"I guess I lean towards the excessive, but that's the way it is when you're a manic depressive." Daniel Johnston In the 80's MTV played music, albeit mostly terrible. There was however, one really good monthly show called "The Cutting Edge." It was not produced by the MTV, but rather by an adventurous music company called IRS. One month they had a special show from Austin, TX. On it, was a live performance from a wonderful singer/songwriter named Daniel Johnston. He had a creaky voice, played guitar amateurishly, and conveyed a real sense of vulnerability. I remember thinking, if I could sing, this is the way I would like to sound.
In Jeff Feuerzeig's (Take that spell check) documentary "The Devil And Daniel Johnston," we get a history of the man. There is only one very short piece interview footage with Daniel, but we get many audio clips of tapes he has taken over the years. We also get interviews with the musicians who admire him, and with his parents, now in their 80's, He is a manic depressive, probably schizophrenic, usually lives with his family, and has been in and out of mental hospitals all his life. His symptoms have occasionally been violent, such as causing the crash of a piloted by his father.
Johnston's parents were very religious. When he got into high school, he was considered an art star. In his 20's, he started playing organ and guitar brother's basement, beginning to record songs independently. Through a series of strange circumstances, he ended up in Austin where he developed a cult following for his homemade tapes and performances.
Then he ended up on MTV. While he never became a big ole' rock star, he did acquire fans such as Sonic Youth, The Butthole Surfers, Glass Eye, Half Japanese, and most notably Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. When Nirvana exploded in the early 90's, Cobain was frequently seen wearing a T-shirt with artwork by Johnston. This affiliation led to a recording contract with Atlantic, which released the album "Fun" in 1994. The album flopped, and he was soon dropped from the label.
One interesting side story in the film is the relationship with Johnston's one time manager. He frequently helped Johnston when he was in trouble, and remained devoted to his music, even after Johnston fired him. He is compared to the title character in Woody Allen's "Broadway Danny Rose," a talent manager who handles hopeless acts and is deserted by any of them who become successful. He is still involved in getting Johnston's music out to the public.
Cut to the present. Johnston meets a local band that admire him and they start jamming together. The lead guitarist is seen wearing a shirt that says "F**k Satan." (This is probably the only reason for the film's PG13 rating.) Johnston's old recordings that were previously only available on cassettes and vinyl are now finally being released on CD, and he has a new album coming out. His artwork is wildly successful. Unfortunately he is now morbidly obese, diabetic, and smokes three packs of cigarettes a day.
My only criticism of the film is that there weren't enough musical performances. Also, there could have been more interviews with the title subject. However, these are minor quibbles. Hopefully the film will expose his music to a much larger audience.
In Jeff Feuerzeig's (Take that spell check) documentary "The Devil And Daniel Johnston," we get a history of the man. There is only one very short piece interview footage with Daniel, but we get many audio clips of tapes he has taken over the years. We also get interviews with the musicians who admire him, and with his parents, now in their 80's, He is a manic depressive, probably schizophrenic, usually lives with his family, and has been in and out of mental hospitals all his life. His symptoms have occasionally been violent, such as causing the crash of a piloted by his father.
Johnston's parents were very religious. When he got into high school, he was considered an art star. In his 20's, he started playing organ and guitar brother's basement, beginning to record songs independently. Through a series of strange circumstances, he ended up in Austin where he developed a cult following for his homemade tapes and performances.
Then he ended up on MTV. While he never became a big ole' rock star, he did acquire fans such as Sonic Youth, The Butthole Surfers, Glass Eye, Half Japanese, and most notably Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. When Nirvana exploded in the early 90's, Cobain was frequently seen wearing a T-shirt with artwork by Johnston. This affiliation led to a recording contract with Atlantic, which released the album "Fun" in 1994. The album flopped, and he was soon dropped from the label.
One interesting side story in the film is the relationship with Johnston's one time manager. He frequently helped Johnston when he was in trouble, and remained devoted to his music, even after Johnston fired him. He is compared to the title character in Woody Allen's "Broadway Danny Rose," a talent manager who handles hopeless acts and is deserted by any of them who become successful. He is still involved in getting Johnston's music out to the public.
Cut to the present. Johnston meets a local band that admire him and they start jamming together. The lead guitarist is seen wearing a shirt that says "F**k Satan." (This is probably the only reason for the film's PG13 rating.) Johnston's old recordings that were previously only available on cassettes and vinyl are now finally being released on CD, and he has a new album coming out. His artwork is wildly successful. Unfortunately he is now morbidly obese, diabetic, and smokes three packs of cigarettes a day.
My only criticism of the film is that there weren't enough musical performances. Also, there could have been more interviews with the title subject. However, these are minor quibbles. Hopefully the film will expose his music to a much larger audience.