Jandek
Jandek is Jandek. No one, in the history of underground music sounds remotely like him although many artists have admitted to having been influenced by him: Kurt Cobain, Beck, David Michael of Current 93 are but a few. People who hear him for the first time can't be blamed for thinking they could emulate the sound with a guitar in their hands (and usually they'll try and prove it and make a fool out of themselves in the process). He does sound amateurish. There are no chords; most of the time all you'll hear is open-strings being plucked or strummed without any specific attention to melody. The few songs where you can actually make out a rhythm to tap your feet at are rare and scattered. Sometimes you can recognize some blues or rock'n'roll forms in the songs, but they are always at an almost tribal level and when other musicians join in, the racket only gets wilder and more chaotic.
Jandek does not sing; he recites, yells, howls, screams, whispers or rants, but never sings. His voice is in perfect (dis)harmony with the noise that serves as atmosphere for his stream-of-consciousness lyrics. Some believe they are insights into his personal life, an open book exposing a very naked Jandek. Who's to say when the artist purposefully stayed out of the public eye for over twenty-five years and only recently made his first live appearance? A lot of the fascination people have for him comes from just this. Over the years, Jandek had become a mystery, and who doesn't love a good mystery. Clues were being left through song, countless albums with peculiar cover art, a frenetic release schedule and, of course, his own cryptic Corwood Industries record label. No one knew who he was or could communicate with him. There were records of people trying and some say they've met him, but there has never been any confirmation. And even now, with his first public appearances, questions are still left unanswered and no one knows if Jandek won't just disappear off the map once again.
This makes Jandek the person into someone quite interesting and some of this charm rubs off on the music. I don't know if it would be appreciated as much without it. By itself, the music has a limited range due to it's amateurish execution. The extreme strangeness and obvious passion Jandek has for what he does is the only explanation I can give as to why some people are drawn to listen. I myself discovered Jandek through my love of the strange and different. After hearing just a few songs from downloading and seeing a couple of album covers (which I think are wonderful), I decided to order the whole Jandek discography directly from Corwood Industries (this was after the release of The End Of It All). The staff at my favorite music store in Montreal are also partly responsible for having sparked my curiosity. Whatever it is, I'm really glad Jandek's music came into my life and his forty-plus CDs hold a special place in my collection.


Ready For The HouseLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1978 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0739 |
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Six And SixLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1981 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0740 |
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Later OnLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1981 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0741 |
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Chair Beside A WindowLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1982 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0742 |
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Living In A Moon So BlueLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1982 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0743 |
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Staring At The CellophaneLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1982 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0744 |
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Your Turn To FallLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1982 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0745 |
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The Rocks CrumbleLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1983 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0746 |
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Interstellar DiscussionLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1984 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0747 |
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Nine-ThirtyLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1985 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0748 |
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Foreign KeysLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1985 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0749 |
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Telegraph MeltsLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1986 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0750 |
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Follow Your FootstepsLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1986 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0751 |
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Modern DancesLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1987 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0752 |
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Blue CorpseLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1987 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0753 |
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You Walk AloneLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1988 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0754 |
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On The WayLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1988 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0755 |
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The Living EndLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1989 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0756 |
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Somebody In The SnowLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1990 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0757 |
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One Foot In The NorthLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1991 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0758 |
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Lost CauseLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1992 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0759 |
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Twelfth ApostleLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1993 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0760 |
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Graven ImageLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1994 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0761 |
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Glad To Get AwayLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1994 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0762 |
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White Box RequiemLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1996 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0763 |
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I Woke UpLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1997 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0764 |
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New TownLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1998 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0765 |
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The BeginningLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 1999 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0766 |
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Put My Dream On This PlanetLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2000 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0767 |
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This Narrow RoadLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2001 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0768 |
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Worthless RecluseLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2001 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0769 |
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I Threw You AwayLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2002 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0770 |
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The Humility Of PainLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2002 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0771 |
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The PlaceLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2003 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0772 |
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The Gone WaitLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2003 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0773 |
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Shadow Of LeavesLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2004 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0774 |
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The End Of It AllLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2004 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0775 |
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The Door BehindLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2004 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0776 |
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A Kingdom He LikesLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2004 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0777 |
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When I Took That TrainLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2005 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0778 |
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Glasgow SundayLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2005 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0779 |
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Raining Down DiamondsLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2005 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0780 |
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KhartoumLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2005 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0781 |
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Khartoum VariationsLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2006 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0782 |
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Newcastle SundayLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2006 Format: 2CD Cat. no: Corwood 0783 |
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What Else Does Time MeanLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2006 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0784 |
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Glasgow SundayLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2006 Format: DVD Cat. no: Corwood 0779 DVD |
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Glasgow MondayLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2006 Format: 2CD Cat. no: Corwood 0785 |
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Austin SundayLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2006 Format: 2CD Cat. no: Corwood 0786 |
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Newcastle SundayLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2006 Format: DVD Cat. no: Corwood 0783 DVD |
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The Ruins Of AdventureLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2006 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0787 |
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Manhattan TuesdayLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2007 Format: 2CD Cat. no: Corwood 0788 |
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Brooklyn WednesdayLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2007 Format: 4CD Cat. no: Corwood 0789 |
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Glasgow MondayLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2007 Format: DVD Cat. no: Corwood 0785 DVD |
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Austin SundayLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2007 Format: DVD Cat. no: Corwood 0786 DVD |
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The Myth Of Blue IciclesLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2008 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0790 |
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Glasgow FridayLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2008 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0791 |
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Manhattan TuesdayLabel: Corwood Industries Release: 2007 Format: 2DVD Cat. no: Corwood 0788 DVD |
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Glasgow Sunday 2005Label: Corwood Industries Release: 2008 Format: CD Cat. no: Corwood 0792 |
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