![\"Jim](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Jim-Jarmusch-The-White-Stripes-Split-Far-Out-Magazine-1140x855.jpg\")
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(Credits: Far Out \/ YouTube Still \/ The White Stripes)<\/p>\n
Tue 20 January 2026 4:00, UK <\/p>\n
In the standalone sequence \u2018Jack Shows Meg His Tesla Coil\u2019, from Jim Jarmusch<\/a>\u2019s 2003 anthology Coffee and Cigarettes, Jack and Meg White sit at a round table, glancing aimlessly around the room while \u2018Down on the Street\u2019 by The Stooges blares on from the speakers.<\/p>\n Coffee mugs in one hand, cigarettes in another, Jack and Meg<\/a> sit in silence for a minute and a half before Meg breaks with, \u201cSo Jack, you going to tell me about your Tesla coil?\u201d Reluctantly, Jack agrees, explaining how he built Nikola Tesla\u2019s electrical resonant transformer himself, expanding on the many inventions he is credited with. <\/p>\n \u201cHe perceived the earth as a conductor of acoustical resonance,\u201d Jack proclaims, before the pair put on their goggles and test Jack\u2019s invention, causing it to break. Defeatedly, Jack wheels the Tesla coil away in a little red wagon, leaving Meg to contemplate \u201cEarth as a conductor of acoustical resonance\u201d by clanking her coffee mug with a spoon. <\/p>\n Coffee and Cigarettes, shot in black and white, furthers Jarmusch\u2019s signature minimalist approach to his films, united by the simple act of drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes, turning ordinary conversations into meditations on obsession. Jack and Meg White are the perfect inclusion, communicating with an effortless cool, their characterisation in Jarmusch\u2019s vision offering a comical glimpse at the otherwise private, reserved duo.<\/p>\n But how did they meet?<\/p>\n Jarmusch first met The White Stripes in New York City, where they staged a free concert in Manhattan\u2019s Union Square. Spotting Jarmusch in the audience, they invited the director backstage and forged a friendship. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen we first met Jim, he had a book about Tesla on his desk, and I started saying how much of an admirer of Tesla\u2019s I was,\u201d Jack explained to Coming Soon<\/a> in 2004, \u201cWe started talking, and we were eventually going to make a video for our last album in which I was going to play Tesla.\u201d<\/p>\n The unrealised film turned out to be too expensive to bring to life, but Jarmusch later presented Jack and Meg with his concept for a short film about a Tesla coil, about which the duo were immediately intrigued. \u201cI really like his use of silence and empty space,\u201d Jack said<\/a>, when asked about what appeals to him in Jarmusch\u2019s films, continuing, \u201cI think his silence is really powerful\u2026 In the beginning of our segment, there are 20 seconds of nothing being said, and that\u2019s my favourite part.\u201d<\/p>\n Including, but certainly not limited to, Jarmusch\u2019s early immersion into the late 1970s \u2018no wave\u2019 punk scene centered at CBGB\u2019s, forming his no wave band The Del-Byzanteens, working frequently with the brilliant Tom Waits and composing his own score to his 2013 film Only Lovers Left Alive with his musical project Sq\u00fcrl; music has been a constant across Jarmusch\u2019s artistic output. Naturally, his adoration of The White Stripes would bleed into his film work. <\/p>\n