In this week's Billboard cover story rock legend Jack White opens up about not being a "sound-bite artist", how the media thrives on embarrassment and why vinyl records are "hypnotic".
One of the last true rock stars -- a guitar hero who fills arenas with high-volume rewirings of blues-based music, classic pop and country -- White has sold more than 7 million albums with The White Stripes, The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs and on his own, and earned the ability to do things his way.
"I'm in a sound-bite era, and I don't talk like a sound-bite artist," he says. "I never hear anybody say anything about me when they watch a videotaped interview. When they read an article that takes sound bites and [makes] click bait out of it, that's when they get complaining on me."
White continues to share his thoughts on the media, which he feels thrives on other people's embarrassment.
"Type in someone's name on YouTube, a lot of what comes up is someone falls down, someone blows up, someone fumbles the ball. That's what people want. And I'm in the wrong era for that."
Lastly, he discusses his preference for vinyl - calling it "the movie theater compared to the iPhone." It's less about sound quality than aura -- vinyl provides a focus, a ritual.
"You're reverential to it. With vinyl, you're on your knees. You're at the mercy of the needle. You watch the record spin and it's like you're sitting around a campfire. It's hypnotic."
