a movie recommendation....
i have to give groundcat credit for this one. I'd heard of the documentary and knew daniel johnston was an "outsider artist" who kurt cobain liked. (cobain wore the tshirt in a bunch of publicty photos in the 90's.)
"the devil and daniel johnston" is haunting and disturbing. his family released an entire archive of films and tapes he started recording in his teens. you see the affects of mental illness and super-strict religous parents who didn't understand what was happening to their son.
he's still alive and playing concerts where he still sings about his obsession with casper the friendly ghost and a childhood crush named laurie. we're going to see him play the grog shop in may. go read the wiki links i've provided to learn more. the wikipedia entry about casper is interesting. did you know he tried to commit suicide (before realizing he was already dead)? total sad bastard cartoon......
"the devil and daniel johnston" is haunting and disturbing. his family released an entire archive of films and tapes he started recording in his teens. you see the affects of mental illness and super-strict religous parents who didn't understand what was happening to their son.
he's still alive and playing concerts where he still sings about his obsession with casper the friendly ghost and a childhood crush named laurie. we're going to see him play the grog shop in may. go read the wiki links i've provided to learn more. the wikipedia entry about casper is interesting. did you know he tried to commit suicide (before realizing he was already dead)? total sad bastard cartoon......
Didn't Nirvana cover a Daniel Johnston song? The guy had it hard. The more prolific he was, the more attention he got, and the attention wasn't always manageable for his precarious mental health.
ReplyDeleteThe SST label guys would often get Johnston gigs opening for acts like the Minutemen and the Black Flag splinter projects. But due to his unpredictability and his frequent need to take breaks for hospitalizations, his career has been as unstable as his health.
He keeps trying. It's good, like if Henry Darger had actually gotten some benefit from his work instead of just dying and everyone else profiting.
i was thinking the same thing, that at least he is profitting from his work, unlike darger and most other "outside artists."
ReplyDeletehe's playing solo at the grog shop and i am prepared for anything. his shows are obviously hit & miss. but the ticket was onlt $12 and he's worth the risk of a cancellation or bad show.