Currently on tour in Europe with his 378th band the Dead Weather, Jack White made a surprise stop at Dublin’s Trinity College last night. But he wasn’t there to perform, acting instead as a surprise guest lecturer to the University’s Philosophical Society, a group that according to NME, once counted Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker and JB Yates as members. White was bestowed with honorary membership, spoke “candidly” on music and waxed philosophic (obviously) on the idea of authenticity. Names that came up? Dylan. Waits. Spears? “I don’t know if Bob Dylan and Tom Waits are as authentic as I think they are,” White said. “Perhaps they’re not…Sometimes you start thinking that maybe Britney Spears or someone like that who’s doing exactly what they want to do in the way that they best know how, is more authentic than any of those people you could mention.” Serious brainlight!

Keeping up with all of Jack White’s projects is a job in and of itself. When not hanging out with The Edge and Jimmy Page, dressing up like Elvis and giving advice to Dewey Cox and playing drums in that band Dead Weather, White’s been making serious moves with his Third Man Records imprint. Just recently, the King of Detroit blew fan boys minds when announcing the Vault, a super elaborate fan club that gives members limited edition LP’s, swag, and whatever else White connjurs up.

The latest word from Third Man finds White unveiling two, super rare outtakes from the very first White Stripes release, the “Let’s Shake Hands” b/w “Look Me Over Closely” 7-inch. The alternative takes of the songs will be exclusively available to members of The Vault. If you find yourself longing for the scuzzy garage blues of the early Stripes, signing up for The Vault may not be a bad idea, especially since membership closes next Thursday, October 22nd.

With the exception of games that are either a) un-fun or b) just have nothing to do with jams, we’ve tried to keep current on all things video game-related. Today brings more news on the next installment of the Guitar Hero franchise, a game that promises to be a black hole/joy ride of behemoth proportions. The White Stripes and Elton John will be making their GH5 debuts, both “Blue Orchid” and ” Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting),” respectively, to be included amongst the fray. Also on the docket now is the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy For The Devil” as well as Sonic Youth’s Rather Ripped burner “Incinerate.” But the coup de grace remains an unreleased live recording of Nirvana’s “Lithium.” (via RS)

Here’s a complete list of the new additions:

Attack! Attack! UK – “You And Me”
Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name”
Darker My Love – “Blue Day”
The Duke Spirit – “Send A Little Love Token”
Elton John – “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)”
Face To Face – “Disconnected”
Garbage – “Only Happy When It Rains”
Kaiser Chiefs – “Never Miss A Beat”
Kiss – “Shout It Out Loud”
Love and Rockets – “Mirror People”
My Morning Jacket – “One Big Holiday”
Nirvana – “Lithium (Live)”
The Police – “So Lonely”
Rammstein – “Du Hast”
The Rolling Stones – “Sympathy For The Devil”
Sonic Youth – “Incinerate”
Screaming Trees – “Nearly Lost You”
Sublime – “What I Got”
The Sword – “Maiden, Mother & Crone”
Thin Lizzy – “Jailbreak”
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “American Girl”
The White Stripes – “Blue Orchid”

The 100-year-old man in a pale, young man’s body known as Jack White recently stated his beef with MySpace and the internet in general in a cantankerous interview with The Ampersand about his new supergroup the Dead Weather:

“Do I really need a MySpace page for this f–king music? Do I really need to do that? There’s a part of me, that just out of spite, says I don’t want to do it because it’s so antithetical to what I do,” Mr. White said.

“I just question what it all means. If a million people see your webpage, how many people actually buy something, buy a record or a song? Feels to me, if you give them a chance to fast forward, rewind, or click off to the next web page, they will do it. But if you take away that opportunity, you will frustrate a percentage of people, but others will get off the couch and go buy the vinyl at the store.”

We question it too, Jack. Oh wait, no we don’t because we just read that quote on the internet. The internet also told us that the Dead Weather is playing on old-timey television on Conan O’Brien’s program The Tonight Show tomorrow night. The internet also puts millions of pictures of adorable kittens at our fingertips. And it allows us to talk to grammy through live video. So does the Dead Weather need a MySpace page? Maybe not. But the internet is definitely neat.

In 2007 the White Stripes became the first band to tour Canada with dates in every single province and territory, camera crew in tow to document the journey. Now, reports CBC News, the footage is officially being turned into a documentary. Unlike your ordinary tour documentary, this will include Meg and Jack both organizing and playing impromptu sets across Canada… like on a boat (they’re on a boat!), on a bus, and at a children’s day camp. This announcement adds to Jack’s ever-growing list of projects, which include the film It Might Get Loud, releasing a debut album with his latest band The Dead Weather, and working on the seventh White Stripes album with Meg. If he keeps this up, Jack White may usurp the title of “Hardest Working Man in Show Business” from the late great James Brown.

—Nikki Turner