Detroit, MI

Jack White didn’t just release a surprise album — he made a stand for rock mystique

Published

1 year ago

July 20, 2024

Jack White didn’t just release a surprise album — he made a stand for rock mystique

Leave it to Jack White to score another victory for vinyl records — but even more important, for the magic of absorbing new music with mystique intact.

In an unannounced move, White’s latest album landed Friday, but only for unknowing customers who happened to be shopping at his Third Man Records stores in Detroit, Nashville and London. There, unobtrusively slipped into checkout bags with any purchase, was a plain-sleeved record package containing a 12-inch labeled simply “No Name.”

There were minimal clues on the first eyeballing of this white vinyl platter that resembled a test pressing. No artist, no title. Side A of the mystery record clearly featured seven tracks, with six on the flip side. If you scrutinized more closely, you could spot the inscriptions “Heaven and Hell” and “Black and Blue” etched into the run-out grooves. That was it.

All very cryptic … until you got yourself to a turntable, dropped the needle and heard the familiar singing voice of White, the Detroit-born rocker who has long championed the value of vinyl.

On a Friday when a devastating technological snafu brought computers around the globe to their knees, White smacked a homer with an old-fashioned analog swing.

We got our copy of “No Name” during a midafternoon visit to Third Man’s Cass Corridor shop in Detroit, and we’re not going to purport to offer an authoritative review from a few quick listens following a long day at the Concert of Colors festival happening nearby. There will be plenty of time to absorb the music this weekend.

But the album is raw and spare, dominated by guitars and drums — ripe for some White Stripes allusions — with the occasional organ and vocal effect the most to stray outside those lines.

There are bits of spiky punk, riff-stamped slabs of rock, a song driven by bluesy slide guitar blossoming into a colorful crescendo, a nod to ’70s glam with divebombing guitars. The last track on Side A features the only real elaborate production effort; the album closer is a dense and simmering drone.

Aside from White, immediately identifiable from his voice and guitar tones, we don’t know who else is featured here, although the count-in that launches Side B certainly sounds like White’s longtime touring drummer, Daru Jones.

Third Man officials were silent about the nature and context of Friday’s release. It’s not clear if the album will get a formal release or even a real title. No track listing has been revealed.

Whatever it is, we’re safe to call it White’s first new record since “Entering Heaven Alive,” which was released two years ago this weekend as part of a two-album salvo that included “Fear of the Dawn” that spring of 2022.

The digital world did play its role Friday: Online, word of the new White album began to circulate organically via Third Man shoppers who’d wound up with a copy of the mystery record. By late afternoon, it had turned into a full-fledged viral moment as record recipients figured out what was up and enthusiastically exchanged info about their lucky get. Music magazines aggregated those social media posts to hop on the buzz.

A segment on Detroit’s WDET-FM, where on-air personality Ryan Patrick Hooper played five of the album’s tracks in a real-time spin of his just-acquired record, quickly took on holy-grail status globally for White fans, who shared a link to the online archive of the public-radio program.

But ultimately, the Internet was a sideshow to the real magic of White’s Friday gambit.

The quiet album rollout wasn’t just a clever, headline-grabbing gimmick. It was a throwback to the days when mystique meant something as a music lover.

Heading to a turntable Friday with little information but tantalizing possibilities offered a pure and spontaneous experience harking back to a bygone era, before ubiquitous digital streaming and carefully calibrated marketing plans commodified the act. This was 1975 with a new Led Zeppelin LP in hand — but in this case minus even an album cover or liner notes to be pored over for meager tidbits of insight into the musical journey set to unfold.

Less-is-more has been White’s approach since his days with the White Stripes a quarter-century ago. Like other clued-in artists before him — from Oscar Wilde to Quentin Tarantino — he has long recognized that art is best created when boundaries and limitations are in place.

Perhaps we’ll learn more about Jack White’s new album in coming days and weeks. Those revelatory nuggets were once part of the enchantment, too. For now, we’ll happily take “No Name” just as it is: a new music offering with a healthy side of intrigue.

Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.

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Detroit, MI

Woman’s prosthetic leg stolen during hospital stay

Published

5 hours ago

November 25, 2025

Press Room

Woman’s prosthetic leg stolen during hospital stay

Pamala Bronner is familiar with Harper Hospital in downtown Detroit due to her blood disease, which has necessitated over 30 surgeries, and she is also a breast cancer survivor. In November, she went in with her left leg and came out without it, as it had to be amputated.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Pistons tied win streak record, but they have more to do

Published

23 hours ago

November 25, 2025

Press Room

Detroit Pistons tied win streak record, but they have more to do

INDIANAPOLIS — A special night for the Detroit Pistons also was a study in contrasts.

Two years ago to the day – on Nov. 24, 2023, right there in Gainbridge Fieldhouse – they were outscored by 22 points in the fourth quarter by the Indiana Pacers en route to their 13th straight defeat. That loss, though one of many, wasn’t quite historic – it was merely near the halfway point of their eventual 28-game losing streak to set an NBA record.

And now, in 2025, the Pistons are streaking again. Their 122-117 win over the Pacers on Monday was their 13th win in a row, tying a franchise record previously set in the 1989-90 season and matched in 2003-04 — seasons that both ended with NBA titles.

Monday’s win was the Pistons’ 15th this season – one more than they won in all of that 2023-24 campaign, the franchise’s worst. This season, at 15-2 overall, Detroit has the best record in the East and is on pace for 72 wins, which would far outdo last year’s 44-win total, not to mention the franchise record of 64 wins in 2005-06 – the only other 15-2 start in Pistons history.

But the lack of fanfare Monday night might say more about this team’s growth than the win itself. The Pistons acknowledged the significance of it, but otherwise? It was business as usual during postgame interviews at the podium and in the locker room.

“We never talked about it,” guard Cade Cunningham said of the streak. “We wanted to find our way to the top of the league. We’ve seen the bottom of the league before. It’s pretty cool that we had the worst streak in franchise history and now we have an opportunity to go have the greatest streak in franchise history.

“We’re excited about the opportunity, but this is just a product of the work,” continued Cunningham, who led the effort with 24 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. “This isn’t what we were going for; we still have bigger things to do.”

The mood was mellow afterward, in part, because what should’ve been a decisive win turned into a nailbiter. The Pistons led by 18 early in the fourth quarter before slipping defensively and allowing the Pacers to hit 11 of 21 shots (52.4%) to whittle it down to two points with under two minutes to play.

They held on thanks to clutch work from Cunningham, who knocked down a hook to make it a two-possession game late, and a pair of clinching free throws from Caris LeVert. After the game, coach J.B. Bickerstaff said he wants the team to be “greedier” in such moments and continue executing defensively.

“I don’t want to be dismissive, and I understand what the accomplishment is and how rare and unique it is, obviously,” Bickerstaff said. “Our focus has to be on Wednesday, and then it’s gotta be on practice and film tomorrow. But that’s where we’ll focus. We don’t take it for granted by any means, because we know how difficult these things are to come by. We’ve gotta get to tomorrow.”

To sustain success, the team understands it has to value the process over results.

“We’ve gotta stay hungry,” Cunningham said. “Can’t start feeling like we’re getting above ourselves or got everything figured out. It’s a long season. One game can send you in a spiral, we’ve seen that before.”

Even the most optimistic projections for the Pistons fell well short of where they currently are – and what they’re on pace to accomplish. They own the second-best record in the NBA, behind only the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder (at 17-1), thanks to their third-ranked defense and a roster improved both at the top and bottom.

Ausar Thompson and Isaiah Stewart are two of the league’s best defenders and spearhead a physical, stifling approach on that end of the floor. And the Pistons’ bench has revealed itself as one of the deepest in the league, allowing them to weather injuries to core players.

Tobias Harris recently returned from a nine-game absence. LeVert has missed five, Thompson four, Cunningham and Stewart three apiece. Daniss Jenkins has been the best two-way contract player in the league – a legitimate NBA talent. Paul Reed and Javonte Green have maximized their limited roles. The Pistons have stacked wins with every healthy player contributing toward them.

There’s a maturity and confidence with this group, born of being tested by historic adversity two years ago and a physical six-game, first-round playoff exit against the New York Knicks in April.

The Pistons are on the cusp of setting a franchise record with a 14th straight win; that can come when they face the Boston Celtics on the road Wednesday (5 p.m., ESPN, FanDuel Sports Network Detroit). In a long season, the Pistons still have much to prove. But winning feels good, especially for the cohort of players who experienced the bottom two years ago.

“We were talked bad about, we were the laughingstocks, and now that the tables have turned, everybody wants to be on this side,” Stewart said. “Everybody wants to be on the wagon and everybody wants to say great things about us. That’s a good thing, that’s a good thing. We’re not taking that lightly. All we’re doing is just keeping our heads down and taking it day by day.”

MUST WATCH: Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify)]

Follow the Pistons all year long with the best reporting at freep.com/sports/pistons.

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Detroit, MI

Rain, wintry chill mark Thanksgiving holiday week in Metro Detroit

Published

2 days ago

November 24, 2025

Press Room

Rain, wintry chill mark Thanksgiving holiday week in Metro Detroit

Thanksgiving week in Metro Detroit is forecast to bring a shift toward rain and colder wintry conditions, meteorologists say.

The week is slated to start off mild on Monday. The area is expected to bring increasing cloud cover with temperatures topping out in the 50s. The average high on Nov. 24 is 45 degrees, National Weather Service records show.

Forecasters from both the National Weather Service and AccuWeather expect rain Tuesday as a kickoff to the week’s wet weather pattern.

According to the weather service, Tuesday’s rain chance is around 80% with a cold front approaching. AccuWeather says temperatures will range between 40 and 50 with rain arriving before 2 p.m.

The cold front moving in Wednesday morning ushers in stronger winds and colder air. NWS predicts the day will be breezy with gusts possibly reaching into the 30 to 40 mph range. The high should climb near 50 with a chance for a rain/snow mix then drop to lows around the upper 20s at night.

The transition from rain to snow signals that winter is starting to lean in.

“Wednesday night we have about at 40% to 50% chance of snow showers, dusting or accumulation is possible,” said Steve Considine, a meteorologist at the NWS’s Detroit office.

This Thanksgiving could also be colder and windier than last year, Considine said. NWS said Thursday and Friday will have a notable chill with readings between the mid 20s and upper 30s.

“Last year we had a high of 42 degrees and a few snow showers in the morning that didn’t amount to anything, so this Thanksgiving is going to be colder and windier in comparison to last year,” he said.

Considine added: “The wind chill readings on Thanksgiving are going to be in the teens in the morning and in the 20s in the afternoon. We’re still looking at west winds of 20 to 25 mph with a few gusts of 30 to 35 moh. So essentially cold and windy for Thanksgiving Day with some snow showers, minor accumulation possible but we’re not expecting any accumulations.”

The weekend is expected to lean toward winter weather with temperatures in the 30s, cloudy and chilly Saturday.

Sunday presents a chance for a snow/rain mixture.

mjohnson@detroitnews.com

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