For a long time musician Daniel Johnston's fame was one based on notoriety more than anything else. Whenever his name came up it was almost always in the context of David Bowie and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain being huge fans of his. For me I first encountered him at London's Chisenhale gallery as part of a show by Peter Friedl that dealt with the King Kong theme. Daniel Johnston's soundtrack, recorded at a live performance of his song 'King Kong' and its lyrics, are the things that stays with me. There's an unease that comes with the artistic output of those who suffer obvious issues around their mental health and the audiences they attract. In Johnston's case his depression and schizophrenia aren't the only things: there's his drug abuse and violence to take into account. I've seen him twice now and both were thrilling and painful in equal measure. If anyone sang the Bond theme 'Live and Let Die' on the X Factor as badly as he did at the Royal Festival Hall they'd be booted out the door straight away, but seeing him on stage with his beat up guitar and out of tune voice it's impossible to not stare, marvel and finally revel at what you're seeing and hearing. It's not that he sings so badly it's good at all - it's just that he sings it like nobody except Daniel Johnston.
I'm not sure if I want to go and see him play again as much as I love playing the tapes and CDs - the second time he looked scared and in worse shape than the time before. Like Kurt Cobain I have the Hello How are you? Daniel Johnston t-shirt except that mine is white text out of black. I think of him whenever I wear it. Maybe that's enough.
4oD on The Devil and Daniel Johnston:
Daniel Johnston is an acclaimed singer and artist who suffers from manic depression. Jeff Feuerzeig's Sundance-winning film is a unique portrait of his work.
In the course of a career which stretches back to the 1980s, Daniel Johnston has written well over 100 love songs. What makes them unusual is that they're all about one woman, Laurie, the object of his unrequited affection for over 20 years. Despite the fact that Laurie rejected Daniel and eventually married an undertaker, his ardour has never dulled. Johnston does have other creative muses though, most notably Jesus, Captain America, The Beatles and Casper The Friendly Ghost. The interview subjects, including Johnston's elderly parents and long-suffering manager, are refreshingly honest about life with a manic-depressive. Home movie footage doesn't just serve as a visual backdrop for anecdotes, but shows that despite initial appearances, Johnston is one extremely smart and self-aware cookie.
Read about The Devil and Daniel Johnston on More4 and watch it on 4oD.
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