News Roundup: White Stripes, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift

Updated:

November 12, 2010 12:50 pm

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Get ready for The White Stripes 2.0. Jack White tells Vanity Fair that he and his “sister” Meg White will soon get to work on their next project, the followup to 2007’s blistering Icky Thump.

“We thought we’d do a lot of things that we’d never done,” says White: “a full tour of Canada, a documentary, coffee-table book, live album, a boxed set. It was one long project that took almost three years. Now that we’ve gotten a lot of that out of our system, Meg and I can get back in the studio and start fresh.”

An ultra-limited edition deluxe box set, The White Stripes Merchandise Collection, will compile the band’s entire recorded discography, and will also come with a portable record player and a piar of headphones. Hope you have $499 handy — that’s the retail price.

Bruce Springsteen will make his only scheduled live appearance to promote the upcoming Darkness On The Edge Of Town box set, when he performs on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Tuesday 16. It’s still unknown whether he’ll be joined by the E Street Band or Fallon’s house band, The Roots. You can listen to exclusive audio of Springsteen discussing “family, alienation” and other themes on Darkness at Rollingstone.com. While you’re over there, you can preview Jimi Hendrix covering Bob Dylan’s “Tears Of Rage,” from West Coast Seattle Boy.

Ohio Singer-songwriter Jessica Mayfield has been signed to Nonesuch Records. Her sophomore album, Tell Me, drops February 8, and was produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach. Mayfield can be heard singing on the Keys’ album Attack and Release. The Seattle Times describes her music thusly: Her languorous, understated, and often dark sound can best be described as Hope Sandoval meets Jim James meets Neko Case.” Mayfield is currently on tour supporting Jay Farrar, and will open dates for Justin Townes Earle in December.

Experimental indie rockers Akron/Family will release their latest album, S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT., on February 8. According to a press release, it was “written in a cabin built into the side of Mount Meakan, an active volcano in Akan National Park, on the island of Hokkaido, Japan,” and “recorded in an abandoned train station in Detroit.” Also, according to producer Chris Koltay, the album will “transcend the Internet.” We can’t wait.

Why did Taylor Swift clearly mouth “What?” at the end of her performance at the CMAs last night? Apparently, it was because she received a standing ovation, but maybe you have a different theory. Speculate in the comments.