Hi how are you

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Hi how are you
Studio album by Daniel Johnston

Publication
(s)

1983

Label (s) Self-published
Stress Records
Homestead Records
Eternal Yip Eye Music

Format (s)

CD , MC , LP

Genre (s)

Lo-fi
singer-songwriter
indie

Title (number)

15th

running time

30.22

occupation Guitar , vocals, piano: Daniel Johnston

Studio (s)

no

chronology
Yip / Jump Music
(1982) 		Hi how are you Retired Boxer
(1984)

Hi, How Are You: The Unfinished Album is the sixth self-distributed album by the musician Daniel Johnston , which he recorded in September 1983. Hi, How Are You is probably his most popular album and is considered a classic of the American indie scene.

History of origin

The bipolar Daniel Johnston worked in the early 80s as a groundskeeper at an amusement park near Austin and as a table clearer at McDonald’s . In his spare time, Johnston often recorded songs in his apartment. In September 1983 he recorded Hi, How Are You . Local record stores sold the tape as free take-away goods. He also secretly put it - according to Johnston's own account - in the McDonald's bags of buyers he found attractive or likeable. Johnston was best known for an MTV documentary about the Austin , Texas music scene in 1985 and gained a small underground following. He and the album finally became known through Kurt Cobain , the singer of the world-famous grunge band Nirvana . Cobain wore a t-shirt that featured the now legendary "frog" on the album cover when he was a guest at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards .

Johnston says he almost had a nervous breakdown while recording this album, and he called it his "unfinished album". The album was re-released on CD or LP by several labels, most recently in 2007.

The audio quality on the album is deliberately poor. So said Jad Fair , singer and guitarist of the band Half Japanese , he had bought Johnston for this album quality cassettes, but Johnston threw them away later.

reception

The cover of the album ( Austin , 1994) painted on a house wall by Daniel Johnston .

John Dougan writes on allmusic : This is a friendly album, proven by [Johnston's] talent as a pop writer and his increasingly pleasant singing. His mood on the album is good . Dougan gives the album 4.5 out of 5 stars and writes that it is an important album.

Walking the Cow

Walking the Cow is the best known song on the album. It has been covered by many indie bands, for example in October 1994 live by Pearl Jam . Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder began his solo tour in 2008 with this song always. In 2004 the song was covered by TV on the Radio on a Daniel Johnston cover album. It was also played on tour by the Swedish band A Camp .

Johnston himself released a newer version of the song in 2010 on his album Beam me up! .

Track list

All songs were written by Daniel Johnston.

  1. Poor You - 2:02
  2. Big Business Monkey - 2:01
  3. Walking the Cow - 3:34
  4. I Picture Myself With a Guitar - 0:43
  5. Despair Came Knocking - 2:44
  6. I Am A Baby (In My Universe) - 1:37
  7. Nervous Love - 0:18
  8. I'll Never Marry - 0:20
  9. Get Yourself Together - 0:25
  10. Running Water - 1:31
  11. Desperate Man Blues - 3:39
  12. Hey Joe - 2:44
  13. She Called Pest Control - 0:52
  14. Keep Punching Joe - 3:11
  15. No More Pushing Joe Around - 4:37

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "The Devil and Daniel Johnston", documentary about the life of Johnston, 2006. Director: Jeff Feuersehen.
  2. ^ "Kurt Cobain wears Daniel Johnston T-Shirt to VMAs" .
  3. ↑ Martin Büsser : “You are so cute. Are you? - Naive Pop, Shimmy Disc and Jewish Music: Non-identity as liberating laughter over non-comical conditions ”, in: Testcard - Contributions to Pop History # 11, 2002, Ventil Verlag .
  4. ↑ In the original: ... this is a friendly record marked by his increasing skill as a pop songwriter and his increasingly comfortable singing. His mood here is good ... Another important release.
  5. ↑ John Dougan: "Hi How Are You". online on allmusic

Web links