Mental Health Mondays
Schizophrenic music.
For this mental health Monday, I’d like to help prove the stereotype that all musicians are mentally handicapped. Being a musician myself, I figure this post will only give me a 50% chance of going to hell. Based on my past performance, it’s probably a done deal anyhow. Onward!
Let’s begin with Wesley Willis, who was “6 foot 5, weighs between 300 and 350 pounds, and likes to greet people with a headbutt. Shortly after he made his first album, he was diagnosed with chronic paranoid schizophrenia, and he now claims to have “schizophrenia demons” in his head that take him off of his “harmony joy rides” to put him on “torture hell rides”.” Many people are familiar with his earlier “songs,” where he sings over Caseo beats. However, I only recently discovered his later release, where he decided to become a “rock and roller”:
Wesley Willis doc
On to Anti-Chemical Straight Jackets. “Although ACSJ is made up of disabled individuals, all are skilled artists. As most people know, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Their strength is their music. Some of their songs consist of Italian-American Hip Hop with hard-core punk. The best analogy would be Rage Against the Machine meets The Sopranos. When people help each other out they tend to benefit. What affects one person affects everyone. Every 60 seconds a person is effected with physical and mental illness. And although nobody’s been able to change the healthcare system, ACSJ’s intent is to try to better the system so it’s not just a luxury for the rich.”
Finally, the Kids of Whidney High, from Mike Patton’s label Ipecac.
