[Jandek] modern Stances

[Jonathan Vincent]

I was at an art museum today, looking at some
challenging modern art, and wondering why
experimentation in art has always been so much more
accepted than experimentation in music. Is Pollock's
expression of pure feeling through random (but
carefully chosen) paint splotches any different from
Jandek's emotive random (but carefully chosen)string
plucking? Is it even possible to pick carefully and
feel random? 
                       SEVERAL RANDOM THINGS ON JANDEK
 
        I'm not so sure that pollock's stuff was that accepted in his
time. more like it was hyped as being weird and used to expoloit the
artist as some kind of fringe lunatic. not sure if it actually helped
his state of mind a lot. not sure how much it helped his pocketbook
either. maybe this is/was what our man is/was trying to avoid by staying
under the radar of all the critism and scrutiny that a major marketing
campaign(or even an indie release with ton's of fan boy mags)would
entail.
 
        As to the theory that our boy was around 18 when RFTH was
recorded. well according to "songs in the key of Z"  chusid writes
 
"Two weeks later, Sterling Smith called. He rambled in a halting
monotone. I asked questions; he gave oblique answers. He wouldn't
explain what he did for a living. He'd pressed one thousand copies of
Ready for the House--and sold two. He'd recorded enough material for ten
albums, and hoped to release them all. He'd written seven novels, but
after they'd been rejected by New York publishers, he'd burned all the
manuscripts."
 
This would have been two weeks after the 10/20/80 letter that was
written asking for clarification about what RFTH was supposed to be.
 
Now that is quite a bit of work for a twenty something year old to have
accomplished. seven novels. it could be he did it but if so he was even
more prolific as a novelist than as a recording artist. 
 
Now a question. does anyone on the list have access to the "Milstein
file' and if so would it be possible to put it's contents on mr. tissues
page? If there was communication from the man behind jandek. as I
understand it. most of it was contained there.
 
Now I will save my theories about the guy on the album covers not being
jandek but his obsession/lover/boy toy for later. 
 
I am sure I have angered enough people for this fine day.
I am seeing six organs of admittance tonight at a friends place. should
be a fine show.
                               
                               Peace
                                      jonathan
 
 
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