“Is it possible for a brother and sister to dress in only red, white and black, play blues music with no computers or samples, travel across the Arctic to places other bands would be scared to venture, play free shows everyday at random locations, and not be the biggest thing since The Beatles?” asks Jack White.
“The answer,” he says, “is clear.”
Since the duo’s first Detroit gig at an open-mike night back in 1997 and across six studio albums, the White Stripes — singer-guitarist Jack and his drummer and ex-wife Meg White (they now weirdly describe themselves as siblings) — have dutifully abided by Jack’s Rules of Threes. All clothes, gear, instruments and accoutrements are limited to three colors: red, black and white. Songs have just three sounds: guitar, drums and vocals. Roadies wear three-piece suits. It all feels a bit O-C-D.
Tuesday’s “Under Great White Northern Lights,” the duo’s first release since 2007’s “Icky Thump,” conforms to the code, too. It’s even issued in three different formats: audio (CDs and a double LP), video (concert and documentary DVDs) and print (a 208-page book, plus a silk-screened photo).
It’s issued by Warner Bros. and Third Man, Jack’s Nashville-based boutique label that specializes in handmade vinyl. (And, yes, it derives its name from the number 3).
“It’s us having a plethora of film and music at our table that we decided to put in a curry and bake it at 300 degrees,” Jack, 34, tells The Post. “There are dessert treats in there, too, for those fans that hate their vegetables. All kinds of exclusive vinyl and artwork. This isn’t some Internet mirage, either — you can hold these things in your hands just like Grandpa did.”
Audiowise, it’s the band’s first-ever live release, documenting a tour through every province and territory in Canada, including: a five-pin bowling alley in Saskatoon; a 40-foot fishing boat called the “Annandale Light” off of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; and a rec-center acoustic jam in Nunnavut with Inuit elders, who fed Jack raw caribou.
“The strange locations made for the most intriguing and inspiring moments for us,” Jack says. “You tend to play songs in a bowling alley that you wouldn’t at home with mother in the parlor.”
His favorite performance?
“I like the show that was only one note,” he says, referring to a ridiculously brief, albeit free show in St. John, New Brunswick. “The crowd got their money’s worth on that one.”
The concert footage captures unhinged performances of songs that span the band’s career, demonstrating why Meg’s minimalist percussion and Jack’s colicky blues guitar have earned the Stripes respect from critics and rock titans alike. Jack jammed with Jimmy Page and U2’s The Edge in the film “It Might Get Loud” and shared a stage with the Rolling Stones in Martin Scorsese’s “Shine a Light.” The duo has won three Grammys and sold more than 12 million records.
The box set is also a multimedia monument to the bond between a former husband and wife whose music outlasted their romance.
The Canada tour did, however, end in cancellations and the painfully shy Meg suffering from acute anxiety. In the rare moments when she whispers, viewers need subtitles to understand what she’s muttering. By the end, the cracks in her psyche are showing. Following their 10th anniversary concert in Nova Scotia, Meg sits next to Jack at a piano while he plays “White Moon.” Tears stream down her face.
“Her femininity and extreme minimalism are too much to take for some metal heads and reverse-contrarian hipsters,” Jack says. “She can do what those with ‘technical prowess’ can’t. She inspires people to bash on pots and pans. For that, they repay her with gossip and judgment. In the end she’s laughing all the way to the Prada handbag store. She wins every time.”