I like the "Gently" version of this song, but the heavy metal version? Not so much. And Call Of Duty? One of the worst things that ever happened to humanity. Can we replace video games where it's all about catching and killing to games where the goal is to hug instead of kill, cooperate instead of compete, inspire instead of destroy? Too much to ask???
I'll never forget my introduction to Call Of Duty. I rented a room in a house and the guy in the next room was drowning his sorrows (breaking up with his wife and sharing custody of the kids) in numbing alcohol and video games (all day). All I would hear is characters from the game yelling and shooting and killing and dying at top volume.
One night, the woman who lived in the house next door came over and begged him to turn it down or use headphones or curtail his nighttime playing or... something! She was practically in tears, telling him her child couldn't sleep with all the yelling and shooting. He just thought this woman was being a bit**.
Anyway the point is, video games are huge. Many people spend many hours playing them (time they could use instead to be with friends, hike in the woods, read a book, write a book, etc.) - but video games are basically a waste of time. Not only that, their content cheapens our culture. The lesson a youth takes from Call Of Duty is that the world is a violent place - it's either kill or be killed. Needless to say, someone with this mentality is far less likely to believe it was possible to work with other people on climate change (or to support health care for all, build homes for the homeless, or welcome refugees fleeing tragedy...). And much more likely to be a paranoid misanthrope.
That brings us back to Jack White. Not to be rude, but does he really need Call Of Duty money at this point? I mean, a gig is a gig, but you would think that at this point, Jack White can pick and choose his projects. Why choose this one? Why not something more uplifting?
The heavy metal video consists entirely of violent images from the game - the "hero" is trying to kill as many "bad guys" as possible, as they try to kill him. Wonderful.
A few years ago, I posted something online that I thought the most creative guitarists in the world currently were Tom Morello, Jack White, and Richard Thompson.
I guess I wouldn't say that today.
I appreciate Jack White's homages to classic blues and other old timey music, but I definitely have more mixed feelings about him these days. He seems to repeat a lot of the types of vocals and guitar that made him famous. We haven't heard him for a while, so it's curious for him to return with such a song and video. Perhaps he will gain some new, young, pimply fans, but at the cost of losing more mature long-term fans.
Here are some cool Jack White & Dead Weather videos I shot in the past...
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