The Devil and Daniel Johnston

Last night I watched "The Devil and Daniel Johnston," a documentary on the eternally fragile, and mountainously creative artist, filmmaker, and musician, Daniel Johnston. Anyone who pays any attention to Texas underground music (and American underground for that matter), should already be familiar with him, and at least be aware of the basics of his work: the "Hi, How Are You?" tape, and his instantly recognizable cartoons and watercolors. While I've heard him here and there for many years, I was never a huge fan, and often felt a little uncomfortable as I heard stories about his consistent unravelling before the eyes of his "fans." His mental problems are the stuff of legend, even myth, and according to the film, they are for the most part almost entirely true.

What I took from the documentary, which was excellent by the way, was that this is a man who is very clearly treading a thin line between madness and sanity. And while his music sounds rather disjointed and almost emotionally painful to the point of being difficult, there is also a playfull enthusiasm, and heartfelt intensity that is hard to deny. But it is also hard for me to draw the line between where his fans stop being fans and start being exploitative. Now that his father has assumed the role of managing Daniel, he is no doubt in the most capable hands there are in this world, and it's tragic to realize that when Daniel's parents are gone, he will face a frighteningly unsure future.

Virtually born with an innate desire to express himself in some sort of creative fashion, Johnston quickly took to drawing and filming with a super 8 camera. It was soon apparent to his family that Daniel was not like his siblings in many critical ways. He was more inwardly focused than his siblings, sleeping in late, and turning his room into an extension of his inner world. And this world was one that was raging with ideas. He took to making tapes of his experiences, a sort of audio diary. He would tape shouting matches he would have with his mother, who was clearly confused and concerned about what was becoming of her unique child.

Further developing his love of artwork led him into a brief and ultimately unsuccessful trip to college. However, Daniel did manage to meet the girl who would become his lifelong muse and inspiration. A deleted scene shows the twenty plus year reunion between the two, and it is fairly moving if not a little uncomfortable for me to watch, partially because of my role as a voyeur, and partially because Daniel's realtionship to her is a little unbalanced and quite frankly, a bit of a manipulation on his part. He uses his idealization of her to fuel his illness in a sense, as well as for source material.

As far as the film itself goes, the cinematography of the footage shot for the film is amazing, and really gives a specifically beautiful atmosphere to the film. They do a great job of integrating a ton of audio recording with archival film and video, and photographs, without basically creating a sort of montage. The whole thing flows smoothly, and I found myself really caring about this person, and relating to him.

It was also cool to see Mark from Clouded who now plays in Daniel's band The Nightmares. I remember when he told me he was playing for Daniel. I was amazed. It's a touch of a departure from Clouded to say the least, but Mark is a great guitarist, and he could easily handle Daniel's pop travesties.

The music, in all honesty, is not for everyone, although watching the film, you would be excused for thinking that you somehow were left off the boat. No one seems to think his work is anything but genius. I don't question his songs strengths, because I think they are often brilliant. But in order to accept Daniel's music, you have to be ready to accept the challenge of learning a little about who he is, because while much of his music is playful and fun, it is also very fragile, like him, and it would be easy for it to simply fall apart with the slightest tap.

As long as his parents are in the picture, and he keeps taking his medicine, Daniel will probably be fine. His story is amazing, as is the film. Both are worth checking out and supporting. My only caveat would be that we, as fans, should be a little sensitive to who this man is, and what his needs are, because he is truly unique and wonderful, and it is a little too easy to take advantage of his weakness for our own benefit. A healthy Daniel Johnston is a treasure. A sick Daniel Johnston is a tragedy.

Catch Daniel here: Hi, How Are You?