I’ll be brief, because chances are this won’t be up here for long. Let’s recap: Jack White is given the liberty of penning the new James Bond theme for Quantum of Solace, entitled “Another Way To Die”. Coke release a commercial featuring a snippet of an instrumental section of the theme. Jack doesn’t like that. “Another Way To Die” gets played on the radio. It hits the internets.

How does it sound? Just how’d you expect. White’s signature falsetto is a perfect match for Keys’ wailing, and both are bombarded by orchestral typhoons and Jacky’s fuzzed-out riffin’. Perfeck.

Jack White & Alicia Keys - Another Way To Die.mp3

P.S. Please don’t beat up on me, Jack :-)

Horrible title, I know, but you should have seen some of the alternatives: “Jack White: Sugar free, not stirred” and “Jack White Gets A Licence to Kill Calories and Score Another Coke Commercial”. Actually, on second thought they do have quite a bit of zing to them, compared to the rather literal number I eventually went with. Catchiness is key in these aggregating days.

Moving on. It’s come to my attention that in this exciting day and age of media convergence (that one goes out to all my fellow media students in the house, yeah, whatsup), big name, multimillion dollar cross-promotions are pretty much inevitable. So in the case of the upcoming Coke Zero/James Bond film Quantum of Solace international campaign, why not make the best of what you’ve already got? And if what you’ve already got is the previously reported Jack White-penned theme song for Quantum of Solace entitled “Another Way To Die” - then why not stick an instrumental snippet of it in your Bond-themed commercial for your much-loved carbonated brown beverage?

Wait, here’s one I just thought of then: Thank You Jack White for the Awesome Kick Ass Theme Song That You Gave Us.

UPDATE From NME (Via Sean):

Jack White has distanced himself from a new TV advert for Coca Cola, the soundtrack of which is his song, ‘Another Way To Die’….

…White’s management has issued a statement distancing The White Stripes and Raconteurs man from the advert, claiming that it was not his decision to license the song for use in the promo.

“Jack White was commissioned by Sony Pictures to write a theme song for the James Bond film ‘Quantum Of Solace’, not for Coca Cola,” read the statement. “Any other use of the song is based on decisions made by others, not by Jack White.

“We are disappointed that you first heard the song in a co-promotion for Coke Zero, rather than in its entirety.”

I’m still slightly confused/in shock over this latest piece of Jack White news, so rather than attempt to reiterate the story with a series of poorly executed and obvious jokes, I’m just going to copy and paste what is without a doubt, officially the most bizarre/awesome thing I’ve read today. From Billboard.com:

Alicia Keys and the White Stripes’ Jack White will record the theme song to “Quantum of Solace,” the 22nd James Bond film, which hits U.S. theaters Nov. 7.

The song, “Another Way To Die,” will be the first duet in Bond soundtrack history. White wrote and produced the song, and also will play drums. The soundtrack to the movie will be released Oct. 28.

I’ve always imagined that “Seven Nation Army” could work as a Bond theme, or maybe I just remember reading Jack saying that somewhere and am too lazy to find the direct quote. The nay-sayers will obviously cry foul as well as “sell out” given the commercial nature of the project, but even Jacky’s infamous Coca-Cola ad was a terrifically catchy jingle that could brighten even the most cynical person’s day. And make them buy a Coke.

It’s got to be better than the atrocity Chris Cornell recorded for Casino Royale, right? Or at least better than my shitty Photoshop job above?

So Jack White III, who wasn’t feeling very homesick at all, penned a poem about his old stomping ground Detroit, Michigan. I say “penned” not as a figure of speech, but rather because I’m 100% certain JW still doesn’t own a computer and/or colour television. The loving ode to the Motor City is called Courageous Dream’s Concern and was written in response to the misinterpretation surrounding Jack’s exit from the city two years ago. It’s also kind of long. And while we’re on the topic, it’s also nowhere near as good as the acrostic poem I wrote about Jack White:

Jack White’s best friend is called
Angus and they
Cuddle and
Kiss every night

“Whisper in my ear, young man” Jack says -

Ah, nevermind.

Read Jack’s inferior and less sexy poem here.

Answer: Rescue your sorry fainted ass and keep the show rolling. Saw this one over at The Modern Age and thought it was too good to pass up. Plus, it ultimately supports my theory that Jack White is in fact proof of the existence of an emerging breed of highly evolved “supermen” - not to be mistaken with the rest of us puny mortals. Did somebody say Nietzsche?

Imagine you’re a girl, and you love the Raconteurs. You go see them at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City, and your having a grand time, when all of a sudden you faint.

The crowd pushes your body to the front, and instead of a bouncer coming to your rescue, Jack White himself leaps off the stage and carries your weary body to safety. He then (as you are told later), continues on with “Carolina” like nothing happened.

And as if “Carolina Drama” wasn’t already dramatic enough. My hero.

Now that I’m back on a campus, I thought that I’d give writing for the Uni mag a go. I approached the editors about the possibility of doing regular music reviews, and they told me to go for it. They made it clear they weren’t after long winded, elitist Pitchfork-esque essays, and to basically assume that the readers have absolutely no idea about music. So here’s killing two birds with one 300 word review; my long overdue review of Consolers of the Lonely, sans 1337 references edition!

The Raconteurs
Consolers of the Lonely
Third Man Records, 2008
Rating: 9/10

Talk about a good work ethic. While the dust was still settling around last year’s White Stripes record, Icky Thump, little did we know Jack White had already hung up his trademark red, white and black uniform in order to rush-release his merry band of Raconteurs’ (or Saboteurs, depending on where you are) sophomore album, Consolers of the Lonely.

Often and incorrectly refereed to as White’s “other band” or “side project”, The Raconteurs are in every sense of the word a very real musical group with longevity in mind, banded together by steady communal diet of listening to nothing released before 1979.

Listening to Consolers, it’s clear that both White and Brendan Benson (whom White shares singing and writing duties with) have nothing but admiration for one another’s distinct style. As demonstrated throughout the record’s fourteen tracks, each front man courteously allows the other room to musically breathe; Benson’s sunny power pop gets sufficient room to shine (“Old Enough, “Many Shades of Black”), while White’s trademark guitar riffs and shrill wailing are blissfully interjected in all the right spots (“Five on the Five”, “Top Yourself”).

But that’s not to say that Consolers is a musical paint-by-numbers affair – it’s definitely more a of a eclectic mixed bag compared to 2006’s short and sweet Broken Boy Soldiers, which often sounds like a collection of lo-fi demos when compared to its polished and slick follow-up.

Consolers a richer, more consistent sounding second effort that feels less like four guys from different bands messing around in garage for a couple of hours, and more like one band with a shared direction and a love of rock ‘n’ roll. The Raconteurs are here to stay.

While the bombardment of last week’s increased 12MC Jack White activity regarded The Raconteurs’ second recorded outing, the rush-tastic Consolers of the Lonely, this week’s first token JW post is about Jacky Boy teaming up with them ol’ Rolling Bones (LOL I mean, Rolling Stones).

Martin Scorcese’s upcoming documentary, Shine a Light, chronicles two performances from New York City’s Beacon Theatre, shot during the Stones’ 2006 A Bigger Bang world tour. Jack White III (as he’s credited on the soundtrack) joins Mick, Keef, Charlie and Ron on the bluesy Exile On Main St. twanger, “Loving Cup”. Christina Aguilera is also in the film, but, whatever.

It must be said that between the Stones and Dylan, Jack’s been keeping some very good musical company as of late. Shine A Light hits Aussie screens April 24, here’s hoping we get the IMAX treatment to make up for the unsurprising delayed release date.

As outlined in their that-came-outta-nowhere press release last week, The Racs are well and truly working at break neck speed. On the same day that the record, Consolers of the Lonely was available for all walks of life to enjoy simultaneously, a video for Consoler’s first rockin’ single, ‘Salute Your Solution’, appeared on the official page. Directed by longtime White Stripes’ collaborator, Autumn De Wilde, the video is composed of over 2500 different photographs. Yep, that’s about it. All I have to say is: Viva la DOS interfaces!

An exchange between Syms and myself regarding this weekend’s leaking of the new Raconteurs’ album, Consolers of the Lonely. It has been slightly edited from it’s original, Facebook form.

Syms Covington
10:07pm Mar 24th

where did you get it? are you breaking jack’s heart?

Angus Truskett
10:14pm Mar 24th

It leaked!

Australia’s not due to get the physical CD for at least two weeks, due to printing complications. ie - the fact they’re called ‘The Saboteurs’ over here.

But this Tuesday, I will be purchasing a physical CD through their webstore to be shipped here.

I’ll also get a digital download from there, provided it’s cheap, to show Jack people will buy it. Or maybe I won’t. (I didn’t)

I think an ideal sale model would be: you order a CD, then get a free download in a lesser quality until it arrives.

The reason why In Rainbows didn’t leak, was because the first copy available from anywhere was the digital download offered on their site.

Jack (or Warners) wanted CD, Vinyl and MP3 all on the same day, which I think is an awesome plan, catering to all etc. But this would be the flaw in the plan. Even though it was a rush-release method, the fact the copy that leaked was from a physical CD that a store received early shows there’s faults in the ‘old’ system, and the reason why the whole In Rainbows ordeal was so well orchestrated was because it was entirely based on digital only system. No jerk in a store could take it home and ruin everyone’s fun. So the fact Jack has so much love for, and trust in the traditional methods, is the reason this week old record leaked. Which is sad. (That and the fact they’re distributed by a major label).

Either way, Jack’s getting my hard earned, when it’s on sale. I downloaded it because I just can’t stand jerks hearing it before me, all because of a QLD pub band with the same name.

Should have put this on 12mc.

Well it’s out, and the digital download method is quite different to what we’ve seen before - It’s region specific. That is, the purchaser is asked to choose what country they are in, and then they are directed to a new page within the official site, with all digital purchases appearing to go through an established online music retailer, specific for each country. I ordered the CD from the official site’s webstore (as I said I would), which came to roughly $25 AU, which isn’t so bad. I found it interesting that it would have been cheaper for me to purchase the digital Raconteurs’ Consolers of the Lonely ($9.99 US) than the Australian-only Saboteur’s digital version ($16.99 AU), but I was greeted with an ‘Error’ page attempting to do it. So it looks like Aussie’s looking for a legitimate, digital download are forced to settle for the more expensive, lamer sounding Sabs.

But enough ranting about the various methods of purchasing the record - is it any good? You Bet it is! As if I would say anything else. Expect a raving, fanboy review in the coming days.

A conversation from this evening between Maria and I regarding Jack White’s new, short hair:

Me: Fuck, Maria. Come look at this… Jack White has short hair!

Maria hurries over to the computer screen.

Me: He looks like a Beatle!
Maria: No, he looks like Amelie!

Thank God for Jack White. I’ll have things to write about, again.

I’ve said it once before and I’ll say it again: Goddamn, Jack White works real fast. Not only have The Raconteurs just announced that the eagerly-anticipated second album, Consolers Of The Lonely, is completed, but it will be available in every format (full length vinyl, CD and digital formats) from everywhere (”local mom and pop Indie retailers, corporate superstores, supermarkets, iTunes, Amazon, the band’s own website”) on Tuesday, March 25th.

The rumour began at the illustrious atease message board when user ‘heile’ announced “…I just went to the record shop where I work at, and my boss said that Jack White went into the Warner Bros. office last Tuesday, handed them the master tape for the new Raconteurs and told them that he wanted the album out this Tuesday.”

Before it was confirmed on the band’s official site, I instantly believed it because if there’s anything recent history has told us, Jack hates the inevitable leak that’s expected with every major, popular musical release. Combine this with the well known fact that if Jack White wants something - he gets it - and this rush-release method doesn’t seem so far fetched in a post-In Rainbows and Ghosts I-IV world. I’ll let the press release do the talking:

The purpose: to get the album to the fans as soon as possible and as we promised. We wanted to get this record to fans, the press, radio, etc., all at the EXACT SAME TIME so that no one has an upper hand on anyone else regarding it’s availability, reception or perception.

With this release, The Raconteurs are forgoing the usual months of lead time for press and radio set up, as well as forgoing the all important “first week sales”. We wanted to explore the idea of releasing an album everywhere at once and THEN marketing and promoting it thereafter. The Raconteurs would rather this release not be defined by it’s first weeks sales, pre-release promotion, or by someone defining it FOR YOU before you get to hear it.

Consider me very excited. One week until I can hear new Jack White music. Need I say more? The only problem at hand is which method do I go for? Naturally, I’ll be buying both the Rac and Sab editions of the record, but given the short amount of time - what’s a fanboy to do in order to get Consolers Of The Lonely legitimately?

As a side note, the only bittersweet news attached with this wonderful announcement is that it basically confirms that the mighty beast that was Icky Thump has finally been put to rest. Here’s hoping Meg is feeling better and one day, I will see my favourite duo perform live again.