Daniel Johnston, perhaps the best songwriter the world has seen. The Beatles mixed with Randy Newman, carefully blended with a mental illness or two and topped off with an enthusiasm few can match.
The latter is to me a key component to his brilliance, and the main reason I prefer his earlier material from when he was still a hyperactive kid brimful of youthful exuberance recording ditties inbetween bouncing off the walls.
Although I admit he never lost the knack for writing great songs with memorable hooks, and he is still producing quality stuff to this day. His latest album
Is and Always Was is out soon, go get it.
There's just something about the unbridled energy of his earliest recordings I can't resist. 100% envigorating and life-affirming, despite the often bleak themes.
I wrote a big long piece of Johnston back in March, so in case you're unfamiliar with him, read that one for info. You'll find it
here.
I'm always in the mood for Daniel Johnston and lately it's become something close to an obsession, so I compulsively compiled a big fat collection of my favorite songs of his, as I tend todo when I get overly obsessed with any given artist.
Perhaps 40 tracks is a bit overkill - maybe an hour and a half of rough lofi homerecordings of a young lisping man banging on a piano or an organ and yelping about comic book characters, God and unrequited love is a bit much for some. But whatever, my Mediafire account allows a file size of 100 mb, so I just kept adding songs until I'd filled my quota.
Mostly early stuff, taken from
Songs Of Pain (1981),
Don't Be Scared (1982),
The What Of Whom (1982),
More Songs Of Pain (1983),
Yip/Jump Music (1983),
Hi, How Are You (1983),
Continued Story (1985),
It's Spooky (1989) and
1990 (1990).
(zip) Metal Bastard's favorite Daniel Johnston songs (98 mb)
1. Story of an artist (1982)
2. Grievances (1981)
3. Peek a boo (1982)
4. Lost without a dame (1982)
5. Casper the friendly ghost (1983)
6. Only missing you (1983)
7. Joy without pleasure (1981)
8. Devil town (1990)
9. Walking the cow (1983)
10. I will (1983)
11. Evening stars (1982)
12. I'm nervous (1987)
13. Man obsessed (1982)
14. You put my love out the door (1983)
15. I had a dream (1982)
16. Don't let the sun go down on your grievances (1983)
17. Wicked world (1981)
18. I'll never marry (1983)
19. I saw her standing there (1985)
20. Lazy (1981)
21. Never before, never again (1982)
22. Get yourself together (1983)
23. The sun shines down on me (1982)
24. Chord organ blues (1983)
25. Like a monkey in a zoo (1981)
26. Living life (1981)
27. I had lost my mind (1982)
28. Speeding motorcycle (1983)
29. True love will find you in the end (1990)
30. The Beatles (1983)
31. Never relaxed (1981)
32. Since I lost my tooth (1981)
33. McDonalds on the brain (1989)
34. Sorry entertainer (1983)
35. To go home (1982)
36. Urge (1981)
37. Rarely (1983)
38. Laurie (1992)
39. Brainwash (1981)
40. Hate song (1981)
Buy 'em all @ Amazon.com.
