Wesley Willis was a troubled guy whose one source of joy was his art and music. Making music and drawings was his way of coping with life. The voices in his head (his "demons") said horrible things to him, but he stayed a sweet, friendly guy most of the time because of making and selling his artwork. It kept him anchored in the world that was clouded by his mental illness. To me, that's heroic.
That's legit a schizofrenic person's superpower - finding something that reliably or even reliably-ish roots them in reality. It's very, very hard to stay puffed among the living for someone who's constantly (at least as soon as the brain gets a few off-duty cycles) distracted with nasty, weird, insidious or even just funnily odd input from voices in their head.
I knew a guy who was physically disabled and had autism. He wanted to be a musical comedian like Bo Burnham and wrote and recorded pretty lo fi and offensive music. Everyone at our school said that it was mean to listen to his music and laugh at his songs, but that was the whole point of what he wanted. You don’t write comedy music for people not to laugh. It was sometimes nonsensical and purposely bad, but everytime he came out with a new song I genuinely enjoyed how funny and off beat the songs were. It was way more insulting to not engage with his music the way HE wanted you to engage with it because you felt sorry for him or thought laughing at poorly written music was mean. As a fan myself I was never laughing at him, I was laughing at jokes he was intentionally making, but people tend to not see those with disabilities as people with thought and intention that should be engaged with as such. Anyways, I feel glad to have been able to follow an outsider musician for a time.
Another thing that I love about Daniel Johnson is that when someone asked to here his albums/eps (before he was signed) he would sit down, record his cassette tape, and play the entire album through. Then hand draw the art, and give it back to the person next day. Every. Single. Time. I might be wrong but I believe there are over 500 unique copies of “hi how are you” only on cassette. Sad that they’re removing his songs on Spotify. That problem needs to be solved so more people can hear all about him.
This is true, he had no way to copy a version of an album to give out for promotion so he would do the entire album, start to finish then give it away. That probably resulted in many different versions of those songs.
I’ve been a professional musician for 25 years and I still think the best thing I’ve ever done was recorded on a ghetto blaster in my bedroom when I was 15 and had no idea how to play guitar. Just me noodling and my friend reading his poetry over the top of it. Nothing but beautiful noise.
Daniel Johnston is one of my favorite artists of all time and I’m so happy someone is talking about him, his song “story of an artist” is one of the most accurate depictions of what it is like to try and be an artist nowadays. Also his song “walking the cow” is really important to me because I was listening to it the time I got to pet a cow for my birthday because cows are my favorite animal they feel like cats if anyone is wondering
@@codykhaos4987 if you believe the source cited on wikipedia: "The conceptual beginning of the Shaggs came from Austin Wiggin's mother who, when her son was young, had predicted during a palmreading that he would marry a strawberry blonde woman, that he would have two daughters after she had died, and that his daughters would form a popular music group."
Having looked through the wikipedia article, the source cited is impossible to find. The direct quote OP refers to is cited as "Da Capo Best Music Writing 2000" page 157, which through some complex google AND wiki laws means the "source" that's cited for the fact is near impossible to see for any who hasn't owned a copy of the book. Which means it can range from "After asking the father, he testified:" to "Idk, I kinda feel like this makes the most sense in my fanfic"
Not interesting at all, he got fanatic about what he said, then took them out of school, forced them to play instruments and somehow got them into a recording studio, thats more like pre planning to me.
Same kinda thing with Rebecca Black. Her parents payed a guy to make her a pop star. He made her a viral video song that turned her into a pop star. The path taken truly was the Only way she would have ever made it big. I still can't believe her parents sued the guy. They owe him more than they could possibly understand. He's the only person in the world who could have pulled it off. He's a god damn miracle worker, and they didn't pay him nearly enough.
and then the labels find they can make a pretty penny on it and begin to manufacture. As frank zappa said, it's not punk rock, it's corporate america. It's not actually OK to be yourself, it's only hip when it's marketable.
To be honest, this video made me super emotional...as a music artist, its hard at times to not take yourself so seriously. Hearing you talk about these artists with such dignity and respect reminds me that creativity is really found in all sorts of places and it doesn't have to (and shouldn't look like) what we are used to. It also reminds me to give myself a damn break and just be productive, no matter what comes out. I remember the joy I found in making music because I wanted to, not because I was expected to, and this video gave me the push I need to access that joy again. Thank you so much!! Also, I'll be sure to check out more of artists and works featured!!
I couldn’t agree with you more Alexa. I’ve been struggling for months to come up with some album for my school capstone project, and every idea I had I disliked. I was so rigid in my creativity that I couldn’t just let myself be simply that, creative. This video reminded me exactly what you said. I remember years ago being so exited to just hop on my keyboard connected to garage band to make music. The same applied to my instrument playing. My very first recorded song was just a collection of loops and chords that garage band provided. I’ve become so inspired from this video with the realizations that I don’t need to be so hard on my self or perfect.
I completely agree. The best art is the therapy you give to yourself. Turning true emotions into sites and sounds to create a feeling you've never felt before. Sometimes its hard not to let people's judgments and expectations influence you. When people don't give a shit but are still true to themselves is when the most authentic powerful music is made.
I knew of Tiny Tim and OF COURSE, Daniel Johnston. All of Johnston's early "lo-fi" stuff is genius. When I first heard him YEARS ago I thought, why isn't he a huge star? Why haven't I heard of him? Did he become a producer? Did he die young?? Never thought of it as being outsider music. Just really rough, but brilliant. There's a GREAT documentary called "The devil and Daniel Johnston" which is superb.
I had never heard of Danial until today. I am so glad this video showed up in my recommendations for some reason. Going to look for that documentary, he truly is a phenomenal artist.
Wesley Willis forehead bumped me as a teenager at a show. I do remember some people laughing at his expense, but for me, what I remember most is the feeling of "Wow, this guy is doing what he wants to do and not letting anyone stop him, and succeeding." I think he was very inspiring
So it turns out he is/was American, but in New Zealand the Maori do greet each other using the headbutt or hongi. It's not as common anymore, especially among the younger population, but maybe that's where he got the idea from?
@@caenir It was just his thing. Wesley was on the Autism spectrum, along with some other things. He would usually say. "Head butt" first - and it was almost always sweaty He sketched, he wrote music - he was happy to be a musician. There were no parents involved. The guys in the band loved him, and he would come by Dale's recording studio constantly when the weren't touring to show off his nee keyboard or song or drawing or shoes. It was a fine line between promotion and exploitation, but he loved performing and even touring. Nobody promoted Wesley like Wesley did. "Head butt. Rrrah!" R.i.P., Wesley.
@@caenir Yeah, Sometimes a bit too hard, but he did it if he liked you (or sometimes if someone asked). It was kind of his high-five - but also a common thing that people with autism do, but usually against a wall. Seems he did plenty of that, too. I kind of always assumed that's why he had the bump on his forehead, but I never asked him or the guys.
The movie "Frank" does a great job capturing the wonder of outsider music. It also touches on the humanity and struggle of these types of artists. Definitely worth a watch.
Wesley Willis was an amazingly talented line drawing artist as well. His drawings are really detailed and well done. That man had real talent and heart, and will be remembered fondly by many people.
It's ridiculously good. All of the license plates he used were real license plates that he remembered. Same for the ads on the busses. They are identical. Dude was incredible.
You finally explained why I love garage punk rock. I was able to explain it to my husband. I can't listen to mainstream music anymore. It feels so empty, boring, predictable. What iv found with garage, punk, and riotgrrrll bands is that they're raw and real. Songs that aren't trying to be good, but convey a feeling or message. I tend to fall in love with 'bad' music more when I learn about the dudes and gals behind the mic, their trauma and lives, and finding them more relatable.
I'm so sorry to hear this. As someone who has the ability to enjoy all music, I truly feel bad for anyone who must experience music as you do. It's so shallow and 1 dimensional😊
@@nicholassullivan1239 with a comment like that, right back at you. How shallow and 1 dimensional of you to say such a thing to someone's comment on TH-cam haha.
I paused the video at 10:42, opened Spotify, searched Daniel Johnston and proceeded to forget about this video for the next two hours. Thank you Alfo, I see why the big names are showing outsider musicians so much love
Whenever Wesley Willis comes up, I have to tell this story. My friend and I were celebrating my birthday by going around Chicago and trying to get CD's/new music. We ended up at a record store called Dr. Wax. Started looking at the racks of cds, looking for Wesley, and saw none. I decided to take a chance and ask the clerk working at the time if they had any Wesley Willis and if I maybe overlooked it. His face lit up and told me there should be some Wesley CDs on the shelf, 1000% no doubt. We walk over together He opens the cabinet at the bottom of the racks and pulls out a box of CDs. Inside, Dr Wax by Wesley Willis. He tells us this story of Wesley spending his time outside of Dr. Wax and making drawings of the city skyline, sometimes using sharpie. Wesley hand made every cover of Dr. Wax, he would work there every once in a while. This five years after he died and the clerk was really surprised we were asking around about him so he gave me the CD for free. Really sweet guys, the both of them.
WESLEY WILLIS headbutted me 6 times at Jerry's Pizza in Bakersfield CA. I was 14 and It was one of the first shows I'd been to. He let chill with him while he ate his dinner and didn't let any if us down that night...
Wesley head butted me several times at Gabe’s Oasis in Iowa City, IA. With every head butt, he’d say, “Say rock! Say Arrr!”. It was fantastic. That guy was so much fun in concert and just a good dude in general. RIP.
I met wesley willis at a show in Sacramento back in the very early 2000s. He was a very kind soul and it was one of the most fun shows I've ever been too. I miss him and think about him often
I met Wesley Willis and he has butted me and it was awesome! We weren't making fun of him by having him play at our punk/metal venue. He loved punk and metal and so did we and it was a raucous grand ole time! 🤟🏾🤟🏻 THE CROWD ROARED LIKE A LION!!
Theres a reason Jello Biafra loved the guy and was very personally involved with the funding and production of his albums along with signing him to his record label alternative tentacles
Is this the best video on the tube? Perhaps. I am entertained, Iearned a bunch, and I feel inspired to delve deeper into those amazing souls you just introduced to us. thank you from the bottom of my heart
2:46 I almost cried when I saw that and chuckled to myself at the same time. That was my dads final facebook profile picture. He died in January 2019 of a heroin overdose. I’m not going to say that he was the best father ever because he definitely wasn’t. But, he always tried his best and was there for me. He implanted a love of music and me and now here I am. Watching a video about outsider music and tearing up by seeing a picture of a weird guy in glasses.
@@sircheesefart5920 naw... i think hes saying that his dad used a photo of Gary Wilson as his facebook profile.... Gary Wilson isnt dead according to wiki.. but thats also wiki so maybe im wrong
A lot of people tend to consider “outsider music” as charming but not exactly good. That may be the case for many “outsider artists” but when it comes to Daniel Johnston, I don’t believe this to be the case. I don’t think there has ever been a more honest and creative musician, his music is incredibly atmospheric and almost dreamy. His earlier works really put you right there in his cluttered basement beside him as he sings his heart out. Daniel Johnston made intensely powerful music throughout his career and should be considered a genius not just some sad guy who made cute songs.
i agree with you on Daniel Johnston...- this video is missing however the Godfather, the source and pure essence of outsider music; the genesis of it and i Argue that he was not just the inventer of Outsider music, the best in the Genre but also the Greatest of his generation period. Syd Roger Fu@×%&# Barrett . . .. Daniel was definetely a a beutiful and tragic dove without a mate, largely uknown and misunderstood flying low and yet in his own high, under the radar of the popular starz of his time, who still however were confined to this Earth... But Barrett Was in a league all his own. The cosmic Space, Octupus! hee was the Mad Cap.
@@user-fs1lc2cj5s I think he’s definitely up there with Daniel Johnston. As a pair Jarboe and Him were pretty much unstoppable. I’d go as far as to say Swans are one of, if not the most creative band there has been. Their ever changing sound highlights their creativity best I think. Going from albums like White Light From The Mouth Of Infinity and Love Of Life, to The Great Annihilator and Soundtracks For The Blind within the space of 5 years is simply incredible. I think Swans and Sonic Youth are easily the two most influential bands to come out of the no wave scene. Although I do consider Gira to be a genius, when it comes to honesty in their music I think Daniel Johnston takes the cake.
I am a professional mixing and mastering engineer, mostly freelance work these days. Thanks to this video some of my client's music finally makes sense to me! hahahaha They may not be the most talented clients I have but I still work on their projects the same because of how much pride they take in it.
Someone else who was definately an outsider, recording in the early '60's was Lucia Pamela. She claimed that aliens took her to the moon to make her album... It's actually some fairly credible big band music, coupled with her strange vocals. In 1994, the band Stereolab recorded a song referencing her, "International Colouring Contest" Laetitia Sadier sings-"in to outer space with Lucia Pamela.. The moon is the place, where there's space for Lucia... Before Armstrong took his steps.. she'd been there. with friends.. They took her instruments and recorded on the Moon.. got a variety of sounds.. from where the air is different... ( There is no air, but I digress.).. Stereolab are kind of outsiders themselves, in thier own regard, n but nowhere near as outside as the likes of Lucia, the Shaggy, Wesley Willis or Daniel Johnston- or even an odd character like Unknown Hanson, self-discribed "last of the country western troubadours" and voice of Squidbilly Early Cutler on Adult Swim cartoon Squidbillies, pretty outside as well...
Now the F'n self correcting idiocy of my phone repeated the same mistake again, the very definition of idiocy!.. I'ma try once again, the Shaggs, m'er F'er!.. now I'm seeing it right, but will it still be when I post?...
Huzzah!.. also, Unknown Hinson came out "Hanson" howzat even happen? ... The I and a are nowhere close!... Plus, look @ how much time I'm wasting just so I don't come off as an idiot?... Why F'n bother?!?!
@@coadmiller5010 I love your explanations Coad! They grant character to your comment. I relate with you. I appreciate your phonetics too m'fer y'no what i'm sayn'? Person loses a mind when left alone and don't talk nor sing to themselves.
When I was in high school my friend (turned bully later) had an album about cows we listened to. It was so wonderful weird and all the songs and lyrics were just about cows and milk and moo and grass and stuff. If anyone knows what im talking about please comment. I’d love to find it again. I feel like it would fit in with this genre.
Did anyone else get emotional watching this?? It’s so nice to see people be so unapologetically themselves, people that don’t care and just do their own thing and bring joy to other people even though it might not be on a big scale with their art.
It kind of makes me sad, and feel a bud disconnected. Like, there so much bad stuff all the time at the forefront of life and history, and only the deepest, most obscure of footnotes are relegated to people making true, pure, heartfelt art that couldn’t be replicated by any other person on the planet.
@@jonaseggen2230 I believe that it's created grown up ppl, seems a little bit macabre don't you think? 😁😁😁 Thank you it's a name with the power of inverted psychology 🤜🤛😁 I wish you all the best
oh my god, Wesley Willis sounds exactly what I would imagine Jake the dog to canonically make music like, sounds kinda like him and the lyrics actually fit
Listening to Daniel Johnston made me realize that an incredible amount of folk punk (AJJ, Harley Poe, Pat The Bunny, etc.) seem to at least be in the same vein, if not have directly taken influence from his earlier work. The vocal style is just so similar
Daniel Johnston Is very special to me because of his wholesomeness within the mess his mind and life was. When I first read his story and learned that he had bipolar disorder I felt really sad and anxious because I have it too an imagining going down that spiral of instability and insanity scared me, but then I heard his music, I saw his Tiny Desk Concert, I read more about him and now I feel inspired, he was such a pure soul and he created his very own form of art, not because of his disorder, but in spite of it; Daniel found what made him happy and he found comfort in it despite his situation, and that's a lesson that Iearned from him and that I hold close to my heart.
I have bipolar II and wasn't diagnosed until I was in my early 20's. It isn't fun, but I wouldn't trade the experiences away for just about anything. The agony taught me to love. The instability taught me to appreciate the quiet moments. Sure I burned many bridges and ruined many potential relationships along the way, and that hurts, but the lessons learned were are invaluable.
He never lost his faith. His connection to God is what brought him back. And I'm not a religious sort, his music opened up creative vessels within me in my early days. I wrote 3 songs for him when I first learned how to play. He doesn't know that, but I will always have that...
In the same way the Gulag's and the Nazi Concentration Camps were "fascinating"....is "unique" a substitute for talent and technique?.....the failure of modern pop music is the apathy with which musicians have come to regard how music has evolved historically. Throwing out the entire history of music in favor of idiots who are unable to differentiate between caucauphany and music is the opposite of "fascinating" it is simply "stupid".
@@TangieTown81 Well, maybe if you dial it down a little, you can see that your interpretation of the comment seems extremely far-fetched to what the comment might have most likely intended to say: outsider music is just very interesting.
@@santoriomaker69 Let me provide a more detailed analysis then: The death of pop music occurred when the musicians on stage stopped giving a shit about learning music and instead were simply handed music to perform. They became puppets and empty vessels culminating in disasters like milli vanilli. The 70's and 80's marked a clear diversion from performance artists who clearly had put in the work such as Freddie Mercury and James Hetfield to any number of one-time wanna-be hair bands who's only draw to being a musician was the commercialized lure of sex and drugs......as the music industry has succumbed more to market forces music has deteriorated and become simplified and commercialized. This is simply the logical extension of people who may want to care about music because it feels good vs. people who have actually put in the time and effort to master musicianship such that they can innovate in new ways. You had the Romantic era of music give way to the Contemporary and innovate big band sound for popular culture and jazz for a more technically demanding and creative endeavor. Then with the creation of new types of instruments in combination with existing sounds the popular era evolved bluegrass into blues, soul, funk and rock.....this music could both be technically demanding still be newly innovating without devolving into throwing out all knowledge in favor of child-like stupidity. However, modern pop-music has been stuck there and even though rap and disco and techno have provided innovation beyond.....those genre's have become filled with apathetic mediocre artists who feel a classically oriented understanding is a waste of time. More knowledge and understanding is never a waste of time. Idiots making noise holding instruments is not an inspiration it is an insult.
fax. The Residents are my biggest inspiration. If something can go from sounding so horrendous to one of the best pieces of art ive ever consumed (Not Available LP), thats somethin special
Daniel Johnston once was called up on a radio station from the mental hospital he was booked into so he could sing his vocals for “walk the cow” while the in studio band played. He really is the most special artist to gift this world.
Fascinating! In Québec there is a very famous musician who definitely 100% enters that category I believe. He sadly passed away some time ago and everyone was mourning. If you are interested to check him out, his name is Normand L’amour, and his most famous song is "La poignée de porte" (The door handle)
I had no idea this was a specific genre, I always called the artists I listen to "wholesomely moving". Coming from Austin, naturally Daniel was my first taste of the raw, truly unique and heartfelt sound these people create. They don't care if you like it. It wasn't made to be liked. It was made to explore. To be passionate and creative. It was made with to share a true love for art and music. There is so much complex beauty in the art these musicians make. I have nothing but gratitude and love for Daniel Johnston.
@@moderndaymedusa I wouldn't really consider "outsider music" to be a genre, truthfully. Outsider Art in general is more often a label used to commodify and exploit disability, particularly mental illness, and perceived naivety. Obviously that's not always the case, but it serves to exoticize. I also genuinely enjoy many of these artists for the heartfelt and genuine nature of their work, I often over-analyze my own creative process these days and often kinda envy the ability to just make some stuff and put it out there and see what happens.
@@lunawuff This resonates with my own experience, what you say about overthinking regarding the creation process... I think it's a skill, and an artform of its own, to be able to detach from the ego-based desire for perfection.
Dude, Tiny Tim is honestly so good. He’s such a good singer. His lower singing voice honestly sounds so similar to Elvis. He was like Andy kaufman in musician form.
I challenge everyone to share and like this video: To see if we can hear some new related styles on the radio, (charts) say, in 24 months, and 60 months from now. I’ve been playing guitar for over 25 years and for me- due to the uniqueness of the content inside- is one of the greatest documentaries. Some super cool sounds that could definitely inspire new styles for sure. It’s like the best of the worst, in that they may have all been rejected from the labels but today’s underground would love this sound, mixed with some modern electronic and rock elements I think the next big genre could come from this very video. I’m stoked to start writing again. Cheers!
Thank you so much for this. Many of these artists I knew about, but this video was my introduction to Daniel Johnston. "True Love Will Find You in the End" made me cry. Not only is this inspiring to me as a musician, it's wonderful to hear anyway. (...and the hand-drawn with markers album covers take me back to my first recording attempts as a teenager.) Thanks, again.
When I heard Daniel Johnston passed away I pulled my car over and pulled up a playlist of his songs. I sat there and cried my eyes out for an hour. It really felt like I lost a good friend. A friend that I didnt stay in touch with as much as I should have. The world lost a piece of it's pure innocence and beauty that day.
I raise you: Frank Tovey/Fad Gadget. Some people group his music (especially the stuff he produced/wrote as Fad Gadget) in with goth/darkwave but in my opinion even though he did collaborate with some artists who are more heavily associated with goth music, his stuff is so unique it can’t really be adequately grouped with any specific genre. He made a lot of really interesting early electronic music and had insane live performances that sometimes involved him tarring and feathering himself, covering his entire body in shaving cream, or hanging from ceiling joists in the venue. He actually got into making electronic music because he was terrible at playing all the instruments he tried. He’s amazing. I wish he was still alive. Go check him out.
Much of what makes it great is that it starts out like it's a McDonald's promotion -- seriously, they could use it for advertising, and he *did* sprinkle his performances with out-of-the-blue ad slogans from contemporary or old campaigns for various businesses. But then just when you're set up, "McDonald's hamburgers are the worst. This I can prove." And goes on to state its greater fat content than Burger King's!
I just want to say... As someone who has struggled with mental illness and never viewed themselves as talented... Thank you for introducing me to this. What seemed like a joke at first became something deep and personal.
I just listened to it, and am in tears. So good. Reminds me a little of the Juno soundtrack. "if I was a flower growing wild and free all I want is for you to be my sweet honey bee" 🎶
Yeah it hurt when he passed. He was one of the most beautiful tortured souls on the planet and we, as fellow human beings, lucky that he was able to turn that pain into such wonderful songwriting. My old punk band used to cover "funeral home" and "I lost my.mind" and after a show at Diablos in Portland we met a dude who had seen us a few times around the PNW and he actually knew Daniel. He had contacted him and gave me an original drawing of his with a personal autograph which I still have framed hanging on my wall. RIP DANIEL.
If it wasn't for him we woulnd't have a lot of the classics we have today. It was terrible to hear about what happened to him, hell whenever i read the article "one step from fame" it makes me annoyed. Never felt like he needed or wanted the fame, just wanted to make fun music that had meaning to him. Sending love, rip legend.
“Say rock! Say roll!” I met Wesley Willis in the summer of 2001 at a punk club in Mankato, Minnesota. He had a mild freakout midset cuz the hellbus caught up with him, but after that it was a good show. Lots of love, and he blessed me with a head butt - “say ROCK (bump) say ROLL (bump)”. Bless him and everyone who cared for him.
A friend of mine got to open for him in Baltimore once. I went to the show, but didn’t get to meet him.. my friend was super excited for that opportunity. Glad to have been able see him perform.
it's crazy to think The Shaggs PERFORMED THE SONGS LIVE as they are on the album. they somehow managed to replicate the random chaotic deformed disordered noise.
@@ghostwriter991 RIght. They surely planned things out before recording, even when it ended up sounding "random". I used to do that before learning music, I thought I was doing a lot by moving my hands around the same way over and over without knowing what even is a chord.
@@mrupert22 ay man if you study performance art you can make things come across as random its called improv i used to do it. Its like rappers nowadays they freestyle on live radio but you can tell it was written before hand because modern rap has erratic beat switches that no longer happen on the 4 bar or 8 bar its very sporadic. So its planned eg improv
I highly recommend the documentary "The Devil and Daniel Johnston", it's a beautiful documentary about his life and career, ending with Daniel forming a punk band with some kids who saved him from a group of feral dogs (I'm not kidding). Insightful and incredibly moving.
Yes, it is a fantastic documentary. Seen it quite a few times. People who know of Daniel have some semblance of his mental illnesses but the reality of it and how it deeply effected his family and friends was intriguing to see. Rest well Daniel.
Tiny Tim's song "Living in the sunlight, Loving in the moonlight" was featured in Spongebob's pilot episode. His sound is so unique I knew I heard it somewhere even when I hadn't heard it years
@@jt-mx4on its like art with no alterations or art which was made without giving it much thought, its just pure emotion expressed by any medium possible
@@s43m I don't think its pure though. The only thing these outsiders lack is musical skill/education, they clearly know how song structure works and they understand some of the harmony they most likely heard over the radio or somewhere else in life.
Tiny Tim's version of living in the sunlight was in the first ever episode of Spongebob. It was a homage to tiny Tim as he had passed away a few years before the episode aired.
“Story of an Artist” by Daniel Johnston was by far one of my favs of all time. If you feel at all motivated towards music, please listen to this one. It’s absolutely beautiful and by far one of my favs from him.
Daniel Johnston’s Hi, How Are You? is one of my favorite albums. it is genuinely an emotional album for me because of its sincerity. Personally it feels like a bittersweet, melancholic hug. A Last Goodbye, over and over and over again, each time i listen to it. It reminds me of sweeter memories that will never be recreated and voids in place of loved ones in your mind. It’s genuinely so lovely and real and it opened me up to a lot of other “outsider music” RIP Daniel Johnston
I was in Austin Texas a few years ago, just walking around when I saw this weird little alien guy painted on a building with the words "Hi, how are you." I thought it was neat and took a picture. Today I learned it's origin and honestly think it's a lot cooler. Fascinating.
I waited the ENTIRE video to see if you'd mention R. Stevie Moore! So glad you included him. I love his catalog. Such an amazing hidden gem. Subscribed.
Eilert Pilarm believed he was Elvis. He had a minor existential crisis when he saw the news that Elvis Presley had died. He wasn't sure if he was actually dead or not. source: my dad knew someone who worked alongside Eilert at a papermill. so take it with a grain of salt.
I met Wesley Willis at one of his shows, was even greeted with a head butt or four. Every person at that show, was there because they appreciated what he was doing. It was raw, unfiltered, real. We all lived in that moment together and it was great. He was an artist too. Drew all kinds of cool pictures. His music and art gave him, not only a way to deal with his mental illness but a way to communicate with others what his struggles were. If you took his ability to express himself away, it would have hurt him. Instead, we were able to understand him through music and art and he was able to connect to people.
I create outsider songs that I sing to my cats. "Cat Baby" was the first. "Dinner time for you" is an old favourite. Jacqueline D Cat sings along. She's a talented vocalist with a great range.
Thank-You! for this shout-out to Outsider Musicians. I admire their courage to follow their unique styles for the Joy it brings. Wish I could recall his albums, but I read long ago of a man making homestyle songs that had a fan base, but his real name and identity he kept secret. He released a string of his music on LPs. If memory serves, this was back in 70's or 80's maybe.
i cried when i learned that Wesley Willis died because i knew i'd never get to headbutt with him. his music was unironically a big part of my younger years, and i still eat Bar S hotdogs because of his signoffs lol
Dude would lay a mean headbutt on you for sure. He opened for our punk band in Columbia Missouri back in the late 90's early 00's and was one of the best shows we ever played. We played with some big names too, but people were so pumped to see Wesley Willis and he rocked it out. I wish I still had the big drawing he gave me, it was glorious!
Daniel Johnston is one of the greatest artists to ever live.. for what he went through and his struggle with mental illness and still managed to hold on and still do what he loved.. its amazing
@@jayst "You'll Cowards", "Papered Up", and "My Hops" are bonified BANGERS!!! I listen to his other stuff too. This video helped explain why I've always liked these artists.
@@MillionaireHoyOriginal hell yeah man. Papered up is a good one too. I really love his beats and I pray someday someone will remaster and mix My Hops or Hittin VIP. They are badass songs with amazing beats, but the production quality leaves a lot to be desired
Well made video, sounded like you sure did your homework, I recognized tiny Tim. Thanks for making this , it couldn’t have been easy to put all this unground music and footage together
Holy shit, Wesley Willis got a Nardwuar interview? That is the highest recognition any musician can get. It was Nardwuar who introduced me to Daniel Johnston, and wow, what a beautiful soul he was.
yikes, Nardwuar is the opposite of outsider. he exploits the characteristics of an outsider, or those of a mentally challengted person, to create a fake persona.
The best bassist in my town has terrible schizophrenia, he gets "instructions" from Hendrix and other dead giants while he is playing. Who are we to say that it is not true? It might as well be. He plays great, so people don't care, anyway.
We are people who arent schizophrenic. Thats why we can say it is not true. I know I'm being an ass but romanticizing mental disorders is not cool. Of course, maybe the context is that he is doing what he has heard before. In that way I understand what it means.
@@stanners1714 Nothing. BUT accusing me if "romanticizing mental diseases" and the rest what he wrote has a lot to do with a certain gentleman's solution for mental patients. As a trained professional I am in no habit of labeling people as "mentally insane" because that is a terrible thing to do. There was a time when gay people were categorized as "mentally insane" and "treated." Who can guarantee that, say, 50 years from now we won't find out schizophrenia was actually not a disease, but a portal into unknown dimensions or something? I treat all my friends equally, whether they think Hendrix speaks to them or soccrr is God almighty personified - I don't care. They get my love and understanding regardless. What I feel about their opinion is irrelevant. They are human beings which deserve respect, not some "mentally ill" individuals. His comment had nothing to do with "concern." ROMANTICIZING??? What does he mean with that, that I believe everybody should have schizophrenia in order to olay good music??? Outrageous.
@@IndustrialFan666 I'm going to assume that was directed towards me since I started the comment strand. How is me not liking the shaggs me genuinely not caring about outsider art? I listened to every new name I heard in this video and enjoyed most of it for its artistical value.
@@ark3stra Because if you dont like and know every single outsider artist, musician, filmmaker, etc. then you genuinely dont care about outsider art. Thats all he was saying.
@@MicheallikeMJ So because I am unaware of artists or don't particularly like a select few that means I don't care about the genre? 😐 Idk about you but from my perspective that sounds like something along the lines of "you don't like g-funk so you must not like hiphop" or something like that. Do you see where I'm coming from at least?
Does anyone listen to music ironically? What even is the point of that? Or you like something or don't, what does it even mean to ironically like something.
I LOVE Tiny Tim. For a period, his music was used in a diverse range of media, from horror all the way to comedy, and it worked so well. It helped set the stage for Insidious and its even one of the most memorable moments in all of SpongeBob. That is art at its best. There is a lot to appreciate in this type of music and I love how you were able to break it down so well. You find a lot of examples of this type of art in mainstream media. Oftentimes serving as the very foundation for others to perfect it, turning it into that radio perfect stuff we've grown used to.
Well said. Tiny was also a treasure trove of musical history. His mind retained thousands of lost and forgotten songs from the first half of the 20th century.
Thank you for this video it makes me feel so much better about my songs now. I am my worst critic and after watching your video I feel inspired to keep going.
@@bashfulwolfo6499 Anything you played for Daniel he would say he loved it and you were great. And he always meant it, too! Here's a little tune we did that he basically made up the words to as we played: soundcloud.com/kenneth-w-lieck/hickory-stick-the-lizzard
Exactly. You might not like it, or it might not be recognized in the pantheon of academic or popular art, but it's still art as long as it's someone's expression. That alone can give meaning or beauty
@@joshknollenberg7334 Authentic gets thrown around a lot, you see it on products, get told things are authentic in commercials etc. But for most conceptual artists it really difficult to achieve today. I'm not gonna say what is and isn't authentic, but know that hard to even fathom what it can mean.
@@Chedring Authenticity isn't hard to come by in any degree, a pop song can be authentic and pure, even if the singer songwriter didn't even write it themself, something being "raw" isn't the only way to be authentic. Is "Living In The Sunshine" more authentic than "Thank You, Next" because one sold more units? Both were made with the intention of moving units, whether it was successful or not.
@@saninpain "Authenticity isn't hard to come by in any degree" I'm gonna completely disagree with you. And your example does not help your statement in anyway. It's pretty jarring.
@@Chedring Then you definitely don't know much about music let alone the history of music. Just because you don't respect it, doesn't mean it isn't genuine. Do you really think Rock and Roll McDonald's is more genuine than Hurt? It's that hipster "the more raw the better" mindset that ends up hurting the music craft.
Back in the day, Wesley Willis was featured in that documentary about eating Mcdonalds for a month. I went and googled his music because I LOVED rock n' roll Mcdonalds.
Sometimes you gotta love youtube recommendations. What a delight! Thank you for this video. I'm from Brazil and my brother is a musician and I grew up with him showing me Brazilian outsiders... Also, Kurt Cobain and his taste of music... Shaggs and Daniel Johnston, nirvana is definitely my favorite band in the world, after all this time, still amazes me.
Tiny Tim was hilarious, but also very well-educated in a wide variety of musical styles. Some of his songs were pretty advanced too. I can’t get over how genuinely good “The Other Side” is in every aspect. It’s a work of art.
Honestly, as someone who loves music & loves to sing, but hates being in the spotlight, in some ways I'm a bit envious of these musical pioneers for having the courage to put their music out there regardless of the haters.
I went and listened to “Walking the Cow” by Daniel Johnson and nearly started crying. It captured fuzzy childhood memories I’ll never fully remember, but I know are positive so well. An innocence I will never know again, kept safe in my mind. Thank you for opening the door to this genre, I’ll definitely listen to more
It's like Indie except actually Indie
YESSSSS! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@Whipslinger1 Why, it's even indiegenous! It gives me indiegestion!
I dont even like mumble rap.
@@obgatson6422 what dose this have to do with the comment?
It's like indie but with more drugs
what was so special about the shaggs was their absolute mastery of the 17/52 time signature
lolololololololololol
It's my favourite time signature.
> true jazz heads know this
is it rude if i ask you to explain this joke hh
😄
Wesley Willis was a troubled guy whose one source of joy was his art and music. Making music and drawings was his way of coping with life. The voices in his head (his "demons") said horrible things to him, but he stayed a sweet, friendly guy most of the time because of making and selling his artwork. It kept him anchored in the world that was clouded by his mental illness.
To me, that's heroic.
And honestly it sounds pretty good
God, knowing this makes me want to cry, what an incredible human being
That's legit a schizofrenic person's superpower - finding something that reliably or even reliably-ish roots them in reality.
It's very, very hard to stay puffed among the living for someone who's constantly (at least as soon as the brain gets a few off-duty cycles) distracted with nasty, weird, insidious or even just funnily odd input from voices in their head.
Didnt know he died?
@@Coincidence_Theorist vampire bat
I knew a guy who was physically disabled and had autism. He wanted to be a musical comedian like Bo Burnham and wrote and recorded pretty lo fi and offensive music. Everyone at our school said that it was mean to listen to his music and laugh at his songs, but that was the whole point of what he wanted. You don’t write comedy music for people not to laugh. It was sometimes nonsensical and purposely bad, but everytime he came out with a new song I genuinely enjoyed how funny and off beat the songs were. It was way more insulting to not engage with his music the way HE wanted you to engage with it because you felt sorry for him or thought laughing at poorly written music was mean. As a fan myself I was never laughing at him, I was laughing at jokes he was intentionally making, but people tend to not see those with disabilities as people with thought and intention that should be engaged with as such. Anyways, I feel glad to have been able to follow an outsider musician for a time.
Where can i find his music?
@@Joesgamesntech his TH-cam channel is Loc Gets to The Point
@@Joesgamesntech I highly suggest C0cksucking rainstorm 2.0
His name?
@@SandyCheeks63564 see above 👆
As soon as i heard “ROCK N ROLL MCDONALD’S” I instantly loved this man for now I know who created such work of art
Wesley Willis is the goat
That song and "I whooped Batman's ass" unironically slap hard
@@UndeadPorcupine its time for me to grow my spotify playlist even bigger
Dude I’ve always fucking loved that song
Really reminded me of Jake the dog
Another thing that I love about Daniel Johnson is that when someone asked to here his albums/eps (before he was signed) he would sit down, record his cassette tape, and play the entire album through. Then hand draw the art, and give it back to the person next day. Every. Single. Time. I might be wrong but I believe there are over 500 unique copies of “hi how are you” only on cassette. Sad that they’re removing his songs on Spotify. That problem needs to be solved so more people can hear all about him.
This is true, he had no way to copy a version of an album to give out for promotion so he would do the entire album, start to finish then give it away. That probably resulted in many different versions of those songs.
Wow! that is awesomely incredible!
Well I’m glad I’m getting the chance to listen to him now.
THEY'RE REMOVING HIS SONGS??
That’s so cool!
I’ve been a professional musician for 25 years and I still think the best thing I’ve ever done was recorded on a ghetto blaster in my bedroom when I was 15 and had no idea how to play guitar. Just me noodling and my friend reading his poetry over the top of it.
Nothing but beautiful noise.
Is there a way to hear it somewhere?
Now I want to hear it. I suspect it sounds like shit, but it'd be interesting to hear nonetheless.
Haha coOL 😂 would love to hear that
@@justsomeguy8385 I wish I still had the recording. It probably does sound like shit, but I sure remember it fondly.
@@MM-uw5tt ...no. I wish, but the recording was lost many years ago.
Daniel Johnston is one of my favorite artists of all time and I’m so happy someone is talking about him, his song “story of an artist” is one of the most accurate depictions of what it is like to try and be an artist nowadays. Also his song “walking the cow” is really important to me because I was listening to it the time I got to pet a cow for my birthday because cows are my favorite animal they feel like cats if anyone is wondering
Big milky cat
Omg thank you!! That was such a beautiful listen and it just hit me really hard in the feels. Incredible 😢
even funnier about The Shaggs is the fortune teller the dad went to see was his own mom, lol
If there isn't any proof to your claim then I'm gonna assume it's not legit...
@@codykhaos4987 if you believe the source cited on wikipedia:
"The conceptual beginning of the Shaggs came from Austin Wiggin's mother who, when her son was young, had predicted during a palmreading that he would marry a strawberry blonde woman, that he would have two daughters after she had died, and that his daughters would form a popular music group."
@@itsfos518 ????????????
Having looked through the wikipedia article, the source cited is impossible to find. The direct quote OP refers to is cited as "Da Capo Best Music Writing 2000" page 157, which through some complex google AND wiki laws means the "source" that's cited for the fact is near impossible to see for any who hasn't owned a copy of the book. Which means it can range from "After asking the father, he testified:" to "Idk, I kinda feel like this makes the most sense in my fanfic"
Thanks Cthulhu
this video felt like a breath of fresh air. thank you.
Bruh no freakin way, you listen to Daniel Johnston?
lucienzz
seriously this is so uninsteresting
@@enasalgahmdi9944 everybody does. Pop punk is the new underground, listening to blink 182 is true outsider music now
@LLusion Exactly
Perhaps the most interesting part of the story of The Shags is that, through one way or another, the seer's prediction actually turned out to be true
th-cam.com/video/RTb2pWticb4/w-d-xo.html
Is that a seer’s poncho or a real poncho?
Not interesting at all, he got fanatic about what he said, then took them out of school, forced them to play instruments and somehow got them into a recording studio, thats more like pre planning to me.
Same kinda thing with Rebecca Black. Her parents payed a guy to make her a pop star. He made her a viral video song that turned her into a pop star. The path taken truly was the Only way she would have ever made it big. I still can't believe her parents sued the guy. They owe him more than they could possibly understand. He's the only person in the world who could have pulled it off. He's a god damn miracle worker, and they didn't pay him nearly enough.
Their father believed it and put his money behind it and they made it happen
Oh, Daniel Johnston..❤
"True Love Will Find You In The End" gets me teared up every time.❤
It’s just beautiful ❤
“It’s not music that just sucks”
*shows Jake Paul’s music video*
😂
Dude was on some savage shit
got em!
Well, that is a fine representation of music that sucks tho!
That's the quickest I've ever clicked a sub button
These people got off the couch and did something. They created and expressed thoughts freely. THAT is what the world needs.
that's what i really find inspiring about all outsider art, it's just "fuck it, i'm going to make something"
its the equivalent of modern art
I'm pretty sure thousands of songs have been written on the couch, just saying
and then the labels find they can make a pretty penny on it and begin to manufacture. As frank zappa said, it's not punk rock, it's corporate america. It's not actually OK to be yourself, it's only hip when it's marketable.
no peoeple who spent years actually learning shit and this comes on fuck no
To be honest, this video made me super emotional...as a music artist, its hard at times to not take yourself so seriously. Hearing you talk about these artists with such dignity and respect reminds me that creativity is really found in all sorts of places and it doesn't have to (and shouldn't look like) what we are used to. It also reminds me to give myself a damn break and just be productive, no matter what comes out. I remember the joy I found in making music because I wanted to, not because I was expected to, and this video gave me the push I need to access that joy again. Thank you so much!! Also, I'll be sure to check out more of artists and works featured!!
I couldn’t agree with you more Alexa. I’ve been struggling for months to come up with some album for my school capstone project, and every idea I had I disliked. I was so rigid in my creativity that I couldn’t just let myself be simply that, creative. This video reminded me exactly what you said. I remember years ago being so exited to just hop on my keyboard connected to garage band to make music. The same applied to my instrument playing. My very first recorded song was just a collection of loops and chords that garage band provided. I’ve become so inspired from this video with the realizations that I don’t need to be so hard on my self or perfect.
@Musings On the Moon Thank you so much. Good luck to all of your endeavors as well Alexa. 👍🏻😄🥰❤️
Couldn't agree more
I completely agree. The best art is the therapy you give to yourself. Turning true emotions into sites and sounds to create a feeling you've never felt before. Sometimes its hard not to let people's judgments and expectations influence you. When people don't give a shit but are still true to themselves is when the most authentic powerful music is made.
**this what i felt i needed to hear and understand. thanks and love u guys
I knew of Tiny Tim and OF COURSE, Daniel Johnston.
All of Johnston's early "lo-fi" stuff is genius. When I first heard him YEARS ago I thought, why isn't he a huge star? Why haven't I heard of him? Did he become a producer? Did he die young?? Never thought of it as being outsider music. Just really rough, but brilliant.
There's a GREAT documentary called "The devil and Daniel Johnston" which is superb.
I had never heard of Danial until today. I am so glad this video showed up in my recommendations for some reason. Going to look for that documentary, he truly is a phenomenal artist.
Wesley Willis forehead bumped me as a teenager at a show. I do remember some people laughing at his expense, but for me, what I remember most is the feeling of "Wow, this guy is doing what he wants to do and not letting anyone stop him, and succeeding." I think he was very inspiring
So it turns out he is/was American, but in New Zealand the Maori do greet each other using the headbutt or hongi. It's not as common anymore, especially among the younger population, but maybe that's where he got the idea from?
@@caenir It was just his thing. Wesley was on the Autism spectrum, along with some other things. He would usually say. "Head butt" first - and it was almost always sweaty
He sketched, he wrote music - he was happy to be a musician. There were no parents involved. The guys in the band loved him, and he would come by Dale's recording studio constantly when the weren't touring to show off his nee keyboard or song or drawing or shoes.
It was a fine line between promotion and exploitation, but he loved performing and even touring. Nobody promoted Wesley like Wesley did. "Head butt. Rrrah!"
R.i.P., Wesley.
@@caenir That's a really cool nugget of info on the Maori. Cool!
@@genghis_connie So it was a straight up headbutt. Interesting
@@caenir Yeah, Sometimes a bit too hard, but he did it if he liked you (or sometimes if someone asked). It was kind of his high-five - but also a common thing that people with autism do, but usually against a wall. Seems he did plenty of that, too. I kind of always assumed that's why he had the bump on his forehead, but I never asked him or the guys.
The movie "Frank" does a great job capturing the wonder of outsider music. It also touches on the humanity and struggle of these types of artists. Definitely worth a watch.
Omg I forgot all about Frank! I watched that movie a couple of times when I was a teenager. I’m gonna go rewatch it now that I’m an adult
That movie struck such a chord with me.
update: i didn't sleep the of the whole night when I watched it because I was busy recording weird noises lol
OMG FRANK HAS BEEN MY FAVORITE MOVIE FOR 7 YEARS !!!!! THIS IS SO TRUE !!
Where can I watch it? Is it online??
Wesley Willis was an amazingly talented line drawing artist as well. His drawings are really detailed and well done. That man had real talent and heart, and will be remembered fondly by many people.
Oh wow, just looked up his line art stuff and its really good! Much better than i coukd ever do atleast
It's ridiculously good. All of the license plates he used were real license plates that he remembered. Same for the ads on the busses. They are identical. Dude was incredible.
I was lucky enough to see him in a little club in Kalamazoo, MI around ‘96. It was pretty awesome
You finally explained why I love garage punk rock. I was able to explain it to my husband. I can't listen to mainstream music anymore. It feels so empty, boring, predictable. What iv found with garage, punk, and riotgrrrll bands is that they're raw and real. Songs that aren't trying to be good, but convey a feeling or message. I tend to fall in love with 'bad' music more when I learn about the dudes and gals behind the mic, their trauma and lives, and finding them more relatable.
I'm so sorry to hear this.
As someone who has the ability to enjoy all music, I truly feel bad for anyone who must experience music as you do.
It's so shallow and 1 dimensional😊
@@nicholassullivan1239 with a comment like that, right back at you. How shallow and 1 dimensional of you to say such a thing to someone's comment on TH-cam haha.
@@nicholassullivan1239are you stroking yourself as you read your own comment
@@nicholassullivan1239everything is subjective everyone has their own taste, let’s appreciate everyone’s work. don’t come at her
Absolutely the same. I have a thing for underdogs, outsiders and provocateurs, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I paused the video at 10:42, opened Spotify, searched Daniel Johnston and proceeded to forget about this video for the next two hours. Thank you Alfo, I see why the big names are showing outsider musicians so much love
Nardwuar interviewed him you should check that out
Check out the documentary The Devil And Daniel Johnston…it’s so good!
@@sandman503 100% agree. He does one of his songs in a shop and it's my favorite recording.
Built to spill has an album playing the songs of Daniel Johnston
I wouldn't consider Daniel Johnston outsider music. The guy was a legit inde folk legend. Despite his problems, he was talented.
Whenever Wesley Willis comes up, I have to tell this story.
My friend and I were celebrating my birthday by going around Chicago and trying to get CD's/new music.
We ended up at a record store called Dr. Wax.
Started looking at the racks of cds, looking for Wesley, and saw none.
I decided to take a chance and ask the clerk working at the time if they had any Wesley Willis and if I maybe overlooked it.
His face lit up and told me there should be some Wesley CDs on the shelf, 1000% no doubt. We walk over together
He opens the cabinet at the bottom of the racks and pulls out a box of CDs. Inside, Dr Wax by Wesley Willis.
He tells us this story of Wesley spending his time outside of Dr. Wax and making drawings of the city skyline, sometimes using sharpie.
Wesley hand made every cover of Dr. Wax, he would work there every once in a while.
This five years after he died and the clerk was really surprised we were asking around about him so he gave me the CD for free.
Really sweet guys, the both of them.
Bless them and bless you, and bless Willis.
Your comment brightened my day.
Stories like this are why comment sections exist. Thank you.
Wes was a bright star. He was a great guy, miss him.
Thank you for sharing your story!
WESLEY WILLIS headbutted me 6 times at Jerry's Pizza in Bakersfield CA. I was 14 and It was one of the first shows I'd been to. He let chill with him while he ate his dinner and didn't let any if us down that night...
That is so sweet
Wesley head butted me several times at Gabe’s Oasis in Iowa City, IA. With every head butt, he’d say, “Say rock! Say Arrr!”. It was fantastic. That guy was so much fun in concert and just a good dude in general. RIP.
Daniel repeatedly is not just refreshing to listen to but is like coming home
What you said in the “Isn’t this kinda messed up?” segment was really beautiful. These artists should be allowed to be appreciated.
I met wesley willis at a show in Sacramento back in the very early 2000s. He was a very kind soul and it was one of the most fun shows I've ever been too. I miss him and think about him often
Can you tell me more about his show please
Thank you punk for giving this legend a platform.
I met Wesley Willis and he has butted me and it was awesome!
We weren't making fun of him by having him play at our punk/metal venue. He loved punk and metal and so did we and it was a raucous grand ole time! 🤟🏾🤟🏻
THE CROWD ROARED LIKE A LION!!
In all honesty, Willis was pure punk and metal in spirit and attitude! RIP Wesley!
th-cam.com/video/RTb2pWticb4/w-d-xo.html
rock over london, rock on chicago
wheaties, breakfast of champions
Wesley Willis is one of the most punk artists I'd ever heard, dude is fkin awesome and one of my top 10 faves :)
Theres a reason Jello Biafra loved the guy and was very personally involved with the funding and production of his albums along with signing him to his record label alternative tentacles
Is this the best video on the tube? Perhaps. I am entertained, Iearned a bunch, and I feel inspired to delve deeper into those amazing souls you just introduced to us. thank you from the bottom of my heart
2:46 I almost cried when I saw that and chuckled to myself at the same time. That was my dads final facebook profile picture. He died in January 2019 of a heroin overdose. I’m not going to say that he was the best father ever because he definitely wasn’t. But, he always tried his best and was there for me. He implanted a love of music and me and now here I am. Watching a video about outsider music and tearing up by seeing a picture of a weird guy in glasses.
Crazy experience
im sorry
whoa you’re gary wilson’s kid
@@sircheesefart5920 naw... i think hes saying that his dad used a photo of Gary Wilson as his facebook profile.... Gary Wilson isnt dead according to wiki.. but thats also wiki so maybe im wrong
@@thatsmypurseidontknowyou4797 Gary Wilson is very much still alive.
A lot of people tend to consider “outsider music” as charming but not exactly good. That may be the case for many “outsider artists” but when it comes to Daniel Johnston, I don’t believe this to be the case. I don’t think there has ever been a more honest and creative musician, his music is incredibly atmospheric and almost dreamy. His earlier works really put you right there in his cluttered basement beside him as he sings his heart out. Daniel Johnston made intensely powerful music throughout his career and should be considered a genius not just some sad guy who made cute songs.
i agree with you on Daniel Johnston...- this video is missing however the Godfather, the source and pure essence of outsider music; the genesis of it and i Argue that he was not just the inventer of Outsider music, the best in the Genre but also the Greatest of his generation period. Syd Roger Fu@×%&# Barrett . . .. Daniel was definetely a a beutiful and tragic dove without a mate, largely uknown and misunderstood flying low and yet in his own high, under the radar of the popular starz of his time, who still however were confined to this Earth... But Barrett Was in a league all his own. The cosmic Space, Octupus! hee was the Mad Cap.
@@alicasoto4497 Couldn’t agree more. The Madcap Laughs is an underrated classic and overall Syd Barrett was a really interesting, cool person.
Michael Gira, while not exactly outsider music, is in my opinion the most honest and creative musician of all time
@@user-fs1lc2cj5s I think he’s definitely up there with Daniel Johnston. As a pair Jarboe and Him were pretty much unstoppable. I’d go as far as to say Swans are one of, if not the most creative band there has been. Their ever changing sound highlights their creativity best I think. Going from albums like White Light From The Mouth Of Infinity and Love Of Life, to The Great Annihilator and Soundtracks For The Blind within the space of 5 years is simply incredible. I think Swans and Sonic Youth are easily the two most influential bands to come out of the no wave scene. Although I do consider Gira to be a genius, when it comes to honesty in their music I think Daniel Johnston takes the cake.
@@bentleyparker8495 what about that dude Mickey chaos on SoundCloud?
I am a professional mixing and mastering engineer, mostly freelance work these days. Thanks to this video some of my client's music finally makes sense to me! hahahaha They may not be the most talented clients I have but I still work on their projects the same because of how much pride they take in it.
Someone else who was definately an outsider, recording in the early '60's was Lucia Pamela. She claimed that aliens took her to the moon to make her album... It's actually some fairly credible big band music, coupled with her strange vocals. In 1994, the band Stereolab recorded a song referencing her, "International Colouring Contest" Laetitia Sadier sings-"in to outer space with Lucia Pamela.. The moon is the place, where there's space for Lucia... Before Armstrong took his steps.. she'd been there. with friends.. They took her instruments and recorded on the Moon.. got a variety of sounds.. from where the air is different... ( There is no air, but I digress.).. Stereolab are kind of outsiders themselves, in thier own regard, n
but nowhere near as outside as the likes of Lucia, the Shaggy, Wesley Willis or Daniel Johnston- or even an odd character like Unknown Hanson, self-discribed "last of the country western troubadours" and voice of Squidbilly Early Cutler on Adult Swim cartoon Squidbillies, pretty outside as well...
Tried to write "The Shaggy" came out "Shaggy"... You know how it goes... Smart phone Stupid!...
Now the F'n self correcting idiocy of my phone repeated the same mistake again, the very definition of idiocy!.. I'ma try once again, the Shaggs, m'er F'er!.. now I'm seeing it right, but will it still be when I post?...
Huzzah!.. also, Unknown Hinson came out "Hanson" howzat even happen? ... The I and a are nowhere close!... Plus, look @ how much time I'm wasting just so I don't come off as an idiot?... Why F'n bother?!?!
@@coadmiller5010
I love your explanations Coad! They grant character to your comment. I relate with you. I appreciate your phonetics too m'fer y'no what i'm sayn'? Person loses a mind when left alone and don't talk nor sing to themselves.
When I was in high school my friend (turned bully later) had an album about cows we listened to. It was so wonderful weird and all the songs and lyrics were just about cows and milk and moo and grass and stuff. If anyone knows what im talking about please comment. I’d love to find it again. I feel like it would fit in with this genre.
i am cow by the arrogant worms
Outsider art in general reminds you how limited the establishment of the art world is.
It's in the nature of the finite human capacity for attention.
Did anyone else get emotional watching this?? It’s so nice to see people be so unapologetically themselves, people that don’t care and just do their own thing and bring joy to other people even though it might not be on a big scale with their art.
You're remembering what we were before marketing made all the decisions. ❤️
It kind of makes me sad, and feel a bud disconnected. Like, there so much bad stuff all the time at the forefront of life and history, and only the deepest, most obscure of footnotes are relegated to people making true, pure, heartfelt art that couldn’t be replicated by any other person on the planet.
Totally got emotional
You should watch The Devil and Daniel Johnston then
Yes
The Shaggs sounds like Adventure Time's music, like a child's drawing in music form. Probably the show's composer got inspiration from The Shaggs.
I'm From Portugal But I Love Adventure Time.. I'm 35 BTw
To me it feels like Trout Mask Replica
@@anotherunwantedopinion2914 Im 53 and love it to. Like your name : )
@@jonaseggen2230 I believe that it's created grown up ppl, seems a little bit macabre don't you think? 😁😁😁 Thank you it's a name with the power of inverted psychology 🤜🤛😁 I wish you all the best
Pernille Andersen A Robert Rankin reference in the wild!?
I saw Wesley Willis play a house party in Ann arbor. He was so fun and his music had us mesmerized!
oh my god, Wesley Willis sounds exactly what I would imagine Jake the dog to canonically make music like, sounds kinda like him and the lyrics actually fit
Wesley Willis made me laugh . But I laughed out of pure joy . The titles alone are entertaining .
Rock N Roll McDonalds!
BACON PANCAKES MAKIN BACON PANCAKES
holy shit yes 😂😂😂😂😂 amazing
@@fatkidfrontflip I kicked Batman's ass .
Listening to Daniel Johnston made me realize that an incredible amount of folk punk (AJJ, Harley Poe, Pat The Bunny, etc.) seem to at least be in the same vein, if not have directly taken influence from his earlier work. The vocal style is just so similar
He was definitely a big influence
exactly!! i heard life in vain and immediately was like "hold on...this sounds exactly like folkpunk"
Watched this video and immediately checked him out because I've been listening to AJJ for so long that it's like I rediscovered them with someone new
AJJ IMMEDIATELY came to mind. I was lucky enough to see them live in an SF venue that has since closed down :(
My thoughts exactly. As an avid listener of folk punk, I immediately thought of the same artists you named when I heard him sing.
Daniel Johnston Is very special to me because of his wholesomeness within the mess his mind and life was. When I first read his story and learned that he had bipolar disorder I felt really sad and anxious because I have it too an imagining going down that spiral of instability and insanity scared me, but then I heard his music, I saw his Tiny Desk Concert, I read more about him and now I feel inspired, he was such a pure soul and he created his very own form of art, not because of his disorder, but in spite of it; Daniel found what made him happy and he found comfort in it despite his situation, and that's a lesson that Iearned from him and that I hold close to my heart.
I have bipolar II and wasn't diagnosed until I was in my early 20's. It isn't fun, but I wouldn't trade the experiences away for just about anything. The agony taught me to love. The instability taught me to appreciate the quiet moments. Sure I burned many bridges and ruined many potential relationships along the way, and that hurts, but the lessons learned were are invaluable.
I love that he ended up on MTV.
He never lost his faith. His connection to God is what brought him back. And I'm not a religious sort, his music opened up creative vessels within me in my early days. I wrote 3 songs for him when I first learned how to play. He doesn't know that, but I will always have that...
@@gorehammer42o thats awesome dude. Great way to honor him.
@@incrediblemeat Thank you. I really fucking miss this dude..
There's this cool quote I found a few years ago. The goal shouldn't be to live forever, but to leave behind something that will.
Outsider music and outsider art are completely fascinating. It's like an island where life has evolved completely separate for millions of years.
It's like an island where mediocrity is celebrated.
The Galapagos of modern music
In the same way the Gulag's and the Nazi Concentration Camps were "fascinating"....is "unique" a substitute for talent and technique?.....the failure of modern pop music is the apathy with which musicians have come to regard how music has evolved historically. Throwing out the entire history of music in favor of idiots who are unable to differentiate between caucauphany and music is the opposite of "fascinating" it is simply "stupid".
@@TangieTown81 Well, maybe if you dial it down a little, you can see that your interpretation of the comment seems extremely far-fetched to what the comment might have most likely intended to say: outsider music is just very interesting.
@@santoriomaker69 Let me provide a more detailed analysis then:
The death of pop music occurred when the musicians on stage stopped giving a shit about learning music and instead were simply handed music to perform. They became puppets and empty vessels culminating in disasters like milli vanilli. The 70's and 80's marked a clear diversion from performance artists who clearly had put in the work such as Freddie Mercury and James Hetfield to any number of one-time wanna-be hair bands who's only draw to being a musician was the commercialized lure of sex and drugs......as the music industry has succumbed more to market forces music has deteriorated and become simplified and commercialized. This is simply the logical extension of people who may want to care about music because it feels good vs. people who have actually put in the time and effort to master musicianship such that they can innovate in new ways.
You had the Romantic era of music give way to the Contemporary and innovate big band sound for popular culture and jazz for a more technically demanding and creative endeavor. Then with the creation of new types of instruments in combination with existing sounds the popular era evolved bluegrass into blues, soul, funk and rock.....this music could both be technically demanding still be newly innovating without devolving into throwing out all knowledge in favor of child-like stupidity.
However, modern pop-music has been stuck there and even though rap and disco and techno have provided innovation beyond.....those genre's have become filled with apathetic mediocre artists who feel a classically oriented understanding is a waste of time.
More knowledge and understanding is never a waste of time. Idiots making noise holding instruments is not an inspiration it is an insult.
honestly this video gives me motivation to continue making music, why care about how good your music is when you can simply have fun with it
fax. The Residents are my biggest inspiration.
If something can go from sounding so horrendous to one of the best pieces of art ive ever consumed (Not Available LP), thats somethin special
@Choas_Lord_512 hot damn are you alright? I was just speaking my mind
@@BootlegRaven he's sad no one will listen to his shit music that he works oh so hard on
I can relate. We all started from this very feeling of play and discovery. Good comment as a note to self.
@Choas_Lord_512 hope you feel better sometime bud
Daniel Johnston once was called up on a radio station from the mental hospital he was booked into so he could sing his vocals for “walk the cow” while the in studio band played. He really is the most special artist to gift this world.
Fascinating! In Québec there is a very famous musician who definitely 100% enters that category I believe. He sadly passed away some time ago and everyone was mourning. If you are interested to check him out, his name is Normand L’amour, and his most famous song is "La poignée de porte" (The door handle)
Vive le Québec libre !!!
@@godswittness69 facts
The thing that made Daniel special is that his songwriting is actually brilliant, even by professional standards
And the piano playing on his first album is insanely moving, he clearly would have been an amazing piano player if his mind didn't start to fail him
I had no idea this was a specific genre, I always called the artists I listen to "wholesomely moving". Coming from Austin, naturally Daniel was my first taste of the raw, truly unique and heartfelt sound these people create. They don't care if you like it. It wasn't made to be liked. It was made to explore. To be passionate and creative. It was made with to share a true love for art and music. There is so much complex beauty in the art these musicians make. I have nothing but gratitude and love for Daniel Johnston.
@@moderndaymedusa I wouldn't really consider "outsider music" to be a genre, truthfully. Outsider Art in general is more often a label used to commodify and exploit disability, particularly mental illness, and perceived naivety. Obviously that's not always the case, but it serves to exoticize. I also genuinely enjoy many of these artists for the heartfelt and genuine nature of their work, I often over-analyze my own creative process these days and often kinda envy the ability to just make some stuff and put it out there and see what happens.
Uh, no. Not in a million years.
@@lunawuff This resonates with my own experience, what you say about overthinking regarding the creation process... I think it's a skill, and an artform of its own, to be able to detach from the ego-based desire for perfection.
Philosophy of the World is basically The Room if it was an album
perfect analogy
i think corey feldman's "angelic 2 the core" is a little more accurate, but that might be partially because he looks like tommy wiseau lol
@@hachikos
I agree, Philosophy is more like Manos
Dude, Tiny Tim is honestly so good. He’s such a good singer. His lower singing voice honestly sounds so similar to Elvis.
He was like Andy kaufman in musician form.
I challenge everyone to share and like this video:
To see if we can hear some new related styles on the radio, (charts) say, in 24 months, and 60 months from now.
I’ve been playing guitar for over 25 years and for me- due to the uniqueness of the content inside- is one of the greatest documentaries. Some super cool sounds that could definitely inspire new styles for sure. It’s like the best of the worst, in that they may have all been rejected from the labels but today’s underground would love this sound, mixed with some modern electronic and rock elements I think the next big genre could come from this very video.
I’m stoked to start writing again.
Cheers!
Holy shit. I just went looking for some of his performances. He's great! I instantly fell in love with his whole persona!
Does he sing a song in the first spongebob episode.
Yeah man he sang the “living in the sunlight” song in spongebob
@@Atomhaz yes, that is #TinyTim doing the SpongBob song
Thank you so much for this. Many of these artists I knew about, but this video was my introduction to Daniel Johnston. "True Love Will Find You in the End" made me cry. Not only is this inspiring to me as a musician, it's wonderful to hear anyway. (...and the hand-drawn with markers album covers take me back to my first recording attempts as a teenager.)
Thanks, again.
When I heard Daniel Johnston passed away I pulled my car over and pulled up a playlist of his songs. I sat there and cried my eyes out for an hour. It really felt like I lost a good friend. A friend that I didnt stay in touch with as much as I should have. The world lost a piece of it's pure innocence and beauty that day.
Yea.
His little alien is still standing in Austin. When I lived abroad he was a touchstone for Austin Weird
Danny don’t rap. Clip clop clip clop. Danny don’t rap.
@@llechatton So is his frog.
@@FoodNerds damn man I didn’t know he died rip too a legend
Came for Daniel Johnston, ended up discovering a whole lot more.
same!!!!!
Same
Same here and a lot of these songs I've heard and never thought were exactly outsider music, this was a really informative video.
same!
Same
I'm a huge Wesley Willis fan, this video is great
hi
kodak see what develops!
sugarcrash guy😧😧😮😮😮😮
I videotaped wesley in cincinnati..
same here!
I raise you: Frank Tovey/Fad Gadget. Some people group his music (especially the stuff he produced/wrote as Fad Gadget) in with goth/darkwave but in my opinion even though he did collaborate with some artists who are more heavily associated with goth music, his stuff is so unique it can’t really be adequately grouped with any specific genre. He made a lot of really interesting early electronic music and had insane live performances that sometimes involved him tarring and feathering himself, covering his entire body in shaving cream, or hanging from ceiling joists in the venue. He actually got into making electronic music because he was terrible at playing all the instruments he tried. He’s amazing. I wish he was still alive. Go check him out.
Never knew the backstory of the guy who made the masterpiece that is Rock N Roll McDonald’s
This song is truly a banger.
I unironically enjoy rock n roll McDonalds it gets me excited with such childlike wonder
His documentary is really worth watching. RIP, Mr. Willis.
@@haeilsey same here
Much of what makes it great is that it starts out like it's a McDonald's promotion -- seriously, they could use it for advertising, and he *did* sprinkle his performances with out-of-the-blue ad slogans from contemporary or old campaigns for various businesses. But then just when you're set up, "McDonald's hamburgers are the worst. This I can prove." And goes on to state its greater fat content than Burger King's!
I just want to say... As someone who has struggled with mental illness and never viewed themselves as talented... Thank you for introducing me to this. What seemed like a joke at first became something deep and personal.
hey dude! There's a reason that shamans beat on drums and whistle tunes. Art has the power to lift all manners of negativity from your life
@@runningsandwich Because they needed a gimmick and confusing people by overloading their senses is a good way to convince them that you are mystical?
@@skyblue2708 lol
Rest In Peace Daniel Johnston❤️ I really hope true love did find him in the end
I feel like this is if Vewn's art was music. Even if it's unconventional it's authentic. And I'm all here for it
Nah it would all be Zapp
I love outsider music because of exactly what you said, it’s so unaltered and straight forward. It’s beautifully human.
I'm a huge fan of Daniel Johnston, True Love Will Find You in the End gives me goosebumps every time. RIP.
I just listened to it, and am in tears. So good. Reminds me a little of the Juno soundtrack. "if I was a flower growing wild and free all I want is for you to be my sweet honey bee" 🎶
@@LadywatchingByrd i think that song actually was in juno
Literally!
Yeah it hurt when he passed. He was one of the most beautiful tortured souls on the planet and we, as fellow human beings, lucky that he was able to turn that pain into such wonderful songwriting. My old punk band used to cover "funeral home" and "I lost my.mind" and after a show at Diablos in Portland we met a dude who had seen us a few times around the PNW and he actually knew Daniel. He had contacted him and gave me an original drawing of his with a personal autograph which I still have framed hanging on my wall. RIP DANIEL.
If it wasn't for him we woulnd't have a lot of the classics we have today. It was terrible to hear about what happened to him, hell whenever i read the article "one step from fame" it makes me annoyed. Never felt like he needed or wanted the fame, just wanted to make fun music that had meaning to him. Sending love, rip legend.
“Say rock! Say roll!”
I met Wesley Willis in the summer of 2001 at a punk club in Mankato, Minnesota.
He had a mild freakout midset cuz the hellbus caught up with him, but after that it was a good show. Lots of love, and he blessed me with a head butt - “say ROCK (bump) say ROLL (bump)”.
Bless him and everyone who cared for him.
Great story man,thx
A friend of mine got to open for him in Baltimore once. I went to the show, but didn’t get to meet him.. my friend was super excited for that opportunity. Glad to have been able see him perform.
Man this was the most valuable video I've seen in a good while, thank you sir 🤘
it's crazy to think The Shaggs PERFORMED THE SONGS LIVE as they are on the album. they somehow managed to replicate the random chaotic deformed disordered noise.
Yes, first sit down and put one leg in at a time.
Maybe it wasn't random
@@ghostwriter991 RIght. They surely planned things out before recording, even when it ended up sounding "random". I used to do that before learning music, I thought I was doing a lot by moving my hands around the same way over and over without knowing what even is a chord.
@@ghostwriter991 ever heard it? It’s pretty much random
@@mrupert22 ay man if you study performance art you can make things come across as random its called improv i used to do it. Its like rappers nowadays they freestyle on live radio but you can tell it was written before hand because modern rap has erratic beat switches that no longer happen on the 4 bar or 8 bar its very sporadic. So its planned eg improv
I highly recommend the documentary "The Devil and Daniel Johnston", it's a beautiful documentary about his life and career, ending with Daniel forming a punk band with some kids who saved him from a group of feral dogs (I'm not kidding). Insightful and incredibly moving.
Yep. Fantastic documentary.
Yes, it is a fantastic documentary. Seen it quite a few times. People who know of Daniel have some semblance of his mental illnesses but the reality of it and how it deeply effected his family and friends was intriguing to see. Rest well Daniel.
I saw 11 years ago. It was great! I need to watch it again some time.
Seen it YEARS ago. And made an unforgettable impression. It's touching, interesting, and inspirational
Word of advice - following "I recommend this movie" with "this is how it ends" is kind of a dick move
Tiny Tim's song "Living in the sunlight, Loving in the moonlight" was featured in Spongebob's pilot episode. His sound is so unique I knew I heard it somewhere even when I hadn't heard it years
I'm sooo happy HA-HA!
Its used in the horror movie Insidious too. He also died of a heart attack on stage and people thought it was a joke.
@@visualdosage234 Thata tiptoe through the tulips.
@@swingonthespiral yep
@@swingonthespiral a song i instantly loved the first time i heard it more than 20 years ago on a french radio station.
This is a great video I love how much compassion you have for Wesley Willis
so it's basically art in its purest form
Good interpretation
@@jt-mx4on its like art with no alterations or art which was made without giving it much thought, its just pure emotion expressed by any medium possible
@@jt-mx4on I didn't mean pure as in "good music", I just meant pure with its basic meaning
@Pop Mine pretending you don't understand a word because of 1 misspelled letter is small pp energy
@@s43m I don't think its pure though. The only thing these outsiders lack is musical skill/education, they clearly know how song structure works and they understand some of the harmony they most likely heard over the radio or somewhere else in life.
this video was good for my soul, thank you brother. you're still making some of the best stuff on this website
Tiny Tim's version of living in the sunlight was in the first ever episode of Spongebob. It was a homage to tiny Tim as he had passed away a few years before the episode aired.
hArJiT001 The way he sings reminds me of the song they kept playing in the movie Insidious. Super creepy. Maybe it even was his song, idk
@@BlueblueN "tiptoe through the tulips" is one of his tracks, yeah.
Listen to his last album. So amazing. He does a Stairway to Heaven cover that's just all Tiny Tim! Love it.
@@BlueblueN problem, every time they played that song in the movie I thought about SpongeBob.
@@BlueblueN dude me too, I was thinking the same thing. Creepy forsure! You just got this recommendation too Hugh?! Lol
I'd love a part 2 from you. This was a really great video and inspiring
“Story of an Artist” by Daniel Johnston was by far one of my favs of all time. If you feel at all motivated towards music, please listen to this one. It’s absolutely beautiful and by far one of my favs from him.
That is his number 1 on apple music
I love this song so much! I just learned it on the guitar yesterday. It’s so pretty and sad.
me too!! it was probably the first song i heard that got me interested in this kind of music
My favourite by him is Songs Of Pain
Daniel Johnston’s Hi, How Are You? is one of my favorite albums. it is genuinely an emotional album for me because of its sincerity. Personally it feels like a bittersweet, melancholic hug. A Last Goodbye, over and over and over again, each time i listen to it. It reminds me of sweeter memories that will never be recreated and voids in place of loved ones in your mind. It’s genuinely so lovely and real and it opened me up to a lot of other “outsider music” RIP Daniel Johnston
I was in Austin Texas a few years ago, just walking around when I saw this weird little alien guy painted on a building with the words "Hi, how are you." I thought it was neat and took a picture. Today I learned it's origin and honestly think it's a lot cooler. Fascinating.
Daniel did that mural.
Jeremiah the Bullfrog by Daniel Johnston ❤
He just recently died. The song "True love will find you in the end" is brilliant.
I waited the ENTIRE video to see if you'd mention R. Stevie Moore!
So glad you included him. I love his catalog. Such an amazing hidden gem.
Subscribed.
Eilert Pilarm believed he was Elvis. He had a minor existential crisis when he saw the news that Elvis Presley had died. He wasn't sure if he was actually dead or not.
source: my dad knew someone who worked alongside Eilert at a papermill. so take it with a grain of salt.
I had a similar experience on mushrooms once.
I met Wesley Willis at one of his shows, was even greeted with a head butt or four. Every person at that show, was there because they appreciated what he was doing. It was raw, unfiltered, real. We all lived in that moment together and it was great. He was an artist too. Drew all kinds of cool pictures. His music and art gave him, not only a way to deal with his mental illness but a way to communicate with others what his struggles were. If you took his ability to express himself away, it would have hurt him. Instead, we were able to understand him through music and art and he was able to connect to people.
I create outsider songs that I sing to my cats. "Cat Baby" was the first. "Dinner time for you" is an old favourite. Jacqueline D Cat sings along. She's a talented vocalist with a great range.
Drop the album
this is my favorite comment.
That's so sweet
Don't be shy, sing me a song piano person
Thank-You! for this shout-out to Outsider Musicians. I admire their courage to follow their unique styles for the Joy it brings.
Wish I could recall his albums, but I read long ago of a man making homestyle songs that had a fan base, but his real name and identity he kept secret. He released a string of his music on LPs. If memory serves, this was back in 70's or 80's maybe.
i cried when i learned that Wesley Willis died because i knew i'd never get to headbutt with him. his music was unironically a big part of my younger years, and i still eat Bar S hotdogs because of his signoffs lol
Dude would lay a mean headbutt on you for sure. He opened for our punk band in Columbia Missouri back in the late 90's early 00's and was one of the best shows we ever played. We played with some big names too, but people were so pumped to see Wesley Willis and he rocked it out. I wish I still had the big drawing he gave me, it was glorious!
Ouch!
Headbutt my brother in okc. Wouldn’t take a beer. Only Dr. Pepper. Dude killed.
Bar S ham from the deli is slimey though. Ew.
Daniel Johnston is one of the greatest artists to ever live.. for what he went through and his struggle with mental illness and still managed to hold on and still do what he loved.. its amazing
This gives me a newfound respect for my doppelganger Ice JJ Fish... and also Viper the Rapper, both of which I listen to unironically.
Tongo!
Viper is one of the only rappers I listen to. My Hops is probably my favorite rap song. Or Hittin VIP tonight.
Virgincore music
@@jayst "You'll Cowards", "Papered Up", and "My Hops" are bonified BANGERS!!! I listen to his other stuff too. This video helped explain why I've always liked these artists.
@@MillionaireHoyOriginal hell yeah man. Papered up is a good one too. I really love his beats and I pray someday someone will remaster and mix My Hops or Hittin VIP. They are badass songs with amazing beats, but the production quality leaves a lot to be desired
Well made video, sounded like you sure did your homework, I recognized tiny Tim. Thanks for making this , it couldn’t have been easy to put all this unground music and footage together
So basically, the palm reader was right
Yes
Just not in the way anyone thought
@@wirelessfiction8636 that seems to be a them problem.
Well it was his mother so
Yeah, that's the most interesting part of the whole thing. Granted it's a "monkey paw" kind of situation, but yeah they're still popular.
Story of an artist is the greatest song of all time to me, a true Picasso of the music world!
Absolutely correct
wrong because picasso sucks
@@deadvelvet999 hehe yea more like davinci of music
THANK YOU, Daniel is one of my favourite artists
idk how u can listen to this shit lmao
Holy shit, Wesley Willis got a Nardwuar interview? That is the highest recognition any musician can get.
It was Nardwuar who introduced me to Daniel Johnston, and wow, what a beautiful soul he was.
is it tho
@@randomanton Yes.
S/o to
Nardwardo
yikes, Nardwuar is the opposite of outsider. he exploits the characteristics of an outsider, or those of a mentally challengted person, to create a fake persona.
@@exploringmind7648 I do not think Nardwuar is the greatest character actor of all time.
Best video about music so far. I'm serious. Now I see. Thank you and congratulations.
The best bassist in my town has terrible schizophrenia, he gets "instructions" from Hendrix and other dead giants while he is playing. Who are we to say that it is not true? It might as well be. He plays great, so people don't care, anyway.
I hope he's getting help :/
We are people who arent schizophrenic. Thats why we can say it is not true. I know I'm being an ass but romanticizing mental disorders is not cool. Of course, maybe the context is that he is doing what he has heard before. In that way I understand what it means.
@@DenerWitt Thank you for your opinion, Adolf. We will consider your point of view. Not.
@@DrUmSensitive the guys just showing concern for people who are legitimately troubled, what is ‘Adolf’ about that
@@stanners1714 Nothing. BUT accusing me if "romanticizing mental diseases" and the rest what he wrote has a lot to do with a certain gentleman's solution for mental patients. As a trained professional I am in no habit of labeling people as "mentally insane" because that is a terrible thing to do. There was a time when gay people were categorized as "mentally insane" and "treated." Who can guarantee that, say, 50 years from now we won't find out schizophrenia was actually not a disease, but a portal into unknown dimensions or something? I treat all my friends equally, whether they think Hendrix speaks to them or soccrr is God almighty personified - I don't care. They get my love and understanding regardless. What I feel about their opinion is irrelevant. They are human beings which deserve respect, not some "mentally ill" individuals. His comment had nothing to do with "concern." ROMANTICIZING??? What does he mean with that, that I believe everybody should have schizophrenia in order to olay good music??? Outrageous.
Never thought I would have to hear my pal foot foot again
i wish i could hear it for the first time again
You knew
@@IndustrialFan666 I'm going to assume that was directed towards me since I started the comment strand. How is me not liking the shaggs me genuinely not caring about outsider art? I listened to every new name I heard in this video and enjoyed most of it for its artistical value.
@@ark3stra Because if you dont like and know every single outsider artist, musician, filmmaker, etc. then you genuinely dont care about outsider art. Thats all he was saying.
@@MicheallikeMJ So because I am unaware of artists or don't particularly like a select few that means I don't care about the genre? 😐 Idk about you but from my perspective that sounds like something along the lines of "you don't like g-funk so you must not like hiphop" or something like that. Do you see where I'm coming from at least?
Wesley Willis was one of the most genuine and friendly people I ever met. Dude was a legend, and his drawing skills were legitimately solid, as well.
Dude! Im literally about to go down this rabbit hole. Great job ❤
Moral of the story: Palm readers aren't frauds.
😂
It's called self fulfilling prophecy...
My roommate played me Wesley Willis without context when I was 20 and it completely blew my mind. We listened to him unironically
During quarantine, my buddy sent Rock and Roll Mcdonalds, ended up on a 9 hour deep dive and became a big fan
This is what we gonna do now
People listen to him ironically?
wow I actually kinda get why Kurt Cobain would like this. No filter, just raw
Does anyone listen to music ironically? What even is the point of that? Or you like something or don't, what does it even mean to ironically like something.
I LOVE Tiny Tim. For a period, his music was used in a diverse range of media, from horror all the way to comedy, and it worked so well. It helped set the stage for Insidious and its even one of the most memorable moments in all of SpongeBob.
That is art at its best. There is a lot to appreciate in this type of music and I love how you were able to break it down so well. You find a lot of examples of this type of art in mainstream media. Oftentimes serving as the very foundation for others to perfect it, turning it into that radio perfect stuff we've grown used to.
Well said. Tiny was also a treasure trove of musical history. His mind retained thousands of lost and forgotten songs from the first half of the 20th century.
Thank you for this video it makes me feel so much better about my songs now. I am my worst critic and after watching your video I feel inspired to keep going.
This video changed my life dude. Art is art. Make art even if it "sucks", if it's real someone will love it.
@@mafiadoner3619 I will remember these words from both of you. Fk over thinking everything. just do it.
Do what you have a passion for.
Art is subjective, someone will always hate it no matter what. But that also means it will be someone's favorite piece.
@@bashfulwolfo6499 Anything you played for Daniel he would say he loved it and you were great. And he always meant it, too! Here's a little tune we did that he basically made up the words to as we played: soundcloud.com/kenneth-w-lieck/hickory-stick-the-lizzard
Exactly. You might not like it, or it might not be recognized in the pantheon of academic or popular art, but it's still art as long as it's someone's expression. That alone can give meaning or beauty
Basically, this is just about Authenticity. Something most artists strive for.
???
@@joshknollenberg7334 Authentic gets thrown around a lot, you see it on products, get told things are authentic in commercials etc. But for most conceptual artists it really difficult to achieve today. I'm not gonna say what is and isn't authentic, but know that hard to even fathom what it can mean.
@@Chedring Authenticity isn't hard to come by in any degree, a pop song can be authentic and pure, even if the singer songwriter didn't even write it themself, something being "raw" isn't the only way to be authentic. Is "Living In The Sunshine" more authentic than "Thank You, Next" because one sold more units? Both were made with the intention of moving units, whether it was successful or not.
@@saninpain "Authenticity isn't hard to come by in any degree" I'm gonna completely disagree with you. And your example does not help your statement in anyway. It's pretty jarring.
@@Chedring Then you definitely don't know much about music let alone the history of music. Just because you don't respect it, doesn't mean it isn't genuine. Do you really think Rock and Roll McDonald's is more genuine than Hurt? It's that hipster "the more raw the better" mindset that ends up hurting the music craft.
Back in the day, Wesley Willis was featured in that documentary about eating Mcdonalds for a month. I went and googled his music because I LOVED rock n' roll Mcdonalds.
Supersize Me?
I'm a fan of vampire bat personally
Sometimes you gotta love youtube recommendations. What a delight! Thank you for this video. I'm from Brazil and my brother is a musician and I grew up with him showing me Brazilian outsiders... Also, Kurt Cobain and his taste of music... Shaggs and Daniel Johnston, nirvana is definitely my favorite band in the world, after all this time, still amazes me.
Tiny Tim was hilarious, but also very well-educated in a wide variety of musical styles. Some of his songs were pretty advanced too. I can’t get over how genuinely good “The Other Side” is in every aspect. It’s a work of art.
Also a pedophile
Agreed his tunes have amazing complex chord progressions and interesting melodies
Honestly, as someone who loves music & loves to sing, but hates being in the spotlight, in some ways I'm a bit envious of these musical pioneers for having the courage to put their music out there regardless of the haters.
Great topic dude! This made my day more interesting.
You have to listen to this live performance, I think you’ll like it man th-cam.com/video/sTo-u62xbtw/w-d-xo.html
@@gabrielacevedo9604 not bad!!
I went and listened to “Walking the Cow” by Daniel Johnson and nearly started crying. It captured fuzzy childhood memories I’ll never fully remember, but I know are positive so well. An innocence I will never know again, kept safe in my mind. Thank you for opening the door to this genre, I’ll definitely listen to more