Oh, Jandek

I have been floored. This isn't something that happens often when it comes to art, especially upon first consumption. This isn't the kind of "What the fuck was that?" kind of floored that I was a few weeks ago when Ultra Pulverizer ultra pulverized Mice Pace; this is the kind of floored one becomes when he or she experiences utter beauty. In this case, the composition in question is Jandek's Glasgow Monday, a live recording from the mysterious avant-garde musician's May 23, 2005 set at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow, Scotland. Divided into a prelude and nine subsequent parts, the set is one masterpiece of a song: "The Cell." Throughout the set, Jandek repeatedly whispers, "What do I have?" over a softly-played melancholy piano and haunting swells of chimes and bass. A piece of yearning, searching, and self-examination, Glasgow Monday/"The Cell" induced in me tears of joy--nothing this stunningly honest and beautiful has crossed my ears in a damn long time. I hope Jandek finds the answer to his question.