Jandek's Ready for the House REVIEW - Worst Album Ever Made?

[@the_most_ever_company]

I feel like your review sort of fizzled out a bit anticlimactically -- after introducing the album and giving a brief rundown of the tracks' lyrics & sound, you don't really put forward any further analysis or criticism beyond "it was weird and difficult and I really tried to like it but Jandek's a cool guy I guess" -- it's understandable that you were stumped, but I feel like you didn't really try to get a grasp of the album's deeper core. Your lyrical interpretations were all fairly literal and surface-level, but the songs are meant to be more impressionistic and evocative of loneliness and a certain mood or forgotten memory -- that is why that one review (which I feel you mocked rather unfairly) suggested listening to the album while looking at old photos of your past, or the past of someone close to you; again, the review was not literally suggesting that the album would suddenly "sound great", but rather that the music would find a deeper emotional resonance in that context which might cause it to "click" as a relevant experience -- again, the deeper "feeling" it can evoke, of desolation, of the crumbling and dead past, of the ultimate prevail of decay & entropy lurking the corner of every home and bookshelf and life -- I'm sorry to be so critical, but I genuinely enjoy your show, your editing and overall style are very appealing and you are covering a lot of interesting music and grappling with a lot of interesting concepts about how we perceive "goodness" or "badness" in art and how we tend to "rank" art on a liner scale rather than appreciating each individual piece as a unique expression in & of itself, but it really does seem like this album went over your head a bit -- and, to be fair, you acknowledge it, so.... why did I type all this? Never mind I think it was just the structure of your video essay -- it feels like it's really building to something towards the end of the review proper, but then -- you just kind of throw your hands up, say you disliked it less than Metal Machine Music. All good! You killed it on many other vids, so every once in a while "merely" carrying the day with sincerity, editing flair, and "the old college try" is a-ok and will satisfy 99% of your viewers, you can sleep soundly knowing nitpicky fogeys like me are utterly inconsequent & besides you're doing groovy mostly otherwise soooo eyup just speakin my mind because I like ya, keep going ! (it's sooo hard to get viewership on "original" projects/videos not tied to preexisting media, isn't it ? I've really dug all your original non-"worst album ever" content [altho I dig those too of course, don't stop those either], please don't ever give in "fully" to the whirlpool of the implacable algorithm)

[@CactusMalpractice]

Hey MOST EVER I just came here to let you know I loved the comment you left me and I'm taking it to heart. One of the biggest struggles with my show is the discovery of so many works that sometimes completely put me through a loop and Jandek was one of them. You have made me realize that I should have taken the advice from the fans because it could have given me a valuable new insight of the album that I desperately needed to understand further. Even if I didn't discover anything new it would have still given the video more insight to my struggle to comprehend it. One of the reasons I decided to only upload once a month was I didn't want this show to be like some other review websites I've seen in the past. A person skimming through an album maybe listening once maybe twice and giving their opinion for the entire internet to see forever. I knew that If I was going to do this show I needed to listen 15 times minimum for every album (if i can handle it) to determine if something was truly bad. The problem with Ready for the House is after I listened to it 15 times I still had nothing.The only feeling I felt was confusion and later growing frustration (which after watching the video you can clearly see in my demeanor.). So I started listening to the album in my sleep and gave it 5 more listens while awake before I hit my deadline to record That in itself was a detriment to the review. In my attempt to be fair to the album I was listening to an album let's say 25 times in 3 weeks. All that did was make me tired and bitter. On reflection I should have pushed back the review until I had something more to say and give the album some time to breathe in my mind. But when you have patrons it feels like a moral obligation to get something out each month so it doesn't feel like you are wasting people's money. Same with subscribers, I don't want to feel like I'm wasting their time waiting for something new. It's all a balancing act and something I hope one day to master. Anywho long story short you have given me some insight for when I needed it because I will be revisiting Jandek as per a patron's request later this year so getting genuine criticism really helps me out. Thank you and Happy New Year!

[@Pushbakgang]

You guys gonna publish these comments? Cause they're get app books Cause they're Dead up books😂

[@PsionixYT]

Jandek is actually my great-uncle, and it's really neat to see all the discourse about him online. I didn't know about his music until just a couple years ago, just "Uncle Richard". But he's definitely just as fascinating as a person as his music would imply, if not more, and it's super cool to see that he's an underground enigma in the music world.

[@grindcoreninja6527]

I must know more.

[@ramunayy]

please go further, hope you're not lying then again it would be a weird and specific thing to lie about. why do you guys refer to him as uncle richard?

[@nathanberkogibson]

We want to know more about jandek! Jandek is amazing this bozo channel I mean who cares

[@ConvincingPeople]

@@ramunayyI mean, his middle name *is* apparently Richard. So it's plausible.

[@ultralance]

@@ConvincingPeople on the other hand, you apparently know this and aren't his niece/nephew

[@MegaProto]

I saw Jandek live once and it was like watching a fucking ghost watch on stage and try to place a curse on the entire audience. I loved it.

[@glumburger]

I think i'm going to enjoy diving into the rabbit hole of Jandek. Something about outsider music just ticks my boxes. Huge thanks for putting it onto my radar. Fantastic video as always

[@_Parzero]

This guy used Liminal Spaces as his album covers before liminal spaces became a thing.

[@rangisweetman3662]

Hey, I just wanted to say it’s really inspiring to see the work and time you put into your videos, and the consistent quality you always put out. Keep on keeping on, because it always brightens my day to see a release from you.

[@CactusMalpractice]

Thank you Rangi! I always try to do everything I can to keep the quality up especially since my audience has been growing I don't want to let anyone down : )

[@thekidfromiowa]

Indeed he deserves more subs, views, likes!

[@Pushbakgang]

​@@CactusMalpracticegotta say bro I love this channel.. fun content and we can tell u put alot of work into it

[@O_R_Miller06]

HOLY COW!!!!! I own this album on vinyl after finding it at a flea market for only $1. I listened to not knowing what to expect that it's gonna get weird....and yeah, it got weird. I just assumed that I was the only person on earth to know about this hell of an album so seeing someone talk about it is awesome! Been really enjoying your content too. Keep up the good work!

[@k2a2l2]

thats really cool u just found it out there in the wild. makes u wonder how the previous owners got it and how they felt when hearing it for the first time

[@chernobylcoleslaw6698]

That's probably worth a fortune.

[@everyvillainislemons7583]

You found the jackpot

[@hassanas-sabbagh6562]

You're not alone.

[@robertferent8913]

If it’s credited to “The Units” on the back, it’s an original pressing. If it says Jandek anywhere on it, it’s the modern reissue from Jackpot Records. Either way, amazing score for a $1. I hope to get an original LP one of these days to hear it as it was meant to be heard (and not compressed to death).

[@kayeplaguedoc9054]

How many "Worst albums of all time" are secretly super influential lol. Love this series but that seems ultra common. I don't think I'd love this album but I do like the cover - its oddly creepy yet comforting.

[@CactusMalpractice]

I think the older an album is the more likely someone is going to to be inspired from it. Especially if its nothing like anything coming out at that time. You'd be glad to know on the wheel I have a good amount of stuff I doubt would influence anything

[@robbiebagby201]

You should try Half Japanese, Jad Fair, Daniel Johnston, Trevor Dunn, John Zorn, Pigface, Dayglo Abortions, King Missile, The Cows, John Frusciante's first two albums & most importantly, The Sun City Girls.

[@jmason61]

Care to mention any other fringy band THAT ACTUALLY MAKES MUSIC compared to this?

[@southernstargazer2006]

@@jmason61man you’re a bore.

[@ehi8243]

Buddy, you’ve clearly gained an art form by editing these videos. The last few have been consistent, fun, enjoyable, even if the content of the music is not terribly good. I might miss the individual ratings of the songs sometimes, but albums like these are tough nuts to crack. I respect the hell out of your content, glad to be here to enjoy the ride

[@CactusMalpractice]

Loved your mini reviews of the show E HI ! I guess all there is now is to wait for more eps 👽

[@TR06MAN]

It's criminal that your videos don't get a million views. This is a great one!

[@CactusMalpractice]

Thank you Trogman!

[@fullauto86]

Just found the channel and its an absolute gem. Keep it up man. New subscriber

[@couchsong]

Wonderful to see this! Love this tremendously. I have been an enormous Jandek fan for quite some time.

[@norbicsek]

Just to counteract the pinned comment a bit: this video legit got me into Jandek. At the time of watching this, I had seen this album cover and the name "Jandek" in Facebook music groups, but for some reason, I had always assumed that this was some sorta freeform experimental electronic album, like that of Tim Hecker, or Jim O'Rourke's laptop stuff - which is also right up my alley btw, I just never bothered to check it out. Hearing the snippets in this video immediately piqued my interest, for two reasons. 1. It was one of the most alien-sounding music I've ever heard. 2. I tend to enjoy alternative/experimental takes on country / bluegrass / Americal folk stuff. So I started going down the rabbit hole, and whoo boy... He has quite a varied discography. From actually powerful acoustic ballads and semi-conventional blues songs to super-out-there noise rock jams and spoken word pieces. The album I find myself returning to the most is Blue Corpse. It's on the more avantgarde side of his acoustic balladry. The instrumentation is relatively normal, and but he gets very adventurous with his signature hiss-crooning over it. It has my current favorite Jandek song, which is the 10-minute epic Only Lover. It seems like the consensus among Jandek fans is that Ready For The House should be one's introduction to the Corwood dimension, which makes sense from a historical perspective, but I think it's a terrible starter. I like it, but it's so oppressively desolate, that its weirdness will likely feel impenetrable for a newcomer, and no amount of re-listens are gonna to provide answers to any of the questions you had upon your first impression of it. If you want to give Jandek a proper second chance, the 6-hour-long Ghost Passing on the wheel of WAEM, which is solo piano + theremin, might not be your best shot either. I'd recommend either You Walk Alone, which in my opinion, is his most accessible record with gorgeous psychedelic guitar playing; and The Living End, which is the most versatile album I've heard from him. The reason I love this video (despite all the shortcomings THE MOST EVER COMPANY rightfully pointed out), is that to me, it didn't seem like you were half-assing it, it felt like you were trying your best, but the album just defeated you. It's a testament to how utterly bizarre the record is, and in a way, it actually reinforces the artificial mystery Jandek has always tried to maintain around this project. (ignore this: I've sent this comment multiple times, but it keeps disappearing, so I'm now adding this part on hopes that it does something)

[@RabidRabbit93111]

Good to see people getting into Jandek! I totally agree with you on the best intro albums. I'm up to around 42 albums and counting, hehe:)

[@revan7383]

Yooo the Who Killed Captain Alex poster in the background!!! You my friend are a man of quality and taste

[@Waluigifan95]

I love the timing of KZbin ads sometimes. “Let’s listen to the opening riff to the first track: Naked In The Afternoon.” *song plays* “Got that? Good. Now let’s listen to the opening riff to track two.” *song plays* Ok, we’re seeing a bit of a similar theme here. Now let’s skip ahead and listen to the opening to track eight.” *sudden ad break*: “It’s November 20th! Universal Children’s Day!”

[@TheBestToasty]

Great to see you cover these important outsider works! good job on presenting them in a fair and unpretentious light. your Cave In On You interpretation is also very cool.

[@bennyjackson5149]

Really interesting review, it feels like you truly put in the effort to dig into everything no matter how jarring it is. Love your stuff brodie

[@JustaRandomGuy890]

David Berman from the Silver Jews has said Jandek is the most underrated musician in history

[@everyvillainislemons7583]

First video. A channel talking about Viper, Ween, and Jandek? Subbed

[@lostinthemasses]

Ok well having found you on my feed with the Chris Chan video, and going through every album in this series, I am now all caught up. My suggestion, which is insanely relevant rn due to it's usage in the counterprotests for the Ottowa truckers, is going to be Grant MacDonald's 2012 album Ram Ranch.

[@nitemirror1]

Jandik is an absolute genius. I wonder what’s going happen when he becomes a common name among music fans.

[@jmason61]

He won't

[@louis5017]

he’s too old to be huge now

[@robertferent8913]

Late to the party, but I suggest anyone interested in Jandek check out his 1987 album “Blue Corpse”. To me, it’s his masterpiece. If you can get your hands on an original LP, that’s the best way to listen to it. The CD reissues are terribly compressed (a lot of the early albums CD counterparts share this trait) and the digital artifacting really ruins the experience… think 96kbps MP3 in 1999 kinda vibe. It’s a tragedy I hope gets some kind of resolution one day (digital transfer from pristine LP?).

[@matchacat3]

thank u for the thanksgiving week gift of both this video and the Jandek rabbithole

[@CactusMalpractice]

Enjoy your trip! If you need a good jumping off point' there are links to some Jandek videos in the description. Samuel Andreyev's video is my favorite of the bunch its a long analysis of Naked in the Afternoon with some personal stories of Jandek thrown in quite an interesting watch!

[@matchacat3]

@@CactusMalpractice awesome, thanks so much!! i’ll definitely be giving them a watch this week!

[@starchaser777]

tbh i find the album and also the artist really sweet. not a good album by any means but idk just knowing he's so dedicated to his art is lovely

[@lucyferabyss1886]

Dedication is the most important thing for me, I hate artists who half ass shit and don’t actually put all their effort and time into pursuing music, and then expect to become famous with low effort stuff :(

[@SlyHikari03]

That house song during the intro was great. Also, the album cover looks like a mix between R plus 7 by Oneohtrix point never and Achievement by pilotredsun.

[@AnEphemeralCollation]

Loved your video. I want to preface this comment with the information that I am not one of those 'vinyl sounds better' people, but if you're beginning to appreciate this record, you owe it to yourself to at least find a good rip of a The Units copy of this; the mastering is so much less claustrophobic and it really brings out so many of the tiny details. Plus, you can hear him put down his guitar between each song, which was edited out of all future versions of the record and is super neat.

[@ZERONETWORK0]

Jandek sounds like he continued the traditions of Delta Blues (especially Son House) but left out the nice stuff and amped up the weird to eleven. I've listened to plenty of weird stuff like Throbbing Gristle, NON, early Swans... Jandek is weirder than everything somehow, and it's mostly a guy and his guitar and nothing else. Maybe the Residents but only their absolute weirdest stuff.

[@indvstrial]

I'm not sure if this would qualify for your system, but the Moldy Peaches's self titled could be seen as hard to listen to to some people and I honestly would love to see you talk about it. Or Merzbow's Pulse Demon if you really want to suffer.

[@lucyferabyss1886]

I listened to this CD at a friend’s once. I was not ready for the house 😱

[@KitCabaret]

I remember seeing a upload of this album from an obscure music archive channel years ago, it had just one comment that said "Absolutely dreadful" and at the time, not knowing how to interpret it, I couldn't really help but agree. Your explanation though, of who Jandek was and how the album came to be, gave me a much bigger appreciation for it as the unique piece that it is! It's made me want to revisit it and meet it on its own terms, rather than holding them to my own personal standards - to me that really feels like what the whole WAEM series is about

[@kayfimt7769]

Love this show. One of these days you must subject yourself to Frank Zappa’s Thing Fish.

[@coffeerules111]

Have you reviewed Corey Feldmans modern day masterpiece "Angelic 2 Tha Core"?

[@CactusMalpractice]

I will in the future!

[@gregslawson5784]

Good job--fun and interesting video! Great to see people dig into music. I'm writing a new music trivia eBook that has a question on Jandek, and one on the Shaggs!

[@CactusMalpractice]

Oh hell yeah! Make sure to link it when its finished Greg!

[@juanfilipwinifred]

Can’t wait for the next waem episode, this channel is extremely underrated

[@coolname8133]

I really like your channel. Severely underrated.

[@zeusmanlord1602]

Cool video. Love how you find all this stuff!

[@selbi182]

Is Patreon the place where I can put music on the wheel? Or do can I just drop something here?

[@CactusMalpractice]

Patreon is where you can guarantee a review for the wheel and if you drop it in the comments there is a chance I might put it on there

[@moose3471]

god i love these videos please make more

[@CactusMalpractice]

Don't worry Moose many many more to come!

[@moose3471]

@@CactusMalpractice so glad to hear that! weird music is a rabbit hole that should never end

[@lanceuppercut8220]

I Can't believe I've never heard of Jandek before this. To me he seems like a less abrasive and harder to listen to version of Factrix and like he was maybe influenced by Suicide.

[@kronictonic]

I really like this series mate. Cheers

[@slickgamesinc.9002]

Suggestion: Christian and the Hedgehog boys

[@Giggens]

Excellent video man, well done!

[@mickeyderp84]

If you ever want to do a live album, you need to listen to The Germs’ “Germicide” album. Best worst live album I ever heard.

[@zoethebear]

It’s a bloody masterpiece.

[@doctabaldhead]

I kind of dig this in a creepy ambient soundtrack kind of way. I certainly wouldn't call it bad at the very least.

[@uforad170]

i should pop this on while i read House of Leaves

[@lrobin-is8dg]

I want the whole killed captain Alex poster you have there!

[@CactusMalpractice]

supastore.wakaliwood.com/collections/stuff-to-hang-1/products/signed-captain-alex-poster this is the link for the poster! But if you are there you gotta pick up a copy of the movie yourself and they will also send you some extra goodies for free for doing so. They are a class act over at Wakaliwood!

[@twistedwizard9100]

Is Angelic 2 The Core on the wheel now?

[@CactusMalpractice]

Angelic 2 the core will be a special episode I will cover during a milestone either 5000 or 10000 subs!

[@juanfilipwinifred]

Jandek is in fact a very nice person. Last year I sent him a letter telling him about what I got out of his music. A couple months went by and he sent me a box of his CDs with no worded reply.

[@ConvincingPeople]

Ready for the House is a deeply eerie listen, in places like listening to music created by a ghost or a corpse whispering an old blues from some other, unknowable place in your ear. In terms of early Jandek, I think Six and Six and Chair Beside a Window are both a fair bit easier to get into, as while they are still very strange and spooky, the songs are more conventionally distinct and the overall aura is less, uhhh, cursed. That said, the period beginning with 1987's Blue Corpse up through 1992's Lost Cause is probably the most traditionally accessible part of his catalogue until you get to some of his mellower live sets over a decade after that point, consisting mostly of… I guess you'd call them rock records? Think early live and noisy Velvet Underground by way of Texas country-blues and boogie, with occasional ominous digressions into psychedelic folk and experimental minimalism. Those later live records (and occasional bootlegs) are also great, but pinpointing where to start is difficult as they're very diverse, ranging from spiky noise-rock to gentle jazz-folk to solo acoustic sets to pure ambient to really weird funk. …if it isn't apparent I love Jandek quite a bit. Listening to Ready for the House at thirteen did something to my brain. I have no regrets in that department.

[@Chris-qo4rt]

Just discovered your channel! Really like the way you make videos, it's very engaging and you got yourself a new subscriber! :)

[@brentwillis260]

I've listened to many Gander albums and I like most of them. This one is one of his more difficult ones because of the reasons described. I like him better when he's playing with other musicians. But if you think Ready for the House is hard to listen to, you should check out his spoken word albums. You'll be craving his detuned twanging guitar in no time.

[@CrashHeadroom]

Sounds like Syd Barret and Trent Reznor on a year long binge :S.

[@Geferulf_TAS]

I desperately want that signed WHO KILLED CAPTAIN ALEX? poster behind you

[@chernobylcoleslaw6698]

I wish he was on Spotify to deep dive; currently only 3 songs

[@drasticmeadowsreal]

Yooo I hope you see this but I recommend you listen to Tom Macdonald’s ghost stories. ONE of the WORST rap albums I have ever heard. The lyrics. The stuff Tom talks about in the album is HORRID. And cringey. Def put that on the list

[@mrsticker2]

Are you suuuuure that you would rather listen to Jandek and Metal Machine Music before your top two worst albums?

[@CactusMalpractice]

You really underestimate how much I don't like nostalgia critic

[@wesleyharden7761]

Ready for the House is one of my favorite albums of all time.

[@marklechman2225]

Whether you're a fan or not, the world would be a much less interesting place without Jandek.

[@keithmorrison8373]

Yeah i read the lyrics and yeah its impossible to tell what there about

[@Z_E_B_O]

You should really check out Boredoms - super roots 6 if you want to have a good time.

[@dublev78]

I love Boredoms. They are great.

[@DeadKoby]

Jandek..... I learned about him from Songs in the Key Of Z........

[@robh9079]

A bit of Cage should 'prepare' you for the guitar textures here.

[@thekidfromiowa]

You heard one song from that album you've heard them all.

[@lukebouchard1164]

YAYYY JANDEK

[@guitaoist]

i wish i could record myself tuning a guitar for money too....or not tune it..

[@t.v.i.m]

The album cover looks like a BTS pic from DHMIS lol

[@zazawizard911]

it does 😂😂

[@dumbage]

Such an amazing album

[@johnrunnels5016]

You very badly need to do... Bad Religion - Into The Unknown

[@roses2944]

A video on The Apollo Stars - Power Of Source would be cool!!! jazz album produced by l ron hubbard

[@claudiasolomon1123]

I assumed you were exaggerating when you said all these songs sound the same. oh no they really do all sound the same😳

[@TheVioletBunny]

Oh nice jandek I requested this a while ago

[@Rukusoru]

i hate how i can smell the album cover

[@alphalax7747]

album cover is 70s liminal space

[@robbery666.]

YESSSS! GREAT ALBUM!

[@GEM99Show]

LOL, great video. You should take a look at Garth Brook's Greatest Hit Album. ..............................................I mean *Chris Gaine's* Greatest Hits Album.

[@wolfetteplays8894]

I bought this album to listen to. I was not ready for the house…

[@imonthevergeoftears1543]

I disagree, I think you should listen to it on a lonely, naked afternoon. A gloomy summer afternoon.

[@fabriziofederico9487]

MAO - Graveyard Music

[@bobbycampbell7790]

Merzbow - Pulse Demon!! Please!!!!!!

[@jandick5930]

I made the best album ever made all my albums are the best ever !

[@Dotdotdot51516]

so true jandy

[@jandick5930]

@@Dotdotdot51516 thank you

[@mcheezy]

Has anybody ever told you that you look like the guy from Garrett's Secret Account?

[@kayfimt7769]

Was that a photo of Dick Valentine?

[@CactusMalpractice]

oh no! that was just a photo a friend gave me around 5 years ago for my birthday. just a little easter egg if they happened to see the video

[@kayfimt7769]

@@CactusMalpractice well your friend looks like Dick Valentine, hahaha.

[@2148aa]

amazing what you can do with a rich daddy.

[@DanHintz]

are you saying jandek'a dad is rich and paid for the pressing of all of the albums? if so, i have never read or heard this about him.

[@chrisperez3614]

I think you mean greatest albums

[@nitemirror1]

i don’t see maroon 5 or John Mayer on your wheel. Do you even know what bad music is😂

[@CactusMalpractice]

No one has suggested them at this time but if you want to put some names down you'd like me to cover let me know 😎

[@jmason61]

Yes he does & it's not by those bands

[@eastbaykidd8574]

As bad as it is, it's still better than 98% of the rap and hip-hop out there...

[@pegasusactua2985]

This came out in 1978? This sounds like shit you'd hear today off someones bandcamp page. Talk about ahead of your time.

[@lucyferabyss1886]

Tell me about it, it sounds like something I’d create

[@LeSeanRa]

I've seen Jandek live. I wouldn’t recommend it.

[@BadmintonMom]

hate comment

[@DanHintz]

from a mom who plays badminton. says it all, really.