[Jandek] Re: wfmu Jandek auction

[Ross Morris]

By the way, for anyone reading this list who's looking for an alternative starting point to Chusid's "Key of Z", the "Jandek On Corwood" DVD is in my opinion a great place to start.  The movie itself is a great, passionate work with lots of really good interviews, while the bonus features are incredible.  Definitely a much more respectful portrait of the Man from Corwood.
 
Ross
--- On Fri, 8/10/10, Jesus Knievel <knievelperu at hotmail.com> wrote:


From: Jesus Knievel <knievelperu at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Jandek] Re: wfmu Jandek auction
To: "Ross Morris" <rossmorris1 at yahoo.co.uk>
Cc: "Jandek List" <jandek at mylist.net>
Date: Friday, 8 October, 2010, 16:33



What I find offensive is comments such as:


"Imagine a microphone cabled down a month-old tomb capturing the subterranean munch of maggots nibbling a decaying corpse, counterpointed by the agonized howls of a departed soul desperate to escape tortuous decomposition and eternal boredom"


That does not describe Jandek's music at all in my opinion. Such sensationalism is irritates me because all it achieves is to keep Jandek in some category of freaks that Mr. Chusid has consigned him to. Jandek's work is not a joke and I think people should stop treating it as if it is one. I don't think Chusid wrote his book to spread the word about Jandek. He wrote it to make money. I think that once you handed over the money you spent on the book you've given him everything he's owed.


JK

Sent from my iPad

On 2010-10-08, at 7:15 AM, Ross Morris <rossmorris1 at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:









I wouldn't say I was offended by Chusid's chapter.  The guy's got one perspective on Jandek that I think is illegitimate, that, as Paul pointed out, has become increasingly redundant over time.  It's like the fable of the ugly duckling.  Jandek's worth is now being recognised by people all over the world, and it's no longer a useful way to look at Jandek's music.  Once again, that was particularly apparent with the Ottawa article which used the Chusid book as the source. 
 
His contribution to the dissemination of the music is significant, and the gifts sent are indicative of Corwood's appreciation.  I just personally don't like the disrespect shown here.  My opinion.  
 
Ross
___________________________________________________________________
Stephen wrote:

Maybe I need to reread the Jandek portion of Chusid's book, but I don't understand why you are all offended by this. Without Chusid, I would have never heard of Jandek and subsequently I would have never written a term paper on the artist in college. (I had a very hip American music prof who had once corresponded with Corwood and who I got to see the rep. with live in chapel hill!) 


Who cares that Irwin isn't a fan of the music? Does that make him any less important to the dissemination of Jandek? No, absolutely not. WFMU is an important radio station for fans and artists of independent and non-mainstream artists, a la Jandek, so any support of them should be praised. While these CDs have little value to Chusid, he recognizes they are valuable to others. Chusid is forever tied to Jandek, whether you like it or not. And this collection is a piece of Corwood history, probably even more so due to their falling out. 


I think what you're all losing sight of is that he could have just as easily thrown all of this into the garbage. It's absurd that people are peeved about his lack of sentimentality about these things, ESPECIALLY when it comes to an artist as polarizing as Jandek. Jandek records are either cherished or trashed; listeners of Jandek are not ambivalent. 


So, for Churid to recognize their value to this community -- and to benefit a good cause (a point which is almost irrelevant in this context) -- he should be commended. When cleaning out a basement it's much simpler to put things at the curb than it is to put them online for others to benefit, value, and enjoy. 


-Stephen


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