[Jandek] Re: jandek Digest, Vol 55, Issue 276

[Aunt Acid]

I had to weigh in on this - I'm not going to try to pick any "weak link" Jandek albums, mostly because I haven't heard one yet that hasn't affected me in some way, but I felt the need to defend the late period albums a bit. To me (and this is just an objective opinion) they are much more difficult records than the earlier stuff, almost more bold and rich and undiluted...sort of like going to black coffee after drinking it with cream and sugar for years. It can be pretty dense and downright daunting to listen to (Shadow Of Leaves I feel is one of the lowest levels in the Corwood repertoire) but with me it's sort of like...if you can really really enjoy and comprehend what's happening on the earlier albums, then the late period is so site-specific that it's literally only rewarding to those really seasoned Jandek listeners. I don't exactly know what it would take to be a "seasoned Jandek listener" other than alot of repeated listening, but I get alot of
 evocative emotion from the later period stuff that the earlier records seem to lack in the way of maturity. 

Anyway, I guess what I am getting to here is this: to anyone with limited budget, I would not expect "hit" Jandek albums or "weak" Jandek albums - I don't think either exist. It all just "is". My best suggestion to anyone would be to find album covers or album titles that stir you in any way, and go with those. Usually the mental expectation of what a record with a name like "Interstellar Discussion" sounds like is pretty colorful, so by the time you get to listening, you're already there, if you know what I mean. 

>From a personal standpoint, I found it pretty hard to believe people here didn't like stuff like "I Threw You Away"...to me, there is no other Jandek record quite like that one. All the subtle phasing on the guitar, tons of bottom-of-a-well reverb, and a disgusting sounding almost inhuman moan from the man himself. What's not to love when he's fumbling around dissonant chords and yelping "BLACK BLACK BLACK BLACK BLAAAAACK"? Pretty standard fare, if you ask me!

Brian



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