The Smiley Smile Message Board

Died of a heart attack at 58

https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/music/2019-09-11/austin-songwriting-genius-daniel-johnston-dead-at-58/

Damn shame. I'm not familiar with his music. But where to start? I see he gets a chapter in Irwin Chusid's outsider music book.

Same thing happened with Amy--I only got into her music after she passed. Criminal really.

I like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkczI1-be1k (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkczI1-be1k)

Man, that's hard to watch without tearing up. Thanks for sharing, GH.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FKW2H0WBqW8

That is so beautiful :'(

The best things in life are truly free
Singing birds and laughing bees
"You've got me wrong", says he.
"The sun don't shine in your TV"

That's gonna stick with me. Thanks for sharing that Billy.

Thanks. Just may be my favorite song he did

https://www.lambiek.net/artists/j/johnston_daniel.htm

My two favorites by Daniel:

The Story of an Artist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_RbSAwMa3U

Worried Shoes: Performed by Karen O

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_OKv6iNe1k

If I can get off work I’m going to the memorial. Haven’t talked with his brother in some years and this is a hell of a way to catch up. 

My daughter’s been playing True Love Will Find You In The End a lot since getting the news. Learned to play it pretty quick. We’re going to probably record it sometime this weekend

"The Devil and Daniel Johnston" is one of the best docs ever -- wonderful and heart poking even if you're not aware of him -- as was my case prior to watching it.

He was smiling through his own personal hell
Dropped his last dime in a wishing well
But he was hoping to close and then he fell
Now he's Casper the Friendly Ghost

He was always polite to the people who'd tell him
That he was nothing but a lazy bum, but
Goodbye to them he had to go
Now he's Casper the Friendly Ghost

Nobody treated him nice while he was alive
You can't buy no respect like the librarian said, but
Everybody respects the dead, they
Love a friendly ghost

And now they say we'll never forget what he learned
As we were mean to him but he never burned
Just singing, "love lives forever!"
Thank you, Casper the Friendly Ghost
Thank you, Casper the Friendly Ghost

Shine on....

He saw himself as Casper...the lyrics were partially autobiographical, about how his mom used to yell at him for spending all his time doing art and working on music. You know, the things that later gave him a modicum of fame

The lyrics of Never Relaxed are also darkly hilarious , where this dude’s life and luck are so depressingly bad even Satan ends up feeling sorry for him

This song was my introduction to Daniel. It was on the soundtrack to a film called Surburbia which I only bought for the Flaming Lips and Sebadoh tracks.

Oops. Not Surburbia.... KIDS...

(I’ve actually never seen either movie, but I love both soundtracks.

That song was also used in a rather dark movie called Kids, when this dude named Casper beats a dude with a skateboard in a rather horrifying scene

Motherfuck!!!  :o :o I felt that through the computer screen.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7a7T1i4gUA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmCh_0AsEyk