Celebrating the Music of Daniel Johnston (1961-2019)
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It feels like cheating.
When an artist you love passes, you're supposed to dive headfirst into their recordings. You seek out their classic songs, their deep cuts, you immerse yourself in all that magic, one more time as a ceremony. And then, at some point, you write something pithy on Facebook or share an obit. It's a rite that sadly is becoming a weekly occurrence.
But when singer-songrwriter-artist Daniel Johnston passed away this week at the age of 58, I didn't want to his hear records again. Amidst all that incredible songwriting he was known for, Johnston had a rough life filled with mental illness, minor victories and setbacks. It's hard to hear joy in those ramshackle albums - so many of which started out as a home cassette recordings. The lyrics themselves are pure and brilliant, but the records are scrapbooks of a life with pain. Music may have saved Daniel Johnston but it was also a mirror into all his challenges. And, though I love weird and challenging music more than anyone, sometimes it's just too much.
So what I needed to hear was Kathy McCarty's Dead Dog's Eyeball, her tribute to Daniel Johnston from 1994.
And, yes, that feels a bit like cheating.
I'll go on the record: Dead Dog's Eyeball is one of the best records to come out of Austin, Texas... ever. I say that without exaggeration. Yes, I know all the same Texas singer-songwriters and Americana bands you do. This is as good as any of those. It's also one of the best tribute records, ever. That, 25 years later, it still sounds fresh today is astounding. So little does.
What McCarty and her band did with this tribute is awe-inspiring: She took Johnston's songs and lyrics to new heights, like a conductor lifting compositions off the printed page. She gave them a bounce, celebrating the art and the artist himself without getting bogged down or trying to make weird songs sound even weirder. The arrangements - which range from pop to piano ballads to a pub sing-along ("Hate Song") are joyous. She takes songs like "Walking the Cow" and "Monkey in a Zoo" and spotlights Johnston's lyrics so well that you want everyone in the world to cover them, too.
I loved this record when it came out; I still love it. And I hope Daniel Johnston loved it, too.