[Jandek] Music theory and... tabs!

[James Schneider]

I don't mean to be a dick, but I'm pretty sure that posting Jandek
guitar tabs would be absurd. I hate to assume, but I think that for a
lot of people a big part of the appeal is that not only does he sound
very much like anything you've heard before, but also that he sounds
quite unlike anything you're likely to ever hear again. If I ever,
ever heard some punter trying to do a note for note from sheet music
or tabs on Painted My Teeth or something at an unplugged night, I'd be
really, really disappointed. I'm not trying to say that you're evil
for accidentally coming across European Jewel on your guitar. That's
cool, and you can play it and make it your own. But don't you think
that a big part of Jandek is the individualism? The fact that you play
it differently than he does in all likelihood? And that anyone else
who figured out a version of it would play it differently from you? I
realize that posting some Jandek tabs would not create a nation of
teenagers playing "Smells Like Teen Spirit", but the idea of it just
bugs me. Just some thoughts, feel free to disagree.

Ta,
James