Alison Mosshart: What a Wonderful World

“I’ve got three fathers: my biological dad, God, and Bob Dylan,” said Jack White once of the poet laureate of rock, with whom he has since shared the stage and collaborated on an album of music written for unreleased Hank Williams lyrics that has yet to surface. It’s fitting, then, that Dylan’s songs have been adapted by Jack White and his White Stripes, Dead Weather, and other Third Man bandmates so seamlessly — a near-hereditary passing of the torch, perhaps. Notably, Dylan played an important role in White’s early career as well: granting permission for the Stripes to cover Desire’s “One More Cup of Coffee” on their self-titled debut and inspiring Jack’s earliest shows, at which he performed Dylan’s entire first album for apathetic audiences in Detroit coffee houses.

There have been many Dylan covers unleashed by White live, in the studio, and on the radio since his salad days, of course. So, without further ado, enjoy our collection below:

An intriguing quote from the former White Stripes frontman has been making the rounds this week, in which Jack White revealed to Q Magazine (via DIY) that he won’t join (or presumably start) another band. “Three’s enough for one lifetime,” he added. “If I can’t say it in any of these bands, then I’ll say it by myself.”

What’s next for Jack? That’s anyone’s guess, but I would like to point out a few things before we get too carried away with the quote. First off, I have to respectfully disagree with our friends at Spinner’s belief that his decision comes “in light of the demise of the White Stripes,” as I’ve traced back the interview to at least a few months ago, long before the sad WS announcement earlier this month. Also, way back in July of last year was when White first mentioned that the Dead Weather would be his final band. “This is it for bands for me,” he said (at the 5:50 mark in the video below). “I think this is the last one I’ll be a part of, so… but I’m producing a lot of records as I always have…”

Given that both statements were made prior to the Stripes breakup, one wonders if he’s had a change of heart “in light of” his current 2-band status. In any event, I can’t wait to hear what the Third Man has in store.

Tonight at 11PM, Conan O’Brien will re-enter the late-night talk show fray with his former studio, stage, and TV collaborator Jack White in tow as the first musical guest on TBS’ Conan. White’s many memorable appearances on Coco’s Late Night, not to mention drumming with the Dead Weather on the short-lived Tonight Show run, are reason enough to be on the edge of your seat tonight, but it’s the pair’s post-Tonight Show bromance that will more likely inform/ensure the awesomeness of their basic cable premiere, I’d say.

Video of the next Coco-White affair will be promptly posted here once available, but until then, let’s re-watch 6 clips spanning Jack’s past Conan gigs over the last decade for some context.

**Update: Jack and Conan covered Eddie Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock,” which they recorded in Nashville for Conan’s LP earlier this year. Video is here or below…

Earlier in the week, the official Dead Weather YouTube channel awoke from its 4-week slumber with a new music video featuring Los Angeles artist Max Neutra live-painting frontwoman Alison Mosshart in Third Man Records’ signature colors (yellow, white, black) to the tune of Jack White and co.’s new single “Gasoline” (one of my favorite songs of the year so far). It’s a fun clip, excellent painting, and Neutra’s talents are pretty much undeniable, but I thankfully held off on posting it as only 3 days later we’ve got another new Dead Weather video.

Team Third Man gave Team Coco the world premiere of their equally artsy new video for “Blue Blood Blues,” crafted by Tim Wheeler and Christopher Mills from footage of the band performing live at their Nashville headquarters. Needless to say, this Jack White/Conan O’Brien bromance is still awesome. Watch both videos below:

Well, this is a nice Wednesday treat… Remember that epic Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack, which features new songs by the Black Keys, the Dead Weather, Vampire Weekend, Band of Horses, and a Bat For Lashes/Beck collaboration? You can now stream the entire record on its official site (via Vulture) here.

A notable story from the nation’s capital hit early yesterday, which was surprisingly ignored by the music blogosphere: Just four months following Bob Dylan’s performance of “The Times They Are A-Changin’” for President Obama and company, Paul McCartney will be honored in the next chapter of the “In Performance at the White House” series.

In an intimate concert at the East Room next week, Sir Paul will be treated to tribute covers by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, the Jonas Brothers (?), Dave Grohl, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Herbie Hancock, and others, including… Jack White.

I was surprised, frankly, that White is set to perform at the White House next Wednesday (June 2), but it does make sense, given the night’s honoree: “Paul is my favorite Beatle,” White said last fall. “He’s been a big influence on me — especially the way that he sings.”

Great news all around, but the best part is that, yes, we will get to watch these performances as the pre-taped show will air on PBS in late July.

Jay-Z isn’t the only mainstream star inspiring Jack White as of late: According to WENN, the fearless White Stripes/Raconteurs leader has confessed to channeling Lady Gaga for one of the cuts off the Dead Weathers forthcoming second album, Sea of Cowards — specifically, “The Difference Between Us” (video below). The quote in question:

Lady Gaga - I was thinking of the type of song a contemporary musician would write so I started thinking about her. I started thinking of how she would write the music to this song and got quite into being Lady Gaga in an odd way.

Bon Iver’s Twitter always brings good news, be it a new John Prine tribute album, his Record Store Day song swap, or (per today’s tweet) professionally shot footage from last year’s Austin City Limits streaming on Hulu.

Dubbed the “Best of Austin City Limits 2009,” the free video collection includes performances by the Dead Weather, Justin Vernon and company of course, Andrew Bird, Thievery Corporation, (the boys behind our most anticipated LP of the summer) the Walkmen, Deer Tick, Clutch, Alberta Cross, Ghostland Observatory, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, and the Dodos.

From the few clips I’ve devoured so far, I can confirm that the quality is pretty amazing. Now that’s a good way to kick off the week.