May 31, 2007
Finding It Harder To Be A Gentleman?
Jack White’s entire week was ruined by one fan with a bit of influence and a lot of airtime. DJ Electra, who handles afternoons on Chicago alterna-giant Q101, was fortunate enough to stumble across a full version of the White Stripes’ forthcoming and very much anticipated Icky Thump album. She did what any self-respecting superfan with a listenership of several hundred thousand rock fans would do – she put that shit on the air. While this may have delighted those odd folks who were listening to terrestrial radio at 2 p.m. yesterday a whole lot, it didn’t go over so well with Mr. White - and he held nothing back in letting Electra and her superiors know it. By 4 p.m., he’d placed a call to the station, from Spain no less, to express his extreme disgust with Electra, the station, and the music industry at large. Though Q101 is honoring Jack’s request to not air the phone call, Electra kicked out some details on her blog, including the fact that Icky Thump may never mean the same thing to her again.
This isn’t the first time White has taken personal offense (and personal action to express his prissiness) at a somewhat innocuous recognition of his craft. In 2006, the Center for Nursing Advocacy “honored” him with a Golden Lamp Award, given annually to the public figure who does the most to detract from the general image of the nursing profession. The White Stripes’ song “The Nurse” was the target of the group’s ire, and they sent White the award and accompanying analysis of why he be dissin’ Florence N’s memory. Much to the surprise of these tender caregivers, Jack took it personally and responded by presenting the group’s executive director with his own Metaphorical Ignorance Award.
Needless to say, Electra’s Stripes fandom has taken a beating this week. While she says she’ll always appreciate Jack’s talent, it will be hard for her to listen to Icky Thump without being reminded of the verbal smackdown she got from its mastermind.
What do you think? Is Jack justified in his bitching, or is this another sign of the no-really-she’s-my-sister melodrama that’s fed his mystique so well?
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Given the fact that it can be downloaded in a variety of different places - who fucking cares?
Sounds like fake anger aimed at hyping this crap record. Yes, it has some hooks - but it's the same ol' thing - again. He should be grateful people even care enough to play his "leaked" album. I hope his self-important ass goes down in a plane crash.
He's absolutely right about the nurses, who continue to perpetuate their own image problem by being so insecure.
As to the current issue, I wonder if there was an embargo on the release of the album. Many media people respect embargo dates, though it is not their obligation to do so. If White believed this to be the case, he certainly could be upset that they did not honor the announced embargo, but really, he's not owed that courtesy.
lizz, for your next item on chicagoist how about you leak it to me and i post it elsewhere? would that be ok with you?
Has Electra seriously dubbed herself "The Queen of Snark"? Jack should have made fun of her for that. What is she, 14?
kt - fuck yes that's ok with me
The bigger question is who listens to Q-101. It's sometimes on at the gym when I work out in the morning and I have to say, it's truly AWFUL. I don't understand who the target audience is. Can anybody explain to me why it exists? I start to shake it annoys me so much.
Q101's target audience is people who go to gyms in the morning.
his anger is completely justified. she works in the profession and knew full well that she was doing was wrong.
Yeah, I'd say the bigger story here is that Q101 actually played something people would like to hear. Stop the presses!
Please... sounds like he's being a prissy prima donna to me. God forbid his music be praised on a radio station in a major market by a self-professed rabid fan in advance of some arbitrary release date established by a pathetic industry of middle men designed to manufacture hype in an attempt to drive up record sales. F*** him.
They're available for download everywhere because she played it on her show. Prior to that there were no rips available anywhere with the exception of one song played by a radio station in France.
She knew what she was doing was wrong and against the wishes of the band, but she refuses to take responsibility for her actions. Instead she blames her boss, cries about Jack White, misquotes him, and deletes all of the responses to her post because one idiot used some curse words.
Isn't this the same Jack White who recently said Icky Thump would be released "as soon as corporately possible"?
It's their work and they have a right to be protective of it. The "arbitrary release date" is when we'll get to hear it as they want it to be heard, not as some crappy radio rip. It was the station's decision to go public with his phone call. If anyone is looking for publicity, it's Electra and her bosses.
Didn't Q-101 get into some kind of flap recently over the release of Nine Inch Nails material before the appointed "official" date? The cynic in me thinks that this is just another way to get publicity for the artist, label and radio station.
Do you really believe this ws true. They faked the Nine Inch Nails leak and I'm sure they are in cahoots with Warner Bros with the White Stripes.
Oh we will play it, pretend you're mad at us and people will blog about the record thus giving you publicity and us as well.
This is the same DJ and radio station who for all three days of last year's Lollapalooza was actually saying The Smashing Pumpkins were re-uniting on Sunday and yet failed to apologize to it's listeners that they were lying.
And several hundred thousand listeners? Is that a fact or was that on the press release from the station?
Electra is the most annoying DJ on Q101, I've been unfortunate enough to listen to her in the car while at work. Her and Jack White can both suck it.
On the nurse note, I don't think they are being insecure. While I don't fully agree with the center's critique of the song lyrics, the general portrayal of nurses in popular media is that of incompetent handmaidens. They are educated professionals and should be treated with more respect.
I think it depends on how Electra "stumbled across" said cd. If it came across her desk from the label/publicist and they had an embargo date - then she shouldn't get anymore advance CDs from them since she doesn't respect the process, but if it mysteriously appeared ala NIN new album or there was no such date attached to the playing of the CD - then she's fine - not that I want to condone Q101s existence.
Get over yourself J.W.
And fix the "shuffle" Q101; I hear the SAME 15 songs EVERY DAY!
Everything is rigged and controlled on high by suits. So who really cares?!
Helloooooooooooooo Nurse!
-Wacko Warner
And while you're fixing the shuffle...get rid of the Morning Shits...I mean Fix...they are so obnoxious, then again I don't really listen to Q101 much now that I have an iPod...so continue your drive downward.
I think Jack has a right to be upset...but he could have handled the situation more professionally.
It should be pointed out that your article states "Electra kicked out some details on her blog, including the fact that Icky Thump will never mean the same thing to her again." However, her blog doesn't say that at all...rather, she says:
You're just adding to the hysteria with your inaccurate summation of Electra's blog.
You could also argue that Electra added to the hysteria with her misquote of Jack White. She didn't change it until someone called her on it. It was also her choice to make this public.
interesting how,they won't air the phone call and no word from White Stripes camp on this at all. Probably because they played the album when they were suppose to and no one noticed so Q101 generated fake hype ala Cartoon Network's street team and those fake light thingys.
I also had the NIN thing in the back of my mind when I decided to post on this, but that's also why I included the bit about the nursing group - it's not entirely implausible that Jack genuinely responded this way.
I have to think that if this were a publicity stunt, there'd be more discussion of it in the music Web 2.0 community.
Feel free, as I know you do, to correct me if I'm wrong.
Whatever.
As much love as I have for Jack White's music, I think the guy is a supreme ass at the moment. Its not as if Electra was sitting in the back of Jack's recording sessions with a tape recorder. I mean Christ. If I were Electra, and Q101 at large, I'd tell Jack White to piss off and find another outlet in this city that will give him as much love as they have over the years.
Lets not forget a certain Mr Peel (R.I.P) who played most of Elephant before it was released, without much approval of Jacky White. The 'elephant' that is Jack White's power has proved to be an explosive one.
He has full right to be angry at the girl in question but would he have ever given such an earbashing to John Peel? No sir...
As for the album, i'm a fan, i'm a huge huge fan, but then again, if they released sounds of vomiting to the drum beat of Meg, i'd buy it...
III
Lets not forget a certain Mr Peel (R.I.P) who played most of Elephant before it was released, without much approval of Jacky White. The 'elephant' that is Jack White's power has proved to be an explosive one.
He has full right to be angry at the girl in question but would he have ever given such an earbashing to John Peel? No sir...
As for the album, i'm a fan, i'm a huge huge fan, but then again, if they released sounds of vomiting to the drum beat of Meg, i'd buy it...
III
To clarify, the NIN tracks were leaked by Reznor, it was his label that made a fuss when folks started posting / playing them ... until Reznor told the to back off.
As for Jack White ... the last disc was sent out to reviewers in LP form in order to stop it from leaking, and once a low quality rip hit the 'net, White went ape-shit. So I don't think this is a hoax being perpetrated by Q101 or his label.
And as I told someone earlier today, White comes from the belief (one that isn't that terrible) that albums should be events, sprung upon all fans at the same time, and listened to in the highest fidelity. Is that a notion that is probably already outdated? Yup. But you can't be upset at a a guy who still holds that example that close to his heart when he gets mad about a radio station paying a disc and basically releasing it to the whole world. But, in my opinion, he should be angry at the station, not the DJ.
who cares, both jack white and electra can suck it.
LOL @ the person that believes the album wasn't available before it was played on Q101.
Yes it was. it was on SoulSeek and the usual newsgroups prior to Q101 playing it.
"leaked" hahaha.... Yeah, ok.
If the tracks were that easy to find before yesterday at 2:00 p.m. CST, the impatient faithful would have found them right along with the troll who wishes death on someone he disagrees with. If they were ripped from an album instead of the radio, they wouldn't be griping about the quality. If the station is going to boast about being the first to play the album and no one is going to accept responsibility or apologize, they deserve what's coming to them.
Of course White has a right to be angry. Stolen music is still stolen music. Don't get me wrong; I have quite a bit of it myself. But to calll it anything but stolen is just glossing over the situation. The artists, in most cases, produce it with the intent of selling it. The fact that it's become so easy to steal is irrelevant.
Remember when someone leaked Karen O's album?
It's not all intentionally leaked from the record companies, either.
The guy is a god damn genuis. Of course he has his quirks. Every time the stripes are remotely near me I drive for the show. This band rocks. They are Jimmy Page's favorite band apparantly. Something to be said about that. Anywho, I downloaded the album. I also pre-ordered it and already bougt tix for two shows. So whatever, they got my money and they deserve it!
People should stop listening to corporate radio anyway. WOXY is a much better option.
I'm glad you are all cool enough to express your distaste in a corporation. It's very unique and original. One day I hope to be as hip and in-your-face as you all are.
Jody, you don't have to be hip to hate what corporate culture has done to radio.
Yeah, why is it hip to hate the four record companies and two entertainment conglomerates that dominate music? I'm not hip and I hate them all.
But nobody cares that you hate the radio, thats the thing. You don't have to listen to it. Why hate on something that really has no bearing on your life? Why not put your anger towards something meaningful instead of "oh boo hoo, the radio plays the same songs a lot!"
Guess what, thats how radio has been from the beginning. Get over it.
Jack White seems to have some crazy, mad idea that music is some kind of art form or something, I think. He seems to hold the mad, ancient idea that an artist should be able to choose how their work is displayed and presented, instead of having an incomplete, poor-quality copy of it stolen off him and given to thousands of spoiled, impatient internet thieves.
Jody, anger isn't a zero sum emotion. I can direct my hate at several things at once without breaking a sweat. If everyone followed your lead and decided not to criticize things they didn't like, the wworld wouldn't be nearly as interesting as it is. Some people like to encourage and participate in dialogue about issues; other people like to snipe from the sidelines. You fall into the latter category. That's fine. But the grown ups are having a conversation here.
ok, I'll be like everyone else then:
I hate popular music! I hate the radio! I hate buying cds! I'm still going to buy cds and listen to the radio though. I like to talk about how something is bad and everyone should avoid it, yet I am still not going to change my ways. I'm just going to bitch bitch bitch about trivial bullshit day after day and do nothing to actually change what it is I'm bitching about. I think my bitching will actually change what is played on the radio. Instead of going out and creating my own music and doing things my own way, I'm just going to bitch about things other people enjoy, because obviously if I don't like something, noone else is allowed to like it either.
Why are you so angry, Jody?
Jack White actually is interested and cares about music and is not just involved in a succesfull money making venture, as for the case of the majority of well paid musicians.
Q101 and all other large radio stations are hacks filled with annoying bobbleheads such as "electra". At least I think that's the case still. everytime I flip it on I want to vomit so I don't listen to very much radio these days.
Music is a body of work for some people, not just a way to get paid. Why is capitalism abhorrent in this field and acceptable in medicine? what a schizophrenic society...
@mike: it's a hobby
Please!!!!!
A major media conglomerate doesn't let some afternoon DJ play whatever bootleg cd that he or she wants to.
You have all just fallen prey to a plot to hype the forthcoming CD.
Jody speaks truth. Also, art is something your parents are interested in, we here enjoy rock music. Let's give it 20 years before we start talking about art.
"He has full right to be angry at the girl in question but would he have ever given such an earbashing to John Peel? No sir..."
And, had they leaked the new Disturbed album or something, no one would give a shit right now either. There's a difference, no one respects Q101 or Electra whatsoever. . .Would you want your album to be leaked by them. Do you want your first play of it out there to be represented by THEM?
That would be a BIG deal to me. . .and she knew better than to play it. . .There's a release date FOR A REASON. Big ups to JW for calling her up on it, she deserved her verbal backlash, and knew it was coming. . .what she wants people to feel bad for her now? SHE FUCKED UP.
Does it really matter that much who plays the album the first time? It's not like getting a book review in the New York Times.
I just want to point out again that although embargoes are customary, they are not binding agreements. More and more reporters are choosing not to abide by them. Whether that's right or not can be debated, but Electra was within her rights to do it. She suffered the consequences and Q101 may suffer for it, though.
Jody I'm glad you are comfortable having crap shoved down your throat from the four record companies that sell 85 percent of the music in the world.
If that's your attitude, fine, but then never complain about Wal Mart, Hollywood films or substandard TV programming, either.
Enjoy listening to your Fall Out Boy CD on your way home to watch Fear Factor followed by a Jerry Bruckheimer movie.
Sounds good to me, A2! Enjoy your complaining about things but never actually getting off your ass and doing anything.
for the record, I dont care about walmart, hollywood, or television. I actually love tv. I watch futurama and good eats every night. I also love conan obrien. but oh no, he's on NBC and corporations are bad, amirite!?
heres an idea: instead of complaining about things, actually get up and do something about it. Baselessly complaining is never going to change anything. The american way used to be that you actually FIGHT for things you don't like, but not today. Today its just bitch and whine and wait for something to change without actually putting in the god damn effort to actually make a difference. Just like the punk movement, it used to be about helping your brothers for the greater good. Now its about "oh he's a poser" or "i dont like you cause you're a sheep!" or "lets drink beer and knock things over because we are ANARCHISTS and we hate THE MAN!!" or whatever other bitchfest du jour. Who needs to actually do anything when you can just complain about things, right?
(and before you try to be clever and call me out on complaining about people complaining without actually doing anything, don't bother. I'm not the one pointlessly bitching about the radio or the "big bad corporations" here)
A2: I think Jody was saying he doesn't listen to that station, therefore he's not complaining about it. I think he's talking about the power of choice vs. overstating the obvious.
Besides, Jerry Bruckheimer films will be used to signify our times; people will wonder about the late 90's/early 2000's and they'll watch The Rock and Black Hawk Down and shit their pants. You can't change that.
"I think it depends on how Electra 'stumbled across' said cd."
Ha...Julene beat me to it. This is the real question to me. As much as this DJ is playing the 'i'm just a fan and was excited to play it' card, she fails to mention specifically how this copy magically ended up in her hands. C'mon, this isn't free-form college radio we're talking about here. She's a corporate radio DJ who is not naive to how the industry game works. Plus, I highly doubt she has the power on her own to just instantly drop all scheduled programming on on a whim to indulge a supposed fangirl moment. Jack was probably not so pissed about the record being played on the radio (if a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it...) as he was pissed about yet another industry professional blowing their wad in a childish attempt to get attention with "an exclusive."
tyler is right. you have the right to choose what you listen to. It's not like someone is forcing you to sit down and listen to Q101 all day.
I don't listen to Q101 for music because I have a cd player that I can use to listen to whatever I personally want. Ah, gotta love having my own choice. Then again just because I don't personally enjoy a lot of the music they play on Q101 doesn't mean that I think other people are not allowed to enjoy the music they play.
But for the record, I do like the Q101 morning fix. Then again I'm not so wrapped up in my own hubris that i cant take it for what it is: a silly radio show to pass time.
Really, there are only two ways I see that you can really live. One, you can be like me and not worry about complaining about things, just do what I want and practice freedom of choice. The other option is to be the ones that actually do go out and do something and try to change the world for the better.
The third option of just sitting around and complaning until other people change things is so asinine that it shouldn't even be considered an option.
John Peel was given an advance copy of Elephant and he only played three songs. He honestly did not know he wasn't supposed to play it, and he stopped after the the Stripes label requested that he not play it anymore until the album was released. This Chicago station played the entire album and they got it from a leak.
mtv.com
Denying that the station "leaked" the album, Spike explained that he has a number of fans from his days as a DJ in Philadelphia who frequently send him links to leaked album files, often weeks ahead of their release date. "We never said on-air how we got it, but I was sent a link to a file and, when we found it online — like we always do — we played it," Spike said.
When Clear Channel dominates 73 percent of the rock radio airwaves you don't have much of a choice of what you're listeninig to.
Q101 has sucked for a few years now. Everytime I turn it on, it's some garbage that is ripping off either the 70s or the 80s, and trying to be ever-so-inaccessibly cool. Fuck that noise.
Jody, just because anarchists and hipsters hate corporate media, that doesn't mean everyone who hates corporate media is an anarchist or hipster.
I tried to explain this succinctly in my initial reponse, but you still don't seem to get it. You're painting a bunch of individuals with a broad brush so that you can swoop in and direct incoherent blather at a caricature. This post invited our commentary, we gave it, and then you decided we were all hipsters, anarchists amd anti-establishmentarians who should have better things to do. Some of us are simply people who don't like what's on the radio these days.
Radio was much less homogenous in the past. And some of us miss that.
By the way, "you can be like me and not worry about complaining about things"? Your smug sense of superiority is rivaled only by your obliviousness to irony.
I dont like the music they play on the radio either. but I'm also not the kind of douchebag that always has to find ways to trumpet how i don't like the music on the radio, like it makes me unique.
I'm the smug one? You're the one trumpeting around how you don't like the music they play on the radio, waving it like a flag. All I'm saying is that people have the choice to listen to what they want and complaining about it without doing anything is stupid.
I know I'm not superior to anyone. I am a washed up overweight unintelligent few friend having high school dropout loser with a low paying job and more debt than I can shake a stick at. But because I say it's better to actually choose what to listen to and say fuck it to the rest instead of bitching about it pointlessly, that means I have a superiority complex?
and if i was so superior to everyone, i wouldnt be having a stupid argument about music on the internet.
This is easy:
"You're the one trumpeting around how you don't like the music they play on the radio, waving it like a flag."
I did no such thing.
"...complaining about it without doing anything is stupid."
When it comes to audiences and media, complaining about it IS doing something.
I'm not making any judgments about you as an individual. Regardless of your life situation, I'm wary of anyone who tells other people they should just shut up.
"I did no such thing."
my mistake.
"When it comes to audiences and media, complaining about it IS doing something."
No, doing something is starting your own bands, having your own shows, selling your own cds, starting an indie record label, etc and drawing people away from these mass media outlets to something different. complaining is just that: complaining. Do you really think people saying "Q101 sucks!" on a blog is going to do anything?
"I'm wary of anyone who tells other people they should just shut up."
I didn't tell anyone they should just shut up, I said they should actually do something.
anyway, lets just agree to disagree and move on with our days.