Caught In The Net: All hands on Jandek

The maker of over 50 albums, none of which have ever troubled a chart, the 64-year-old has played less than a dozen shows and given only two phone interviews in a career – if you can call it that – which dates back to the late ‘70s.
With a penchant for atonal (non) singing that makes Daniel Johnson sound like Brian Kennedy in comparison, he’s amassed a cult following, which includes such notables as Sonic Youth and Death Cab For Cutie.
The work of uber-fan Chad Freidrichs, Jandek On Corwood is a celebration of the reclusive singer’s mythic status rather than an attempt to unmask him, and is all the more lovable for it.
“We considered knocking on his door and confronting him,” Freidrichs reflects, “but it seemed silly to do that. The reason people are interested in Jandek is the mystery. If you take that mystery out, what’s the point of making the movie?”
Jandek’s sole contribution to the documentary is a note, which proffers, “You may not get all the answers you want. It’s better that way.”
You can watch the trailer at www.jandekoncorwood.com; hear one of those phoners at www.youtube.com/watch?v=S87J52jXqlc; and listen to his songs at www.myspace.com/jandek.
From there it’s but a mere mouse-click to www.softskull.com where you can buy an updated copy of The Taqwacores, the tale of a fictitious New York Muslim punk band, which lead to its author Michael Muhammad Knight being branded “the Hunter S. Thompson of Islamic literature.”
“A punk house inhabited by burqa-wearing riot girls, mohawked Sufis, straightedge Sunnis, Shi’a skins, Sudanese rude boys, gay Muslims, drunk Muslims and feminists,” reads the blurb. “Their living-room hosts parties and prayers, with a hole smashed in the wall to indicate the direction of Mecca. Their life together mixes sex, dope and religion in equal amounts.”
Originally self-published on photocopiers, this “Catcher In The Rye for young Muslims”, has kickstarted a real Islamic punk scene in the States populated by bands like The Kominas (it’s Punjabi for “The Bastards”) whose ‘Wild Nights In Guantanamo Bay’ and ‘Sharia Law In The USA’ singles can be heard on their MySpace. Read more at www.despardes.com/Diaspora/2006/20060510-punk-meets-islam.htm.
We’re also rather fond of the ‘Frisk Me, I’m Muslim’ t-shirts available from www.hijabman.com, which are designed to “destroy the messages we receive on a daily basis from the mainstream media.”
Which just leaves time for quick visits to www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2LvZd_9aMU (archived Jerry Springer special on punk nutjob GG Allin); flickhead.blogspot.com (cracking cult movie site); www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS36ZuCW-7c (the sketch that managed to upset more Aussies than Gordon Ramsay); and www.gadling.com/2009/06/01/phd-student-curtis-melvin-uses-google-maps-to-uncover-north-kore (it’s all gone Kim Jong).