[Jandek] Jandek Survey

[Glenn Becker]

/Are you male or female?/

Male. Ostensibly.

/How old are you?/

44.

/What part of the world do you come from?/

Brooklyn, NY, USA. Grew up in Cincinnati, OH.

/How did you get into Jandek? What is your 'story'?/

My ex brother-in-law was I believe the first person I heard mention Jandek 
- or perhaps it was the cartoonist Scott Bateman, who is a friend of my 
ex-wife. It could also have been that one day I was floating around Seth 
Tisue's website, actually because of the now-defunct Plaster Cramp Press 
stuff (I requested and got a whole bunch of stuff) and ran across the 
material on Jandek. I don't remember. Now that I have heard Jandek it 
seems like I first became aware of his voice when I was five years old, 
when on a family vacation we had passed through Kadoka, South Dakota and 
ran into the tail end of a very nasty tornado. I think it was Jandek who 
was tossing bales of hay through the air. But I'm not sure.

/How do you define being a Jandek fan?/

Part of it is feeling like you are outside.

/Do you consider yourself a Jandek fan?/

Sure.

/Why did you join the mailing list?/

I needed another bulwark in my probably-false sense of community.

/How often do you post?/

This is my first.

/Do you use the digest format?/

No.

/What do your friends and family think about Jandek?/

Those who are aware of him think he and his music are terrifying. I find 
this hysterically funny.

/What do they think about you listening to Jandek?/

I'd guess they'd think it was "typical."

/To what extent does the 'myth of Jandek' - the mystery surrounding his 
identity - appeal to you?/

It appeals to me very much. It is interesting to encounter someone who 
obviously has a need to communicate and some real substance, but for whom 
the public act of communication is either impossible or so fraught with 
complications that s/he has to find another way to get the work done.

In 1978/9 I made the Great Life Mistake of encountering the world 
of theatre, discovering that girls dug me more when I acted and 
consequently becoming hypnotized or drugged (or something) and 
jettisoning everything I cared about for the sake of pleasing other 
people. You can probably tell from my mere choice of words how I now feel 
about this choice and how it all worked out.

I don't think Jandek has contempt for his audience.

/Have you ever tried to contact Corwood Industries or Sterling Smith for 
reasons other than placing an order?/

I wrote a small note on my first (and so far only) order to the effect 
that I hoped he was having a good time playing live.

/What is your perception of other Jandek fans?/

I don't really have one.

/Why do you like Jandek?/

He just makes sense to me. I really didn't find his music difficult at 
all. It made complete sense to me. And the imagery of his words is often 
quite wonderful, very fresh and beautiful.

/How often do you listen to Jandek?/

I don't guess it's "often," but when I am feeling a sense of disconnection 
from the world, feeling as though nothing makes any sense and that people 
are looking more and more like pre-programmed want-robots, I listen to 
Jandek. He cuts through a lot of stuff.

/What other music do you listen to?/

Lots! Sun Ra, John Fahey, J.S. Bach, Can, Bardo Pond, Beethoven, oldie 
blues (Charley Patton, Barbecue Bob, Son House, etc) ... lots and lots and 
lots more.

/Is there anything I have not asked that you would like to tell me?/

I'm an astronomer and a poet. I love the outdoors. I love cats. I totalled 
my car last weekend, which means I won't be able to get out and stargaze 
or go hiking. So things are very bad right now. Finances are bad. I don't 
have many friends. How are you?

+-----------------------------------------------------+
Dr. Glenn Becker - burningc at sdf.lonestar.org
SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.lonestar.org
+-----------------------------------------------------+