So is music really sacred, as Jack White has declared? The Third Man Records boss has just penned a poem entitled ‘Music is Sacred’, that you can read everywhere, here included (I will save you some Google search). But isn’t he placing his profession above every other profession? Making music is just an occupation after all, why would music be sacred and not what I do every day? And not what the work that my contractor does every day? Yeah, it’s because music is art and art lives forever, defies time and mortality… well may be, but I don’t think that any music is sacred at this respect, because, as for any form of art, there is good music and bad music. Is the music of One Direction or Justin Bieber sacred for example? Hell no, and it never will be for me! And Jack, is the Black Keys’ music sacred for you, since you consider them to be awful plagiarists?… Seriously, it’s ridiculous to include all music into this capital M Music as if it had become a religious icon in front of which everyone should kneel down… because the other sacred things I am aware of are related to divine or religious believes and I don’t think we should consider music as a religion. And didn’t punk rebel against anything sacred?
A note published on Third Man Records specifies that this new poem has nothing to with Jack White’s recent involvement with Tidal and his Q&A with Tidal and Facebook members. ‘It was a stand alone piece and was never issued as a press release,’ wrote Third Man Records. During the Q&A, White obviously defended the service, saying that it will change everything (without giving any concrete facts, or explaining how Tidal is going to help young artists) and declaring that he could not ‘understand the backlash that it’s getting.’ Well, what about the high price Jack? What about the lack of clarification? This is where the backlash is coming from!
Despite what his label pretends, Jack White has declared music sacred because he is a pompous royalty pissed off that the system allows kids to get his music for free. He is angry that Tidal is going to sink, because why would anyone pick Tidal over Spotify or YouTube when you can use these two for free? Jack White seems to live in a pre-internet age and fights an impossible fight. Music is going to be free, is already free whatever he and Jay Z do, it’s an inescapable reality, evolution never goes backward.
Here is Jack White’s poem… enjoy:
Music is Sacred
those of you who stand for the sanctity of music
so that its soul can breathe
and be heard
so that it blooms in graveyards
echoes in hotel hallways
awakens neighbors in the night
and fills peoples minds with fire
shout it out loud with whatever microphone you have
or these stones will shout for you.
jump in front of demons,
and stand over cowards and those who would intend
to rip out your lungs and dampen your desire
tell the living and the dead
what you know in your heart to be true
and what you know your ears
will forever hear
that the melody of the human race
is a song that never ends.
music is sacred.
jack white
III