tell me about wesley willis

he's an overweight, schizophrenic black man who sings over casio keyboard demo track things. he was homeless in chicago selling his drawings and someone 'discovered' him. i think that's how the story went. and alternative tentacles puts out his albums. and he headbutts people. he has a big bump on his forehead from all the headbutting he does. just gentle headbutts. not, like, attack headbutts. it's his affection thing.

that's everything you need to know about wesley willis.

He is a rockstar in Jesus' name
He really knows how to rock it out.

Well - there is a noteworthy fillip in the "discovery": Wesley had been self-releasing CDs for ages. He'd show up at any given Chicago show and literally menace people to "Buy my rock and roll record!" His songs follow a couple of formulae:

1) Celebration of a band that played in Chicago ("October 23rd. The Cubby Bear was rockin' to see the Ass Ponys show. The rock concert was awesome. It whipped a mule's ass with a riding crop") with chorus consisting entirely of that band's name repeated four times

2) Bizarre requests/demands for abuse: songs like "Kick My F**kin' Ass" or "Shatter My Harmony Music," whose verses go like this: "Ruin my day! Call me a f**king a*shole! Cause me to go on a hell bus ride from the south side all the way to Belmont! Break my f**king arm, motherfu**er!" and whose choruses, again, consist of the title repeated four times.

Since I've worked with the mentally ill for many years I am generally very suspicious of the "charm" of "outsider art" (due to exploitation/sideshow issues). Apparently Wesley's tours have been pretty harrowing. But he genuinely loves making music, and whatever the audience's motivation in consuming it, it's money in his pocket that he otherwise wouldn't have had any way of getting, so I'm all for him.

this never gets old: "Christmas gives me harmonization."

About the only other things I'd add to the comments above is this: 1) pretty much every song has exactly the SAME Casio thing happening, just in different keys; 2) he also had two records released on American records, which was either the most generous thing Rick Rubin ever did or the most egregious example of "let's laugh at the retards" ever (and please excuse the expression). I'm happy that Wesley can make money doing what he loves, but I have this lingering suspicion that most people who "listen" to Willis are doing it for less than pure reasons.

Yeah but Sean that's a minefield you're walking into there -- the right way to receive art, authorial intention etc

To be honest with you, first time I heard Willis I didn't know about his problems. Is he usually presented as "The Schizo Musician", or is his illness only known to the "fans"?

I realize that, and I'm not going to push it. But I still think there's a difference getting a Wesley Willis album, playing it for your friends and laughing your ass off than wilfully misinterpreting (or not bothering to parse), say, Ween.

John: While working in a record store here in Chicago I developed an intense and unequivocal loathing for a lot of Wesley Willis fans, who -- music aside -- often demonstrate a really piss-poor level of concern or sympathy for his obvious problems. There's really no minefield when people rave about how fucked-up and dirty and insane he is, chuckling all the while, or stand there pointing and laughing in public while he's obviously having a very unpleasant episode. I don't bother questioning their motives for liking the music -- I'm disappointed enough with their utter lack of concern for the person making it.

Obviously I am not talking about all Wesley Willis fans or even the majority.

The record store is mentioned because the types of people I'm talking about invariably assume record store clerks are the perfect audience for their thoughts on Wesley and how hilariously mentally ill he is.

From my experience of seeing Wesley Willis live once (i was there to see the Country Teasers who were the middle act and were touring with him) and hearing others talk about him, I think nabisco sums up the typical "wesley willis" fan -- which is a separate issue from Wesley Willis himself.

As Willis' music, like Darnielle said, I'm glad that he can make money for himself doing something he obviously enjoys, including the people. He seems to have really lucked out getting a manager who genuinely cares about him.

As music, though, I have to give it the big thumb down. The casio and his songs just don't even remotely do it for me -- the songs aren't there -- and I will go there -- a lot of the audience are laughing at Willis and not with him.

Then again, I have no interest in musicians just because they suffer from mental illness (though many I like may) -- because its always about the music. For example, Daniel Johnston may have suffered a host of problems, but what is important is that the Songs are there -- and great pop songs, too (pop in the sense of hooky, melodic Lennon/McCartney influenced). Sadly, though, whenever I see Daniel play, I can never fully enjoy it because I feel apprehensive and protective of him as he struggles to play in front of an audience usually laughing at him and not with him. Don't even get me started about that baby boomer asses in the audience when he opened up for R.L. Burnside.

Yah I hear you Nabisco - there's nothing to make a person despair for his own species like seeing the way people react to someone like Wesley, oblivious to the fact that underneath a lot of symptomatic behaviors there's a human being in a lot of pain. But again -- I've worked with the mentally ill since 1989 or so, and my first concern is: "Are they enjoying what they're doing?" Wesley is, I think; certainly more so than he would be without his art. I think in many of his listeners we have the ultimate I-can't-enjoy-the-artist-because-of-his-fans thing.

Lived in Chicago briefly in '95-'96, btw, and know exactly what you're talking about.

I believe Howard Stern has championed Willis for a long time. That would explain the insensitivity of the worst Wesley Willis "fans." Stern has always encouraged that "let's all point and laugh at the freaks" junior-high-bully mentality, and his listeners get the best of two worlds with Willis: They get to ridicule a drooling wacko AND they get to feel cool because they're into something "outsider." In my old age, I have very low tolerance for people like this.

Oh, and the much more likeable Willis/fans relationship exists with his visual art, which is lovely and appreciable in a much less vexing way.

i usually say "rock'n'roll mcdonalds" whenever i answer the phone at home. it's a great way of dealing with telemarketers and aged family members.

i have something to say about this but i can't quite figure out what it is yet:

my initial instinct re: w.w. is very much in line with nitsuh's : "he's mentally ill and you're laughing at him" - it's natural to want to protect someone like that because his situation is dangerously TOO real for his (or our) own comfort.

perhaps there are some potentially interesting relationships between this type of "too-real" protectionism and between the "it's never real enough" cynicism of r*ockists everywhere?