Last year, when Jack White accused the Black Keys of ripping him off, he did so in a private email to his ex-wife that was never meant to be released publicly. Now, though, he's voiced his criticism about the group loud and clear.
Speaking with Rolling Stone, he offered similar claims to the ones from his leaked emails — namely, that the Black Keys have ridden his coattails to success.
"There are kids at school who dress like everybody else, because they don't know what to do, and there are musicians like that, too," he said. "I'll hear TV commercials where the music's ripping off sounds of mine, to the point I think it's me. Half the time, it's the Black Keys. The other half, it's a sound-alike song because they couldn't license one of mine. There's a whole world that's totally fine with the watered-down version of the original."
His accusations didn't end at the Black Keys. Continuing on the same point, White said, "Some people will hear that and say 'Oh, Jack White thinks he's the first person to play the blues.' But certain acts open up a market for a certain style. 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. The White Stripes did the same thing, and in our absence, you're gonna find someone to fill that. And you get a band like the Black Keys, who said they never heard of the White Stripes? Sure."
These comments are doubly insulting for Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach, since he produced Lana Del Rey's new album, Ultraviolence.
This news comes just a couple weeks after the Black Keys offered their own take on the feud with the Third Man Records boss, with drummer Patrick Carney saying that White "sounds like an asshole," but conceding that the leaked emails should never have been released.
Meanwhile, White's Lazaretto arrives June 10 through Third Man Records/Columbia.
Speaking with Rolling Stone, he offered similar claims to the ones from his leaked emails — namely, that the Black Keys have ridden his coattails to success.
"There are kids at school who dress like everybody else, because they don't know what to do, and there are musicians like that, too," he said. "I'll hear TV commercials where the music's ripping off sounds of mine, to the point I think it's me. Half the time, it's the Black Keys. The other half, it's a sound-alike song because they couldn't license one of mine. There's a whole world that's totally fine with the watered-down version of the original."
His accusations didn't end at the Black Keys. Continuing on the same point, White said, "Some people will hear that and say 'Oh, Jack White thinks he's the first person to play the blues.' But certain acts open up a market for a certain style. 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. The White Stripes did the same thing, and in our absence, you're gonna find someone to fill that. And you get a band like the Black Keys, who said they never heard of the White Stripes? Sure."
These comments are doubly insulting for Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach, since he produced Lana Del Rey's new album, Ultraviolence.
This news comes just a couple weeks after the Black Keys offered their own take on the feud with the Third Man Records boss, with drummer Patrick Carney saying that White "sounds like an asshole," but conceding that the leaked emails should never have been released.
Meanwhile, White's Lazaretto arrives June 10 through Third Man Records/Columbia.
