Hello, Jack White

Blogger provides me with some stats about how many visits my blog gets, which posts get the most views and where readers come from.  I'm not entirely sure how reliable or useful they are.  I will admit to being slightly thrilled that I had 53 visitors on Monday, but I am slightly bemused at finding that no post has been read more than twice this week.

Up until quite recently, one of my most viewed posts was, apparently, a slight thing I wrote 6 years ago, pointing out a passing similarity between the White Stripes and the Black Keys.  I must admit, I thought I was stating the obvious at the time, but now it seems that Jack White has got into a spot of bother for pointing out the similarity in a private email.

I don't want to start a feud with Jack White for obvious reasons, and I'm not suggesting for one minute that he got the idea that the Black Keys ripped him off from my blog - as I've already said, I thought that was obvious.  I'd just like to note that Jack White has now issued an apology.  Jack, if you are reading this, you might want to check out a previous post about the misguidedness of the public apology.

The Black Keys

I came across The Black Keys on Channel 4's Live from Abbey Road, and I have to confess to mixed feelings. It was nice to hear something raw and immediate after the anodyne Hoosiers, and they certainly kick up a fair racket, but I still have reservations.

I fought the temptation to compare them with The White Stripes, simply because of their lineup: if they were a bogstandard four-piece, I wouldn't feel the need to make any invidious comparisons. But, then there was the rather similar musical territory, minus Meg White's rudimentary approach to drums - arguably a large part of The White Stripes' appeal.

Call me slow on the uptake, but they were a couple of songs into their set, before I clocked the name: The Black Keys, The White Stripes - someone somewhere is taking the mick.