Manics and devils

That 'The Devil and Daniel Johnston' docu is amazingly well done, showing the demise of a teenage songwriting genius while being transformed into a manic depressed christian obsessed person. I liked the part in the late 80's where he quite freaked out the Sonic Youth folks, who was really punk there now? ;)
To me, the docu really showed how people from early on took advantage of his kind personality and creativity for their own purposes, whether it were his ex-lovers, other musicians or his own family. Only his manager/friend remained loyal to him and is also the person who revived his career from obscurity. I could go on giving some useless analysis on the whole film but naaaah, just go and watch it yourselves.

Here some old songs taken from his teenage tapes, such grand lyrics!
"Respect love of the heart over lust of the flesh,
do yourself a favour and become your own savior"

Daniel Johnston - Story Of An Artist (here he sings about how his own family treated him)
Daniel Johnston - The Sun Shines Down On Me
Daniel Johnston - Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Your Grievience

And a superb cover version by TV On The Radio (one of the better live bands during the summer festivals), followed by the original.
TV On The Radio - Walking The Cow
Daniel Johnston - Walking The Cow

then.....















and now...........