Customer Reviews

JANDEK - JANDEK ON CORWOOD

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For those of you who don't know, Jandek is an atonal folk-musician based out of Houston, Texas. He has released 38 albums (to date) since "Ready for the House" (credited to The Units) was released in 1978. Despite this prolific output, he has only conducted one formal interview, has not allowed any photographs to be taken of him aside from those that appear on his album covers, and has never performed live [see note at end of review]. His music is very far from being accessible, so most people are not likely to be interested in this musical enigma. But for those who are, this documentary sheds some light--but mainly speculates--on the artist, his intentions, his neuroses, his lyrics and his music.

This documentary features of series of interviews with music critics who have reviewed his work, praised his work, and contains interviews with the few people who have actually come into personal contact with Jandek. The most noteworthy inclusion on the DVD is the full-length interview--the only one Jandek has ever allowed--granted to a writer in 1985.

Much of the commentary by the critics here is interesting, noting the fascination a small but devoted base of fans has to his recordings. That being said, the flow of the documentary is quite lethargic at times, especially in the last half-hour (where it seems as if the film is wrapping up continually, even though there is still 30 minutes left), where many of the facts and assessments of Jandek's life and work are recapitulated with somnolent precision. Also, many critics speculate on his potential insanity, which is just sheer sensationalism. It's clear from his output and his media (or, lack thereof) representation that he is a very calculating artist who has shrewdly created a fascinating persona ... if he is crazy, he's crazy like a fox.

The bonus features include excerpts from his last five albums. [Note: Jandek broke his hermitage and performed a concert at the Instal.04 Festival in Glasgow on October 17, 2004. According to Seth Tisue's Jandek website, the initial reaction was one of disappointment, but that is probably owing to ridiculously high expectations.]

You get to see this invisible man emerge by way of the very few people who have glimpsed, seen, or spoken to him. Somewhere in the history and mystery of Houston, Texas there is this fellow, who alone and with companions has made a large body of some of the most willfully uncommercial and purely personal music ever recorded. He's only spoken to a couple people in his career (I'm one of them), and only done one interview, but has become a legend and inspired a couple tribute albums and this very watchable and respectful film. This successfully captures the singular Jandek vibe, as it unfolds like the mystery story that it ultimately is. Despite my admitted lack of objectivity, I found this one of the rare music related films that worked as a film, as well as it did an exploration of the artist.

The work of Sterling Smith, aka Jandek, the reclusive representative from Corwood Industries, is sadly miscast as "outsider art." This disc's positive elements stem mostly from the quality and consistency of Jandek's recordings over time; the soundtrack is strong. Unfortunately the endless line of talking heads act to its detriment; mostly scribblers with varying degrees of talent, literacy and knowledge of their field wax on about the purported mysteries of the man. Byron Coley stands out as entertaining and concise, with less tendency to myth-build; overall though, the sense of the work veers towards self-parody. The foolish practice of American rock journalists taking themselves far too seriously is the disc's main trope. I half-expected Anthony DeCurtis and Lou O'Neill Jr. to enter with prissy cameos damning the Texan's efforts.

Which is specious right off the bat since most of the commentators should know better. Jandek's main touchstone is Blind Willie Johnson's wordless masterpiece "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" from the late 1920's. Johnson was active in Beaumont, not far from Jandek's home base of Houston, and the company reissuing his works is named Yazoo ("river of death") after the legendary Mississippi waterway. Obviously there is much more going on in Jandek's albums, but the haunting, echo-drenched illusion of formlessness and sense of despair stems from here. Jandek is perfectly lucid in the one recorded interview with John Trubee; his main characteristic seems to be reticence.

Then again the whole notion of "outsider art" is facile, if not outright evil. Is there some gradient with which to weigh "errant" creativity? A checklist for disabilities? "This singer has Tourette's, that one has Epstein-Barr's, this one has OCD, that one's a homeless amputee"...there is something patently offensive about that. Four decades ago, Angus Maclise was "out there;" Hermann Nitsch was, and remains "out there." Jandek is a compelling and idiosyncratic songwriter, whose brand of lonesome bedroom blues is particularly distilled.

I wonder if the goofy pundits @ Spin and Option and RS would ever admit one possibility: that Mr. Smith listened to Hendrix and Zeppelin just like every other teenager in the 70's before establishing his own idiom. American rock critics prefer to minimize the impact of pop culture, to play down its homogenizing effects, which is what makes music like Jandek's seem more outre than it is. They also do it a disservice by marginalizing it with simplistic reductions and emphasizing, ad nauseum, the anecdotal negative reactions of their peers. So what? Shut up and listen.

So this is a documentary on the character that is Jandek, and for those that are unaware, Jandek is one of the most mysterious figures in music and has been for about the last 30 years.
The details of his life are barely known, kind of like his actual name, and somehow this man produces some of the weirdest, mostly atonal music every heard. Somehow Jandek has the ability to make every album sound like a suicide note.
As for the movie, it is a good documentary of the few people that has confirmed interviews with the man and about his music in general. If you are interested in the artist, then this movie is well worth picking up. Also it is good for modern music historians as well as a small chronical of his work and influence.
Check it out.

A great documentary for Jandek fans, although I don't think many who are not familiar with his music would appreciate this work. The bulk of the movie is interviews with music critics, but a surprise telephone interview with the eccentric and reclusive artist at the film's end answers some crucial questions. But the most important question is: do we really want to know anything about Jandek or do we want the mystery to continue? Sometimes knowledge lessens the allure.

Documentary attempts to lift the veil on mysterious, unknown musician, Jandek, who has been steadily producing and distributing his own beatnik meets acid freak music for decades. The only evidence of his identity is a P.O. Box scribed on his self-owned, crudely generic record label, Corwood Records. The film mirrors Jandek's successful self promotion, be it genius or simply sincere, by painting an eerie, enticing picture while infatuated talking heads, (record geeks, rock and roll writers, and a reserved, trustworthy, radio icon, Dr. Demento), speculate on his identity and music. The genuinely creepy, yet hollow and mundane images of Jandek and his environment, from his K-Mart Photo Booth-like album covers, along with the strange stream of unconsciousness music, (definitely an acquired taste, like drinking gasoline is an acquired taste), creates an undeniably frightening unknown. The payoff is a telephone interview in which Jandek reveals himself as a normal, yet private and protective guy, whose dumbfounded silence, when asked a simple question, (a very funny scene), is indicative to the limits of his playful madness. This documentary has pushed this admirable artist, who you become fond of as you watch the film, into the mainstream. Some of his albums are now sold here at Amazon, courtesy of Corwood Records, the Willy Wonka of record factories.

This is a documentary about a reclusive musician that lives out on the farthest edges of the fringe between genius and madness. The strangeness of this musician is way too in depth for me to get into here, which is why you should get the movie and find out for yourself. Whether you love or hate his music, you will find the story intriguing , and well shot. I bought this movie just to show it to other friends and spread the good word, it has made me a Jandek fan, probably for life. Kudos.

This documentary is now a part of the art of Jandek, whether you like it or not. Whether you like Jandek or not. By continuing to make music since 1978 to the present day, without allowing the outside world to know anything at all about him, Jandek creates his own mystery, his own story by allowing others to project themselves on to him. Add to that the rabid, adjective addicted, Lester Bangs 2nd generation of music critics who opine for anything to mythologize ... and you have a rock legend. The documentary gives you as much Jandek as you could can have, which is not very much. The entertainment is to be found in the lack of information, which merely encourages everyone to spin wild theories about Jandek. The more insane he is (he must be, right) the better. The documentary is also an example of negative space, because very few actual facts are presented. It asks one question: is art intention or interpretation? In Jandek's case, we only have interpretation.

I watched this movie with a friend and laughed all the way through it. It was the most perfect spoof of "indie rock" imaginable. The movie is so ridiculously repetitive, like the music of Jandek, that my friend eventually insisted on turning it off. I was the only person he had watched it with who hadn't demanded him to turn it off. I honestly thought all of the people being interviewed were acting. How could they all say such unintentionally hilarious things? Even after seeing all of these albums listed on Amazon, I am still having a really difficult time believing that this whole thing isn't a joke.