The Oil Slick: Sounds Jack White Should Ignore on His New Album

Jack White, who is full steam ahead on his next album, has already said it's “all over the place” in terms of sounds.

That means one of the most prolific musicians out there will be adding a few new sounds to his repertoire. While I'm sure whatever he goes after will be up to White's demanding standards, there are some genres he should just forget. Here are three he shouldn't touch with a 10-foot guitar.

Dubstep

Yes, it's everywhere. Yes, it can be downright awesome. No, Jack should not be tempted to mix the sounds of a computer dying within his intricately crafted songs. It would stray way too close to Nu-Metal (aka Limp Bizkit) territory. That's something that's best left in the '90s. CountryWhite has a keen fascination with country; he even produced Loretta Lynn's Grammy-winning Van Lear Rose. But his high-pitched falsetto will not match up well with a Southern twang. There's just something intrinsically off about a pale guy from Michigan lamenting the girl who got away. Even if he now lives in Nashville and has a Grammy for producing a country album. Out of the three, this is by far the most realistic possibility. And perhaps the scariest.Classical/MashupsI'm lumping these together just because of White and Insane Clowne Posse's incredibly bad/hilarious "Leck Mich Im Arsch," a fusion single combining Mozart and I.C.P, released in 2011. White has made it a hobby to continually subvert music expectations, so it's not inconceivable that his next album comes out of left field. No, I don't think White will be putting out a remix album of washed-up rappers mixed with Beethoven and Bach songs. But I don't know that he won't, so it makes the list.John Grimley writes The Oil Slick for GuitarWorld.com.