Jack White, the man behind The White Stripes (if you didn’t already know this, cease reading now), his own solo project, a record label (Third Man Records) and a record store (Third Man Records and Novelties, in Nashville, Tennessee) has fittingly been knighted Ambassador for Record Store Day 2013, celebrated globally this year on April 20th.
White is the latest in an esteemed list of musicians that have been named official ambassador for the annual event that celebrates independent record stores, including Iggy Pop – who was last year’s ambassador, QOTSA’s Josh Homme (2010), and Ozzy Osbourne (in both 2009 and 2011).
Founded in 2007 in the US, Record Store Day seeks to bring together independently owned record stores and artists to celebrate the wonder of music. Each year, on the third Saturday of April, special vinyl and CDs are made and released exclusively for the day and many artists make special performances.
In a new video celebrating White’s new appointment, which tours the United Record Pressing plant in Nashville, Tennessee, White jokes that he is apparently no stranger to the concept of ambassadors, having grown, “up near the Ambassador Bridge, in Detroit Michigan,” when he was young (*chortle*).
But in a more genuine pledge and call to action, Jack White III has also bestowed the following statement on music fans worldwide:
“As Record Store Day Ambassador of 2013 I’m proud to help in any way I can to invigorate whoever will listen with the idea that there is beauty and romance in the act of visiting a record shop and getting turned on to something new that could change the way they look at the world, other people, art, and ultimately, themselves.”
Reflecting on an unnerving statistic previously disclosed to the musician, White emphasises his disappointment at the disconnect existing between young people and their consumption of music and culture.
“Years ago someone told me that 1,200 high school kids were given a survey,” says White. “A question was posed to them: Have you ever been to a stand-alone record shop? The number of kids that answered “yes” was… zero,” he laments.
A long-standing and ardent traditionalist about music and live performance, White has previously identified what he sees as the problems surrounding an obsessive use of technology with music (even banning smartphones at his live shows),and continually insists on experiencing it in a rawer, more present way. “Have you ever been to a stand-alone record shop? The number of kids that answered “yes” was… zero.” – Jack White
“We need to re-educate ourselves about human interaction and the difference between downloading a track on a computer and talking to other people in person and getting turned onto music that you can hold in your hands and share with others,” says White.
Noting that the visceral and aesthetic elements of music acquisition seem lost on youth, White pleads with the reader: “The size, shape, smell, texture and sound of a vinyl record; how do you explain to that teenager who doesn’t know that it’s a more beautiful musical experience than a mouse click?”
The solution it seems, is all about collective action and education.
“You get up off your ass, you grab them by the arm and you take them there. You put the record in their hands. You make them drop the needle on the platter. Then they’ll know… Let’s wake each other up.”
In Australia, Record Store Day was marked in 2012 with performances around the country by Megan Washington, Deep Sea Arcade and The Audreys, and re-releases of albums from artists like Janis Joplin, Miles Davis, Deep Purple, Lou Reed and The Specials (have a look through Tone Deaf’s round-up of Record Store Day 2012 here).
For information on Record Store Day 2013 celebrations in Australia, and an official countdown, check out the Facebook page. For Jack White’s full statement, click here.
