UPDATE: Jack White's camp has released an appropriately cheeky statement on the "controversy," saying that White has "the upmost [sic] respect for the Foo Fighters and communicated with Grohl this morning." No apology to Rolling Stone, though. Read the full statement at the bottom of the post.

Jack White has always been one of the most curious rock stars of our era, and also one of the most outspoken, and he's often a bit of a curmudgeon. He combined all those sensibilities during his show at Boston's Fenway Park last night, rambling on to his fans for nearly four minutes for what he knew would be labeled a "rant" or "tirade." "Apparently, nowadays, you aren't allowed to speak to your own fans about anything, lest it be a rant," he said, moments after taking shots at Foo Fighters, Rolling Stone and its publisher Jann Wenner, and the general state of pop music and tabloid culture.

White started by pointing out that many musicians don't perform with plugged-in microphones, then tackled the other side of the coin, a band like Foo Fighters using a second guitarist "playing the same parts" to cover up any mistakes. (We always figured Grohl and White would be brothers in rock antiquarianism!)

"Something for RollingStone.com for tomorrow, I like to feed them clickbait," White said, before lobbing a few shots at the publication. "Brought to you by the Kardashian family, RollingStone.com. Fifteen outfits that will blow your mind that Taylor Swift wore this month. RollingStone.com."

"OK I'm officially supposed to stop now, because this is becoming a Kanye West-esque rant," White concluded. "Because apparently, nowadays, you aren't allowed to speak to your own fans about anything, lest it be a rant. So forget ISIS, forget the war in the Middle East, forget any problems at home, forget gay marriage, forget everything you ever thought about everything. This not a rant. This is just me saying, HELLO CLEVELAND!"

Hear the whole odd thing below.

We miss the days when White was a mystery wrapped in a riddle. Where's Meg to rein him in?

UPDATE: Jack White's statement on the "rant."

Dear dream-makers of the media...

Last night Jack White made a joke on stage!

There was a minor equipment mishap, specifically with his guitar, and in an effort to keep his audience engaged, he made a joke! It was meant to be funny and self deprecating: “hey sorry, you’re stuck with just me up here...” vs the Foo Fighters who have three guitar players on stage and regularly play stadium shows.

Jack has the upmost respect for the Foo Fighters and communicated with Grohl this morning.

So if you’ll let us, we’ll all continue with our day and we assure you: All is well in the rock n roll world.

[via Pitchfork]

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