Quietly put up this afternoon over at his Third Man Records site, White announced Blunderbuss, his first solo project, due out in April via Third Man/Columbia. And much like anything else our man Jack has gotten his musical mitts on, the first single “Love Interruption” is good — really good. We got our hands on the new single, which you can stream after the jump!

Recorded (likely) in full analog, the catchy acoustic-guitar-and-keyboards “Love Interruption” sounds astounding and shows off the soulful, Nashville-side of White.

“Love Interruption”

Stryker debuted “Love Interruption” on KROQ at 4:20 p.m. today, and the track will be released digitally tonight. The single will be out on White’s preferred format, vinyl, on Feb. 7th. Blunderbuss will be released on April 24 via Third Man/Columbia.

Launch Party For The New T-Mobile G1 (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Jack White wrapped up The White Stripes earlier this year, but he’s still busy with The Dead Weather and The Raconteurs, who’ve announced a return to the stage after two years for the MI Festival in Michigan.

Don’t call it a comeback, however. With no plans for a new release in sight, today Last.fm Trends is looking at the band’s scrobbles to see how taking it easy is going for them.

The graph above shows their scrobbles over the past year, in comparison to White’s previous band. The split of The White Stripes created a big jump in listeners, but there’s no such ups and downs for The Raconteurs. With little gain in popularity but no loss either, it seems fans will still be there for them when they take to the stage.

Four out of five of their top tracks are from their second and latest album, suggesting that fans aren’t too attached to the past and would enjoy new material from the band – but they may have to wait a long while until any appears.

Learn more about The Raconteurs at their Last.fm page. Meanwhile, Last.fm Trends brings you the news in scrobbles every weekday.

Yesterday we covered the surprising and sad announcement that the White Stripes are no more.

We may never know what the real story is. Maybe Meg‘s reported crippling shyness got too difficult, maybe too much time has passed for Jack to want to go back, maybe newer, shinier collaborations with other musicians proved irresistible to him at this time.

Jack White is a genius and I don’t doubt he’ll make tons of compelling music in the future. But I’ll really miss the raw intensity and musical chemistry of the White Stripes.

I heard from many KROQ listeners yesterday about my tweet:

Until yesterday, Jack had three ongoing bands. In my opinion, the first was was the best.

White Stripes:

The second one was the second best. The Raconteurs are so great!:

Another band I like a lot, but only Jack’s third best was Dead Weather.

So, what do you think? Do you agree?

OK, so the new millennium’s first decade is coming to a close, and I thought it’d be a great idea to list the best albums to date. Because I’ve found myself going to the same albums in my iTunes library, I’ve come up with a list of what I consider the best for the first 10 years. Here are my general guidelines.

1. The album has to be good. Good enough to be listened to in it’s entirety without skipping any songs.
2. No re-issues, unless the original was released from 2000 on. [I know that technically the decade starts from 2001, but I started at 2000]
3. An artist CAN be repeated.

This wasn’t easy, not because I had to sit and listen through a bunch of albums, but because so many awesome albums have been released these last ten years. And, although the year isn’t over yet, pretty much all the albums that are coming out for this year have already.

I’ve also taken the liberty of editing down each track to give you an album preview for each of my picks. So, in no particular order here you go.

At The Drive In – Relationship of Command [2000]

Before they were The Mars Volta, and before they were De Facto, Omar and Cedric used to be At The Drive In, a band who’s premature break up I will never forget. Their last and final album combines a hardcore aggressive edge with a melodic drive and harmonious and emotive, if surreal lyrics. While the album continues in the alternative style of At the Drive-In’s previous albums, Relationship of Command is seen as a more well-rounded album than its predecessors. Initially, the album was received positively by critics, and the album is now seen as one of the most influential post-hardcore, if not rock albums of the decade. Relationship of Command was voted 12th out of 50 in the Albums of the Decade by NME.

The Strokes – Is This It [2001]

For the album, The Strokes strived to capture a simple rock sound that was not significantly enhanced in the studio. Building on the work of their 2001 debut EP, The Modern Age, the band members molded compositions largely through live takes during the recording sessions, while lyricist Julian Casablancas continued to detail the lives and relationships of urban youth. Following the completion of Is This It, The Strokes embarked on a promotional world tour before its release. The album’s cover photograph courted controversy for being too sexually explicit and was replaced for the U.S. market.

White Stripes – White Blood Cells [2001]

White Blood Cells peaked at number 61 on the Billboard 200, reaching Gold record status and selling over 500,000 albums. It reached number 55 in the United Kingdom, being bolstered in both territories by the “Fell in Love with a Girl” single and its Lego-animation music video directed by Michel Gondry. The video won in three awards at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards: Breakthrough Video, Best Special Effects, and Best Editing.

Interpol – Antics [2004]

This first time I heard this album, it was beautiful. I reached bliss, so I listened to it again, and again, and again, until the CD player ruined it. Carlos Dengler’s catchy and funky bass lines, along with the Ian Curtis-esk vocals made this one of my favorites. Selling 488,000 copies in the U.S. and over 100,000 in the UK. The album features throbbing bass and strong drums, and intricate guitar lines reminiscent of The Chameleons, with vague, evocative lyrics sung in a resonant, somber voice by vocalist Paul Banks. Musically speaking, the general tone of this record is remarkably brighter than its darker predecessor.

Arcade Fire – The Suburbs [2010]

The album’s lyrical content was inspired by band members Win and William Butler’s upbringing in the suburbs. According to Win Butler, the album “is neither a love letter to, nor an indictment of, the suburbs – it’s a letter from the suburbs.” Win Butler describes the overall sound of The Suburbs as “a mix of Depeche Mode andNeil Young,” stating that he wanted the album to sound like “the bands that I heard when I was very young, and wondered what those crazy noises were.”

The Black Keys – Brothers [2010]

Brothers finds Carney and Auerbach augmenting their sound with some new stylistic tics, suggesting that they might’ve learned something from working with Danger Mouse. “Too Afraid to Love You” feels spooked-out thanks to Auerbach’s distanced vocals and some haunted harpsichord, while the Jock Jams beat on “Howlin’ For You” and “Black Mud”‘s winking nod to CCR’s “Green River” find the Keys in an uncharacteristically playful mode.

Paramore  – Riot! [2007]

Paramore deliver the same type of sugary, mega-catchy pop-punk found on their debut album. There isn’t really much doubt that Riot! is a strong album. The ridiculously catchy melodies she belts out, dumb lyrics or not, make every track on Riot! sing-a-long worthy.

The Killers- Sawdust [2007]

Maybe my favorite Killers album, the band have managed to move up the evolutionary ladder, developing actual tools and displaying the capacity for reason. B-sides are usually A-sides, but not as good, but I love all the songs on this album, from b-sides, to rarities, to covers this is a must have album for any Killers fan. And with guest spots from legends such as Lou Reed, and Iggy Pop, it only makes it that much better.

The Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely [2008]

The band did no promotion before the album’s release, and its existence was only confirmed a week before. Even so, the record was accidentally leaked by iTunes, and some fans managed to purchase the album early. Critique of Consolers of the Lonely was mostly positive; much of it centered on the chaotic sound and diverse nature of the album as well as its resemblance to albums by Led Zeppelin and The Who

Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy [2010]

Not something you would typically hear on KROQ, people forget he was a performer at KROQ’s Almost Acoutic Christmas 2008, it’s only fair to include his latest album into my list. I mean, it was is awesome. It has been in my car stereo since it came out, hasn’t gotten old yet. Selling 496,000 copies in its first week, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy received general acclaim from music critics, earning praise for its varied musical style, opulent production quality, and West’s dichotomous lyrical themes.

Those are my choices for top albums this year. Feel I left out some? Leave a comment.

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To all of you that share my enthusiasm, it is imperative that you pick up a copy of the December issue of Vanity Fair. In it, our beloved Jack White suggests that a White Stripes reunion is imminent.

So, Jack White is releasing the first 3 White Stripes albums on vinyl. He is also releasing The White Stripes Merchandise Collection, a $500 box that includes a record player, headphones, and other awesome things for the music purist and collector. When Vanity Fair asked Mr. White why he was doing these things, he responded with:

“We thought we’d do a lot of things that we’d never done: a full tour of Canada, a documentary, coffee-table book, live album, a boxed set,” White says. “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.”

With his 2 other bands on hiatus and their members working on separate projects, it seems that now would be a perfect time for a White family reunion.

As for the $500 box set, here’s what you get:

The White Stripes Merchandise Collection — pressed in a limited edition of 333 and available only as a full set — will be available in Third Man Records’ Nashville store and for pre-order starting December 1. Included is a new red-vinyl pressing of the rare “Merry Christmas From The White Stripes” 7-inch, along with a portable record player, headphones, two record boxes and other vinyl paraphernalia

Check out Jack White performing on Conan:

Editor’s note: We’ve had the Last.fm Trends team to look at how the Whites have been doing among their digital listeners, and whether fans would prefer new material to a Christmas bundle…

White Stripes’ last album was Icky Thump in 2007 – the chart above shows the week of its release, with eight tracks from the same set. “Seven Nation Army,” their most popular track overall, peeks in at tenth place.

Fast-forward three years and listeners have levelled off, but the chart contains tracks from four out of six albums, with 2003′s breakout Elephant leading the way. With “Seven Nation Army” restored to the top and no particular bias towards newer material, it seems like fans will be happy with a White Stripes-branded record player – so long as they have the vinyl to play on it…

Make sure that what you listen to counts by heading over to Last.fm. Meanwhile, Last.fm Trends brings you the latest news in scrobbles every weekday.

If you haven’t noticed, some dirty blues-rock has been grinding its way into the KROQ playlist lately in the form of The Dead Weather’s ”Die By the Drop.” Dig the raw and no holds barred attitude Allison, Jack and company always bring to the table.

You kind of know what you’re gonna get if you’re a White Stripes or Raconteurs fan, but staying true to that spontaneous blues format, there’s always a few twists and turns along the way.   

Click more to hear another new track off their upcoming May 11th release Sea of Cowards, titled “Gasoline.”

It’s a real pitter patter of a groove.  Scattering organ, bass and drums run amok with one of Jack White’s patented screeching solos in the middle.

Past Coachella Memories – The…Jack White likes to get around.  One of his bands, The Raconteurs played the Main Stage back in 2008.  Check out the gallery and if you are going this year make sure you check out one of his other bands, The Dead Weather on night 2.  See the rest of the memories here.

The Dead Weather is an American rock group founded by The White Stripes front man, Jack White that came together as a sort of accident. But that accident proved to be another one of White’s great accomplishments to the garage-rock genre.

Click more to learn more about The Dead Weather and their new album.

Jack White’s other side project, The Raconteurs were touring near the end of 2008 and unfortunately, White wasn’t feeling up to par.  He then asked Alison Mosshart, vocalist for The Kills if she would help out on vocals at some of the shows. The onstage collaboration of White and Mosshart, along with The Raconteurs bassist Jack Lawrence and Queens of the Stone Age member Dean Fertita eventually led them to make a record together, which was called Horehound.

Horehound was released July 14, 2009 and entered the U.S. Billboard 200 Album Charts at #6.  Three tracks from Horehound were made available to Guitar Hero enthusiasts entitled, “No Hassle Night,” “Hang You from the Heavens” and “Treat Me Like Your Mother.”

With their first album proving to be a great success, there was speculation that their second album, Sea of Cowards first single was to be, “Die by the Drop,” which proved to be true as you can now preview the song on Shockhound.com.  The Dead Weather’s unofficial release date of Sea of Cowards is rumored to be May 7th, so keep a look out.

You know what? A collaboration between Jay-Z and Jack White does not surprise me one bit. To some, it might make no sense at all, but if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Both of these guys are the best at what they do, both are trailblazers, and both like to challenge themselves beyond their obvious talents.

In a recent interview with GQ, Jack White explains how the two first got together but, when asked to elaborate, JW kept the details close to his vest.

Click more to read on.

As if Jack White weren’t busy enough with The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, and producing his wife’s first album, the guy decides that it might be a good time to get “H to the izz O, V to the izz A.”

According to Jack, he played Jay-Z something he had been “kicking around for a while” and instantly Jay to the Z was spewing out lyrical insanity like only he can.

This should be VERY interesting.

If you would like more reading material, click here.

I was sitting at home all snuggled up on my couch enjoying the sound of rain beating down on my balcony and the thunder creeping up behind it. It was dark as night outside and barely noon. It was the perfect day to watch It Might Get Loud. I thought nothing could make this stormy California day better, but I was wrong because I hadn’t even pressed play yet. It starts off with Jack White turning a piece of plywood and an empty Coke bottle into an electric guitar and plugging it into an amp and putting even Angus MacGyver to shame.

The movie is a documentary on the history of the electric guitar and 3 generations of the world’s most bad ass guitarists: Jack White, The Edge ,and Jimmy Page. The magnitude of sound created by these men has me questioning if they’re even human. After seeing It Might Get Loud, I believe them to be vessels used by a higher power to redefine what the world calls sound.

It will leave you breathless at some points. If you are a music lover and a true fan of rock-n-roll in it’s purest form, then you have to see this as soon as possible. There’s one scene that Jack White is playing his guitar so hard that his fingers start to bleed and the kicker is when the camera zooms in on his blood dripping down the guitar as he is ferociously attacking it with his hands. It’s poetic.

I could kick myself in the ass 10 times for not going to see this when it was playing at The Arclight. Due to my lack of good judgment, I had to watch it On Demand. Epic regret. However, the bigger tragedy would be not to have seen it at all. Here, take a look: