The Temple

In his native Detroit, JACK WHITE —White Stripes frontman and one of the most active and influential musicians of the last twenty years—has built a beautiful, effcient, and fully staffed record manufacturing plant. Why? Because records are better.

- Kevin Dupzyk

FRIDAY

OUTSIDE THE THIRD MAN RECORDS storefront on Detroit’s long, lonely Cass Corridor, a line of tents, sleeping bags, and lawn chairs stretches fifty yards. Many of the people who crawl in and out of the tents and who sit in the lawn chairs wear shirts bearing the logo of Third Man Records, the independent label founded by Jack White, frontman of The White Stripes, the band that emerged from this very neighborhood. The men have hip beards and the women wear flannel and beanies—it’s cold, Detroit in February. Some rub sleep from their eyes even though it’s three in the afternoon. The reason they’re here is that Third Man is opening a new venture: Third Man Pressing, a record factory. The opening will include concerts, and tours, and special colored editions of albums that will never be available again. But the opening is on Saturday, and this is Friday afternoon, and it is cold, and a storm is rolling in.

Inside, on a wall in the back offce, is a yellow and black map of the world. The labels on it are not the usual labels. Where it ought to say “United States,” it says “Concrete.” Northern Africa says “Sand.” The Pacific Ocean: “Water.” The Southern Ocean: “Colder Water.” A legend in the southwest corner explains: “We have avoided most political and cultural names and labels since they change frequently throughout history: i.e., if a location has sand, it will probably have sand longer than this map will exist, but how long will a place be called ‘Russia,’ for instance?”

If you could zoom in on the Detroit of forty years ago, it would have said “Autos.” Now, who knows? Later tonight, Jack White will plant a flag in this corner of his hometown, and the flag will read “Vinyl.”