Jandek-mania!
Here's what I can tell you about Jandek.
Back in the late eighties, I was hanging out with my friends Pete and Evan at WBWC-FM, the radio station at Balbwin-Wallace College in Berea, OH. They had all these records by this guy in Houston, TX who put out these records and sent them out to radio stations. They called this music "the most bizarre and horrible music ever made", because it was just this guy playing a very out-of-tune guitar and singing over it, usually just as out of tune. Very unprofessional, very amateur. But not without its own strange charm.
Evan had a show late on Friday nights called The Avant Garde, and he decided to play one song per week from Jandek's catalogue that they had there at the station. He would always preference the event by saying that Laurie Anderson was the Queen. The Residents were the kings. But there is only one that is the GOD of the avant garde, and that is Jandek.
I sent a letter to the post office box that is Corwood industries, the label of Jandek, and I asked if any Jandek was available on compact disc. I received a reply: a photocopied catalog of the phonograph records (LPs) available at the time (at that time there were fifteen albums), and written on the back of the tiny envelope that the paper came in, were scrawled the words. "No cassette or compact".
That was 1988. This is 2004. There are now 38 albums in the Jandek catalog, with three released in this year alone and the most recent being last week. Believe it or not, this guy has quite a following!!!
An independent documentary film, JANDEK ON CORWOOD, is being released on DVD. Now comes the shocker of shockers: On the 17th of October, for the first time ever, it was confirmed that Jandek played in front of people at a music festival in Glasgow, Scotland. It was not announced before, during, or after. Of course, MP3s are floating around the net and usenet. Yep, I got 'em.
I've been threatening for years to order some of Jandek's music. I've now done it. I sent a check to Corwood and I will soon be receiving CDs of every one of Jandek's 38 albums. I will post my reviews here.
I have also made the decision to start releasing my music to the public, but not under my own name. I will post information about the CDs and free MP3s when they are made available. ENJOY.
P.S. Happy five months, Judy. ;-)
Back in the late eighties, I was hanging out with my friends Pete and Evan at WBWC-FM, the radio station at Balbwin-Wallace College in Berea, OH. They had all these records by this guy in Houston, TX who put out these records and sent them out to radio stations. They called this music "the most bizarre and horrible music ever made", because it was just this guy playing a very out-of-tune guitar and singing over it, usually just as out of tune. Very unprofessional, very amateur. But not without its own strange charm.
Evan had a show late on Friday nights called The Avant Garde, and he decided to play one song per week from Jandek's catalogue that they had there at the station. He would always preference the event by saying that Laurie Anderson was the Queen. The Residents were the kings. But there is only one that is the GOD of the avant garde, and that is Jandek.
I sent a letter to the post office box that is Corwood industries, the label of Jandek, and I asked if any Jandek was available on compact disc. I received a reply: a photocopied catalog of the phonograph records (LPs) available at the time (at that time there were fifteen albums), and written on the back of the tiny envelope that the paper came in, were scrawled the words. "No cassette or compact".
That was 1988. This is 2004. There are now 38 albums in the Jandek catalog, with three released in this year alone and the most recent being last week. Believe it or not, this guy has quite a following!!!
An independent documentary film, JANDEK ON CORWOOD, is being released on DVD. Now comes the shocker of shockers: On the 17th of October, for the first time ever, it was confirmed that Jandek played in front of people at a music festival in Glasgow, Scotland. It was not announced before, during, or after. Of course, MP3s are floating around the net and usenet. Yep, I got 'em.
I've been threatening for years to order some of Jandek's music. I've now done it. I sent a check to Corwood and I will soon be receiving CDs of every one of Jandek's 38 albums. I will post my reviews here.
I have also made the decision to start releasing my music to the public, but not under my own name. I will post information about the CDs and free MP3s when they are made available. ENJOY.
P.S. Happy five months, Judy. ;-)
posted by Bill @ 12:32 PM
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