there's a film coming out pretty soon called "the devil and daniel johnston" ( i think it's at the cornerhouse in manchester from may 8th). it's about a guy called daniel johnston who is a strange and wonderful singer/songwriter. a friend of mine at college gave me a copy of his album Hi how are you. even the original looked like it had been made in someones bedroom. The music had in fact been recorded in daniel's room. you could hear him coughing and starting the song again when he or his friend got it wrong.the music was definately raw and lo-fi but had something to it. honesty, symplicity and clever lyrics.
This tape is all i had for years, never heard anything about him or met anyone who had heard of him. then a few years back he released a new album. a proper one and suddenly people started writing about him. see the thing about daniel is that he has suffered with mental illnesses all his life and has to be cared for fulltime by his parents. this means that he wasn't really able to leave his hometown of austin, texas much so his stuff kind of just passed from person to person by word of mouth. There's a picture of Kurt Cobain weasring a daniel johston tshirt that got quite a few people interested and other bands like Sonic Youth and Yo Lo Tengo covered his songs.
So the other day when Viking Moses asked if anyone knew Daniel Johnston a let out a happy 'yes'. Actually myself, lisa and mark p? (was it you mark who came with us-been trying to remember) managed to see him on one of his rare live gigs at night and day cafe- i even got to speak to him...if only briefly). There was also a big review in the metro that day of the film.
so there you are, just felt like sharing daniel johnston with a few more people. and to say you should go see the film The devil and daniel johnston , there is also an exhibition of his art down at the london aquarium if you are down that way.
4 comments:
ive never heard of him i think, so it might not have been me. but if it makes me look cooler, yes it was me.
The Devil and Danieal Johnston. Is that meant to be a take on Robert Johnston - the blues guitarist who "sold his soul on the crossroads"? (Its a complete fabrication, he just went away for a while to learn guitar).
possibly. i think it it is refering to his devils possiblys (mental illness). or the religious aspect to his stuff. he was brought up in a strict fundamentalist home so often religious stuff comes in to his lyrics. apparently he was offered a major music contract a few years back but he backed out as he heard the "satanic" metallica were also on that label.
ok was it you rainey who came to see him at night and day?
I remember fondly Yo La Tengo's cover of "Speeding Motorcycle." Sweet stuff.
Post a Comment