[Jandek] Purity

[Justin Bailey]

Okay, seems I misunderstood what Seth meant. If you
talk about purity in that sense, it's true (I need to
lower the sensitivity on my pretense-o-meter). His
first album wasn't encouraged by anyone. Though it's
significant to mention that his first ten albums were
recorded before 1980. So his first gesture to his
audience, if there was any, would have been on album
eleven. 

And, Jandek is excellent dish-doing music. 

/Justin 
--- djobe at uark.edu wrote:

> I don't think Seth is implying that Jandek's first
> album was "pure" because of when it was recorded,
> but rather because of its potential audience (and
> please Seth correct me if I'm wrong about this). 
> When that first album was released, it truly was
> into a vacuum - nobody knew who he was, or what to
> expect.  When 'Six and Six' came out there was an
> audience (however small) and Chusid was getting the
> gospel out to the six or seven people ready to hear
> it.  With each album sales increased (I assume) and
> a few fanzines, Spin and Option responded with
> pieces. Although the original batch of records may
> have all come from seventies era sessions, Jandek
> had to feel confident that somebody out there was
> listening.  
> This is how I understand Chusid's relationship to be
> important.  Without his boost, our "Representative"
> may not have felt courageous enough to drop the
> money on another thousand copies he wasn't gonna
> "move." Now that he knew there was somebody, he
> could press on.  I believe this is what has kept him
> going all this time, and that the reason he felt so
> "alive" may have something to do with the anonymous
> response of much of the crowd.  We've heard the
> sides of those in the know, or who came into the
> know, of what they were seeing. What about the "90%
> of the crowd" (to quote Gavin) who had no idea what
> was going on?  I think that's what boosted him - the
> idea that people could get into what he was doing
> with no expectations attached. How many Richard
> Youngs fans are walking around right now saying "I
> don't know who that guy Richard was jamming with
> was, but that was some wild stuff."  I think Jandek
> proved to himself that his appeal is broader than
> the "legend" and that the ri
> ght crowd of people might respond positively based
> only on what they heard, without all the "mystery"
> attached. In this sense, one could almost see this
> gig as being the first "pure" experience since
> Corwood's only recording artist was called The
> Units.  This leaves me more curious than ever to see
> what will happen next.
> 
> Also, here's another question to ponder: under what
> title will this live recording be released under? 
> Jandek?  Jandek Live?  Jandek w/ Richard Youngs and
> Alex N? The Representative from Corwood live at
> Instal? Will Richard and Alex be credited at all? (I
> hope I'm getting the drummers name clost to right
> -it's late) These are the questions bopping around
> my mind.
> 
> gotta admit, when I did the dishes tonight, I got a
> kick out of it.  LOVE these recordings!  
> 
> ponder ponder,
> 
> Danen
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Bradleybee <bradleybee at yahoo.com>
> Date: Friday, October 22, 2004 2:18 pm
> Subject: Re: [Jandek] 1st album only "pure" one
> 
> > In this case, pure is not used just as a
> qualitative word but as
> > a description.  A 'pure' album is one that is less
> affected by
> > outside influences.  For instance, early DEVO demo
> tracks would
> > be considered 'very pure,' because they were
> produced entirely
> > by the band, whereas the album "Q: Are We Not Men?
> A: We Are
> > Devo!" would be considered 'less pure' because of
> the outside
> > infuence of the record's producer, Brian Eno.  By
> saying the
> > demos are more pure, you are not actually saying
> they are
> > better.  You're not saying they're worse, either.
> > 
> > Also keep in mind that if you can't really compare
> the 'purity'
> > of Jandek recordings to those of other recording
> artists.  In
> > this case, the purity of Jandek's recordings would
> compare much
> > closer with my a-capella vocal performance in the
> shower this
> > morning  :)
> > 
> > --- Justin Bailey <alfredggnome at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > 
> > > Any discussion of "purity" in terms of whether
> some
> > > albums are more or less Jandek just ends up
> being an
> > > out-hipping competition, like "I have to
> separate
> > > myself from these new fans jumping on the
> bandwagon,
> > > so I'll say I like Jandek on some higher level."
> > > Frankly, it just seems pretentious and silly to
> me.
> > > Perhaps it's the nature of Jandek that lets
> people get
> > > away with saying this crap. If someone were
> making the
> > > same sort of assertion on a Guns 'n Roses list,
> that,
> > > say "Appetite for Destruction" is more pure than
> "Use
> > > Your Illusion" everyone would just call the
> person an
> > > jerk.
> > > 
> > > /Justin
> > > --- Dave Parent <dave9199 at lycos.com> wrote:
> > > 
> > > > I disagree with this comment made by Seth, I
> think.
> > > > Because in Sterling Smith's response to
> Chusid's
> > > > letter in 1980, he says he has at least 10
> more
> > > > albums & wants to release them all. That would
> make
> > > > the first 11 albums "pure" which is up to
> Foreign
> > > > Keys. I, myself, think their all pure anyway.
> > > > 
> > > > -- 
> > > >
> _______________________________________________
> > > > Find what you are looking for with the Lycos
> Yellow
> > > > Pages
> > > >
> > >
> >
>
http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.asp?SRC=lycos10
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > >
> _______________________________________________
> > > > jandek mailing list
> > > > jandek at mylist.net
> > > > http://mylist.net/listinfo/jandek
> > > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > >         	
> > > _______________________________
> > > Do you Yahoo!?
> > > Declare Yourself - Register online to vote
> today!
> > > http://vote.yahoo.com
> > > 
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > jandek mailing list
> > > jandek at mylist.net
> > > http://mylist.net/listinfo/jandek
> > > 
> > 
> > 
> > =====
> > http://www.geocities.com/bradleybee
> > 
> > Free mp3s:
> > http://www.geocities.com/bradleybee/bohdimp3.html
> > 
> > 
> >        	
> > _______________________________
> > Do you Yahoo!?
> > Declare Yourself - Register online to vote today!
> > http://vote.yahoo.com
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
> > jandek mailing list
> > jandek at mylist.net
> > http://mylist.net/listinfo/jandek
> > 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> jandek mailing list
> jandek at mylist.net
> http://mylist.net/listinfo/jandek
> 



		
_______________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Declare Yourself - Register online to vote today!
http://vote.yahoo.com