December 8th, 2009 / 12:12 am
Web Hype

Wesley Willis’s Joy Rides

A retrospective documentary on one of my heroes. Showing just for this week at Pitchfork (follow that link for the full film, the embedded video has been removed). [via Caketrain’s twitter feed]

wesley

[I got to bump heads with Wesley once before he died. I bought a piece of his art at a show and he had me bump heads and growl with him. I miss Wesley.]

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53 Comments

  1. ryan downey

      rock n roll mcdonalds on the real.

      an excellent ambassador for excess.

      r.i.p.

  2. ryan downey

      rock n roll mcdonalds on the real.

      an excellent ambassador for excess.

      r.i.p.

  3. m

      I watched this the other day and it made me very sad. The world is not a kind place for the poor and the mentally ill. I hope he had a good life.

  4. m

      I watched this the other day and it made me very sad. The world is not a kind place for the poor and the mentally ill. I hope he had a good life.

  5. markleidner

      the first 2 w’s of all www web addresses stand for wesley willis

  6. markleidner

      the first 2 w’s of all www web addresses stand for wesley willis

  7. Brian Oliu

      I also bumped heads with Wesley Willis. I gave him a Lemon Lime box of Tic-Tacs, which he ate. This is great.

  8. Brian Oliu

      I also bumped heads with Wesley Willis. I gave him a Lemon Lime box of Tic-Tacs, which he ate. This is great.

  9. cmr

      i went and saw jellow biafra do a spoken word in tallahassee once and i showed up like an hour and a half early. besides me, the only other people there were FSU’s Green Party members. jello biafra had the same five wesley willis songs repeating over and over the entire time before he came on stage and these political science major’s had no fucking clue what it was. listening to these “intellectuals” try and figure out what was “really going on” is still one of the funniest things i have ever witnessed.

  10. Amelia

      A true mast. I wish I’d met him. Thanks for the link

  11. cmr

      i went and saw jellow biafra do a spoken word in tallahassee once and i showed up like an hour and a half early. besides me, the only other people there were FSU’s Green Party members. jello biafra had the same five wesley willis songs repeating over and over the entire time before he came on stage and these political science major’s had no fucking clue what it was. listening to these “intellectuals” try and figure out what was “really going on” is still one of the funniest things i have ever witnessed.

  12. Amelia

      A true mast. I wish I’d met him. Thanks for the link

  13. Ryan Call

      i really eliked this fvidoe. i couldnt stp watcing it.

  14. Ryan Call

      i really eliked this fvidoe. i couldnt stp watcing it.

  15. JesusAngelGarcia

      I don’t know if WW had a good life, but he sure made a lot of albums. I have five. All unique, all the same, just like everybody else…. you want one?

      I once saw him live in San Francisco. He was like no one else, solo on stage w/ his keyboard/drum machine & a mike. Sad, (almost) funny, exploited, supported…

      In the end, Wesley Willis was unusual — which is saying a lot in a world where conformity rules even among so-called alternatives.

  16. JesusAngelGarcia

      I don’t know if WW had a good life, but he sure made a lot of albums. I have five. All unique, all the same, just like everybody else…. you want one?

      I once saw him live in San Francisco. He was like no one else, solo on stage w/ his keyboard/drum machine & a mike. Sad, (almost) funny, exploited, supported…

      In the end, Wesley Willis was unusual — which is saying a lot in a world where conformity rules even among so-called alternatives.

  17. larry l.

      yeah thx for the hookup, the damn thing played every time I came to this site and I finally watched the whole thing… phenomenal… makes me want to defenestrate any of the assholes who fucked with Wesley…

  18. larry l.

      yeah thx for the hookup, the damn thing played every time I came to this site and I finally watched the whole thing… phenomenal… makes me want to defenestrate any of the assholes who fucked with Wesley…

  19. Matt Jasper
  20. Matt Jasper
  21. Amber

      I think he enjoyed at least his last few years. He stayed with a friend of mine for a while, so we got to hang out with him some–and he always seemed to just really enjoy the hell out of life and what he was doing. I don’t want to get all simplistic and condescending, because I’m sure there were many times he was in a very dark place, and his anger seemed real sometimes–but I do think he genuinely loved making music and entertaining people. WW, RIP, dude.

  22. Amber

      I think he enjoyed at least his last few years. He stayed with a friend of mine for a while, so we got to hang out with him some–and he always seemed to just really enjoy the hell out of life and what he was doing. I don’t want to get all simplistic and condescending, because I’m sure there were many times he was in a very dark place, and his anger seemed real sometimes–but I do think he genuinely loved making music and entertaining people. WW, RIP, dude.

  23. Tony O'Neill

      Nice to see some love shown to the mighty Wesley Willis here!

      I think my favorite WW song is “Cut the Mullet”, maybe “Suck A Caribou’s Ass”.

  24. Tony O'Neill

      Nice to see some love shown to the mighty Wesley Willis here!

      I think my favorite WW song is “Cut the Mullet”, maybe “Suck A Caribou’s Ass”.

  25. ce.

      Man, I miss Wesley, too. I also got to bump heads with him. RIP.

      Rock over, London.

  26. ce.

      Man, I miss Wesley, too. I also got to bump heads with him. RIP.

      Rock over, London.

  27. Matthew Simmons

      Wesley used to call the record store where I worked nearly every day. I’d pick up the phone and say:

      “Exclusive Company, this is Kevin.”

      “Hello?”

      “Hi, Wesley!” (You could tell Wesley immediately.)

      “Hello, is this the Exclusive Company?”

      “Yes it is, Wesley.”

      “Well, this is Wesley Willis.”

      “Hi, Wesley.”

      “You sell any of my CDs today?”

      “Maybe, Wesley. Want me to check?”

      And then he’d ask for the store manager, and talk to him for a while.

      I saw a couple of the Wesley Willis Fiasco’s first shows. He played with The Didjits and a band called Blood, Guts, and Firetrucks in Green Bay. He wrote a song about Blood, Guts, and Firetrucks just fir the show. I’ll leave you to guess the lyrics.

      He seemed pretty happy for a while.

      Last time I saw him, though, it was in Seattle. He played with The Country Teasers. The crowd was full of frat guys who were there to laugh at him. He seemed tired and unhappy. Between each song, he’d repeat “I don’t like the lockup. I don’t like the lockup. I don’t like the lockup.” Broke my heart. I don’t think he was enjoying it anymore.

  28. Matthew Simmons

      Wesley used to call the record store where I worked nearly every day. I’d pick up the phone and say:

      “Exclusive Company, this is Kevin.”

      “Hello?”

      “Hi, Wesley!” (You could tell Wesley immediately.)

      “Hello, is this the Exclusive Company?”

      “Yes it is, Wesley.”

      “Well, this is Wesley Willis.”

      “Hi, Wesley.”

      “You sell any of my CDs today?”

      “Maybe, Wesley. Want me to check?”

      And then he’d ask for the store manager, and talk to him for a while.

      I saw a couple of the Wesley Willis Fiasco’s first shows. He played with The Didjits and a band called Blood, Guts, and Firetrucks in Green Bay. He wrote a song about Blood, Guts, and Firetrucks just fir the show. I’ll leave you to guess the lyrics.

      He seemed pretty happy for a while.

      Last time I saw him, though, it was in Seattle. He played with The Country Teasers. The crowd was full of frat guys who were there to laugh at him. He seemed tired and unhappy. Between each song, he’d repeat “I don’t like the lockup. I don’t like the lockup. I don’t like the lockup.” Broke my heart. I don’t think he was enjoying it anymore.

  29. Blake Butler

      believe dat

  30. Blake Butler

      nice

  31. Blake Butler

      believe dat

  32. Blake Butler

      nice

  33. Blake Butler

      who is BJ Snowden?

  34. Blake Butler

      who is BJ Snowden?

  35. christopher higgs

      I really enjoyed this documentary…couldn’t believe it when he went to Cheyenne, Wyoming and said he loved it there. That’s where I grew up!

  36. christopher higgs

      I really enjoyed this documentary…couldn’t believe it when he went to Cheyenne, Wyoming and said he loved it there. That’s where I grew up!

  37. Travis Jeppesen

      “The Vultures Ate My Dead Ass Up” is perhaps the most heartfelt rock n’ roll song about animals since “Wild Horses.”

  38. Travis Jeppesen

      “The Vultures Ate My Dead Ass Up” is perhaps the most heartfelt rock n’ roll song about animals since “Wild Horses.”

  39. disorientations.com » Blog Archive » Wesley Willis

      […] Watch the new Wesley Willis documentary over at HTMLgiant. […]

  40. Matt Jasper
  41. Matt Jasper
  42. Vaughan Simons

      Um … you do know that this clip is starting up automatically when you load up HTMLGIANT? As good as it is, it gets bloody annoying after a while … (I don’t think it’s a browser or OS thing, but I guess it might be)

  43. Vaughan Simons

      Um … you do know that this clip is starting up automatically when you load up HTMLGIANT? As good as it is, it gets bloody annoying after a while … (I don’t think it’s a browser or OS thing, but I guess it might be)

  44. Blake Butler

      yeah, there’s no way to toggle it off from auto that i’ve found. i think i’m going to remove the embedding now and just leave a link. sorry for the irritation, all.

  45. Blake Butler

      yeah, there’s no way to toggle it off from auto that i’ve found. i think i’m going to remove the embedding now and just leave a link. sorry for the irritation, all.

  46. damon

      ah man, so good. this made my day.

  47. damon

      ah man, so good. this made my day.

  48. Amber

      Yeah, it sucked when the frat guys started getting into him. Because then it was just about laughing at him.

      The Exclusive Company in Madison? You worked there? Man, I spent so much time (and cash) there in the mid-late nineties. Good memories.

  49. Amber

      Yeah, it sucked when the frat guys started getting into him. Because then it was just about laughing at him.

      The Exclusive Company in Madison? You worked there? Man, I spent so much time (and cash) there in the mid-late nineties. Good memories.

  50. Richard

      thanks blake – so good to see his face – that there is right about at the corner of damen, north and milwaukee – i lived in wicker park for 10+ years – he was a good egg, ww…makes me so sad, and yet so happy to see his face again, random…what picture did you get blake, post it up! i swore i was going to steal the one at the burger king down on milwaukee, but i never did – so many times i saw him sketching, dammit, i should have bought some art, shown some more support – i was always scared to head bump with him, the growl, i’d forgotten that…but it seemed to make him happy, or at the minimum, was just his way of saying hi – sigh…that’s how i remember him though, in this picture

      made my day blake

  51. Richard

      thanks blake – so good to see his face – that there is right about at the corner of damen, north and milwaukee – i lived in wicker park for 10+ years – he was a good egg, ww…makes me so sad, and yet so happy to see his face again, random…what picture did you get blake, post it up! i swore i was going to steal the one at the burger king down on milwaukee, but i never did – so many times i saw him sketching, dammit, i should have bought some art, shown some more support – i was always scared to head bump with him, the growl, i’d forgotten that…but it seemed to make him happy, or at the minimum, was just his way of saying hi – sigh…that’s how i remember him though, in this picture

      made my day blake

  52. Matt Jasper

      The link to the movie was great. I actually liked that it initially played automatically so there was no escaping WW. I just ordered ( from http://wesleywillissjoyrides.com ) the movie for under 15 bucks including shipping. Reviewer comparisons to IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL & THE DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON seem right–as those two films are essential viewing.

  53. Matt Jasper

      The link to the movie was great. I actually liked that it initially played automatically so there was no escaping WW. I just ordered ( from http://wesleywillissjoyrides.com ) the movie for under 15 bucks including shipping. Reviewer comparisons to IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL & THE DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON seem right–as those two films are essential viewing.