I shall diffuse any pretense of objectivity here and outright state that the White Stripes are my favorite band, and Jack White is my favorite musician, of ever , besides Jay-Z .
The stripped down, bluesy rock duo shot to prominence after “Fell In Love With A Girl” achieved widespread mainstream success back in 2002. Jack White has since formed the Dead Weather and the Raconteurs, but the Stripes were always Jack’s home band and pretty much Meg’s only gig. I will also point out at this juncture that I have had a raging crush on Jack White for the past decade, and he is in fact the dreamiest man to have ever walked God’s green earth in tight pants. Ahem.
The band announced their second break-up (the first notably being Meg and Jack’s divorce in the band’s early days) via their website , which is currently down. In a statement published on the site, the band said:
“The reason is not due to artistic differences or lack of wanting to continue, nor any health issues as both Meg and Jack are feeling fine and in good health. It’s for a myriad of reasons, but mostly to preserve what is beautiful and special about the band and have it stay that way.”
This is so upsetting, you guys! The statement continues:
“Third Man Records will continue to put out unreleased live and studio recordings from the White Stripes in their Vault subscription record club, as well as through regular channels.”
They add:
“The White Stripes do not belong to Meg and Jack anymore. The White Stripes belong to you now and you can do with it whatever you want. The beauty of art and music is that it can last forever if people want it to. Thank you for sharing this experience. Your involvement will never be lost on us and we are truly grateful.”
Although Jack will presumably continue on with all his side projects, there is no word on Meg’s musical future. Are you having as big of a sad as I am over the White Stripes’ breakup? Do you think Jack has captured some of his Stripesy magic in other projects?