It’s art, but is it pretty?

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Since the 2003 release of the documentary, Jandek on Corwood, a lot has transpired between the enigmatic subject and the public — namely live concert appearances. For those who’ve seen the fascinating film by Paul Fehler and Chad Freidrichs, this is nothing short of a revelation. As Seth Tisue puts it on his Jandek appreciation site, “Everybody knows one thing about Jandek, that no one knows anything about Jandek. There is nothing but the music.”

    With forty-three albums (and counting) to his credit, Jandek — once aptly described as “the J.D. Salinger of music” — is the most prolific and least heard recording artist of the last twenty-eight years. Following Ready for the House, the 1978 debut, he’s produced an average of two albums a year, a startling feat that shows no sign of remission. (In 2005, there were no less than four Jandek albums.) Other than Dr. Dimento, radio DJs don’t play his songs. In fact, other than Dr. Dimento, I’d wager that most radio DJs have never even heard of him.

Is this Jandek? Maybe.

    Therefore, who is Jandek…what kind of music are we talking about…and where do I hear it or buy it? are all valid questions, with only the second half of the last one easily answered. Jandek is represented by the very independent Corwood Industries. You can write to them at P.O. Box 15375, Houston TX 77220. There isn’t a website or an e-mail address or a phone number or a fax number. But you can click here to check out a facsimile of their catalog of Jandek titles.

    His work derives purely from artistic impulse. It would be convenient to pigeonhole him in with someone like the post-Pink Floyd Syd Barrett (as if there actually were someone like the post-Pink Floyd Syd Barrett)…convenient but not honest. And honesty, together with modesty and morality, are stepping stones to the heart of Jandek’s work. Fehler’s and Freidrichs’s remarkable movie is a fine (and recommended) introduction to an artist unwilling to sacrifice his principles or privacy.

Jandek on Corwood official movie site.

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