Song Of The Day 11/19/2013: Daniel Johnston - "My Little Girl"

This was always one of my favorite tracks from the long and multi-spotted career of Daniel Johnston, who was born in my hometown of Sacramento and went on to major cult fame thanks to radio stations that operated out of small metal boxes on public-owned property. My favorite story about Johnston is how he refused to sign with Elektra because Metallica was signed to the label, and he thought they were possessed by Satan. It's doubly funny because after he signed to the presumably devil-free Atlantic Records, his underestimated album Fun was produced by Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers. Not to get warring factions of '80s and '90s music all up in each other's blenders, but I'd say if there were ever two groups with equal chances of demonic possession, they would be Metallica and the Butthole Surfers. And that's using the assumption that demonic possession is a bad thing, when in fact it often gets you the best tables at Shakey's Pizza.

ANYWAY, I love "My Little Girl" because of the random sound switches on the keyboard in the middle of the song. It reminds me of the work I did with L. Ron Shrubbery in the early '90s, which is now impossible to find, unless and until I can afford a private detective to find my erstwhile partner Rick. I think there's a chance the Lord might have taken him away from us at a young age so he wouldn't have to experience the internet, the way Lester Bangs was taken out before he could see MTV. Some fragile realities you just need to preserve by any means, you know?