Daniel Johnston is possibly (probably?) the nearest thing I'll ever come to a person who can be described as a man-child. I mean that in a positive way. I had the pleasure of seeing him a few years back and his presence on stage was that of an awkward/shy/insert suitable adjective here 9-year old boy. Even though the lithium and God knows what that he's taken for years to battle his mental problems has meant that his weight has ballooned he still came across as gangly. It made him genuinely endearing without being twee and it made the gig all that more intimate.
I digress, I've been listening a lot to Daniel tonight. My favourites are his classic "Casper the Friendly Ghost" and an early-ish one of his: "Despair Came Knocking". His songs are of course lo-fi to the extreme but also are so deeply personal and self-confessional, I can't recall any other artist who approaches songwriting with such an honest approach. Johnston lays bear his soul with every song and shows a courage that I can only admire. The world is a better place with people like Daniel in it.
I'm adding this live version of 'Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Your Grievance' as you might be able to get an idea of what I mean (the quality is also a lot better than most of Johnston's music on the web).
Night, night.
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