Jack White's and Sting's Orchestral Maneuverings
Proving your musicianship by playing with an orchestra has long been a part of pop star pretension. Sir Paul McCartney penned his "Liverpool Oratorio" to prove his classical mettle and rock bands like Aerosmith and the old Guns 'N Roses incorporated orchestras into various renditions of their respective hits. Now, Jack White and Sting are the latest popsters to try their hand at symphony.
Sting is really digging deep into history. He's recorded a collection of works by composer John Dowland who lived from 1563 to 1626. Talk about dancing to the oldies! His "Songs from the Labrynth" is probably not going to make the Billboard Hot 100, but when you have as much loot as Sting you can dabble in a different kind of lute all you like. For those interested in questioning the tantric one in person about his latest offering, he'll be in New York City on October 10th (the record release date) to sign copies at the Barnes & Noble, 1972 Broadway (at 66th St.), between 7-8pm. Details here.
As if Jack White isn't in enough bands these days, he's also got his own orchestra project set for release this fall. MTV reports that White will release "Aluminium" this November, which is a slate of orchestral recordings White somehow found time to finish recording earlier this year. You can sample some tracks on MySpace and get the record starting November 6th exclusively on a special website set up for the project. compose over the years. But, if you want to get one of these sure to be eBay collectors items you better get there early as White is reportedly only releasing 3,333 numbered CDs and 999 numbered LPs. No idea why the limited or odd numbers. But, that's Jack White. He rarely does anything like anyone else.
So, who's next to do the symphony thing? Maybe K-Fed will bust out a little Popozao Overture? It couldn't be worse than the first version.