Interstellar Discussion, Part Six

The Katy Vine article *, unlike many of the texts, came as a surprise to the mailing list. Because the mailing list was not established until 1997, the Spin articles, Milstein’s review, and Chusid’s opinions about Jandek were a part of list discourse from its inception. Chad Freidrichs and Paul Fehler solicited the list for interviews for their documentary, and so even the documentary was highly anticipated by the list. Vine’s article, however, was brought to the list’s attention on July 19, 1999 by an unwitting fan from Texas who happened to subscribe to The Texas Monthly. The article was initially considered to be a fabrication, however Vine’s description of Jandek’s ‘white collar job’ led fans to conduct Google searches, locating Sterling Smiths at websites for Compaq, Hewlitt-Packard, and Dave and Busters (Vine 1999:96; mailing list July 21, 1999). Seth Tisue verified the merits of the article when he posted to the list that both Vine and a fact-checker for the publication had contacted him (mailing list, July 29, 1999). One fan wrote about the validity of the text:

Does Ms. Vine claim to have found Jandek? Part of me hopes not (although the other part hopes yes). Jandek is one of the great mysteries of American popular culture. If he is unmasked he will loose much of his power. It would be like giving Sampson a hair cut.
- Ben, mailing list, July 20, 1999

While many fans were excited to see the object of their devotion printed in such a mainstream publication, they expressed anxiety about increased exposure. Ben’s posting is a characteristic of the indie rock aesthetic, the ‘signs negotiated in social status’ and the cultural capital involved in presenting art (Hibbett 2005:56). Fans were nervous that increased exposure – particularly interviews – would betray Jandek’s utterly ‘do-it-yourself’ ethos, but also their elite status as those who ‘got’ Jandek.

Seth Tisue’s site is considered to be the definitive source of old and new Jandek information. Tisue receives all new Corwood releases and remasters, and is often the first to receive news of an upcoming Jandek performance. Lyrics from all albums are available on Tisue’s site, as is an extensive ‘About Jandek’ page complete with a speculated biography and an extensively annotated presentation Jandek’s discography. Mailing list archives and links to aforementioned articles are also on the site, as well as four different Corwood catalogs from throughout the years. Seth Tisue’s site for Jandek is canonical in the highest regard.

All of the texts available to Jandek fans provide fans a starting point for the myth – certainly even more so than the man himself. Fans responding to my question about why they joined the list almost always wrote that they wanted to get as much information as they possibly could. In order to participate in the endlessly deferred narrative of fandom, Jandek fans needed to be familiar with all the texts available: from texts come clues, and from clues come theories.

* Also available in a pdf of the original