One of my favourite music documentaries is "The Devil and Daniel Johnston." It's a biography that covers the career of Daniel Johnston, as the title may imply. He isn't a household name, but has influenced tons of notable musicians and bands. Kurt Cobain, Beck, The Flaming Lips, Bright Eyes, and more have spoken of the influence he had on them. His songs have been covered by Tom Waits, The Flaming Lips, Pearl Jam, Death Cab For Cutie, and a lot of other artists on top of that.

The two things that held his career back the most were - 1) his refusal to do anything conventionally. His most highly regarded work was recorded on 1-track tape recorders in his bedroom. They are extremely poor quality, recording wise. And 2) he has had to work through having schizophrenia his entire life.

When Kurt Cobain's diary was published posthumously, he referenced an album of Daniel's being among his favourite of all time. It increased interest in Daniel. At the time of this, he was living in a psychiatric hospital receiving treatment for his mental illness. There was famously a bidding war on signing him, where Daniel turned down a major contract with Elektra Records because Metallica was on the same label, and Daniel thought they were associated with Satan.

It's a fantastic documentary to watch, and insane to see how much influence Daniel Johnston's had while remaining unknown to the masses. He's a really brilliant songwriter, and a troubled but incredibly interesting person. I recommend it to anyone. By the end of the documentary, I was a fan of his - although his music can be tough to digest at times.

Cheers,
Deryk