Update: Oh! And here’s footage of the show. Stephen Colbert sort of sounds like Weird Al, and The Black Belles look like the living scenery from a middle school play. There’s also a phantom bass line, but no one appears to be playing bass. Tacky, tacky, tacky. (via Animal)
You have to hand it to him: Mr. Jack White has a keen understanding of marketing. After a weekend of jamming with his new band (can you really call them that?) of ashen-faced, witchy Jack White puppets, The Black Belles, on The Colbert Report, White and Colbert have cut a cover together of the Belles song “Charlene II (I’m Over You)” and are selling the 7″ today at the Lot on the High Line (at Tenth Avenue and 30th Street), via the Third Man Record Truck. The truck’s been around for a few months now, making an appearance at this year’s SXSW, and absolutely capitalizing on the good-things-come-on-wheels phenomenon (eg. food trucks).
Apparently, with turntables, a microphone, guest DJ’s, t-shirts and all sorts of musical goodies, the mobile store is somewhere between Jack White’s interpretation of the Spice Bus and the taco truck. Check it out, if you want. It’s a stunt, yes, but it’s kind of exciting in that adult scavenger hunt kind of way.
But before we move on—The Black Belles? What’s their deal? And how much do they resent having to wear that stupid getup? It looks like there might be something chafing under those hats. And from the social justice soapbox: It’s a frightening world we live in where Jack White can afford his own human barbie dolls, GE paid zero dollars in taxes last year, and this guy robbed a bank (sort of) so he could go to prison and get the healthcare he couldn’t afford.