Daniel Johnston
Fear Yourself

Shhh... be quiet... the man slumped in the chair in the photo on the back of the cover is Daniel Johnston, a troubled genius who writes both funny and desperate songs. Songs about his tormented life as a manic depressive and love, unrequited love, of course.

For years he has been recording numerous compositions on cassettes, accompanying his trembling voice with the guitar or ukulele. In the past, he played and sang only for himself; for him, music has always been a therapy, or he would go to comic book stores and trade tapes for his favorite superhero comics. Drawing is another of his passions; in fact, the whole CD is covered with colorful marker sketches, complete with a yellow devil on the cover, a tribute to The Simpsons by his friend Matt Groening.

But only in recent years, thanks to covers performed by the Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo and the appreciation of artists like David Bowie, Eddie Vedder, and Kurt Cobain (in 1992 at the MTV Awards, Cobain wore a t-shirt with the title "HI HOW ARE YOU" of a Daniel song) has his music begun to spread.
Among his fans is, of course, Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse, who wanted to collaborate with Johnston, arranging all 12 tracks of the album "Fear Yourself". The result is an intense, deep, and eerily cheerful rock album, with the madman of Richmond, thanks to the contribution of numerous instruments including drums, violins, and piano, managing to give rhythm and depth to the music of the madman of Austin. In this case, the sample is fundamental (haha), at the beginning of the first, you can hear Daniel's voice and his ukulele; it's the original version of "Now" as Daniel played it at his home... and then... the majestic air created by the sound added by Mark arrives. The second sample, "Fish" is a perfect example of the tragicomic lyrics:

"She's got me singing with a broken heart. I keep on messing with my mind torn apart. She's already forgotten, look at me left in the dust. I guess my art didn't help very much. Then the super love got me again. Got me dreaming I could almost win. I stopped to take a look around with a grin. So much turmoil in this crazy town. She's got me bloody from hitting the bricks. Is this the way girlies get their kicks? And now I see if it makes a difference. Everyone in love, hating her and each other. Always thinking it's near the end. Then I was hoping she'd be my friend. Will I forever only wish it again?"

What do you think? I have been listening to it for months, trying to make my friends listen to it and eliciting the most diverse reactions... from: "Beautiful! But who is it? Can you make me a copy?" to "...well, out of tune voices, but in my opinion, this is just unbearable..." In short, another CD of the series either you love it or you hate it...