The Devil and Daniel Johnston

The Devil and Daniel Johnston.
2006 Sony Pictures Classics.
Starring: Daniel Johnston
Also featuring: The Johnston Family (Bill, Mabel, Dick and Margie), David Fair, Jad Fair, Matt Groening, Gibby Haynes, Thurston Moore, Laurie Allen
Director: Jeff Feuerzieg
Available at Amazon.
Visit the official site.

If you remember seeing Kurt Cobain in the early 1990s wearing a white T-shirt with an odd looking cartoon character on it saying "Hi, how are you?", that shirt was designed by Daniel Johnston, a gifted singer, songwriter, and visual artist, and he's also the subject of this 2006 documentary.

Johnston has suffered all of his life from manic depression, and his first attack may have occured in junior high school, when his mother Mabel described Daniel as "losing all of his wonderful confidence". This might have been caused by his parents trying to force him to live a strict, religious upbringing, and suggesting that he place God above everything else (Daniel has had many religious-triggered incidents in his life, usually where he rants nonstop about the Devil). However, this didn't halt him from pursuing his passions of playing the piano, filming home movies, and drawing constantly, despite the disapproval of his mother, who Daniel recorded yelling at him to add to his first home recorded albums like Songs of Pain and Don't Be Scared. (Note: Daniel constantly recorded his thoughts to cassette tape, and we get to hear many of his thoughts as he struggles to cope with his mental condition.)

After a failed stint at Abilene Christian University, Daniel enrolled at the East Liverpool branch of Kent State to study art, where he met the love of his life, Laurie Allen. While Laurie did seem to enjoy Daniel's attention from the home video that he recorded of her, Laurie married an undertaker, fueling Daniel's passion for her and giving him a reason to focus his pain and confusion into his music. The DVD includes a reunion of Laurie and Daniel as an extra, and as heart warming as it is, Laurie still turns down Daniel's marriage proposal. Poor guy...someday, he'll get the girl (or not).

Relocating to Austin, Texas, Daniel gets a job at a local McDonald's, where he passes out copies of his homemade albums, and appears on an episode of MTV's The Cutting Edge that highlighted local Austin musicians. This, and an appearance at the 1985 Woodshock music festival gives him increased attention. Daniel also starts smoking marijuana, and drops acid at a Butthole Surfers concert (which were already weird enough without the aid of chemical enhancement). Things go downhill from there. Daniel is institutionalized after a violent incident with his family at Christmas, goes on medication, and spends a year in bed. Afterwards, Daniel takes a trip to New York City as the guest of members of Sonic Youth, where his problems escalate, but he refuses to go home or acknowledge anything may be wrong.

Even after Daniel causes his father's plane to crash (still a very emotional topic for his father Bill), and is put back in a mental hospital again, major record labels start trying to sign him. Elektra Records offers Daniel the most beneficial, one-sided contact for eight records, including a clause that he can't be dropped from the label due to poor record sales, but he turns it down because Metallica is also on the label, and he's afraid that they'll come after him and kill him. Well, maybe not, but Metallica might have sued him for what have you... (Kidding) Instead, Daniel signs with another company, who drops him after his only major label release Fun sells less than 10,000 copies.

Regardless, with the help of his parents, Daniel stabilizes the best he can, living with them in a small Texas town, where he continues to write and record music, draw nonstop, and perform live. Daniel usually stops using his medications before a performance, because he feels that it will make the show "better". Still, there's always a few in every audience who try goading Daniel into a meltdown onstage.

Recommended documentary, but Daniel Johnston's music isn't for everyone, of course.