[Jandek] Buy 'em all

[John Libby]

My 2c on it, as a newbie (and as a newbie I mean 2 years or so listening to
Jandek).  Is that you definitely don't have to start off with everything.  I
bought the 20 disc deal about 2 years ago, and I am still not done digesting
the material.  I would just suggest starting off with 20 discs, be sure to
get something from every period and instrumentation in the catalog.  There
are no wrong choices here, in my opinion, but everything these guys have
been saying has been on track.  But 20 albums in my opinion is enough to
keep you busy for quite some time.

If I was to choose, I would get Ready for the House, Six and Six, Chair
Beside a window, The Rocks Crumble, Telegraph Melts, Blue Corpse, White Box
Requiem, The Beginning, The Gone Wait (this one doesn't seemed to get
mentioned much on this listserv?), Glasgow Sunday.  There's more, that's off
the top of my head, and I haven't even heard it all yet (I'm saving the rest
for later).

Anyway, that's another way to go about it, I've enjoyed it so far.  Have
fun!

On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 2:40 PM, Mark Cottle <mark at airburst.co.uk> wrote:

> I guess there are different types of fans. You don't have to own
> everything to be one. I suppose the very nature of the Jandek
> phenomenon means there's a certain type of fandom where it's
> important to get every release. What I mean is that for a long time
> the records were all there was and if you wanted to try to figure out
> what the heck it was all about then pretty much the only way to do so
> was to follow the releases and get some sense of how his output was
> evolving and look for themes that occur repeatedly. However, if
> you're less concerned about Jandek as a puzzle and/or you don't feel
> completist urges then it's still possible to be a fan by finding
> stuff you like and just listening to that. And, frankly, not everyone
> can afford to buy that many CDs and DVDs, even with discounts.
>
> Personally, there are significant parts of his output that I really
> don't like but I don't think this fact detracts from the stuff I do
> like and I don't think it makes him any less interesting - I'd like
> to think I respect him for what he is. I started out by buying 'Chair
> Beside a Window', 'Lost Cause', 'Glad To Get Away' and the DVD of
> 'Glasgow Sunday' - largely on the basis of what I'd read. 'Chair...'
> and 'Lost Cause' as representative of the "early" period; 'Glad...'
> as an early example of the "late" period and 'Glasgow...' because of
> its significance as his initial venture into live playing. Having
> heard various further stuff I feel these weren't bad choices,
> although I'm less enamoured of 'Lost Cause' than the other two CDs.
>
> I'd be interested on thoughts about which of the other live shows are
> worth listening to. (As a longtime fan of The Stooges and also of
> many SST bands I've been curious about the shows with Mike Watt. But
> I'm not necessarily after amped up discord and I could be equally
> into something much quiter and more ambient if the sound structure
> was interesting.)
>
> I guess it's worth mentioning that my interest in Jandek is skewed by
> a couple of factors: (1) Because experimenting with guitar sounds is
> part of my own music making I have a particular curiosity about his
> guitar playing and I'm less drawn to his work with other instruments
> (although I'm still interested in it). (2) When I listen to music the
> aspect that most often has an impact on me is something to do with
> overall sound - Iyrics alone really don't do a lot for me - so I'm
> not so interested in the spoken word albums (I don't write them off
> but I don't think they'll ever be something I could get really into).
>
>
>
>
> On 16 Jan 2011 at 18:51, ANDRU REEVE wrote:
>
> >
> > I personally think that any fan of Jandek (aka, The Rep) should own
> > every CD and every DVD extant.  However, if you are just going to
> > dip your toe in the water, I've already given you a representative
> > list of 20 CDs to start with, so I won't be redundant.  However, I
> > have to agree with Danen that CHAIR BESIDE A WINDOW and TELEGRAPH
> > MELTS are stronger CDs to start with than ROCK CRUMBLES.  Also worth
> > putting at the top of your list is ON THE WAY and THE BEGINNING,
> > which are among the more "conventional" releases, and may help the
> > uninitiated listener ease their way into The Rep's world.
> >
> > GLASGOW SUNDAY is a great release, both on CD and DVD, so you might
> > want to add that to your first 20 picks (and, please don't pass up
> > the incredible deal from Corwood for 20 or more items at once.
> > Corwood even picks up the tab for shipping!)   Truth be told, if
> > you're really a fan, everything is worth hearing eventually.  So,
> > again, welcome Ed.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2011 10:27:46 -0700
> > Subject: Re: [Jandek] Thank you all so much
> > From: danen1970 at gmail.com
> > To: jandek at mylist.net
> >
> >
> > As someone who has studied this catalog inside and out over the past
> > several years, I'd probably try to steer you towards "Telegraph
> > Melts" or "Chair Beside a Window" above "Rocks Crumble." It is cool
> > to have the vinyl, but you might consider saving yourself a few
> > bucks and getting the excellent Jackpot re-releases of the first few
> > records if that's your thing. Corwood doesn't sell them, but Jackpot
> > does and I believe they have reprinted at least the first two -
> > honestly, I haven't kept up with that. For spoken word, I would
> > start with "Worthless Recluse" which has some of the most darkly
> > humorous tracks the artist has ever recorded and remains my favorite
> > of the batch. Don't overlook later releases either, and for
> > listening purposes I'd start with "Newcastle Sunday" over "Glasgow
> > Sunday. Next to that, perhaps the bluesy burn of "Glasgow Friday" or
> > the spooky keyboards of the Manhattan or Toronto sets. All of those
> > I find consistently excellent. As for "Glasgow Sunday", PLEASE do
> > yourself a favor and grab it on DVD. The opening of the set, where
> > the Rep is getting ready to play, well I can't explain it. Look at
> > his face at these moments and you see the uncertainty. Then watch it
> > as they keep playing, as word gets around as to who it was
> > (remember, the show was anonymous!), as you watch these fears fade.
> > This, to me, is critical to the show and is something you just can't
> > get with the CD alone.
> >
> > I have some things to say about Chicago but I've been so busy I
> > haven't had time for it. Maybe later today. I'd love to get a
> > discussion going about that one, it's interesting, especially
> > lyrically. I can remember being at that show and we were all
> > stupified as to the jail lyrics as well as to the atmosphere.
> > Curiously, this may also be one for DVD - it's hard for me to
> > separate this show from the crazy "festival goers" surrounding the
> > artist and his obvious struggles with the sound system. Anyway, more
> > later.
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 11:01 PM, Ed Saunders
> > <esaundersfx at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > I am very happy to see the genuinely nice responses from everyone
> > here.  It definitely takes the sting off of the ridicule I have
> > been receiving from friends and family hhhahahahah.  I am going to
> > buy some of the cds soon.  I will get "The Rocks Crumble", "Blue
> > Corpse" and probably "Put My Dream on This Planet".  Just seems
> > right.  I have read about how barely anyone likes those spoken word
> > albums, but I am ready to be put to the test.  I might even pick up
> > some vinyl off of ebay.  The prices are high, but I think it might
> > be better to hear them in the original way.  Does anyone here know
> > anyone that has all the records?
> >
> >
> > Thank you all again for the comfort.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > jandek mailing list
> > jandek at mylist.net
> > http://mylist.net/listinfo/jandek
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________ jandek mailing list
> > jandek at mylist.net http://mylist.net/listinfo/jandek
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> jandek mailing list
> jandek at mylist.net
> http://mylist.net/listinfo/jandek
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mylist.net/archives/jandek/attachments/20110118/0cd5f0d4/attachment.htm