Massive hat-tip to Ian for drawing my wandering attention to Jandek, a slightly unusual chap who's playing Devendra Banhart's day at the first ATP weekend. This is what Ian turfed up to explain the incomprehensible stuff playing out over his stero:
"He literally plays one dissonant chord throughout the entire album on his out-of-tune acoustic guitar, only picking at the strings differently for each track, (though sometimes he does not bother)."
His biog on Wikipedia begins "Jandek is a musician, presumably from Houston, Texas." A highly comic use of the word 'presumably' you've got to admit, especially for something as grounded in fact as an Encyclopedia. Meanwhile a comment on him on Allmusic reads "he's not afraid to laugh at himself once or twice either". Which is just as well, cause I certainly am.
Apparently no one knows who this guy is and he's never played a live show before. They say each of his thighs is as thick as a horse's belly, narrowing to a calf as thick as the belly of a foal.
ReplyDeleteian, he has played shows but theyre always spontaneous and hardly ever announced. I rememeber once seeing a photo of him in Careless Talk Costs Lives, accompanying an article about how he suddenly turned up and everyone nearly collapsed. The last announced show with him i heard about was put on by Upset The Rhythm in London late last year and his name was actually on the flyer as well as a picture of the young Jandek, looking really really sketchy.
ReplyDeleteI havent even heard any of his music but find the whole story really compelling...
So does he sing or what? Just picks a guitar and is fat?
ReplyDeleteVery hep. Emperor's New Clothes?
i think the emperor's new clothes thing is what seems so fascinating.
ReplyDeletethe idea that people buy into this shit is just amusing to begin with, then as a paradoxical follow-up, the idea that they might actually have a good reason to buy into this shit (cause, yknow, it's actually really good!) is much more amusing. and worthwhile.