I stated above. Now, he seems to be pushing us away like some annoying nuisance to him. After all the words he’s said about never wanting fame to go to his head, here it is seeping in.
I cite in particular this recent tour of the U.S. and the dodgy behavior that he has been exhibiting. There has been story after story of Jack snubbing his fans and though he did wave to the group of fans I was with in Atlanta, he has seemed to be distancing himself more and more from his fan base (this, oddly, soon after the Virgin Mobile incident). This brings up the classic argument – does Jack White owe us anything?
I know there are many differing opinions on the matter, but I personally feel that Jack does owe us something and that is respect. I am not saying that he always has to stop for an autograph or a conversation every time, but a simple acknowledgement should be given. I can understand being in a hurry or distracted, but full-on snubbing your fans is in poor taste – especially when it comes to a man who claims that he detests such behavior.
I know what you are thinking – “What is the bigger picture?” “Does this really even matter? “If you were a fan of just the music, you wouldn’t care about such things?” Well, it is my fandom of the White Stripes’ music that does make this matter to me. Jacks power is in his humility, it is the humble nature of his music that draws us in. If he is going to discard that same humility like some old coat and take on with full embrace this new “celebrity pomposity”, what is to become of his music? Will it all suddenly lose its luster or become a lie? How can Jack-Everyman exist when Jack-White-Rock-Star is becoming in control?
Perhaps I am a bit too sensitive, but honestly, I am worried about the future of the White Stripes. Maybe you should be too.
______________________
i don't care if you disagree, it my opinion...i hope i am wrong...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-07-03 04:45 pm (UTC)And i don't think anyone can say that the way he acts is nothing to do with the music. because it is. Well..the words anyway. You can't listen to the words and believe them, and think you know the man..only to turn around and see him going against everything he's said. It's just fake.. And fake is the last thing i believe Jack to be, but lately..i'm very confused. :(
Does that make sense? i'm not good at explaining myself.
Of course, i still think the world of him. But..i'm worried.