Jack White
Blunderbuss
(XL / Third Man)
*****
Look up "blunderbuss" in the dictionary and you'll see that it comes from the old Dutch word "donderbus", literally meaning "thunder gun". The term also works a treat as the title of Jack White's solo debut, a blunt weapon that could spray shards of scrap iron – a fitting metaphor for the explosive, brilliantly feral guitar work that White, 36, has brought to his bands The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather.
While there's no shortfall of shrapnel here, either, Blunderbuss is also a spacious and, at times, reflective work, White's breathless vocals and razor-edged guitar riffs offset by woodwind, electric piano, pedal steel and more. A dazzling assault upon the senses, the work was hatched with his long-term recording aid Vance Powell at White's Nashville, Tennessee-based studio and label hub, Third Man Records.
In White's typically cryptic fashion, the album's cover art features a black buzzard perched stiffly on his shoulder. Our host also chose to record the album's 13 songs with two completely different backing bands: one all female, the other all male. Quite why he opted for this strict dichotomy isn't clear, but then White is nothing if not enigmatic. At a bizarre press conference for Blunderbuss held in London last month, the Detroit, Michigan-born singer baffled all by opting to be interviewed by the outgoing mayor of Lambeth, Christiana Valcarcel, a woman not known for grilling rock stars.
When White and Karen Elson, his supermodel wife of six years, parted company last June, that event, too, flaunted convention. The couple threw what White billed "a positive swing hum dinger" divorce party, and the invite expressed gratitude for the time he and Elson would spend "both separately and together watching our children grow".
It's intriguing, then, that behind the smoke, mirrors and sad truths, Blunderbuss reads like an outpouring of pain. More specifically, it obsesses over the hurt that a beautiful and psychologically powerful woman can inflict upon a man. In songs such as Love Interruption and Missing Pieces, White's lyrics deal with the meting out and humiliating aftershock of a deliberately cartoonish violence. Even if that violence seems as fictitious as that depicted in an episode of Tom & Jerry, moreover, you still feel for the guy who's on the receiving end in Freedom at 21. Having had the bottoms of his feet cut off, the poor chap is forced to walk on salt by a smiling woman "who does what she damn well please".
Amazingly, the music on Blunderbuss is just as compelling as the lyrics. The rip-roaring Sixteen Saltines packs a guitar hook that's as memorable as that propelling The White Stripes's track Seven Nation Army, while White's take on Rudolph Toombs's I'm Shakin' is a truly thrilling blast of primal rock 'n' roll, its stop-start riff topped off with the super-sassy backing vocals of Ruby Amanfu, Laura Matula and – wait for it – Karen Elson.
Elsewhere, White shifts mood and tempo without ever sacrificing quality control. The jazzy, free-flowing Take Me With You When You Go is a fine closer with slight echoes of the Dave Brubeck hit Take Five, and the title track is a country waltz in which White seems to channel the voice of a young Robert Plant. Weep Themselves to Sleep, meanwhile, is a winning blend of power-soaked guitar chords and honky-tonk piano, the tearful insomniacs of the title not women or children, but lovelorn, broken men.
In some ways, Blunderbuss seems like a creative adjunct to the anger management classes White was legally obliged to attend after repeatedly punching the Von Bondies singer Jason Stollsteimer in 2004. Figuratively or otherwise, the shoe appears to be on the other (severed) foot now, but it has resulted in White's finest outing since The White Stripes's 2003 masterpiece Elephant.
artslife@thenational.ae
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Directed by: RS Prasanna
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers Pickford (Everton), Pope (Burnley), Henderson (Manchester United)
Defenders Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Chilwell (Chelsea), Coady (Wolves), Dier (Tottenham), Gomez (Liverpool), James (Chelsea), Keane (Everton), Maguire (Manchester United), Maitland-Niles (Arsenal), Mings (Aston Villa), Saka (Arsenal), Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Foden (Manchester City), Henderson (Liverpool), Grealish (Aston Villa), Mount (Chelsea), Rice (West Ham), Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Winks (Tottenham)
Forwards: Abraham (Chelsea), Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Kane (Tottenham), Rashford (Manchester United), Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Sterling (Manchester City)
Opening day UAE Premiership fixtures, Friday, September 22:
- Dubai Sports City Eagles v Dubai Exiles
- Dubai Hurricanes v Abu Dhabi Saracens
- Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
