Jandek is a shadowy figure from Texas who has created some of the darkest and most personal outsider music for over 30 years. But what do we really know about Sterling R. Smith, the man behind the music? Besides the fact that he lives in some comfortable part of Houston, there’s really nothing. A phone interview with someone who might have been him mentioned he worked as a machinist and wrote 7 novels, all of which were rejected by a New York publisher and later burned, in true Jandek fashion.
I’m sure that when Mr. Smith comes home from his well-paying job at the Sterling Smith Corporation (of course, since the company is named after him, he ought to be doing fairly well) he probably plops down in front of a computer. Then he looks for himself on the internet. Never mind the article that stated he doesn’t watch TV or surf the internet, that interview was before he even decided to perform live. Things have obviously changed in his little universe.
When he reads these absurd scenarios about his life, he most likely laughs. Yes, I know that somebody writing such desolate music shouldn’t laugh, but I sort of doubt how revealing his music is about him. Like he told Katy Vine “There’s nothing to get” or how Corwood Industries has stated multiple times that the fans’ (all 8 of them) interpretation of the music is far more interesting than the performer’s intent. All those rejected novels indicate that he is more than capable of creating fictional scenarios. But I doubt they were particularly happy stories.
The fans definitely do have a number of theories as to what is up with him. Some of them have been proven incorrect due to his live performances, but some seem sort of insane:
1. 1. Jandek was the work of a disturbed individual, and their wealthy father paid to have his crazy son’s work released. So it is basically out of familial love, hence why the records and CDs are sold for nearly nothing.
2. 2. Jandek is the work of a disillusioned member of the almost boomer generation, watching the failings of the late 60s. Some of this might be due to the more collaborative efforts of his which include drummers and other singers. Also, in his interview on the radio he talked about how he likes the Velvet Underground.
3. 3. The work serves as a reminder of the blues, the most depressing of the blues. Rock seems to have forgotten where it came from, resulting in an endlessly self-referencing genre. Perhaps this is a giant project to get more purveyors of rock to pay attention to the genre. It couldn’t hurt for people like Thurston Moore and his ilk. Not sure if this is a good idea, or if rock is now too self-absorbed for it to ever work.
4. 4. Carles, the writer of the popular blog Hipster Runoff, is Jandek. Both live in Texas and are well-known for being vulnerable.
Honestly, I think the first one has been proven incorrect. Judging from the live performances, he appears to be perfectly rational and aware of what he is doing. So those who considered it an extremely personal venting of his emotions might be correct, but with each additional performance, that appears less unlikely (though still not impossible).
I’m not sure how accurate this may be. Of course he does seem to be from a certain generation that saw a lot of awfulness occur. As I think about this, I do sort of sit in wonder about how politics have been barely referenced in his songs. That’s a bit incredible considering the supposed personal nature of the music, again making me believe that this could just be dedicated performance art.
The blues isn’t as respected as it once was. So if this is his intention, it would fit with my idea that this might be purely creative than anything else. If this was true, it would explain why he sent so many of his records to college radio stations, in an attempt to sort of cultivate interest in this type of music.
Jury says no, but it does interest me how online or artistic identities can differ dramatically from real-life ones.
My opinion is it is purely a creative outlet with little insight into his life. I know this will come across as heresy in this well-regarded Jandek scene, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having artistic work that doesn’t match your mindset. Usually the simplest answer is the right one. He worked as a machinist and eventually got his way up into white-collar work (hence the Stock and Securities work). After being in the dark for so long, he decided to reveal himself and tour the world a little bit. He is fairly old, so he figured he’d get out and do things before he got too old to enjoy the experience (again, I know joy isn’t an emotion people associate with him, but I think he does have fun doing this). Hell, he certainly doesn’t do it for the money, there isn’t a way to turn his music into a money making machine. Plus, the little tidbits we have about his travels (he’s apparently well-traveled according to even his album covers) show that he is at least aware of what communities his music appeals to.
The music is deeply strange and highly unusual. It is a mixture of blues, rock, free jazz, and spoken word. Difficult doesn’t even describe it. Avant-Garde is easier work than this. At no point does his voice become pleasant, or the subject material happy (though the 80s material seems more cheerful) and there’s the total lack of melody or development to deal with. AMM, that classical improvisational outfit from the UK, had much easier structures to deal with since there appeared to be little emotion content. Here in Jandek’s world, emotions provide the only bedrock, and that’s some pretty unstable ground.
Oddly, I seem to enjoy the spoken word the most, since it is the sparsest thing I’ve ever heard. My personal favorite out of spoken word albums would be “Put My Dream on This Planet”. It is one of the most difficult, uncomfortable things I’ve ever heard. If you’ve heard of anything even remotely like this, you’re probably much older and depressed than I.
So yeah, I’m sure he’s more than aware of everything we write about him. I feel like he knows exactly what sort of path he’s following artistically at least. Live free good sir.