Message-Id: <199907151907.OAA12438@midway.uchicago.edu> Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 14:14:06 -0500 To: jandek@cs.nwu.edu From: Ben Evans Subject: a query Cc: ted@dragking.org Greetings Jandek fans, This is my first posting to this list so please forgive me if this subject has already been beaten to death. Does anyone know of covers of Jandek's material? Has a tribute album to Jandek ever been discussed? I think a tribute album along the lines of the Neil YOung tribute album "The Bridge" which included Sonic Youth, Psychic TV, Victoria Williams etc. or the Shonen Knife tribute, "Every band has a Shonen Knife who loves them", or the excellent Sun Ra tribute, "Wavelength Infinity" which just cam eout on Rastascan Records would be very cool. Another avenue which could be very cool would be a tribute album by a single group or musician along the lines of John Zorn and company's tribute to Ornette Coleman, "Spy vs Spy". Of course something like this might be more difficult to pull of with a minimalist like Jandek. I think even a single artist might want to take different approaches on different songs. Let me know what you think. Maybe only Jandek can play Jandek music. -Ben Evans b-evans@uchicago.edu Message-ID: <19990715195249.3477.rocketmail@web115.yahoomail.com> Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 19:52:49 +0000 (GMT) From: brad emrich Subject: Re: a query To: jandek list I have heard one cover: "The Charalambades" doing "variant" from the "Blue Corpse"LP. Female vocals with acoustic guitar, percussion, and an electric guitar playing big crashing fuzzy chords with long sustain. A very pretty version. There is info on other covers on Seth's jandek site. As far as a tribute album goes, Jandek's music is so unique that songs could be re-arranged in any style. for instance: a jazz quartet playing "I'll sit alone and think a lot about you," Eric Clapton playing "Bitter tale," John Spencer Blues Explosion playing "Time and Space," Sarah McLachlan singing "I passed by the building." Johnny Cash could pull off alot of Jandek's songs. Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 14:37:40 -0600 (MDT) From: Dickinson Thomas W To: brad emrich cc: jandek list Subject: Re: a query In-Reply-To: <19990715195249.3477.rocketmail@web115.yahoomail.com> Message-ID: Another cover I'm aware of is on a single by Dump (solo project of James McNew, Yo La Tengo's bass player) from about 4 years ago. If I could just remember the title ... +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Tom Dickinson (303)545-5503 email: Thomas.Dickinson@colorado.edu website: http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~dickintw Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 14:44:38 -0600 (MDT) From: Dickinson Thomas W To: Dickinson Thomas W cc: brad emrich , jandek list Subject: Re: a query In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Sorry, I just looked up the title - it was "License to Kill" from The Living End lp. The single was on Eighteen Wheeler and was all covers - also had a Silver Apples song and a couple of others +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Tom Dickinson (303)545-5503 email: Thomas.Dickinson@colorado.edu website: http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~dickintw Message-Id: <199907200250.VAA29168@mail.jump.net> Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 21:47:52 -0500 Subject: Jandek Exposed From: "Susan Elizabeth Shepard" To: jandek@cs.nwu.edu Imagine my shock at opening this month's Texas Monthly to find the headline "Jandek and Me." It's by Katy Vine (if that is a real name) and I wanna know if she's subscribing to or affiliated with the mailing list. The article details her search for Jandek and it's a fine piece of work. So as far as that "has anyone been in touch with Jandek?" question from a few weeks back, not to mention the years of curiosity most of us have experienced, here it is with quotes and all. Or maybe it's just a prank. Texas Monthly's website is at http://www.texasmonthly.com but as of today they don't have the August issue up yet so I don't know if this article will even be online, but I'm sure one of you will post a copy or something. Anyhow, Katy Vine, awesome job. No matter what the circumstances or truth, it was so worth it to see Jandek finally given the editorial run he deserves in TM. Message-Id: <199907201855.NAA16571@midway.uchicago.edu> Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999 14:02:39 -0500 To: "Susan Elizabeth Shepard" From: Ben Evans Subject: Re:Exposed In-Reply-To: <199907200250.VAA29168@mail.jump.net> Susan, Thanks for writing in about the Texas Monthly article. Does Ms. Vine claim to have found Jandek? Part of me hopes not (although the other part hopes yes). Jandek is one of the great mysteries of American popular culture. If he is unmasked he will loose much of his power. It would be like giving Sampson a hair cut. You say the article includes quotes. Does this mean she has not only tracked him down, but interviewed him? This may precipitate a real crisis in the world of Jandek's fans. Since 1978 Jandek has maintained total silence. He has been the one consistency in an inconsistent world. He has stood like a boulder against the shifting tides of lesser mortals' petty quests for glory. How can he let us down like this? How? How? -Ben Message-Id: <199907202043.PAA07010@midway.uchicago.edu> Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999 15:50:09 -0500 To: jandek@cs.nwu.edu From: Ben Evans Subject: Fwd: Re: Ranch Feedback Form >From: jbroders@texasmonthly.emmis.com >Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999 16:05:23 -0500 >Subject: Re: Ranch Feedback Form > >The piece on Jandek is in our Aug. 99 issue. The entire issue can be >purchased for $6.50; just the story on him for $2.50. Send a check or >money order to TEXAS MONTHLY, Attn: Back Issues, P.O. Box 1569, Austin, TX >78767-1569. Thank you. Message-ID: <19990721021551.51385.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "chrislyn carter" To: jandek@cs.nwu.edu Subject: Re:Texas Monthly article Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999 21:15:50 CDT I got the Texas Monthly at a grocery store about 2 a.m Tuesday morning. Katy Vine (who incidentally lives in TX) says in the article: "I found the person I believe is Jandek...". She claims to have gone to a residence (the type of which is not specified i.e. apartment, house, condominium etc.), rang a door bell, and met a man "who looked like a late thirties version of the youth on the record covers". He is well dressed and formal. They go to a bar where they meet up with 3 of his friends who are also well dressed. Over beer, they discuss various topics mostly "food, gardening, and allergies". There are a few (one or two line) direct quotes from this man, like the succint "there's nothing to get" in reply to the question "so do you want people to get it?". He is described as having a white collar job, liking movies including The Matrix, and having travelled quite a bit to "big and small cities all over the U.S., Mexico, and Europe". He also stated that he never wanted to be contacted in person about the subject again. Don't want to spoil all of the surprises for you (or perhaps many of you have already seen the issue) so I'll leave it at that. Don't want to be too contentious either, but I'm not sure what I think about the quality of the article or the fact that it got published. Incidentally, this is my first post. Hello. C Carter Message-Id: Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 18:40:36 -0600 To: jandek@cs.nwu.edu From: Ian Kasley Subject: Re:Texas Monthly article At 9:15 PM -0500 7/20/99, chrislyn carter wrote: >I got the Texas Monthly at a grocery store about 2 a.m Tuesday morning. Katy >Vine (who incidentally lives in TX) says in the article: "I found the person >I believe is Jandek...". She claims to have gone to a residence (the type of >which is not specified i.e. apartment, house, condominium etc.), rang a door she was "Ready for the House!" get it? no? erm, uh.. sorry, i'm drunk right now. >bell, and met a man "who looked like a late thirties version of the youth on >the record covers". He is well dressed and formal. They go to a bar where >they meet up with 3 of his friends who are also well dressed. Over beer, >they discuss various topics mostly "food, gardening, and allergies". There i've always strongly felt that the majority of Jandek's songs are about these exact topics. but then again, i'm drunk right now. but actually, that might be something to investigate... like there's that line in "Your Other Man" off of Blue Corpse that says "gimme a fork, eat some potato". and there are lots of references to "rocks" and "sand", and in "River To Madrid" he professes, "I was meant to have a garden". dunno about allergies. i'll have to get back to you on that one. >are a few (one or two line) direct quotes from this man, like the succint >"there's nothing to get" in reply to the question "so do you want people to >get it?". He is described as having a white collar job, liking movies hmm. Sterling M. Smith's biopage states, "I currently work for Compaq Computer Corporation in Houston, Texas." http://home.earthlink.net/~sylver/biopage.html >Incidentally, this is my first post. Hello. >C Carter howdy. i've asked my folks to pick up a copy of Texas Monthly and send it to me. i'll scan and/or type the article up and post it somewhere when i get it. unless someone else does it first. in which case, i'll proably take a nap. more RealAudio and mp3 files eventually. (the current stuff is up at http://r0et.misterweb.com/jandek for anyone who missed it. if the server is working....) i'm gearing up to move so things are kinda' hectic right now, but i might have a chance to squirt out another album or two's worth of stuff before i depart Chicago. BTW, as i'll likely be going back to Houston before i arrive at my final destination, if there's anything Jandek-related i should try and investigate and/or photograph while i'm there, drop me a line and let me know, i'll see if i can work it into my schedule. /ian Message-ID: <19990722030707.7374.rocketmail@send205.yahoomail.com> Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 23:07:07 -0400 (EDT) From: brad emrich Subject: Re:Texas Monthly article To: jandek list I just read the Texas Monthly article, and thought it was interesting but not incredible. It starts with a general introduction, for people who have never heard of Jandek, with a kind of "on the surface" description of a "typical" Jandek song. I did a search on Katy Vine on their website and found quite a few articles written by her, so evidently she is a staff writer for the magazine. There was a little information about Jandek and his music, and the interview portion of the article consisted of three half-answered questions, but the article is mainly about the authors experiences in searching for and eventually finding him. I'm not going to scan the article and put it up on my website: for one thing the author seemed to put a bit of effort into the article, and I would not feel right stealing her work three days after it was published! Also, the article doesn't reveal anything new about Jandek's music; it's more about the Katy Vine than Jandek. If they put it up on the Texas Monthly website, then great. I put the Coley article on my site because it is about ten years old and it works on it's own as beautiful prose. It's cool that Ian put up the MP3 files, since the tracks are from out of print albums and the sound quality qualifies them as "good enough until you can find the actual LPs." Printing the lyrics on Seth's website isn't stealing the actual songs. For the person lamenting on the list yesterday that Jandek is now selling out, be assired that Jandek will not be doing any press tours or pictorials for fashion magazines his current lifetime. The only disconcerting thing about the article was Seth being quoted as saying "His guitar is out of tune and he can't sing." Jandek is an awesome singer! His voice is more soulfull than 95% of music played regularly on the radio!!! Message-Id: <199907221433.JAA16546@midway.uchicago.edu> Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 09:40:34 -0500 To: jandek@cs.nwu.edu From: Ben Evans Subject: Re:Compaq Computer Corporation In-Reply-To: At 06:40 PM 7/21/99 -0600, Ian Kasley wrote: >hmm. Sterling M. Smith's biopage states, "I currently work for Compaq >Computer Corporation in Houston, Texas." >http://home.earthlink.net/~sylver/biopage.html Ian, I am impressed that there really is a Sterling Smith in Houston with a web page. But the man pictured here does not resemble the "Jandek" from the album photos(specifically the cover of "the living end") in any convincing detail. His brow is not as prominent, his face isn't as long, his nose isn't as large and his chin is wider. I have been to a "training seminar" at the Compaq HQ. They claimed that our blood would run Pantone 151 or whatever by the time we left and that we would be converted to Compaq true believers. I couldn't picture Jandek there. I just couldn't. For me Jandek should be a research librarian or high school social science teacher, or if he works with computers he should be a systems admin for the University of Texas or something. -Ben From: NCR13@aol.com Message-ID: <10c74d1f.24c88a2c@aol.com> Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 10:52:28 EDT Subject: Re: Texas Monthly article To: jandek@cs.nwu.edu > The only disconcerting thing about the article was Seth being quoted as > saying "His guitar is out of tune and he can't sing." She should've used Tower Records' Pulse magazine's description: a"mumbling sleepwalker strumming an out-of-tune tennis racket". Jandek watching the Matrix??? Message-ID: <19990722185914.25537.rocketmail@web4.rocketmail.com> Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 11:59:14 -0700 (PDT) From: Danen Jobe Subject: Re: Jandek Exposed To: jandek@cs.nwu.edu Thought anyone who didn't know should know that the interview is on the web. I found it interesting, and a bit revealing... think on it this way, how interesting is it for Jandek to remain a complete enigma? After a while, you have to offer a little bit of something. but not toomuch. Somehow, I can definitely see this quote coming from Jandek: "He had obviously thought about the difference between himself and his alter ego and agonized over its logic. This was what he came up with to clarify his point: "You're a journalist, but you grow snap beans."" yeah, definitely. I also agree that the Sterling Smith guy isn't him (the one at Compaq) but maybe a hint is given earlier in the article? read it, you'll know what i mean. Janky's still clanky, Danen Jobe Message-ID: <19990726144531.15837.qmail@cs.nwu.edu> To: jandek@cs.nwu.edu Subject: Re: Texas Monthly article From: Seth Tisue In-reply-to: Your message of "Wed, 21 Jul 1999 23:07:07 EDT." <19990722030707.7374.rocketmail@send205.yahoomail.com> Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 09:45:30 -0500 >>>>> "Brad" == brad emrich writes: Brad> The Brad> only disconcerting thing about the article was Seth being Brad> quoted as saying "His guitar is out of tune and he can't sing." Brad> Jandek is an awesome singer! His voice is more soulfull than Brad> 95% of music played regularly on the radio!!! Hey, I agree. But you know what I mean, right? If you mentally put quotes around "sing", does that help? Some of my favorite vocalists can't "sing", == Seth Tisue http://www.cs.nwu.edu/~tisue/ "Some satisfactions are permanent." (from Two-Lane Blacktop) From: Garyiep@aol.com Message-ID: Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 11:48:16 EDT Subject: Re: Texas Monthly article To: s-tisue@nwu.edu, jandek@cs.nwu.edu I've collected most of the Jandek stuff i could find....since finding his stuff in the bins at the FM station i used to work at, and i liked it, but some of the comments made by people in this newsgroup are posted as if this guy were the best musician ever to grab a guitar.....i played his stuff for my friends and a lot of them consider it a joke....i played a cut off his very first album and a cut off of his last one, and you know, there is not much difference at all....it's almost as if they guy were releasing the same album every year... as for his guitar playing, he sounds like my nephew. One thing for sure though, Jandek music is best when picking up a hitchhiker (play the "Real You" for your passenger and watch 'em squirm!!")... I think it is the mystique of the person that makes people put him on such a high pedestal. I ask myself what a true Jandek fan must be like and i believe they are probably either suicidal or very depressed..... Message-Id: In-Reply-To: Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 12:08:18 -0400 To: jandek@cs.nwu.edu From: Maurice Rickard Subject: Re: fans (was: Texas Monthly article) At 11:48 AM -0400 7/26/99, Garyiep@aol.com wrote: >i played a cut off his >very first album and a cut off of his last one, and you know, there is not >much difference at all....it's almost as if they guy were releasing the same >album every year... There are some pretty amazing differences in between, though. The first Jandek albums I picked up were "Blue Corpse" and "You Walk Alone," both of which have some pretty assertive playing, guitar in tune, identifiable licks, the whole bit. It is interesting, though, that he seems to have gone through a development period, into a certain level of accomplishment (we are talking Jandek here, of course), and then *turned back* to the point where, yeah, his new stuff does sound like the old stuff. But it's not the same all the way through. >as for his guitar playing, he sounds like my nephew. One thing for sure >though, Jandek music is best when picking up a hitchhiker (play the "Real >You" for your passenger and watch 'em squirm!!")... Y'know, this has never occurred to me. Pretty ingenious! >I think it is the mystique of the person that makes people put him on such a >high pedestal. I ask myself what a true Jandek fan must be like and i >believe they are probably either suicidal or very depressed..... Speaking for myself, I'd say neither. I do derive a great deal of enjoyment listening to Jandek's music, though. Sure, I first appreciated the "incredibly strange music" vibe of his songs at first, but there's enough of substance to keep me listening. I think what I'm getting out of it is not too far from what people get out of early acoustic blues--a spirited articulation of the conditions of living: hardship, confusion, misery, and ecstasy. With my opinions and $5, of course, you could get a mocha latte at the coffee megachain. Maurice Rickard | "Multimedia will never go anywhere Designer | until the amateurs take over." http://www.envirolink.org/maurice | --David Thomas Message-ID: From: Shawn Sutherland To: "'jandek@cs.nwu.edu'" Subject: Texas Monthly Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 11:13:36 -0500 I'm sure that by now everyone is aware of the fact that there's an article on Jandek in the current issue of Texas Monthly magazine...? Message-Id: <199907261623.LAA28801@midway.uchicago.edu> Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 11:30:55 -0500 To: jandek@cs.nwu.edu From: Ben Evans Subject: Re: the true Jandek fan At 11:48 AM 7/26/99 -0400, Garyiep wrote: >I think it is the mystique of the person that makes people put him on such a >high pedestal. I ask myself what a true Jandek fan must be like and i >believe they are probably either suicidal or very depressed..... I consider myself "a true Jandek fan" because I enjoy listening to his music and because I find the whole story of Jandek fascinating. Perhaps I enjoy his music because there is no human being connected with it, only a barely sketched out fiction onto which I can project my fantasies. In other words, maybe Jandek appeals because we can all imagine who he is without being contradicted by who he really is. For example I also enjoy the music of Charles Gayle(the NYC saxophonist), but I was put off by the politics of the real life Charles Gayle who is apparently a born-again, pro-life, male chauvinist(despite many admirable qualities). There is no danger of that occuring with Jandek. Also, I love the idea that he is creating his music as a means of expression, not a means to self importance or financial rewards. I am relived that he cancelled his appearance at Woodstock '99(rumor has it he didn't want to interrupt his vacation at Point Judith). And I have to say the guy deserves props for sticking to his guns for twenty years. He is an example to us all of integrity and stamina. Plus I like his music, which for some might be the bottom line, but for me is the icing on the cake. I can appreciate that Jandek intends for his music to sound the way it does. And I enjoy listening to it. I think I am probably depressed sometimes, but it's not debilitating, just an acute awareness of reality....;) I have had the same experience you describe playing so much music for other people who don't share my tastes: some examples which come to mind are Boredoms, Truman's Water, Miles Davis, Frontier, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Demo Moe, The Haters, The Scissor Girls, ad infinitum.... Cheers, Ben Ewens www.dragking.org Message-Id: <1.5.4.32.19990727001127.0074c938@pop.ihug.co.nz> Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 12:11:27 +1200 To: jandek@cs.nwu.edu From: Hamish Noonan Subject: Texas Monthly article Apologies if someone has already posted this, but heres the URL: http://www.texasmonthly.com/mag/1999/aug/jandek.html ================================================================== High Tension House email: hiatus@ihug.co.nz PO Box 6283 webpage: http://unearth.octopig.org.nz/hth/ Dunedin telephone: (03)477-4058 New Zealand ================================================================== Message-ID: <19990727010929.13285.rocketmail@web122.yahoomail.com> Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 21:09:29 -0400 (EDT) From: brad emrich Subject: Re: Texas Monthly article To: jandek list --- Garyiep@aol.com wrote: > some of the comments made by people in this > newsgroup are posted as if this > guy were the best musician ever to grab a > guitar..... There are two reasons why I think he is one of the best musicians to ever grab a guitar: 1-Jandek has the integrity to not sell out! He does not allow the sin of greed to affect his art. You could possibly compare this to Neil Young: Neil sues people who steal his songs for TV commercials! Neil allows the listener safety, to open ears, minds, hearts, to receive the emotions expressed freely and unconditional. With Neil Young, you are safe in that you can allow his song "Old Man (take a look at my life)" to affect you and touch your heart, and you can be certain that you will not hear it used next week as background music for a geritol commercial. 2-Some of his songs make me cry. Some make me crack up. Some make my heart rate increase and the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Shania Twain's "from this moment on" might make you shed a tear. However, the writer of this song is using musical tricks and cliches to achieve this response. Jandek music is bullshit-free. >i played his stuff for > my friends and a lot of them consider it a joke.... None of my friends can stand his music... > as for his guitar playing, he sounds like my nephew. Listen to "I'm Ready" from "On the way" >I ask myself what a true Jandek fan > must be like and i > believe they are probably either suicidal or very > depressed..... No Comment :) From: NCR13@aol.com Message-ID: <7a906c2.24d21fce@aol.com> Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 17:21:18 EDT Subject: He can play, damn it!/bass question To: jandek@cs.nwu.edu > > as for his guitar playing, he sounds like my nephew. > Listen to "I'm Ready" from "On the way" That is a great example...I just got my copy about a week ago and have played that song over and over (though I am not yet suicidal, sorry to say). I think he CAN play guitar quite well, it's just that he doesn't want/need to. Check out the John Fahey stylings of "I Know You Well" off Follow Your Footsteps. That is not amateur guitar playing by any means. But back to On the Way..I noticed the song "Sadie" features vocals, guitar, drums, AND an electric bass as well. I can't recall any other Jandek song with a bass in it (though I have only heard the LPs from '86-present). Are there others? On the cover of Follow Your Footsteps he's holding a bass...perhaps this explains why he shys away from playing chords? Message-ID: <7F78FC5A30A3D21195F90090272ABD0DDD301D@timcmortgage.com> From: "Ronsen, Josh" To: "'jandek@cs.nwu.edu'" Subject: RE: He can play, damn it!/bass question Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 17:28:42 -0500 >On the cover of Follow Your Footsteps he's holding a >bass...perhaps this explains why he shys away from playing chords? I think that is a "stratocaster" type 6-string guitar. But note how the picture is masterfully cropted as to leave out the manufacturer's name! The man is a genius at obscurity, among other things. -Josh Ronsen http://www.nd.org/jronsen Message-ID: <19990729224458.22657.rocketmail@web606.mail.yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 15:44:58 -0700 (PDT) From: ryan hildebrand Subject: bass answer To: jandek@cs.nwu.edu judging by the size of the tuning pegs and strings, i'd say that it is a bass in the young man's hands on the cover of 'follow your footsteps.' to answer the earlier question re: bass on jandek recordings, i think i hear bass on the 'chair beside a window' version of 'european jewel,' and maybe elsewhere on that same album(?). for this reason, i always imagined that the picture on 'follow your footsteps' is of jandek, or whoever, in the 'chair beside a window' era. Message-ID: <19990731154124.8760.qmail@cs.nwu.edu> Subject: Point To: jandek@cs.nwu.edu From: Seth Tisue Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 10:41:23 -0500 ------- Forwarded Message To: Bandura520@aol.com Subject: Re: Money From: Seth Tisue In-reply-to: Your message of "Thu, 29 Jul 1999 15:45:33 EDT." <7c64249d.24d2095d@aol.com> Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 15:12:51 -0500 >>>>> "Bandura520" == Bandura520 writes: Bandura520> Seth, Yes, I'll hang on. hopefully, sis will come Bandura520> through,though. Hey, what's your take on the Jandek Bandura520> article in the Texas monthly? I have my suspicious that Bandura520> the whole thing was a fabrication. Take Care, Oleh I think it's real. I don't have a logical argument to offer, but... Ms. Vine interviewed me by phone, and a fact checker from the magazine called me back later to check the quotes. I can easily believe that it was possible to track the guy down via detective work using public records and so forth, especially for someone who works for a real magazine. Ms. Vine obviously knows the records at least somewhat -- this was clear from speaking to her as well. When I spoke with her she asked me if there was any way she could get to hear some of the older albums and when I offered to mail her my tapes of his whole output she got genuinely excited. So she's not just a non-fan opportunist, not that that's conclusive proof it's not fake. The remarks she attributes to Jandek ring true in my book, although it sounds like he's a little better off than I would have expected, but heck, look at the cover of Somebody in the Snow, that's a stylish looking man! Looks like he tore the photo out of the JC Penney catalog! And the Christian references on the records led me to expect someone relatively conventional in *some* ways, although again, well-dressed white collar professional was not what I was picturing there. He's always been so generous in terms of selling his records for cheap and giving them away for free that clearly he's not poor. I'm not surprised at all to find out he's not a total hermit; given all the different musicians who play on the records, and the references to different cities and so forth, it's always been clear that he knew people & got out some. And I don't know, the whole thing just doesn't sound like something someone would make up. What about it makes you suspicious? == Seth Tisue http://www.cs.nwu.edu/~tisue/ "Some satisfactions are permanent." (from Two-Lane Blacktop) ------- End of Forwarded Message Message-ID: <19990731154411.9200.qmail@cs.nwu.edu> Subject: Counterpoint To: jandek@cs.nwu.edu From: Seth Tisue Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 10:44:10 -0500 ------- Forwarded Message From: Bandura520@aol.com Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 11:18:25 EDT Subject: Fwd: Hugo Ball's To The Wall To: s-tisue@nwu.edu Seth, I posted this on FallNet in reference to the Jandek article. Ah well, maybe I'm overly skeptical. Oleh From: Bandura520@aol.com Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 00:46:02 EDT Subject: Hugo Ball's To The Wall To: fall@freedonia.com The Jandek article is fascinating, but I can't shake the feeling that the whole thing may have been fabricated: financially successful and seemingly so well integrated in his professional life as a suit, yet he takes great pains--great pains-- to assist the interviewer into referring to him in the third person, throws around a few psychotic tidbits, and is otherwise so nervously protective but yet so dismissive of the mystery that is Jandek? And he's not putting her on? No, that doesn't seem to be the case. And yes, I suppose that such a compartmentalization of professional and private spheres of one's life isn't so odd, but the jig is up--he's been outted, and the interviewer seems so willing to keep his private life private, anyway. So then why would he pesist in fucking with her and in such a bizarre way. Oh, because he's supposedly a former philosophy student? Because he sells like a hundred records and doesn't care who or what listens to him, or even care if they listen to him at all? I'm tempted to think that what you have here is a bunch of Jandekisms that the author thinks would fit in nicely to further his myth, rather than an encounter with the genuine article. And if not the case, then maybe Jandek does care--or else has a very long and running joke on all his fans. And note how convenient for covering her ass: no, he hasn't really admitted to actually being Jandek, has he? And I find it fishy that she decides to check this ONE LAST address(of course she can't reveal the source who has provided her with potential Jandek residential addresses--strange because up to that point no one had even given her so much as a whiff of Jandek being in the general vicinity)and,lo and behold--it's Jandek...or is it? I would have had less doubt about this one had she outted Jandek as a bag boy in a supermarket, heavilly spaced on resperidol. That one is much more believable. Oleh moanin at midnight ------- End of Forwarded Message From: Virgielder@aol.com Message-ID: <2fca3e3b.24d49d94@aol.com> Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 14:42:28 EDT Subject: Re: Counterpoint To: s-tisue@nwu.edu, jandek@cs.nwu.edu I've had my doubts as to whether this article is genuine or not, although I haven't read the article and am not in the best position to judge it. My feeling is that Jandek, regardless of what he actually is like and does for a living, is someone who is excellent at manipulating people's perceptions of him and his music, and I would be surprised if he didn't throw this woman a few red herrings in order to create even more of a mystique about him or his work. I mean, he knows that admissions such as liking The Matrix and pop culture is going to throw his fans for a total loop. Jandek's persona is always going to exist largely of what his fans would like to attach to it. --Tim