The Daily Swarm

Headlines

July 02, 2009

Jack White, Luddite King of Rock... 'I don't want to give in to the digital age'...

The Dead Weather also ties in with White’s principles about not becoming a slave to modernity. He is one of the few famous musicians to still record albums on analogue tape. He does not own a mobile phone, and complains that he has nobody to talk to at airports when the people he is with are busy texting distant locations. It’s quite hard to imagine White all on his own in the departure lounge, but he has become something of a poster boy for 21st-century Luddism.

“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,” he explains. “But when I talk to people about this they just say, ‘Yeah, I know what you mean,’ and stare at their mobiles. The general vibe I get is: ‘Quit being a drag. We’re progressing here.’”