Sunday, February 21, 2010
Back and forth through my mind behind a cigarette
Wow, my blog posts have been depressing or short and boring. Moving on.
Jack White seems to be the single popular (coincidentally white) artist since Led Zeppelin to truly *get* the blues, and put that into his music. Eric Clapton will go on and on about Robert Johnson being his greatest influence, but Jack White truly exudes the blues. It's more than just a way of playing the guitar, it's about an intense philosophy that is more felt than understood. This is seen no better than in how director Davis Guggenheim portrays Jack White in "It Might Get Loud". Jack White's approach to music and to the guitar, as he explains it in the movie, is literally the most distilled description of blues philosophy I can imagine. He describes wanting to make playing the guitar as hard as physically possible for himself. A scene in the movie of him during a live performance, missing chunks of his flesh from his hand, the blood from these wounds staining the body of his guitar, express this more than any cheap claims could manage. Similarly, his description of how he writes music - something to the tune of "Basically I think of something bad that has happened during the day, and turn that into a song" - displays something of a dark personality, but one that is indispensable to the blues.
Truthfully, it's a matter of opinion, because Clapton apparently had his share of misfortunes and issues, and channeled them into his music (particularly I'm thinking of Layla, the song he wrote for his best friend, Beatle George Harrison's wife, Clapton's unrequited love), and obviously wasn't lacking in technical prowess, but he's missing that borderline insane emotional commitment to the music that makes White so fit for the part.
And make no mistake, amid all this Jack White displays the inevitable punk influences on his music, particularly by channeling Jello Biafra on "Black Math" off of Elephant. It's interesting, and seemingly necessary, that Jack White is post-blues revival, post-rock, post-punk, post-New Age, post-metal, in short one of the most contemporary popular musicians now recording, and he plays an undoubtedly blues style of music all across the board. His post-blues, post-punk, and contemporary stylings come into play where his lyrics take a turn from classic blues fair to said contemporary styles, that is, turning his tortured musings from folk-y themes to modern issues or even somewhat psychedelic lyrics.
Jack White seems to be the single popular (coincidentally white) artist since Led Zeppelin to truly *get* the blues, and put that into his music. Eric Clapton will go on and on about Robert Johnson being his greatest influence, but Jack White truly exudes the blues. It's more than just a way of playing the guitar, it's about an intense philosophy that is more felt than understood. This is seen no better than in how director Davis Guggenheim portrays Jack White in "It Might Get Loud". Jack White's approach to music and to the guitar, as he explains it in the movie, is literally the most distilled description of blues philosophy I can imagine. He describes wanting to make playing the guitar as hard as physically possible for himself. A scene in the movie of him during a live performance, missing chunks of his flesh from his hand, the blood from these wounds staining the body of his guitar, express this more than any cheap claims could manage. Similarly, his description of how he writes music - something to the tune of "Basically I think of something bad that has happened during the day, and turn that into a song" - displays something of a dark personality, but one that is indispensable to the blues.
Truthfully, it's a matter of opinion, because Clapton apparently had his share of misfortunes and issues, and channeled them into his music (particularly I'm thinking of Layla, the song he wrote for his best friend, Beatle George Harrison's wife, Clapton's unrequited love), and obviously wasn't lacking in technical prowess, but he's missing that borderline insane emotional commitment to the music that makes White so fit for the part.
And make no mistake, amid all this Jack White displays the inevitable punk influences on his music, particularly by channeling Jello Biafra on "Black Math" off of Elephant. It's interesting, and seemingly necessary, that Jack White is post-blues revival, post-rock, post-punk, post-New Age, post-metal, in short one of the most contemporary popular musicians now recording, and he plays an undoubtedly blues style of music all across the board. His post-blues, post-punk, and contemporary stylings come into play where his lyrics take a turn from classic blues fair to said contemporary styles, that is, turning his tortured musings from folk-y themes to modern issues or even somewhat psychedelic lyrics.
# posted by Christopher : 12:32 AM
