''Rejected Unknown'' is a

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

album by acclaimed

outsider music Outsider music (from "outsider art") is music created by self-taught or naïve musicians. The term is usually applied to musicians who have little or no traditional musical experience, who exhibit childlike qualities in their music, or who have ...

ian

Daniel Johnston Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in Outsider music, outsider, Lo-fi music, lo-fi, and alternative rock, alternative music scenes. Most ...

. The title references the decision by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

to drop him from the label after the commercial failure of his only major-label album,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

's ''

Fun Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment". Etymology and usage The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...

''. ''Rejected Unknown'' was produced by

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

producer and former

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member Brian Beattie. A 7-inch limited edition EP called ''Dream Scream'', featuring that song and "Funeral Girl", was released in 1998 on Pickled Egg Records.

Background

Following the release of his 1994

album ''

'', Johnston waited for contact from the label on producing a follow-up, but, despite insistence from the label that Johnston had not been dropped, he was never contacted, and a lack of activity and medication caused Johnston to become overweight. In 1995, Johnston worked with producer Brian Beattie on the song "Casper" for the

Larry Clark Lawrence Donald Clark (born January 19, 1943) is an American film director, photographer, writer and film producer who is best known for his controversial teen film '' Kids'' (1995) and his photography book ''Tulsa'' (1971). His work focuses pri ...

film

Kids Kid, Kids, KIDS, and K.I.D.S. may refer to: Common meanings * Colloquial term for a child or other young person ** Also for a parent's offspring regardless of age * Engage in joking * Young goat * The goat meat of young goats * Kidskin, leath ...

, which began a prosperous working relationship. Beattie and Johnston submitted a number of tracks to Atlantic Records as material for a potential album, but were dropped by the label instead. Beattie had convinced Johnston that leaving Atlantic was good, as they were 'unsatisfiable' and 'didn't understand.' During this period, Johnston began to make several live appearances, including five live dates in 1997, six in 1998, five in 1999 and eleven in 2000; with each year featuring performances at

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

. A June 1999 performance at Radio Fritz, Germany, became Johnston's first professionally recorded live album, '' Why Me?''. In April 1999, Johnston recorded and self-released the ''Danny And The Nightmares'' album, co-written with Jason Lee Damron.

Promotion

In March 1999, it was announced that Johnston had been signed to Tim/Kerr Records and that they would release '''Rejected/Unknown but that illness within the label's management team was preventing its release - and ultimately the album was released in October 2001 by Gammon Records; although limited copies of the album released by Newimprovedmusic, Which Records, and Pickled Egg Records were available as early as 1999. This was Johnston's first album to be supported by a tour, which took place between December 2001 and July 2002.

Reviews

Upon the album's October 2001 release, it was positively reviewed by

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

. In their 2019 Daniel Johnston obituary,

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

called ''Rejected Unknown'' a 'stunning career best.'

Track listing

Credits

— Vocals, piano, whirly piano on 3, acoustic guitar, soda and toilet noises on 6, party on 7, drums on 13 * Brian Beattie — Bass, organ on 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 14, guitar on 2, 6, 8, 9, 11, acoustic guitar on 1, 13, backing vocals on 1, 14, drums on 2, acoustic bass and accordion on 5, electric guitar on 6, chair noises and party on 7, electric piano on 9, handclaps on 11, tambourine on 12

Guests

* John Paul Keenan — Drums on 1, 3, 8, 9, 14 * Craig Ross — Guitar on 4, 10, 14, electric guitar on 13 * Dave Cameron — Drums on 7, 11, 15, party on 7 * Peter LaFond — Guitar on 1, 4, 10 * David Jungen — Drums on 4, 10 * Bill Anderson — Guitar on 7, 15, party on 7 * Cricket — Legs on 2, 3 * Barbara Marino — Baritone Saxophone on 2 * Collette Haney — Cello on 5 * Wammo — Backing Vocals, Bored Party on 7 * John Hagen — Cello on 12 * Rusty Traps — Drums on 12 * Will Indian — Guitar on 12 * Cindy Lee & Shane Madden — Violin on 5 *

Spot Spot or SPOT may refer to: Places * Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States * The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia * South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse People * Spot Coll ...

— Viola on 6 * Susannah Erler — Violin on 6 Technical * Brian Beatitie — Producer, Engineer * Roger Seibel — Mastered by

References

{{Authority control 2001 albums Daniel Johnston albums