The Devil and Daniel Johnston

I first heard Daniel Johnston in 1995 when 2 of his songs ("Casper" and "Casper the Friendly Ghost") appeared on the "Kids" Soundtrack. I bought that soundtrack as soon as it came out because at the time I was a really big Sebadoh/Sentridoh/Folk Implosion/Lou Barlow fan (I was a 17 year old stoner at the time... what else would you expect). Anyway when I heard that the soundtrack was coming out that had 9 Lou Barlow project songs on it I had to have it, and of course I listened to it tons of times. At the time I partially wrote off Johnston as a novelty act "Casper the friendly ghost" was recorded in an extremely lo-fi fashion with what sounds like a toy organ and Johnston's unique voice. It wasn't that I disliked the song I guess I just had a hard time taking it completely seriously (remember I was 17 at the time). The funny thing is that as time went on I noticed that I often had "Casper the friendly ghost" pop into my head. Years after the fact I can barely remember any of the Lou Barlow songs on that soundtrack yet I would catch myself with lines from "Casper the friendly ghost" like "He was smiling through his own personal hell, dropped his last dime in a wishing well..." running through my mind. So I thought that if this song could have stuck with me for this long, there must be something to this Daniel Johnston character, I should get some of his records and find out what his story is. When I finally got some full recordings, I understood the genius that was Daniel Johnston.

Anyone that knows anything about Johnston knows that he has battled mental illness for some time and there are stories that seem almost too bizarre to be true surrounding his life and career. When I heard that they were making a documentary about him I couldn't wait to see it. Well....... I finally saw it and I have to say it doesn't disappoint. The story is tragic in many ways but beautiful in many ways too. I really don't want to say too much about the film but I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan or a fan of a good documentary. Watch the trailer if you need more convincing.