But this latest news is pushing me even harder. I already had a serious collection obsession. I also decided to buy even more vinyl, first and foremost, as I add new music to my library. You have to! So I decided to drop my subscriptions to both of these services. I have no idea what the real back story is about in this dispute, with companies like Spotify and Pandora, but when artists like Thom Yorke raise questions about how they and others get paid when their work is played on these services, you have to pay attention. This morning the web is buzzing with the news that Thom Yorke pulled his latest Atoms for Peace, “ Amok” ( XL Records), record along with “ The Eraser” (XL Records, 2006) from Spotify. Third Man Records has reminded everyone that their turntables aren’t dead, which should also remind everyone that the authenticity of the 1920s and 30s can still be conjured back into our lives, the best of the early Twentieth Century, if we want it. One show I was at the stage, the other in a seat at the back of the room. I left my camera home so I could get lost in the music. These photos were taken by Jack White’s tour photographer, David James Swanson, which are all available on Jack White’s website. It’s about the gritty live experience as a groundling, art and intellectual impact in one experience, which takes days and even weeks to access through memory and contemplation. There are layers of meaning in White’s songs, song choices, lyrics, and the mighty sources from which they flow, far deeper and more emotional and real than digital technology can capture on a six-inch screen. High-flying words and buckets of blood, if need be. It’s all about showmanship and giving people something entertaining. In that way, in my opinion, Jack White is very like William Shakespeare at his Globe, as far fetched as that might sound. Everything flowed from the live performance. Back to when going to a live show had both huge theatrical elements as well as deeply spiritual elements, for the fans who bought a ticket to see a show. Jack White is a time machine back to when the show was everything.
He said our parents, and especially our grandparents, went to live shows to enjoy the spectacle unfolding in front of them. His opening tour spokesperson stepped on stage just before each show and addressed the crowd. Jack asks that fans not let their cellphone use obscure the SHOW happening right in front of their eyes. His heart is in 1930s retro, which includes the showmanship and attention to detail and his record label. Forget talking about his tour rules, his family, his fights with other musicians, all the celebrity crap that the modern media shoves forward instead of engaged, genuine insight about the man’s art.