[Jandek] Vocalist and guitarist

[Larry Tremblay]

I don't think Jandek is a joke at all. He predates the
Internet and the hyper-world we live in today, so he's
definitely not a *reation* to this milieu. I hear honesty
in his music -- unforced and uncontrived (unlike say,
99% of music today).

To my heart and ears, Jandek is an antidote to today's
lack of originality and honesty. Even if Jandek is a
collaboration, it's a very consistent one. And I love
it.

my two cents
- larry

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ross Em" <indiejanglefunkterrorist at yahoo.co.uk>
To: <jandek at mylist.net>
Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2004 4:58 PM
Subject: [Jandek] Vocalist and guitarist


> I've wondered about this a lot...  I'd love to think
> Jandek was one man, but I'd say the overwhelming
> evidence would say that Jandek is a collective or
> band, possibly drawn out of the vision of one/two
> people.  Whatever, at the end of the day it doesnt
> make a lot of difference who Jandek is.  What they've
> stuck together, whoever they are and for whatever
> reason, is music that for some reason or another
> touches us in some way.  In a deeply personal way.
> Its music that sings to us in a way that music
> previously hasn't...  (or to a more limited extent.)
> The music is dark, secret, special and is as
> individual to every person who hears it and falls in
> love with it.  And I know for a fact I'm not
> "pretentious" (I'm referring to the Cobain quote).
> I've got no-one to be pretentious to.  I'd go further
> to say that any Nirvana fan who thought that Kurt
> Cobain had something would take one listen to Jandek
> and "get" why people are interested in him.  Cobain
> sung from his fucking battered heart about things he
> didn't really understand that were happening to him...
>  His voice was of the gut-wrenching "Yara" school,
> pouring absolutely everything into the music.  Jandek
> does exactly the same.  They make music that addresses
> the same pains and uncertainties, the loneliness and
> darkness that Cobain had.
>
> But on the other hand, suppose Jandek's just a joke.
> Taking the mickey.  One great big elaborate wheeze to
> fool the oh-so-cool internet brigade.
> In truth this doesn't concern me.  The records stand
> alone from the internet and are now a part of me, not
> simply a product of one man.  They have my ideas about
> what the songs are and they reflect moments since I
> got into his music.  I would imagine this is the case
> with a lot of you...  This thinking always reminds me
> of "Hunting Venus" the excellent TV movie starring
> Neil Morrisey and Martin Clunes, in which a band get
> back together and the Keyboard player
> Charlie/Charlotte (Neil Morrisey) finds out their
> biggest hit was not about "a new hope" at all, but
> about masturbating...  You should check it out...  I
> digress...  Jandek's not a joke, and if he is it isn't
> funny...
> Although I don't have a great deal of Jandek stuff,
> the truth is his music is of a nature that it speaks
> so clearly that once you've heard it its quite hard to
> ignore it...  Whether Jandek is a joke, or one man or
> a collective is, in my view a minor detail in what is
> an exemplary body of work.
> Take care dudes,
> Ross
>
> =====
> vacant/beyond/comparison
> "second best or nothing at all"
> forthcoming gigs : LOS DESTRUCTOS support slots MONDAY 16th FEBRUARY,
Jasper's, (now called ROCKERS) Glasgow...
> vacant hate mail : write to this address to get on the list...
>
>
>
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