Yea-it's the same thing he drew for the tape cover..pretty sure the tape came first. He was/is a well established visual artist-(although he pretty much lives an almost completely solitary existance at this point)but much more well known for his music,and a living legend in Texas. And you can actually hear his influence in mad indie/alt rock singer songwriters to this day.Here's what I'm assuming is his official website I just found...

http://www.hihowareyou.com/

Edit- I thought his last name was "johnston" but second guessed myself and wrote "johnson"...but that would be johnston,with a t,lol,,title of movie might be "the devil AND daniel johnston" as well,not completely positive-been a few years since I saw it.

yep you are right.

In 1993 Johnston was commissioned to paint a mural of the Hi, How Are You? frog (also known as "Jeremiah the Innocent") from his 1983 album cover on the side of the Sound Exchange record store located on the corner of 21st and Guadalupe in Austin, Texas

Don't know why I said early 90's..now I remember clearly it was the early 80's when he got to the music in a serious way.Well, his own kind of serious way. It's mad crazy,when you know his story-but he really did play a signifigant part in creating the sound of modern day alt/indie rock. And he was definitely a visionary and a genius-never let anyone tell you that "mental illness" is simply defined by someone being "crazy". There's so many elements to the way serious "manic depressives/bi-polar" and "schitzofrenics" minds work beyond the misleading black and white mental health diagnosises. The reason I put all that stuff in quotes-is because I don't believe in mental illness,or the labels people are given. Just another way to put people in a box, repress..and of course make huge ammounts of money through pharmacudicals. But yea, if anyone has a chance to check this movie- I guarantee you it'll be more than worth it.

a.D - you and tim ^^ are totally right. the Devil and Daniel Johnston was phenomenal - really sad and inspiring and awesome and everything else. he's been cranking away at it, and it's great to see other artists (yo la tengo, b. fleischmann, etc.) covering his stuff to bring his profile up, cuz....well, he aint gonna headline the grammys anytime soon, sadly. that doc is HIGHLY recommended (similar to the Be Here to Love Me doc I recommended on page one, actually). great recommend, mans.

a similar sort of doc would be Corwood Industries Presents Jandek. if you like mysterious enigmas and artists working away at their own craft in isolation, this is one to check out.

finally for all you other canadians of a certain vintage: Open Your Mouth and Say Mister Chi Pig is a great doc about the lead singer of SNFU (chi pig) and his battles with mental illness, addiction, poverty and his muse. SNFU were a great (like, TOTALLY fuckin' great) punk band and their influence is still reverberating. this doc really opened my eyes to just how powerful the band was / is.

another really cool art doc. is the one about Andy Goldsworthy, he uses found objects throughout nature to make pretty elaborate, very temporary works of art. definetely see Scratch. i've been meaning to see the illusionist, sylvain chomet's previous movie The triplets of Belleville, was awesome. and definetely the ken burns jazz series is awesome. another must is Festival Express, it documents amazing bands such as: the band, grateful dead, buddy guy, the flying burrito brothers, etc. as the travel across canada on a train, it has incredible first hand footage

I watched the devil and Daniel Johnston and I watched exit through the gift shop. Both were good but exit was amazing; maybe the best doc I have ever seen. The devil and ... was ok but truthfully I didn't like danial Johnston at the beginning and even less by the end. Dude is just disturbing. They were both worth the watch though, thanks for the suggestions.

Not that it's a huge deal, but I'm just curious...how can you say you didn't LIKE him? As a person? I mean, yea, his head got fucked up in certain ways he had no control over-- but watching the doc-espescialy w all the clips from his childhood-thanks to all his homeade movies- I would think it would be hard not to think he's a good man with a good heart,basically a creative genius--and also someone that has been exploited a great deal. Idk,maybe it's cause i've been around a lot of people like this in my life and have even had simmilar breakdowns myself, so I have more of an understanding-- but the vast majority of people like Daniel Johnston are incredibly intelligent,usually artistic,sensitive to the point that other peoples energy effects their own, good hearted people that are often completely misunderstood-and a lot of times-completely shut off from any chance at a regular life against their will. Also, you gotta love the makeshift studio he set up in his brothers basement,lol- for recording artists & beatmakers, that's gotta be one of the dopest parts.

"Exit" is really good on a strictly entertaining level, and obviously worth watching- actually though- it's not a complete "documentary" -there was possibly/probably a large amount of acting/scripting, and some consider it to be an out and out hoax.Not to mention Bansky has become pretty damn mainstream for someone that is supposed to represent the exact opposite, and the anti-artist artist.I mean the dude recently did an opening on the simpsons for fox.But "Devil" is a much more personal and emotional experience about an entire lifespan of someone relateable to millions around the world...Johnstons "success" was just an exception to the rule-but in a lot of ways, he still got fucked over by "normal" society.imo....of course.

Also, again- if ya'll haven't checked "american splendor"- it really is an incredible half documentary/half acted movie. Well, probably not 50/50 but you'll see what I mean if you get a chance to watch it.

meh.
potAto, potato

I bet joining a debate class with you andrew would be interesting.

OK here goes;
the authenticity of either movie is debatable as is ANY documentary (and obviously u were entertained by t.d.a.d.j. so either way, enjoyment is the intended final take away). As for Johnston, how can i avoid being too cruel, he was a selfish and egotistical person who just happened to have manic depression (and some extension of this, if i understood correctly). It really seems to convey the antithesis of what a functioning mental illness sufferer and member of society would hope to show. I mean he disappeared w/out telling anyone where he went, crashed his dads plane, ruined his promoters life and always stopped his meds despite knowing that every time he did, he ended hurting somebody. His art is best described as juvenile and his music was good but seemed way to influenced by his religous beliefs (this doc also hints at the reason i dislike organized religion). Sure the idea of a suffering artist being a great artist prevails but does it count when you bring on your own suffering and hurt others while you do it, all for some folk art.
the thing about exit is that it showed society a picture of itself and it was a funny picture. i also like how the happy ending was bittersweet. it just had many more levels for me climb. plus, i truly enjoy street art, especially Banksy. it seems as if his art is the most important thing about him. no one can comment on his character but people are obviously moved by his opinions and the way he expresses them.
if anything, i wish exit had more on just the graf side of things.
final thing, the styles of these movies were very similar but the stories were focused on two entirely diff things. if you want character study go wit d.j. but if you want art and its effect on society go exit.

these ^^ are great suggestions - i was just talking to someone about sylvain chomet today (haven't seen either, sound GREAT!).

and festival express is really impressive and crazy. they put acid. in. the. bourbon. jeeeez dudes.

along the same lines would be The Last Waltz about the Band's final show....and this may seem super mainstream, but the Maysles' brothers film about the Rolling Stones and Altamont...uh....Gimme Shelter...really impressed me for how raw and (seriously) powerful the stones were on stage. a great doc.

If I'm having a convo w someone in real life, and they bring up a point of view that differs from mine, I don't automatically assume they're trying to "debate"--maybe that's just me, idk. I just asked a question how someone could come away w/ that viewpoint. But for real- if you try to look slightly deeper than the surface, you wouldn't see egotistical or selfish but the exact "antithesis" of those traits. It's hard to feel sorry for a promoter that only wanted to work with johnston based on his eccentricness in the first place. As far as his parents- I think it's safe to say that they, espescially his mom- most likely contributed to his problems- espescially when he would wrestle w/ religion & religious guilt. & like I said, I have an insiders perspective on people like D.J.-for whatever that's worth. Having the idea that all people like this should simply be compliant to everybody around them, take their meds and lock themselves in a mental prison for the "betterment" of everybody is exactly why people are forced to live as such....also-it's pretty common for the "mentally ill" to go over the top with religious stuff at times...the reason being it's shoved down our throats so much, so obviously I agree w you about organized religion. Anyway- most of our greatest artists, musicians, writers, poets,etc. have been labeled at some point w/ "mental illness"-as well as some forward thinking political leaders & revolutionaries. If they had all been subdued by mind numbing medications, or locked away in hospitals- what would the world be like now?

The Heart Is a Drum Machine ?
http://handcancel.net/2009/03/01/if-the ... a-sampler/

Completely utterly co-sign jbl

the daniel johnston doc, while intriguing and well-done, was more about mental illness than art or music. and i DONT get the daniel johnston thing AT ALL...totally lost on me...i find it insufferable, and i think alot more people feel this way but are afraid to admit it, for fear of some hipster elitist backlash. again just myopinion, maybe i'm just missing something, but for me, the emperor has no clothes in this case...

and i'm sorry, but hand any heroin addict/scizophrenic (NO I'm NOT equating a drug addict to someone with a mental illness beyond their 'control', and no i don't subscribe to the belief that drug addiction is a "disease") a guitar and they'll come up with "music" that sounds as good if not better than daniel johnston's...

sorry, just my narrow, limited, flawed viewpoint i figured i'd throw out there

every viewpoint is valid

i guess for me there's a recurring theme of addiction and mental illness to the docs i really enjoy (even in the ones i've listed earlier). lots of reasons for that.

i'm more hooked into watching the creative process, because basically i'm a sponge for that kind of stuff. so often more fragmented minds offer things i wouldn't have come up with.

honestly, when i think back on D&DJ, i don't remember a lot of the stuff you cats have mentioned (religion, fam, etc). that's not what stands out for me...not what i took from it.

@ HxC - hadn't heard of that doc 'heart is a drum machine'. loox slick.

@lennydykstra-

..But manic depression/schitzofrenia is? There were times when these conditions didn't exist- at least they weren't labeled as such. In other cultures,and ancient cutures,many of these people are/were considered the sages,the medicine men....even the prophets.As far as musicians- everyone from bach,bethoven,to morrison,hendrix,cobain,to pac & cage...etc,etc--have been labeled as manic depressives/bi polar or even schitzofrenic/schitzoeffective.Your statement about handing whoever a guitar is literally one of the most ignorant things i've ever "heard" from a seemingly knowledgable person regarding the "mentally ill". It's sad that you're being sarcastic when saying your viewpoint is narrow & flawed.& Fuck a hipster elitist.If anyone thinks I'm going overboard-as some always seem to think- this cats comment goes way beyond a simple critique of a movie.A picture perfect example of how millions of people will be forever stigmatized.

Jesus

yes the comment was ignorant; it was kinda a joke...jesus dude no offense lighten up. i hate to have this awesome forum turn into a forum like UGHH.com where i'll never post because everythings a fight or devolves into hating and name-calling...let's not be so quick to anger, and try to have a sense of humor..and i'm not saying i'm "right"; don't really give two fucks about being right or making anyone else look dumb or bad, just wanna share an opinion, an oftentimes imperfect, uncensored maybe even ignorant opinion and see what everybody esle has to say...that's all. if i offend so be it; it's not what i intend, and not my goal, but i'm not gonna censor myself. and yes i can make an ignorant, goofy comment, i'm human and i won't apologize for it.

and yeah i def see what you're saying about ancient cultures medicine men shamans, etc...really good interesting point...