Jandek Catch-All

[Wally]

so i just send a money order to this po box address and at some point a bunch of cds arrive?

ha, so i just searched the lptj archives for jandek recommendations and then went through the discography picking out the interesting sounding ones, and ended up with a list of exactly 20. i call it fate.

the question above still stands though - is this preferred mode of ordering to the UK?

That's what I did.

[Wally]

Edited to include full correspondence- mainly for the reference to the book.

Re: Jandek concert, June 13th

Dear DHG,

Are the tickets for the Jandek show on Friday June 13th available yet?  And If so, where?  Although the show is included on your website, I can't see how to go about booking.

If it is by e-mail, could I reserve two for collection in the next couple of days, please?  If not, I'd appreciate if you could let me know how to get them.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Robert.

*** *** ***

Dear Robert,

I am afraid that tickets are not on sale yet. We will be selling them from early may onwards. We don't have the facilities to take reservations at the moment. However when I have further information I will contact you to let you know about ticket sales. If you would prefer me to call you please email me with your telephone number.

Best wishes,
Sheena.

*** *** ***

Hi Sheena,

Thanks for letting me know- I was a little uncertain about it and I've a friend travelling from overseas for the gig and exhibition, so I didn't want to disappoint her with bad news.

My mobile number is 086 XXXXXXX, or this e-mail address is checked daily.

Thanks again for the prompt reply.

Regards,

Robert.

*** *** ***

Great I'll give you a call in early May. We haven't really started promoting it yet so that's the reason why things are a little quiet with it at the moment. We are also currently working on a book of Jandek album covers which we will have back in the gallery for the exhibition!
Best wishes,
Sheena

Yes, alex, that's you I'm referring to above.  I know your revised plans (I'll reply to your e-mail shortly), but I thought it would add weight to my request for tickets.  Also, you might still make it over...

Anyone else want in?

That's pretty tempting. Flights for twenty quid. Let me check out the hostels, and I'll let you know.

[Maaik]

so i just send a money order to this po box address and at some point a bunch of cds arrive?

ha, so i just searched the lptj archives for jandek recommendations and then went through the discography picking out the interesting sounding ones, and ended up with a list of exactly 20. i call it fate.

the question above still stands though - is this preferred mode of ordering to the UK?

To my knowledge, that's the _only_ method of ordering.

[alistarr*]

Whenever I think I should order some, I keep thinking that 20 is so many. Which is kindof ridiculous, since at full price they're still pretty cheap.

yeah, well i guess i probably would buy like five or six because that's how many i already REALLY want regardless of whether there's a deal on, so if you get 20 it's like paying for another 4 to get another 14. i'm happy to take a gamble on liking at least 4 of the cheap 14 to make them worth full price and offset any i don't get into, considering i'm pretty sure i'll love the regular priced 5 or 6 i'm starting from.

and if that maths/sentence makes sense then it's a testament to your reading skills and not my writing skills.

thanks wally and maaik for the reassurance.

[Danen]

Ellaguru: Keep in mind that listening to Jandek is kinda like reading a serial novel  - the more you listen, the more opens up. There are individual songs and albums that I greatly like, and yet sometimes I listen purely to walk through a period. The 20 disc deal is so damn good, and I don't know anybody who's ever regretted ordering that many (note that I usually tell people to start with one or two, and then plunk down on the 20).

Alistarr: If you took the recs that a bunch of us put up on these pages, you're in for some real treats. PLEASE post on what you thought!

Doctor Bob: I REALLY want to go, but don't know if that will be possible. I'm going to find a way to order that gallery book regardless. Wish I knew more about it. I hope there's some decent criticism in it.

[Andrew_TSKS]

so i just send a money order to this po box address and at some point a bunch of cds arrive?

ha, so i just searched the lptj archives for jandek recommendations and then went through the discography picking out the interesting sounding ones, and ended up with a list of exactly 20. i call it fate.

the question above still stands though - is this preferred mode of ordering to the UK?

To my knowledge, that's the _only_ method of ordering.

yup. jandek is old school. it's still the 80s over there at corwood.

[Doctor Bob]

Doctor Bob: I REALLY want to go, but don't know if that will be possible. I'm going to find a way to order that gallery book regardless. Wish I knew more about it. I hope there's some decent criticism in it.

Like I say, keep me posted, and if there's anything I can do to assist, just ask.

Maybe you and I should collaborate on a chapter?  You have the knowledge, and I used to be an art historian!  Heh.  Joking aside, it might be worth your while to e-mail the gallery for details on the book.  Content might be finalised, but there might be a chance you could influence the finished article.

[Danen]

so i just send a money order to this po box address and at some point a bunch of cds arrive?

ha, so i just searched the lptj archives for jandek recommendations and then went through the discography picking out the interesting sounding ones, and ended up with a list of exactly 20. i call it fate.

the question above still stands though - is this preferred mode of ordering to the UK?

To my knowledge, that's the _only_ method of ordering.

yup. jandek is old school. it's still the 80s over there at corwood.

It's worth noting that there is dsitribution across several online ordering services (including Amazon) BUT, with them you don't get as good a deal (usually) AND you certainly don't get that groovy hand-typed copy of the current Corwood catalog. I've got quite a collection of them now, and there's nifty variances between them (a dropped letter, a new font, etc). PLUS, if you send a question with your order (always recommended), you might get a two or three word (or sentence) answer.

[Andrew_TSKS]

actually, i had no idea you could get his releases through amazon or anybody else. i thought it was direct or nothing. i'm glad to know that.

[ellaguru]

Rotate This, our local hip record shop, has a pretty huge Jandek section, actually. Like, maybe 20 titles last time I checked. Fair whack more expensive than mail from Corwood, though.

[difficult]

I've done a few orders to NZ direct from the Rep. It is the best way to do it by far, and the cheapest too. He's pretty efficient usually, and the postage is cheap for sending stuff internationally too. No paypal or anything though!

If you ask him the right questions, you can get a surprisingly long reply too.

[girl]

actually, i had no idea you could get his releases through amazon or anybody else. i thought it was direct or nothing. i'm glad to know that.

also:  http://www.flippedoutrecords.com/

[difficult]

There's a few places, really. Forced Exposure are good for Janky, they tend to be one of the few places that keep em ALL in stock, and have done since really early on

[alistarr*]

The 20 disc deal is so damn good, and I don't know anybody who's ever regretted ordering that many (note that I usually tell people to start with one or two, and then plunk down on the 20).

Alistarr: If you took the recs that a bunch of us put up on these pages, you're in for some real treats. PLEASE post on what you thought!

i have ready for the house already, and have been listening to it on and off for about five years. i just brought it to work with me the other day so it's been getting some spins. and yes, i've been paying attention to people's recs - if you're interested, the list i'm going with at the moment:

0740 six and six
0742 chair beside a window
0743 living in a moon so blue
0747 interstellar discussion
0749 foreign keys
0751 follow your footsteps
0753 blue corpse
0754 your walk alone
0756 the living end
0757 somebody in the snow
0759 lost cause
0761 graven image
0762 glad to get away
0766 the beginning
0770 i threw you away
0779 glasgow sunday
0780 raining down diamonds
0783 newcastle sunday *
0785 glasgow monday *
0790 the myth of blue icicles

about half are things people have recommended here, and about half are things that i just thought sounded awesome. a couple just have nice covers. $95 is like £50 which is y'know, five full priced albums bought in the UK. or 1.25 copies of the radiohead discbox.

that said, i can't in any way afford to send the money until i get paid, so by that time i may have just folded on this plan and bought a bunch of melvins records instead. if that happens i guess i'll order one or two of the above through amazon marketplace instead (they work out about £4.50 delivered).

[alex]

Thanks for posting that list, Al - looks like a nice point of orientation if I ever decide to go through with such a plan myself. And if I ever make the effort to figure out how to do an international money order, anyway.

(also, thank you for the awesome postcard! it was quite happymaking even before I noticed who you had addressed it to. Well-played, sir!)

Robert, feel free to keep abusing my very tentative travel plans to add weight to your ticket request, even if does look rather unlikely that they will materialise at this point! (And no pressure about replying to the e-mail.)

[Danen]

Alistarr, if you get the list you posted above, you're going to be in for some happy, happy listening. I might add, though, that you have two double disc sets (Glasgow Monday and Newcastle Sunday) and those each count for two. Trust me, you WANT THEM (two of the very best). Personally, I'd still get the list of 20 but chuck in an extra 8 bucks (or whatever that works out to overseas). I can't think of one of those I'd take away - really good representation. I can, of course, think of several to add, but you're in good hands with that list.

[ellaguru]

Danen, I think Corwood's might have changed its multidisc policy, since they have so many multidisc packages these days. Multidisc choices now look like they count as one item, so you have to get 20, even if some are doubles.

The Guide to Jandek web site says:

All of these prices are cut in half if you order a box of 20 more items. This can include any combination of titles and quantities that you want. A multi-disc set counts as one item.

That's different from what I remember it being the last time I pondered the big purchase, I think it used to say exactly what you are saying.

I'm assuming that one can simply trust the Guide to Jandek, of course.

[ellaguru]

And thanks for posting your list, alistarr*. I'm halfway tempted to just copy it and put that in as my order, rather than try to do any real figuring (since any list I'd make would be mostly guesswork anyways).

[Danen]

Danen, I think Corwood's might have changed its multidisc policy, since they have so many multidisc packages these days. Multidisc choices now look like they count as one item, so you have to get 20, even if some are doubles.

The Guide to Jandek web site says:

All of these prices are cut in half if you order a box of 20 more items. This can include any combination of titles and quantities that you want. A multi-disc set counts as one item.

That's different from what I remember it being the last time I pondered the big purchase, I think it used to say exactly what you are saying.

I'm assuming that one can simply trust the Guide to Jandek, of course.

When I get home later today, I'll check the catalog that came with my "Myth of Blue Icicles." I assume, however, that this must be right. Yes, I know it used to be that 2 disc sets counted differently, but I think DVDs (and the four disc, REALLY necessary "Brooklyn Wednesday") messed all that up. It makes sense when I think about it. And I want to reiterate that I would, without pause, order the multi-disc sets. I know some people simply get "Glasgow Sunday" and assume they have the live bases covered, but I think the Newcastle and G. Monday sets are superior. And it's STILL so damn cheap...

[Danen]

 

So I've been waiting almost a year to send out this message, and now I get to say it:
 
Jandek is FINALLY coming to Colorado, and it's going to be "something special."
 
He'll be at the Bug Theatre in Denver (for a neat history of the former Nickelodeon, built in 1912, visit www.bugtheatre.org) for a Friday night concert starting at 7:30. The details of the show are currently mum (as, you know, is usually the case at this point), but there will be more coming. And yes, I'm sponsering this show - full disclosure right off. But, as you've guessed, I'm not putting this here because I look to make $ off the show (pretty much not a possibility), but because this part of the country BADLY needs some passion, and I want to watch this thing fill up, and watch people spill out afterwards talking about what the hell it was they just saw, and to know that I was a part of something like that. It's one of the proudest moments of my life, so of course I'm putting it here. Plus, some of my favorite people that I've ever met at Jandek shows have been from LPTJ, so I hope to see more of them. Oh yeah, details...(see, I'm a piss-poor terrible "commercial" promoter)
 
Tickets, you say? Right now you can find them online only, but that will change in the next week or so. You can find them at this link: http://www.ticketalternative.com/SitePages/Search.aspx?catid=All&pattern=jandek, where they go on sale MONDAY MORNING May 5th at 9 am EDT, and will be $25 (plus a couple of bucks in fees that we have nothing, obviously, to do with). I promise you this show will be as creative and exciting an event as has come to Denver in some time. I mean, this is the Man's first ever appearance in the mighty expanse of land separating Texas from San Francisco. Let's give him a great welcome and hope he comes back more often.  I'll be happy to provide directions to the Bug, ideas for eating close by, and where to find the best record stores in town (hey, I always want to know this when I go to a show) as we get closer to the date. Meantime, I want to say again how excited I am to be curating this unique event, promoted in part by the legendary Rhinoceropolis gallery and concert hall (if you live in the area, you should get over there and see a show). If you want to know more about the show, including an ongoing blog about its development and so on, visit the event's official page at: www.myspace.com/jandekindenver. You can also link up to the Last FM events page at http://www.last.fm/event/606360.
 
Okay, that's all for now - hope to see some of you there, and please let me know what you think. I might add that there is an "official" email for all things "Jandek in Denver" related, should you simply have a technical question or want to complain about something (I'm here to listen - and no the tickets aren't THAT expensive - I just paid more to see Wilco this Thursday, and they come here all the damn time) which is: jandekindenver@yahoo.com.
 
Thanks all for reading my utterly over-enthused ramblings, hope to see some of you at the show!

[girl]

Wow, great news, Danen!

[Doctor Bob]

So I saw Jandek on Friday.  What to say?

He played an acoustic guitar and sang, for roughly 80 minutes or so.  I didn't recognise anything, but then again I wasn't familiar with any of his stuff beforehand.  He was dressed exactly as you'd expect, and came on stage with a little leather briefcase, from which he produced an A4 spiral-bound refill pad, presumably containing lyrics, that he set on a music stand.  He sat for the duration.  The songs seemed to be thematically related to each other, but perhaps not?  He certainly used the word 'obviously' a good few times.

My overriding impression was that it was considerably more musical than I was expecting.  There were only four walk outs (that I could see).

Oddly - and perhaps because the Canadian gent was playing across town - I was put in mind of (an admittedly less frivolous) Leonard Cohen.

PS It looks like someone was taking photos (sans flash- the room was actually white-walled): http://www.flickr.com/photos/kealyj/sets/72157605608603415/

[Maaik]

That's cool, man!  The impression I got from seeing him was that he composes new material for his shows rather than delving into his enormous catalog.  'Course, I wasn't there, but I'd reckon that everything you heard at the show was brand new.

[Doctor Bob]

Having read a bit on the tisue.net website about previous live shows, I'd be inclined to agree.  Not that it was a traditional beginning-middle-end narrative arc, but there was a definite flow to it.

Also, it was recorded on video.  If it surfaces, I'm the beardo in the white grandfather shirt.

(Also, alex- the ticket went to a very good home in the end.  A guy I know - friend of a friend - was outside the show, lameting the fact that he was too poor to go, so I gave it to him for half price [paid, in fact, by the mutual friend].  A good result.)

[alex]

(Also, alex- the ticket went to a very good home in the end.  A guy I know - friend of a friend - was outside the show, lameting the fact that he was too poor to go, so I gave it to him for half price [paid, in fact, by the mutual friend].  A good result.)

Good to hear! Meanwhile, I actually spent the evening at a birthday party (albeit not mine, but one of a friend of a friend), in the presence of a bunch of people I already knew, so it was all good fun. Bielefeld is no Dublin, obviously, but for all the charm that this city lacks, I am having an excellent time here.

I take it from your rather cautious, descriptive report that you are not sure what to make of the concert? But at least it sounds like an interesting time. Was there indeed an exhibition of his album artwork, too?