RFI: Jandek

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This is another dude I read about in Songs in the Key of Z; To someone like myself -- who has a yen for moody "maudlin rubbish" that gives other people the creeps -- he sounds fascinating. But I can't find his CDs anywhere. If theres anyone amongst you who has any info on Jandek, this is the thread to disseminate the propoganda.
You can also use this thread as a Search and Destroy/Classic or Dud/Say Something Interesting Thread.

― Lord Custos 2.0 beta, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

A Guide to Jandek is very very useful, especially the album-by-album guide. Jandek's label Corwood does not have an official web presence, but a fan occasionally scans the catalogues and puts them up at www.corwood.com. They're cheap, too: $8 apiece, or I think $80 for a box of 20.

I own 12 or 15 of his records, and am occasionally in the very weird mood it takes to want to listen to them. Probably the best starting point is the first one, Ready for the House, where he lays out a lot of his basic themes and approach. "Nancy Sings" on Chair Beside a Window is actually pretty in a fragile cloistered folk-revival way. Opinions vary on his three most recent albums, the "a cappella/ dictaphone" ones, but I like "Killer Cats in the Caribbean" on the second one. I'm told that Telegraph Melts is his best, but I haven't heard it.

― Douglas, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Search for Corwood Industries on the web: there's also a v. good discography site run by the guys who also do the Jim O'Rourke discog, a true feat of anal exactitude.

If you send Jandek $80.00 bucks or so c/o Corwood he'll send you a massive box of discs and be yr friend for life. Alternatively, Forced Exposure stock all his in-print albs - cheap too.

― Andrew L, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

we of course have not one guide but two or three

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Thanks Tracer. (I used the search, but it only pointed me to threads where he was mentioned rather than threads that were about him.)
So, Tracer, I gather that he's a "Dud" and a "Destroy" to you?
Anybody else have any opinions?

― Lord Custos 2.0 beta, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

but i LIKE techno (and the parts of belle and sebastian that sound like jandek)!!

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

you can get the CDs quite easily from Forced Exposure mail order I believe, $7 each:

http://www.forcedexposure.com/welcome.html

― g, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Songs in the Key of ZZZZZ: Dud.
You can't go wrong with Jandek though.

― nathalie, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I was able to pull a song called "They All Called Me a Fool" off of WinMX. Ummmmm. Is sounds like a demo version of very early smashing pumpkins but the guitarist sounds like he's wearing a boxing glove. But the sound is crisp. Thats always good.

― Lord Custos 2.0 beta, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

My favourite is still Blue Corpse, but I'm coming around to the earlier stuff, and I haven't really heard much of what's not on CD, excepting The Living End and Lost Cause, which are both rather good too.

I once sat through the entirety of one of the accapella CDs. It was quite an experience.

― electric sound of jim, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

five months pass...

I can't find any of his stuff, will someone make me a, err... mix?

― david h (david h), Saturday, 26 October 2002 15:40 (twenty-two years ago)

david- you can buy his stuff through a website (something which i don't do myself but you might). can't remember which but there was a wire review of some of his reissues (couple of months back) and the info is there.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Saturday, 26 October 2002 18:08 (twenty-two years ago)

um, all the info is on this thread.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Saturday, 26 October 2002 18:09 (twenty-two years ago)

yeh, but I don't have access to internet buying ways and was relying on some kind ilxer... dumff... i never get mixes.

― david h (david h), Saturday, 26 October 2002 18:51 (twenty-two years ago)

That's because we hate you, David H. ;-)

I have about...what, fifteen of the albums, I guess. I might be able to make something for you, get in touch.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 26 October 2002 20:47 (twenty-two years ago)

you can buy a bunch of his albums at http://aquariusrecords.org and they even have a bunch of real audio listening clips

― JasonD, Saturday, 26 October 2002 21:02 (twenty-two years ago)

very nice article douglas.

but can i just say that Katy Vine (the journo who tracks down jandek and has a beer with him! for the article follow the link douglas gives) is the love of my life right now. good stuff!

hopefully i'll get to hear him someday.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Sunday, 27 October 2002 17:34 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd love to make a mix but at the moment I don't have the time. Start with Blue Corpse and work your way out either side from there.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Sunday, 27 October 2002 23:20 (twenty-two years ago)

he has very good album covers

― 24 hr troubleshooters (doorag), Monday, 28 October 2002 07:27 (twenty-two years ago)

two years pass...

I love Jandek.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 5 August 2005 23:53 (twenty years ago)

four years pass...

I've heard Jandek's guitar described as 'out of tune' on many occasions. After fiddling around a bit, I'm pretty sure that may not exactly be true, at least not all the time. 'De-tuned' would prolly be more accurate, but even beyond that, it sounds to me like some of the things (particularly on Six & Six, which I was listening to while experimenting) are in an open diminished tuning of some sort. It also sounds like this diminished chord is achieved by tuning everything slack/down so that the strings are loose & have that odd "bowwwmmm" sound strings tend to get when they're very loose. Just a kooky sonic observation.

― ImprovSpirit, Friday, 25 June 2010 19:08 (fifteen years ago)

...then again sometimes it sounds like he just plays in whatever state the guitar's in when he picks it up.

Also, in recent years he has used a fretless guitar, which makes for some unusual tones.

― ImprovSpirit, Tuesday, 29 June 2010 16:26 (fifteen years ago)

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