Will Oldham v. Jandek

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

I've heard on more than a few occasions Oldham being compared to Jandek (Oldham being the "Accesible Jandek" is what I've heard most explicitly on this board). There was an Oldham Pitchfork interview a few months back (can't find the link for the life of me) in which he seemed more than a little annoyed by the idea of being compared to Jandek and similarly 'story-dependant' artists. I find this interesting considering the parallels (most blatantly the "Days in the Wake" album cover and a lot of Palace-era music). Obviously things have changed, but I don't think the initial connection is without reason.

― paid in cigarettes (paid in cigarettes), Friday, 22 September 2006 09:13 (nineteen years ago)

i can see the connection, but honestly i think it is a bit simplistic. i always compared oldham more to songs: ohia

― Pop Ryan (Rebelwordsmith), Saturday, 23 September 2006 03:21 (nineteen years ago)

I can't see any connection at all except that they both have acoustic guitars.

― A-ron Hubbard (Hurting), Saturday, 23 September 2006 03:31 (nineteen years ago)

And calling Oldham the "accessible Jandek" is giving Jandek way too much credit.

― A-ron Hubbard (Hurting), Saturday, 23 September 2006 03:31 (nineteen years ago)

There are connections in their voice to an extent, their ramshacklehood, and they seem to utilize some of the same sonic palette, a minimal acoustic guitar here, some old sounding piano in a living room, an out of tune electric or whatever but musically they have about zero in common.

― Period period period (Period period period), Saturday, 23 September 2006 04:33 (nineteen years ago)

And calling Oldham the "accessible Jandek" is giving Jandek way too much credit.

pffff. Jandek is a considerably better, and far more interesting, lyricist than will oldham will ever be. and my favourite jandek songs are leaps and bounds ahead of anything by oldham.

― electric sound of jim [and why not] (electricsound), Saturday, 23 September 2006 04:38 (nineteen years ago)

jim OTM; calling oldahm the "accessible jandek" is giving oldham way too much credit--and I'm a big booster of Oldham's records, to a certain point.

― disappointing goth fest line-up (orion), Saturday, 23 September 2006 05:17 (nineteen years ago)

will makes music, jandek makes something else

― badg (badg), Saturday, 23 September 2006 09:10 (nineteen years ago)

Sick muse?

― Marmot (marmotwolof), Saturday, 23 September 2006 09:17 (nineteen years ago)

Oldham's songs are formal constructions - "songs" in every sense of the word; Jandek's generally shun formalities and are closer to the improv world. There isn't really a lot of comparison there, I think. This:
I can't see any connection at all except that they both have acoustic guitars
is OTM; the acoustic guitar tends to make people see similarities of content where there's only a common instrument.

― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Saturday, 23 September 2006 09:47 (nineteen years ago)

Oldham seems more developed, defined, and successful. But I barely know the songs of Jandek.

― held tony (held tony), Saturday, 23 September 2006 15:38 (nineteen years ago)

"Death to everyone is gonna come/And it makes hosing much more fun" (a song which has stuck in my mind from the one time I saw Oldham - never heard his rekkerds) could be a Jandek line.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Saturday, 23 September 2006 15:54 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.songmeanings.net/artist.php?aid=12866

― a regal trolley (aaron a), Saturday, 23 September 2006 16:55 (nineteen years ago)

esoj OTM, I'll take Jandek over Oldham any day of the week.

― sleeve version 2.0 (sleeve testing), Saturday, 23 September 2006 18:48 (nineteen years ago)

I find Jandek boring 90% of the time and Oldham only about 60% of the time.

But taste aside, I can't stand the way the "inaccessible" is thrown around with anything that's dissonant or unstructured - it's a condescending and self-congratulatory term that implies that the thing described is "more complex," and in turn, that the person who appreciates it has more refined sensibilities.

― A-ron Hubbard (Hurting), Saturday, 23 September 2006 22:22 (nineteen years ago)

Hurting OTM!

― Jena (JenaP), Sunday, 24 September 2006 01:18 (nineteen years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.