The What of Whom
Studio album by
Daniel Johnston
Released1982
RecordedAugust 1982
Genre
Length59:43
LabelSelf-released
Stress Records (1987 release)
ProducerDaniel Johnston
Daniel Johnston chronology
Don't Be Scared
(1982)		 The What of Whom
(1982)		 More Songs of Pain
(1983)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

The What of Whom is the third self-released music cassette album by singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston, recorded in 1982.

The album was released on cassette in 1988 by Stress Records, made available in downloadable mp3 format by Emusic in 2000, and re-released on CD-R by Eternal Yip Eye Music in 2004. In between some songs, Daniel has little snippets of himself talking, or small skits of background noise concerning his every day life.

Background

The album was recorded in August of 1982 between Johnston's Junior and Senior years studying at Kent State University, East Liverpool, Ohio .The album, like Songs of Pain and Don't Be Scared before it, was recorded in his parents' basement in West Virginia, where the 21 year old Johnston was living at the time.[2] A guest writer for Atwood Magazine noted influences from Elvis Costello and The Beatles (particularly young John Lennon) on the track 'Man Obsessed.'[3] During this same time, Johnston recorded an unreleased tape known as 'Ugly Music' for his friend John Fair. The tape was largely made up of material written for Songs of Pain, but also included Don't Be Scared and What of Whom songs, as well as 3 unreleased songs.[4]

Artwork

The cover artwork is a drawing by Johnston of a woman's torso, inspired by Venus de Milo and Venus of Willendorf. The torso represents sex[5] and the objectified, mystified, and dehumanized way women are portrayed in his lyrics and artwork.[6]

Legacy

In 2010 when Douglas Wolk reviewed the album for Pitchfork as part of the 'Story of an Artist' box-set, he described both it and Don't Be Scared as 'lacking in quality control.'[7]

In the months following Johnston's death, several retrospectives on his career were published. New York Times' '12 essential Daniel Johnston tracks' article written by David Peisner features the first two tracks from The What Of Whom .[8] Atwood Magazine's retrospective called Man Obsessed 'A darkly comedic inversion of 60s beat era pop'.[3] When reviewing the album. Alison Alber (writing for Mxdwn) mentioned the song as an example of Johnston's lyrical talent.[9]

A 2023 exhibit of collage artwork by Daniel and his sister Marjory Johnston at the Street Gallery in Austin was titled after the album.[10][11][12][13]

Covers

Several notable musical acts have covered material from the album, "To Go Home" has been covered by Groovie Ghoulies,[14] M. Ward (on his Post-War album) and The Copyrights.[15] "Blue Clouds" has been covered by Mercury Rev (for The Late Great Daniel Johnston tribute album) and Adam Stafford.[16] "Man Obsessed" has been covered by "Weird Paul" Petroskey,[17] and Built to Spill covered "Heart Mind and Soul" for their Daniel Johnston tribute album.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Daniel Johnston. All tracks produced by Johnston

Side One
No.TitleLength
1."Man Obsessed"1:28
2."Peek A Boo"4:50
3."Never Before, Never Again"1:48
4."The Goldfish & The Frog"2:20
5."Scuttle-Butt"2:10
6."Heart, Mind and Soul"5:22
7."Blue Clouds"5:34
8."Surely You Don't Work All Night"4:11
9."I Can't Think Anymore"2:21
Total length:30:04
Side Two
No.TitleLength
10."Excuse Me"0:17
11."Polka Dot Rag"5:28
12."Why, Without You"3:23
13."An Incoherent Speech"1:02
14."Wicked World"4:16
15."To Go Home"4:30
16."Scrambled Eggs"5:02
17."Peace & Tranquility"2:47
18."When You're Pretty"2:54
Total length:29:39

Release history

Year Label Format Region Notes
1982 Self Released Cassette USA
1987 Stress Records
2004 Eternal Yip Eye Music CD-R
2010 Munster Records CD Spain As part of 'The Story Of An Artist', a 6 disc box-set containing Johnston's albums recorded in West Virginia between 1980 - 1983.
LP
2012 Eternal Yip Eye Music Cassette USA

References

  1. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r214193
  2. ↑ The Devil and Daniel Johnston, Dr. Jeff Feuerzeig, 2005
  3. 1 2 Writer, Guest (2019-10-30). "In Memoriam: Tortured Loser Genius Hero; The Legacy of Daniel Johnston". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  4. ↑ Daniel Johnston tape he made for me., archived from the original on 2021-12-15, retrieved 2021-10-30
  5. ↑ Daniel Johnston's Symbolical Visions
  6. ↑ Yazdani, Tarssa; Goede, Don (2006). Hi, how are You?: The Life, Art & Music of Daniel Johnston. Last Gasp. pp. 52–53. ISBN 978-0-86719-667-2.
  7. ↑ "Daniel Johnston: The Story of an Artist". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  8. ↑ Peisner, David (2019-09-12). "Daniel Johnston's Essential Songs: Listen to 12 Tracks". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  9. ↑ "Album Review: Built to Spill - Built to Spill Plays The Songs of Daniel Johnston -". mxdwn Music. 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  10. ↑ Sibling Revelry in “Daniel & Marjory Johnston: The What of Whom”
  11. ↑ https://www.kut.org/people/mike-lee-kut (2023-02-24). "'It was fun, too!': 'The What of Whom' spotlights artwork by Daniel and Marjory Johnston". KUT Radio, Austin's NPR Station. Retrieved 2023-06-01. {{cite web}}: External link in |last= (help)
  12. ↑ Sightlines (2022-12-31). "The Line-up: Ten exhibitions to see in January". Sightlines. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  13. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/311748092248591. "9 enticing art exhibits to whet the appetite in Austin this January - CultureMap Austin". austin.culturemap.com. Retrieved 2023-06-01. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help); External link in |last= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ Groovie Ghoulies - Re-Animation Festival (Lookout! Records, LK 182, 1997)
  15. ↑ Kepi Ghoulie & The Copyrights - Re-Animation Festivalv (Stardumb Records, SDR.70, Eccentric Pop Records, EP 48, Kepiland, KEPILAND 5030, 2019)
  16. ↑ "This Year Has Vanished: Adam Stafford Live | Wise Blood Industries". 2016-09-11. Archived from the original on 2016-09-11. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  17. ↑ Paul Petroskey - Your Favorite Gum (Home-Aid Recordings, HAR-005, 1999)


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