Jack White: 26 Quotes That Will Make You Stop And Think

Jack White: Guitar hero. Technology-hater. Aesthetic mastermind. Say what you will, but Jack’s a man who knows what he likes and sticks to his singular viewpoint without faltering. We’ve rounded up his 26 boldest statements and rules to live by. Keep at it Jack!

1
On turning 40:

On turning 40: “You hear a lot of people, they turn 40 and it really bugs them and they get depressed or whatever. I don’t know – I just don’t feel that way. I feel 19 years old all the time. I could easily say, God, I feel 70. Or maybe I seem like I’m 70 or 200 or something to other people, I don’t know. My brain feels 19 all the time. And that’s a good spot.”

2
On laziness:

On laziness: “Technology is a big destroyer of emotion and truth. Auto-tuning doesn’t do anything for creativity. Yeah, it makes it easier and you can get home sooner, but it doesn’t make you a more creative person. That’s the disease we have to fight in any creative field: ease of use.”

3
On musical icons:

On musical icons: “Do not trust people who call themselves musicians or record collectors who say that they don’t like Bob Dylan or The Beatles. They do not love music if those words come out of their mouths.”

Advertisement

4
On innovation:

On innovation: “There aren’t that many things left that haven’t already been done, especially with music. I’m interested in ideas that can shake us all up.”

5
On freedom:

On freedom: “Maybe we should all just listen to records and quit our jobs.”

6
On modern technology:

On modern technology: “I want to be part of the resurgence of things that are tangible, beautiful and soulful, rather than just give in to the digital age. But when I talk to people about this they just say, ‘Yeah, I know what you mean,’ and stare at their mobiles.”

7
On creative purging:

On creative purging: “I gave myself over to music and art a long time ago, so I don’t get to relax and I don’t get to sit still. The best I can do is constantly create my own environment so it benefits what I need to accomplish in the next step.”

Advertisement

8
On his early talents:

On his early talents: “I was in a Montessori school. There was a drum circle with all the kids passing around a little bongo drum. I was the last person in the circle, and when it got to me I played ‘Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits’ in front of all the parents. Blew the crowd away at five years old.”

9
On authenticity:

On authenticity:

On authenticity: “It’s harder to put yourself in a place where you could easily be seen as a fake. But that’s more interesting to me.”

10
On love interruptions:

On love interruptions: “I think that sometimes love gets in the way of itself – you know, love interrupts itself. We want things so much that we sabotage them.”

11
On being a wildcard:

On being a wildcard: “I’m one of those people that you have to keep your eye on or I’ll wander off into the woods and forget to come back.”

Advertisement

12
On formulas:

On formulas:

On formulas: “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”

13
On apathy

On apathy

On apathy: “This generation is so dead. You ask a kid, ‘What are you doing this Saturday?’ and they’ll be playing video games or watching cable, instead of building model cars or airplanes or doing something creative. Kids today never say, ‘Man, I’m really into remote-controlled steamboats’.”

14
On The White Stripes:

On The White Stripes: “I’d make a White Stripes record right now. I’d be in the White Stripes for the rest of my life. That band is the most challenging, important, fulfilling thing ever to happen to me. I wish it was still here. It’s something I really, really miss.”

15
On transience:

On transience: “Fifteen minutes of fame doesn’t make a career. An article in a magazine, newspaper, interview on television or multiple print ads may stroke your ego, but nothing much else. An artist’s career is a lifetime venture. Just because an artist is on top doesn’t mean they are sheltered from a crash. As has been stated, the higher you climb, the harder you fall.”

16
On bring prolific:

On bring prolific: “I have so much music inside me I’m just trying to stay afloat.”

17
On childhood:

On childhood: “We were like a white family from the 1920s or something. My parents had this bizarre, different way of looking at things from the people that surrounded us. I went to an all-Mexican grade school and an all-black high school, and not many people in those places liked the same stuff as me.”

18
On Amy:

On Amy: “Amy Winehouse – did she invent white soul? Wearing a beehive? No. But she did something brand new and fresh, altogether as a package, and you see who’s in her wake, from the Duffys to the Lana Del Reys… Adele selling 20 million records? That would not have happened if Amy Winehouse was alive.”

19
On the downsides of the job:

On the downsides of the job: “You will face boredom and frustration your entire career as artists. You will be very frustrated seeking a voice/style that collectors can connect with. Once you accomplish that voice/style people are clamouring for, you will become bored doing it.”

20
On keeping busy:

On keeping busy: “I have so many projects to work on I’m going to have to live to at least 120 to get some of them done.”

21
On parents:

On parents: “I have three dads: my biological father, God and Bob Dylan.”

22
On anxiety:

On anxiety: “Worry means tormenting yourself with disturbing thoughts or fretting about things we have zero control over. If you live in the north there is no need to worry about the snow. You will get plenty each year. If you live in California or Texas you needn’t worry about rain because we won’t receive any.”

23
On motivation:

On motivation: “I cannot judge what motivates people. We are all moved by one of four things or a combination of these four things: money, romance, recognition or survival.”

24
On his first musical love:

On his first musical love: “Playing drums feels like coming home for me. Even during the White Stripes I thought: ‘I’ll do this for now, but I’m really a drummer.’ That’s what I’ll put on my passport application.”

25
On records:

On records: “Vinyl survived, we managed not to kill it. Knowing that you’ve taken part in this fight… You can’t imagine the happiness it brings. Every time I see a kid going out of the store with a vinyl record under the arms, my heart beats faster. Music should only be this. An intense emotion.”

26
On reputation:

On reputation: “I think it takes a lot of trickery to keep up with the media and its perception of you. I don’t know if I have it in me most of the time to care.”

Advertisement
Advertisement