Daniel Johnston - Welcome to My World
I’ve been a fan of Daniel Johnston’s music since hearing “Casper the Friendly Ghost” on the Folk Implosion heavy soundtrack to the movie Kids - one of the greatest motion picture soundtracks of its time. Soon after I would hear some of my favorite bands like Built to Spill and Yo La Tengo feature covers of his songs on their albums which made him and his music all the more alluring to me. Originally from Sacramento CA, Johnston started recording music when he moved to Austin after dropping out of college. He began gathering a small following after handing out his tapes - most of which were recorded on a boombox in his brother’s garage - to customers while working shifts at McDonalds. Johnston's status was catapulted when mohair sweater-sporting fashion icon Kurt Cobain was spotted wearing a tee shirt with Johnston’s artwork on it. Though he has struggled with mental health issues and has been institutionalized more than once, one still can’t deny that there is an earnestness that comes across in Johnson’s songwriting that would be the envy of any songwriter. Originally released in 2006 and reissued last year, Welcome to My World is his first greatest hits collection. This pressing is beautifully laid out and filled with Johnston’s now well known magic marker art which is where the majority of his creative spirit went in his later year before his death in 2019. We’re very excited to be adding this one to all of your collections. This is actually my first Daniel Johnston piece of vinyl. Enjoy and welcome to Daniel Johnston’s World. - WP 11/7/22
La Soledad - Antigua, Guatemala
Much of our focus in Guatemala tends to be in the northwestern region of Huehuetenango, or, more recently, in the eastern region of Jalapa, but we would be remiss to forget the most famous region of Guatemala, Antigua. It has been tougher to source really excellent coffees from this particular area of the country, if for no other reason than it has so much coffee to sift through, and so it was a splendid surprise when this lot of La Soledad fell into our lap. La Soledad has a citric brightness that is more pronounced than we typically expect from this region, and there is a lot of sweetness and complexity to go along with it. The result is a dynamic cup of coffee that is still as easy drinking as we have come to expect from this lovely origin. Look for bright orange flavors mixed with baking spices and caramel sweetness that will doubtless have you coming back for more than one cup.