When news broke this week that Jack White was possibly interested in producing the next Libertines album, it made perfect sense, since The Libertines' garage rock sound is just the sort of thing that White is known for. Here are some other artists that we'd like to see Jack White produce.
1. Arcade Fire
Last year's Reflektor saw Arcade Fire significantly changing course for the first time, replacing their grandiose orchestral pop style with dance and Haitian music. If they ever wanted to shake things up again and turn to a grittier, rootsier sound, then White would be their man. It would be pretty fascinating to see how the Montreal six-piece would interpret Americana.
2. Iggy Pop/The Stooges
Being a garage rock musician from Detroit, White owes a huge debt to Iggy Pop and the Stooges, so it would be very interesting to see how he would record an entire album from one of his biggest musical influences. That doesn't guarantee that the album will be any good, however, since not even master engineer Steve Albini could keep the Stooges' 2007 album The Weirdness from being a disappointment.
3. Bob Dylan
White once told Rolling Stone, "I have three dads: my biological father, God, and Bob Dylan." Though Dylan seems to be doing just fine producing his own albums, White has worked wonders with other legendary artists, including Loretta Lynn and Wanda Jackson, so he'd do a great job updating Dylan's sound while still keeping it rooted in folk and blues.
4. Lorde
Other than her voice, I don't think there was a single organic instrument on Lorde's Pure Heroine, but there's still something about her sound and her attitude that makes me feel as if she and White would do great work together. She can't keep doing the minimal electronic thing forever, so she might as well move on to some moody, PJ Harvey-esque punk blues or something along those lines.
5. Foo Fighters
For a band that claims to be (or at least, their fans claim them to be) one of the only true rock bands on the planet, I've always found the Foo Fighters to be so excessively and carefully produced, which doesn't seem very rock and roll to me. They should tell Butch Vig to take a break and let White mess around at the mixing board.
6. The Strokes
Though the Strokes and the White Stripes were the leading figures of the early '00s "garage rock revival," their sounds were vastly different. The Strokes were intricate, poppy, and epitomized urban cool, while the White Stripes were noisy, rough, and thoroughly Midwestern. If the two ever collaborated, though, you'd theoretically have the best of both worlds.
7. Weezer
After having worked with Linda Perry, Kenny G and Lil Wayne, working with White in the studio would probably be the least controversial thing Weezer has done in the last five years. They seem willing to try absolutely anything and work with absolutely anybody these days, and they've got nothing to lose at this point, so it couldn't hurt.
8. The Black Keys
This could turn out one of two ways: either the huge amount of tension in the studio would result in a finely tuned masterpiece (see: Fleetwood Mac's Rumours), or White would deliberately sabotage the album. It would be spectacular either way.
Who else should Jack White produce? Let us know down in the comments section!
