[Jandek] Re: Re: Bright Eyes

[Daniel Marks]

It's difficult to define "emo", though. In its
broadest definition, it would be any song that has a
depressing theme, marked by certain vocal inflections
and guitar riffs that seem to permeate all of its
mutations. Or, you might want to take the narrower
definition, emo is hardcore punk played slower and
with broken heart lyrics instead of anarchist anthems.
The real definition must be somewhere in between. The
funny thing about the emo community is that most of
them refuse to admit that they or their music are part
of it. It's everyone else. Bright Eyes definitely has
emo tendencies, but there's no "14 year old girls
only" stamp on it, heh heh. 

Jandek, of course, has probably never heard emo, but I
don't think it would be rediculous (from the
perspective of that 14 year old girl or someone like
her) to perceive an album like "Ready for the House"
as a (really) warped emo record (even if it was made
eight years before the genre was created). Jandek's
definitely got the whine down. I think some of the
more musically adventurous emo-kids would like early
period Jandek a lot. The theme of suburban isolation
expressed through his lyrics and pictures of random,
nameless houses speak to that teenage angst crowd very
well, whether or not he intended it. At least, it did
to me.

Of course, in the end Jandek defies attempts at genre.
Except for the blues records in the middle period
albums, he has created his own type of music, for
which we should all thank him.

D.M.
--- Ross Em <indiejanglefunkterrorist at yahoo.co.uk>
wrote:
> Guess my musical taste must be that of a 14 year old
> female then?  Jandek's clearly for more discerning
> listeners...
> :)
> Oh dear.  People are funny.  To the more child-like
> amongst you : You should definitely try to hear
> Bright
> Eyes, they're not an "emo" band...  I grew up
> listening to punk rock for the last ten years,
> (proper
> punk rock, not yr American rubbish) and I think
> Conor
> Oberst is a genius.  
> They're really great and I'd seriously recommend
> them,
> their lyrics are great and they've done a lot to get
> more people interested in Jandek...  *Maybe you
> don't
> want that, though* 
> Worth a thought,
> Take care dudes.
> Ross
> 
> =====
> Have you ever heard of Jandek?
> 
> http://tisue.net/jandek
> 
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