[Jandek] pre-order DVD arrived 11/10

[Bill S.]

Thanks to Paul for the information about marketing the DVD. 
My copy arrived yesterday, Wednesday 11/10/04, and I found the film to be
a fascinating and beautiful experience. The non-interview visuals were well-chosen, and
photographed in such a way as to be the perfect visual complement to the Jandek music playing on the soundtrack--and, by the way, the selection and editing of the Jandek music on the soundtrack was masterful. The film itself is an extension of the Jandek aesthetic--you could say that Jandek has found the most sympathetic collaborators in the filmmakers. While most everyone on this list is probably already seriously interested in Jandek, I think that the film could make his music and his aesthetic somewhat accessible to a wider audience.
On the other hand, the interview sections of the film provided a fascinating study of
myth-making and of the ways in which people attempt to make sense of non-representational (the term Byron Coley uses in the film) art, art that is outside of any established tradition, even the "tradition" of the avant-garde. And another fascinating side of the interviews was the way some people appropriate Jandek's "product" for their own personal agendas or even use him and/or his work to fill voids in their own lives.
The pacing of the film keeps the viewer riveted, while the last ten minutes achieve a kind of climax that is satisfying, yet mysterious and ambiguous just like the film's subject.
I haven't made my way through all the DVD extras yet (there's a commentary by the filmmakers you can listen to while watching the film, for instance), but I did watch the 30+ minute analysis of EVERY Jandek album cover in order. That in itself was almost worth the cost of the DVD.
It's probably a given that everyone on this list will buy a copy of the DVD, but we should also tell our friends as the film would be fascinating to anyone with a serious interest in the arts.
I'll try to post a review somewhere in the next week or two to spread the word about the film.
 
Bill Shute
San Antonio, Texas

			
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