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Wesley Willis

Johny Bottom | Jacksonville, NC | 10/17/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wesley Willis is hard core
He sings like no one's ever heard
He is a cool dude
I like his music
People get down to his musicWesley Willis, Wesley Willis, Wesley Willis, Wesley WillisHe is from Chicago
So is his cool band
I drive my wife crazy with his music
She does not understand the point of his music
I really dig his choice musicWesley Willis, Wesley Willis, Wesley Willis, Wesley WillisHe whooped up on Superman
He tells you to cut your mullet
He don't dig McDonald'sHe thinks Oprah is a beautiful flowerRoll over London, Rock on Chicago, Camel - Walk a mile to smoke one"

This isn't music, but it's unquestionably art.

harmfulwave | Fort Oglethorpe, GA USA | 05/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, I suppose that, yes, these 3-minute performances are music, but only in the most literal sense. What Wesley Willis brought to us all was not the beauty of a Beethoven symphony, but the beauty of a man willing to share with the world the workings of his innermost mind. Such painful honesty can only be described as courageous, and while his works are amusing and sometimes even insightful when heard one at a time, the true value of Wesley's art can be seen when it is viewed as a whole.The schizophrenic delusions and his battles with those inner demons, his struggles with his weight problem, his deep love for his friends, his personal opinions - all of these are laid out for the listener in the most intimate way. Yes, the repetitive music is terrible, but that very repetition is descriptive of the way a schizophrenic mind functions. Yes, some of his lyrics are unbelievably vulgar, but even that has a beauty in its honesty; the songs are not meant to shock, but to siphon off some of the darker emotions and thoughts brought about by his mental condition. Some of his musical elements are undecipherable, such as his reasoning behind using a corporate slogan as the outro for each of his tunes. But like any true work of art, that paradox is revealing in terms of what thoughts it evokes in the listener. In particular, I marvel at the pervasiveness of advertising in our culture that in his dozens of albums, Wesley never ran out of so many catch phrases, most of which I already knew.Wesley's music can be fun, and it can be offensive. It is at one appalling and endearing. But above all, remember that his is not necessarily music to be enjoyed, but art to be experienced."

Rest in peace, Wesley! Rock on, Chicago!

Johnny Heering | Bethel, CT United States | 05/31/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wesley Willis was a chronic schizophrenic from the streets of Chicago. In addition to being an artist (drawing almost exclusively buses and skyscrapers), he was a self-proclaimed "rock star". Using programmed melodies on a keyboard (all of which sound very similar), he recorded literally hundreds of songs. Almost all of his songs followed a formula of four spoken lines, the title sung four times, four more spoken lines, the title sung four times, four more spoken lines, the title sung four times. Oh, and he would add a tag of "Rock over London! Rock on, Chicago!" and a commercial slogan. While this may sound repetetive, and it is, I find it quite entertaining. It may not be right to laugh at the handicapped, but Wesley's music is very funny to me. This CD is a very well selected sampler of Wesley's music, chosen so that it doesn't get too repetitive, as some of his albums tend to do. It even includes three songs with Wesley singing with a live band, which sounds quite different than his solo work. I highly recommend this CD as the first Wesley Willis CD you should get, if you want to sample his work.Rock over, London!
Rock on, Chicago!
CD Now! Never miss a beat!"