Jack White, Lady Gaga and the hollow nature of modernity
As one of the most influential musicians of his generation and a key force in putting the guitar back on the map in the early 2000s, Jack White has never strayed from his very clear world vision. He is a garage rock legend, a prominent critic of Donald Trump, and the head of one of the most effective independent labels out there. His punk-leaning approach continues to earn plaudits in a world criticised for increasingly eschewing authenticity.
The former White Stripes leader recently embodied this punk ethos when he surprise-released his solo album, No Name, first on physical copy, then online. In July, he distributed test pressings of the record by secretly including copies with purchases made at Third Man Records locations, before it appeared on streaming platforms in August. This innovative and effective approach made his return all the more remarkable, especially given that the album marked a triumphant comeback to the garage rock style that originally defined him.
An old-school approach to releasing a record confirmed what we already knew: White is an artist of genuine substance. Only a matter of weeks later, this status was bolstered once more when he openly stated that he would be suing Trump for his unauthorised use of the ‘Seven Nation Army’. Clearly demonstrating his perspective, he wrote: “Don’t even think about using my music you fascists.”
Considering White has such a clear worldview and has impacted popular culture so profoundly, he is a staunch defender of it from the forces that would be the undoing of its essence. In 2012, when speaking to Esquire, he drew upon the presentation of a world-famous pop star to symbolise culture gradually shedding its substance in light of fast fixes and sensationalism. Despite the somewhat divisive nature of his take, 12 years on, the general take appears alarmingly accurate. The example? Lady Gaga.
“I don’t think she lives it because it’s all artifice,” White explained of Gaga. “It’s all image with no meaning behind it. You can’t sink your teeth into it. It’s a sound bite. It’s very of this age because that’s what people want. They want a Twitter line, a jpeg, an MP3.”
“The goal of modern celebrity is to make yourself into the lowest common denominator,” White continued. “‘Hey, I’m a guy just like you. I like a beer, a football game.’ Especially in reality television, you’ll see people will go so far as to make a fool out of themselves just to prove that.”
Although White didn’t use any tangible examples vis-à-vis Gaga symbolising the malaise, he soon attracted heat and was forced to issue a statement concerning the “tabloidesque drama baiting by the press”. He maintained that he never attacked her music or the authenticity of her songs, but that he was making a point about the negativity of “image for the sake of image”, and that it is now standard not to question the image in front of you. Of course, he was bang on the money, and this is a point that has cropped up on numerous occasions since, as the internet and masses of content permeate life. DIIV’s new album, Frog in Boiling Water, explores the theme that we have lost the ability to critically analyse what’s in front of us.
White asserted that he hated his comments about the presentation of Lady Gaga being forcefully morphed into a negative critique of her music and said that journalists should be held accountable for creating such negative theatre. Significantly again, he explained: “I also think that kind of tabloid drama encourages artists to not express their opinions in the press, and instead give polite soundbites that don’t stimulate thought about creativity and the consumption of art in its many guises.”
He concluded by voicing his support of Lady Gaga championing LGBTQ issues and her contributions to positive change for the community. Holistically, White’s take was interesting, as it was fairly contradictory, and on paper, he and Gage have more in common than most people from across the rock and pop divide.
