It's Spooky

"It's Spooky" is a collaboration album by musicians Daniel Johnston and Jad Fair, of the band Half Japanese. It was first released in 1989 on Jad Fair's own record company, 50 Skidillion Watts Records. It originally featured 25 songs, and a further six tracks were added for a re-release in 2001.

Although receiving praise from critics and fans alike, the record was typically commercially overlooked. Both Johnston and Fair play the majority of instruments, including vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards and drums.

Track listing

All songs written by Jad Fair and Daniel Johnston, except where noted.

# "It's Spooky" (Johnston)
# "Summertime"
# "I Met Rocky Erikson" (Johnston)
# "Happy Talk" (Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers)
# "McDonalds on the Brain" (Johnston)
# "I Did Acid With Caroline" (Johnston)
# "If I'd Only Know" (Fair)
# "Tongues Wag in This Town"
# "Tomorrow Never Knows" (John Lennon / Paul McCartney)
# "Oh Honey" (Johnston)
# "A Vow of Love"
# "When Love Calls"
# "Frankenstein vs. The World"
# "Hands of Love"
# "Kicking the Dog" (Brian Beattie / Dave Cameron / Sheri Lane / Kathy McCarty)
# "What I've Seen" (Johnston)
# "Something's Got a Hold on Me" (Johnston)
# "Villain"
# "Chords of Fame" (Phil Ochs)
# "Ostrich"
# "Casper the Friendly Ghost" (Johnston)
# "First Day at Work" (Johnston)
# "Fan and Games"
# "Nothing Left"
# "Memphis Tennessee" (Johnston)
# "Comes Back" ^† (Beattie / Cameron / Lane / McCarty)
# "Tears Stupid Tears" ^† (Johnston)
# "The Making of the Album" ^†
# "Get Yourself Together" ^† (Johnston)
# "What the World Needs Now" ^† (Burt Bacharach / Hal David)
# "Sweet Loafed" ^† (Butthole Surfers)

* "† Denotes bonus tracks featured on the 2001 re-release.

Musical Style

The album features both artists' typically idiosyncratic approach to songwriting, clever vocal wordplay, simple instrumentation, and wild imaginations for song themes and concepts. Six of the songs are covers; artists covered include Burt Bacharach, the Beatles and Phil Ochs. The structures of many of the songs are akin to Johnston's previous music; some of the songs, such as Casper The Friendly Ghost, and Get Yourself Together, had previously featured on Johnston's Hi, How Are You/Continued Story record of 1983.