In late 1979, Johnston wrote the song "Lazy" after dropping out of Abilene Christian University in West Texas; the only song he wrote during that period. In 1980, he enrolled in Kent State University in East Liverpool, Ohio, where he met Laurie Allen,Daniel Johnston - Songs Of Pain (Dan Johnston 1980-81) [2023, LP, Eternal Yip Eye Music/BMG - EYE-301 CE who would become something of a muse for Johnston. Johnston had a crush on Allen and equated her with true love and all that was good with the world. He became romantically obsessed with her, and after being complimented on his piano playing by Allen, was inspired to take up piano playing as a daily routine record his work and compile it onto cassettes to share with his peers. The material was recorded on a $59 Sanyo cassette recorder with Radio Shack tape stock. Johnston performed most of the instrumentation and overdubbed the vocals himself.
