www.jandekoncorwood.com
Finally making its way into select theaters right now is probably one
of the most anticipated films by the tiniest subset of outsider/fringe
music fans. For those reading who don't know, Jandek is an enigma
shrouded in mystery: a one man band who doesn't give interviews,
doesn't perform live, and only releases records from beind a post
office box registered to Corwood Industries. Unsurprisingly, this film
is far from a conventional music documentary.
Jandek on Corwood
is more of a documentary of the mystery of Jandek rather than the man
behind Jandek, himself. There's no live concert footage, there are no
artist and friend accounts of influences and origins, and there is no
information of the inspiration behind the man often accused of not
knowing how to tune his own guitar. With the surprisingly small amount
of material to work with, filmmakers Chad Friedrichs and Paul Fehler
have done an amazing task of incorporating a lot of stylistic images to
go hand in hand with the photographs that grace the covers of the
Jandek album releases. Interviews are held with fringe music store
employees and a handful of music journalists who have had the rare
brush with Jandek, via mail or phone. It starts off interesting but
after a long time it becomes tiresome. The stories of other people's
experiences and ideas and imaginations begin to grow old along with the
repetitious usage of the small amount of photos available. At this
point, everything changes and what emerges changes everything and in
any screening room, movie theater, or house, silence falls. As the
voice appears through the movie a pin drop could have been heard where
I saw the film. We might never know the answers but then again, maybe
we're not supposed to. Honestly, our imaginations have the potential to
be far more interesting than the truth. If the film has passed you by
or isn't coming close, a DVD is due very soon, but I would say this is
one of those things to see once in a theater with your closest music
geek friends, whether you love, hate, or haven't even heard Jandek.