Yip/Jump Music is a 1983 album by Daniel Johnston, originally self-released on cassette, which explains the sometimes murky audio quality. It was Johnston's fifth album and is generally seen as one of his best. Audience favorites like "Speeding Motorcycle", "The Beatles", "Casper The Friendly Ghost", "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Your Grievances" and "King Kong" can be found here.
Kurt Cobain placed it on number 35 in his Top 50 list of his personal favorite albums. Several songs have been covered by celebrity artists such as Mike Doughty ("Casper The Friendly Ghost"), Yeah Yeah Yeahs ("Worried Shoes"), Tom Waits ("King Kong"), Yo La Tengo ("Speeding Motorcycle").
Tracklist
Tape One
Tape Side One- "Chord Organ Blues" (4:05)
- "The Beatles" (2:25)
- "Sorry Entertainer" (2:20)
- "Speeding Motorcycle". (3:23)
- "Casper The Friendly Ghost" (2:59)
Tape Side Two
- "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Your Grievances" (3:20)
- "Danny Don't Rap" (2:53)
- "Sweetheart" (1:55)
- "King Kong" (5:43)
- "The Creature/Third Chair" (1:30)
Tape Two
Tape Side Three- "I Live For Love" (3:20)
- "Almost Got Hit By A Truck". (3:58)
- "Worried Shoes". (6:33)
- "Dead Lover's Twisted Heart". (1:16)
Tape Side Four
- "Rocket Ship" (5:04)
- "God" (2:32)
- "Loved Defined (The Bible)" (0:57)
- "Museum Of Love" (4:19)
- "Rarely" (0:51)
- "I Remember Painfully" (2:45)
Tropes for the sorry entertainers:
- A Cappella: "King Kong", "The Dead Lover's Twisted Heart" and "Rarely".
- Accentuate the Negative: Played straight with "Sorry Entertainer", "King Kong", "Worried Shoes" and "I Remember Painfully".
- As the Good Book Says...:
- As the name implies, "Love Defined (The Bible)" takes its lyrics from the Bible, more specifically, from 1 Corinthians 13 ("Love is patient, love is kind...").
- In "God", Johnston paraphrases 1 John 4:19 note as "He made me love Him, because He loved me first".
- Author Appeal: Johnston has a few songs about The Beatles, God and Casper the Friendly Ghost, all topics close to his heart.
- Break Up Song: "The Creature/3rd Chair" and "I Remember Painfully"I remember your face and I remember your graceI remember, I remember, I just rememberAnd I remember how we laughed at the jokes that we had between usAnd I remember how we talked and mocked each other blatantlyIt was funBut what is it now. It’s pain
- Continuity Nod: Near the end of "I Remember Painfully" Daniel says "Danny Don't Rap", a Call-Back to the track "Danny Don't Rap" earlier on the album.
- Cradle of Loneliness: "Sorry Entertainer"I'm a loner. I'm a sorry entertainer.
- Cut Short: As with most of Daniel's home recorded cassette tapes many songs, including the final track end quite abrupt or with audible portions cut away.
- Design Student's Orgasm: The album cover, designed by Johnston himself.
- Did Not Get the Girl: "King Kong", in which the eponymous giant gorilla is shot down by aeroplanes and did not get his girl.
- Downer Ending: "Danny Don't Rap", about the suicide of Danny Rapp.
- Everything is Big in Texas: Referenced during the first line of "Chord Organ Blues".
- Friendly Ghost: "Casper the Friendly Ghost".Everybody respects the dead, they love a friendly ghost
- God-Is-Love Songs: "God" and "Love Defined (the Bible)".
- Homage: "The Beatles", "Casper the Friendly Ghost", "King Kong", "Danny Don't Rap" brings homage to The Beatles, Casper the Friendly Ghost, King Kong (1933) and Danny Rapp, lead singer of Danny & The Juniors.
- "King Kong" Climb: Referred to in "King Kong".
- Lazy Bum: "Casper The Friendly Ghost"He was also polite to the people who told him he was just a lazy bum.
- Look Both Ways: "Almost Got Hit By A Truck".I was walking on my way to workThe same day I wasn't lookingAnd I was in the middle of the streetAnd a truck almost hit me
- Love Hurts: "Speeding Motorcycle", "I Live For Love", "The Creature/Third Chair", "Dead Lover's Twisted Heart".
- Never Accepted in His Hometown: "Sorry Entertainer" and "Casper the Friendly Ghost" are both about people who are disliked by their environment.
- Non-Appearing Title: The album title doesn't appear in any of the lyrics.
- Obsession Song: "Sweetheart".You drove me crazy down lover’s laneIt’s close to pain, this love I have for youI cannot tame my desire for you
- Pep-Talk Song: "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Your Grievances", "God" and "Worried Shoes" in the final verses:And then one day I looked around and I found the sun shining downAnd I took off my worried shoesAnd the feet broke freeI didn't need to wearThen I knew the difference between worrying and caringCause I've got a lot of walking to doAnd I don't want to wearMy worried shoes
- The Power of Love: "Rocket Ship" about leaving with your loved one on a rocket ship trip. "Loved Defined", "Sweetheart", "I Live For Love", "Museum of Love" and "Rarely" too.
- Pun-Based Title: "Danny Don't Rap" about Danny Rapp, the lead singer of Danny & The Juniors, a band best known for the song "At the Hop", which Johnston also quotes near the end.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: Johnston tells that he wanted to be like The Beatles in "The Beatles", "but then he died." "Danny Don't Rap" was written to commemorate the suicide of Danny Rapp, lead singer of Danny & The Juniors in the year of the album's release.
- Retro Rocket: "Rocket Ship", about leaving off in a rocket ship to a better planet uses this imagery.
- Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: Near the end of "Speeding Motorcycle" Daniel starts wailing.
- Self-Backing Vocalist: "Danny Don't Rap" has Daniel singing while an earlier recorded tape of his voice is playing.
- Shout-Out:
- "Danny Don't Rap" quotes "At the Hop" by Danny & The Juniors near the end. The song title is a pun on the band's lead singer Danny Rapp. The song also borrows the line "this world was never meant for anybody as beautiful as you" from American Pie by Don McLean.
- "King Kong" is a Whole-Plot Reference to the 1933 film King Kong, but with two odd shout-outs to special effects maker Willis O' Brien and Ray Harryhausen as well. The song was also covered by Tom Waits and appeared on both a tribute album to Johnston as well as Waits' own Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards.
And Willis O’Brien diedA tragic deathThere wasn’t muchThat he had leftAnd Ray Harryhausen saidThat when Willis diedThat’s when the kingWas really dead - Something Blues: "Chord Organ Blues".
- Stock Sound Effects: At the start of "Casper The Friendly Ghost", "Museum Of Love" and "Danny Don't Rap" a recording of an animal sounds toy for babies can be heard. A little child can be heard talking at the start of "Rocket Ship" and near the end of the song chairs can be heard moving on the floor.
- Title-Only Chorus: "Danny Don't Rap"
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: "Danny Don't Rap" borrows a line from American Pie by Don McLean.When no hope was left in sightYou took your life as lovers often doBut I could’ve told you, DannyThis world was never meant for one as beautiful as…
- Heavily implied about John Lennon (and to an extent the other three at the time, still living members) in The Beatles.
- Wham Line: "The Creature/3rd Chair"Love is pricelessAnd I'm still paying the bill
- Whole-Plot Reference: "King Kong" is basically the entire plot of the 1933 film sang line by line.