Controversial Video for Jack White’s “Sixteen Saltines” Hits the Web

Jack White, former member of the White Stripes, has been on his own since the band split in February 2011. Making the most of his position as number 70 on Rolling Stone’s “Top 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”, he has since collaborated with many important artists, like Alicia Keys, Loretta Lynn, and Bob Dylan, just to name a few. The rocker’s highly anticipated solo album, Blunderbuss, is due out April 24.

White has just released the new video for a single from the album, titled “Sixteen Saltines”. It’s directed by AG Rojas and marks a serious departure from the video for “Love Interruption”, another single from White’s upcoming record. Where the “Love Interruption” video was simple and glamorous, “Sixteen Saltines” is dark, gritty and somewhat controversial. Having only recently made its debut, the new video has already made quite a splash among online critics, who note its edginess and provocative subject matter. The premise is that a group of children and teenagers have taken over a town, and are running things their way. The video is a montage of clips of them behaving badly, or at least, strangely — everything from a 10-year-old getting a face tattoo to a young man covered in blue paint playing kidnapper.

White’s website says of the video, “’Sixteen Saltines’ seems to take place in a walking nightmare world outside of time or any kind of rule, a place you’d never want to live, but one you can’t stop visiting.” And it’s true, no matter how bizarre the events on screen get, it’s impossible to stop watching. Be on the lookout for an all-too quick clip midway through of a young man who has some impressive dance moves, and really lets them… soar. Jack White makes a cameo appearance and his fate is part of the cliffhanger ending that has cyberspace all a-twitter. You’ll have to watch to find out more.

Check out the video for “Sixteen Saltines” below, and be sure to give a listen to the rest of Blunderbuss, which hits stores April 24