Jandek - pretty amazing! (1 Viewer)

[love jones]

Just saw the documnetry and have started to download 1 of his 49 albums. Starting in order of course. I've found out loads of stuff about him online. People are really into analising the whole thing to bits - pretty cool though. Any thoughts on it?

The pictures of him in ireland in the 80s are pretty insane.

 

[rotten tropics]

first albums definitely one of the best.i've yet to see the documentary though,must try find it to dowload or order it soon,the trailer looked great.not too mad about him when he has a band type set up but maybe just need to give that stuff a few more listens.

 

[love jones]

it might be the scariest music ever. the whole buzz about him and 'it' is mad. the movie is a must see. I can't believe know one told me about him until now - bastards!

 

[Lili Marlene]

Is he crazy crazy?
Does listening to his music amount to exploitation?

 

[rotten tropics]

it might be the scariest music ever. the whole buzz about him and 'it' is mad. the movie is a must see. I can't believe know one told me about him until now - bastards!

i thought you would have listened to him going by the other stuff your into alright...weird.'they told me about you' off the ready for the house record is probably my favourite song,really atmospheric and fucked sounding,the lyrics make it sound even more demented,check it out

Is he crazy crazy?
Does listening to his music amount to exploitation?

hes fairly mental alright,i don't know if it amounts to exploitation though...i dont think so anyway.

 

[sweetoblivion]

ddmurph is the Jandek expert - you should PM for tips on what the best albums are! He's seen him live twice as well. Legend.
The chapter on Jandek in Songs in the Key of Z by Irwin Chusid is fascinating, to say the least.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

he's deadly alright, although i wouldnt think he's crazy at all just extremely wary of the spotlight. i''ve seen him 5 times and he's obviously totally sane. i think sometimes people find it hard to see past the Jandek myth or think that the myth is all there is because his music doesnt have the endearing eccentric charm of people like syd barrett or daniel johnston that a lot of people might expect. his lyrics are great (mostly) and often very funny in a black way and the music is often astoundingly good. im heading over to the "favorite song ever" thread to list "i'm ready" (off On The Way) as one of my favs...

edit:
heres a full hour-long radio interview from 1985 in mp3 format - think its ripped from the dvd

http://rapidshare.com/files/20517613/jandek_-_interview_with_john_trubee_in_1985.zip.html

 

[BonsaiSuperstar]

ddmurph is the Jandek expert - you should PM for tips on what the best albums are! He's seen him live twice as well. Legend.

DDMurph gave me loads of his studio stuff!
i have the film Jandek on Corwood - it doesnt really answer any questions, it just poses more!!

blue corpse is his most accessible cus i think he has a session musician helping who gives the songs a definite sound.
the harder stuff is the late 90s early 00s albums which are accapella.

 

[Nate Champion]

I once stuck on Jandek in my mum's kitchen. Pretty sure it was 'Glasgow Sunday'. She flipped out, asking me to take it off immediately. Header. Her, not him.

Jandek on Corwood - great film.

 

[BonsaiSuperstar]

my parents are pretty liberal with whatever i want to listen to in the kitchen.
i have put on jandek, burzum , rage against the machine in the past....|..|

the only thing they ever made me turn off ever was....Kula Shaker - K.
They were right, it was complete toss.

 

[SONYMEGADRIVE]

love him - still haven't seen the documentary

'ready for the house' is definitely my favourite
the spokenword/acapella albums are the heaviest going

will have to be honest, the gigs and raised interest caused my interest to wain a little. still would have been pretty amazing to have been at instal (?)
for that first gig in scotland

 

[Pantone247]

Is he crazy crazy?
Does listening to his music amount to exploitation?

hes fairly mental alright,i don't know if it amounts to exploitation though...i dont think so anyway.

I think he's totally sane and just very smart about how he controls his image, his 'marketting' of Jandek over the years has been genius, wether it was cynical or happenstance, intentional or not, the 'myth' is really interesting

 

[panckko]

loved the movie
not sure about his music though. i think it takes a few listens to get into..
he has to be the king of the cottage industry record label though

 

[BonsaiSuperstar]

he isnt crazy, he is just a total introvert. he doesnt need attention and doesnt go looking for it. he releases records for himself.
i have no idea why he suddenly decided to do public gigs. maybe it dawned on him he could actually make money from the whole thing?

 

[SONYMEGADRIVE]

i don't think Mr Smith needs to make money from playing a handful of random gigs

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

i suspect it isnt for the money that he's started playing live - i doubt he makes much on gigs or album sales. i heard that for one of his gigs, in finland or belgium, he refused the money because he felt it wasnt very good...

i think for the first one in glasgow (i was at it ) he insisted on paying for his own flights and hotel so that he could pull out of it if he wanted

the only one of his acapella albums ive heard is "worthless recluse" but its one of my favorites and one of the ones i listen to most. apart from there being no music its a pretty easy listen and the words are deadly. its good for going asleep to. i'd say the bass albums would be the toughest...

 

[ddmurph]

i don't think there's remotely any hint of insanity with jandek at all. likewise i don't think there's ever been any real cynical ploy on his behalf to create the myth that built up around him. i just think he's a bit introverted and chooses not to "play the game" and does things completely on his own terms. personally i don't really care about the myth at all anymore, although it is pretty amazing that someone can release so much material for almost 30 years before playing his first ever live show completely unannounced at a pretty major avant festival 3000 miles from home (again, completely on his own terms). as for the gigs, i'd imagine he just didn't feel like playing live or never thought there was sufficient interest maybe. i reckon the first instal show was so well received that it encouraged him to do more shows. also, the documentary has probably had a lot to do with the raised interest levels over the past few years too i'd say and possibly paved the way for the live shows. i know i only really got into him after seeing it in the cork film fest a few years back anyway


you've probably already seen this but this page has almost everything you need to know about jandek (although it doesn't have his shoe size anywhere which i'm sure some people probably crave after) ... http://tisue.net/jandek/
you can also buy cds directly from him really cheap ... $8 each or $4 if you're ordering over 20. and for someone apparently so hell bent on anonymity (although the live shows have kinda blown that out of the water) he handles everything himself, albeit through a PO box. also, me and two mates went in on a box or 40 or so a while back. i partly guessed the postage would come to way more than the +10% for international orders so included a note to say just knock whatever off the order. he just forked out the extra $30 or so that the postage came to himself though. it's only a small example but he can't be making a mint from album sales by selling cds at €3.50 a pop. conclusion: jandek's a swell guy


ps. thanks aoife ... there's a good few people on here more knowledgeable than me about jandek though ... shaney, deserted village, ratmonkey, etc ... someone should get paul condon in here

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

i wonder was he planning the live thing for a while:

 

[JohnnyRaz]

i wonder was he planning the live thing for a while:

 

[love jones]

this is cool. a proper good music discussion on a discussion board. thanks for all the input.

Your right about the movie - it does raise more questions. But then when i found out about the live stuff i calmed down a bit.