History Music / Jandek

* NothingIsScarier: Several of his album covers [[http://corwoodindustries.com/jandek/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/0739.jpg have]] [[http://corwoodindustries.com/jandek/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/0747.jpg this]] [[http://corwoodindustries.com/jandek/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/0771.jpg effect]].

To get a further look into the bizarre phenomenon of the Jandek catalog, check out 2003 documentary ''Jandek on Corwood.'' It was made by filmmaker Chad Freidrichs, with assistance from "the representative of Corwood Industries" -- as in, the only way the man behind Jandek will refer to himself in public. The representative does not appear in the documentary (natch) except for album covers and audio from the only phone interview he'd ever done in his career. Still, he apparently gave his full authorization and permission to use snippets of his music.

After a quarter-century of recording, the man behind Jandek -- who only refers to himself as "the representative of Corwood Industries" -- made his live debut in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2004, and has had a sparse touring schedule ever since. All of this contributes to the mystique, and while Jandek's following is small, it is rabid.

* SpiritualSuccessor: In some ways, to Music/TheShaggs. Both artists take a, shall we say, freewheeling approach to melody, rhythm, and song structure. The Shaggs are [[LighterAndSofter much friendlier, though]].

Jandek's albums are not for sale in record stores, and don't even bother with streaming services. The only ways to purchase them are via money order through Corwood Industries in Houston, Texas, and more recently, online at the official [[https://corwoodindustries.com/ Corwood Industries website.]] Corwood Industries' back catalog consists entirely of Jandek's prodigious discography -- over 100 albums and counting. There's also, believe it or not, a weekly one-hour radio show devoted to Jandek's music, ''[[https://www.krvs.org/show/time-for-jandek Time for Jandek]]'', originating on KRVS, an Creator/{{NPR}} affiliate in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Jandek's gives no interviews, nor any sort of promotion. After a quarter-century of recording, the man behind Jandek -- who only refers to himself as "the representative of Corwood Industries" -- made his live debut in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2004, and has had a sparse touring schedule ever since. All of this contributes to the mystique, and while Jandek's following is small, it is rabid.

Jandek's albums are not for sale in record stores, and don't even bother with streaming services. They're accessible one of two ways: one, they can be purchased via money order through Corwood Industries in Houston, Texas, and more recently, they can be ordered online at the official [[https://corwoodindustries.com/ Corwood Industries website.]] Corwood Industries' back catalog consists entirely of Jandek's prodigious discography -- over 100 albums and counting.

Jandek's musical style is...difficult to explain, at best. He often plays unaccompanied (Though other singers and even a full band are not unheard of), strumming or picking his guitar in an unpredictable fashion (And the guitar is often tuned to a tuning of his devising), while he half-sings/half-speaks seemingly improvised tuneless melodies full of opaque, sometimes troubling lyrics. This rather abstract approach to music would already ensure that Jandek would be destined to appeal to a very selective audience, but add his being a ReclusiveArtist who makes Creator/ThomasPynchon look like an AttentionWhore, with a MysteriousPast to boot, and you have the ingredients of a one-of-a-kind CultClassic.

Jandek's albums are not for sale in record stores, nor [[note]][[https://corwoodindustries.com/ Until recently]][[/note]] available online. They can only be purchased via money order to Corwood Industries in Houston, Texas, Corwood's back catalog consisting entirely of Jandek's prodigious (Over 100 albums) discography. Jandek gives no interviews, nor any sort of promotion. He only began performing live in 2004. All of these facts contribute to the mystique, and while Jandek's following is small, it is rabid.

Jandek is an American {{Blues}}[=/=]OutsiderMusic[=/=][[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly Who]] [[MindScrew Knows]] artist. Officially "Jandek" is the name of an ongoing music project, but it's very clearly the work of a specific singer-songwriter, who is usually colloquially called Jandek, though his actual name appears to be Sterling Richard Smith.

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: He has roots in [[FolkMusic Folk]] and {{Blues}}, which by itself isn't so remarkable. Yet the way he combines them bears no resemblance whatsoever to Music/BobDylan, Music/LedZeppelin, [[MindScrew or any other music ever made]].