[Jandek] "Lesser" Jandek?

[Amy Frushour Kelly]

How well I remember the old days of the list! And for the record, "A Kingdom
He Likes" is understated, elegant, and repeated listens got me through a
really rough period in my life.

Cheers,
Amy Frushour Kelly

On Wed, May 12, 2010 at 12:35 PM, Danen Jobe <danen1970 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Once upon a time (many moons so blue ago), this is what the Jandek list was
> like. A few of us on here will remember this: when I joined the list in
> 1998, there was no documentary or Katy Vine interview or tours or books (ah
> hem, looks at self in mirror) or anything like that, there was just
> discussion about the discography. In fact, at first, there was only
> discussion of a discography that didn't EXIST anymore - at that time "The
> Beginning" was only about to come out and the reissues hadn't started, and
> yet nearly everyone had at least HEARD most everything, had collected at
> least a good chunk of the vinyl and was ready to throw down about it. Sorry
> to get nostalgic, 'cause I sure don't miss the part of this list that was
> all cult-y and into "I saw Jandek baggin' groceries at Safeway down in
> Houston. I gave him a dollar tip." Seriously, part of it was like that. But
> I miss the discussion of albums and this is the first post I've seen in a
> LONG LONG time to do this, so forgive me for being a bit nostalgic.
>
> Anyway, when you have as many albums as our man does, inevitably some rise
> to the top and others get forgotten. "Living in a Moon So Blue" used to not
> be quite as canonized (the favor has always - and still does - go to "Chair
> Beside a Window" which sorta starts this bluesy sound, coming off the more
> folky opening trio) and many seemed to feel that you could skip a lot of
> these early numbers and skip ahead to "Interstellar Discussion". What a
> shame. I've always loved "Cellophane" (and "Moon" as well) since this
> captures best the BLUES GUY Jandek, the lone player with an obsession on
> guys like Son House and Charley Patton but who plays music that only
> distantly sounds like that. I've always thought Jandek was more about rhythm
> than melody (that's why it works, see, the rhythm IS the melody) and I love
> how these albums have these short songs with crazy ideas. Is one much like
> the other? Sure, but he doesn't make music like this anymore so I'll take
> all of it I can get.
>
> Same with "New Town," which had just come out when I joined the list and
> whose lyrics were the first I ever transcribed for the site. At the time,
> the "down" feelings came from the idea that he might just make this album
> forever. But he didn't, and he hasn't sounded like that for some time. After
> "The Beginning" that phase ended, and I'm now hoping for an assessment of
> such forgotten records as "The Place" or "A Kingdom He Likes." I spent time
> a few weeks ago with the latter, and it's aged well, better than I would've
> thought. Some real emotions on that one. Are any of these "top shelf" albums
> that one would recommend for beginners? Probably not. We've had that
> commentary before, made lists of the faves (the first four, the first three
> concerts, the first three "second acoustic phase" a couple of the band
> albums, probably "Portland Thursday" and "The Myth of Blue Icicles" now).
> How about the seconds? How about the batch you get out when the first batch
> is done? I think "Cellophane" and "New Town" are terrific examples of this,
> as is "Kingdom." While I'm at it, I'll nominate "Glasgow Friday" for an
> overlooked live set and "Somebody in the Snow" for an album that seems
> always bi-passed by "The Living End." Is the former the better album? Sure
> it is, easily in my top 5 Jandek's ever. But "Snow" deserves another look,
> and that's what this suggestion is about. What do you guys think? "Camber
> Sands?" "Not Hunting for Meaning?" "Nine Thirty," "I Woke Up?" Give it a go.
>
> Danen
>
> On Tue, May 11, 2010 at 11:06 AM, Brendan Stewart <
> brendankifostewart at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I may be mistaken, but it's my understanding that staring at the
>> cellophane is one of Jandek's least favored albums. Although some reviews
>> say otherwise, it seems that living in a moon so blue is considered
>> somewhat of a classic in his whole discography, and it seems that SATC is
>> mostly the same kind of material (well, more like very little of it is
>> different), yet it's completely neglected. What's up with that?
>>
>> I was thinking, yea, okay, it could be the whole release date thing. It's
>> too similar to stuff that was before it, so it gets ignored when it comes
>> out and is then doomed to just sort of get looked over. Same thing
>> happened with new town. Is this :actually: an unfavored album (SATC)? Or
>> is it just something people put off?
>>
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