# Tell me about Tom Waits **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 26, 2014, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590 "2014-09-26T03:18:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/21 "2014-09-26T14:46:10Z")
_Bone Machine_ is a rough-hewn and striking album, although it verges on “scary hobo” self-parody sometimes, in my view. The gentler songs from it would be “A Little Rain,” “Whistle Down the Wind,” and “That Feel.” “Goin’ Out West” is a bit growlier but also a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/22 "2014-09-26T15:23:35Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > From what little I’ve listened to, I’d go with the rawest, cheapest whiskey I could find. That seems like the obvious choice, but I’m leaning toward Waits and wine. Waits and tequila shots sounds good, but only if you’re drinking them alone, preferably from a small paper Dixie cup in a seedy motel with a buzzing neon vacancy sign, waiting for an aging hooker named Sally to show up and steal your wallet, again. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/23 "2014-09-26T15:36:46Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > again. Which is how you know it’s love. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/24 "2014-09-26T16:16:45Z")
My favorite Tom Waits album is _Heart of Saturday Night_, his second studio album released in 1974. It was a tribute to Jack Kerouac, and it’s got a very accessible blues and folksy sound. Great for road trips and/or weeping into a glass of whiskey. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/25 "2014-09-26T16:30:01Z")
I start people off with the video for “Hell Broke Luce.” If they’re still standing and capable of speech, I recommend other stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/26 "2014-09-26T16:34:24Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > \<3 > > There are lots of things that repulse me on first contact, that I love on the second. > > Man, is “Singapore” the song that Kurt Weill _wishes_ he could have written, or what? I’ve seen Threepenny Opera, and there are probably more memorable lyrics in Singapore alone. “Danced upon the colored wind/Dangled from a rope of sand … walked the sewers of Paris…” incredible stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/27 "2014-09-26T16:36:35Z")
As a Brit with a fetish for Americana (the primary reason for being here) I have little complaint with any of his output. Alice and Blue Valentine are my favourites for heart-breaking beauty, but I love that cinematic seventies lounge music in a different way. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/28 "2014-09-26T17:09:30Z")
Just came in to say “welcome friend!” I’m a huge Tom fan going back to high school (mine, not his). I’d set up a Tom Waits Pandora station and track which songs you like most and then explore those albums. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/29 "2014-09-26T17:22:31Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > My favorite Tom Waits album is _Heart of Saturday Night_, his second studio album released in 1974. It was a tribute to Jack Kerouac, and it’s got a very accessible blues and folksy sound. Great for road trips and/or weeping into a glass of whiskey. Seconded. Not my favorite Waits album but in my top three. I’m definitely more of a fan of the bluesier jazzier Waits than the later “junkyard hobo” version. (Although count me in as another who loves to crank up “Filipino Box Spring Hog” :D). ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/30 "2014-09-26T17:37:15Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I start people off with the video for “Hell Broke Luce.” If they’re still standing and capable of speech, I recommend other stuff. Goddamn, that’s a hell of a song. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/31 "2014-09-26T18:14:50Z")
Most of my family are Tom Waits fans. A couple of my favourites, for what it’s worth: [Cold Cold Ground](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLyHHwDXw5Y) [Kentucky Avenue](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvZK8Wl7RQ8) ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/32 "2014-09-26T18:29:57Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Just came in to say “welcome friend!” I’m a huge Tom fan going back to high school (mine, not his). > > I’d set up a Tom Waits Pandora station and track which songs you like most and then explore those albums. I like that idea. Also this, I accidentally left my LP copy of _Small Change_ at my mum’s house when I moved. My mom picked it up, listened, and now is a big Tom Waits fan. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/33 "2014-09-26T19:47:17Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’ve seen Threepenny Opera, and there are probably more memorable lyrics in Singapore alone. “Danced upon the colored wind/Dangled from a rope of sand … walked the sewers of Paris…” incredible stuff. Yeah… maybe try the tribute album September Songs to get a nice sampling of his songs done by lots of famous artists. For example, Don’t Be Afraid sung by Mary Margaret O’Hara, which is pretty much a transcendent experience for me: OR omgLou Reed!!!1! singing September Song: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dHVqWRxpqXk/hqdefault.jpg "Lou Reed on September Songs") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHVqWRxpqXk) ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/34 "2014-09-26T19:51:34Z")
Holly Cole does some outstanding Tom Waits covers (and some no so, IMO) [Falling Down](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKwF0O5DpSU) is one of the best. Again IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/35 "2014-09-26T20:12:39Z")
If you ever get a chance watch the all-star “Roy Orbison & Friends: Back and White Night”, which is outstanding EXCEPT for Waits, who appeared to be totally smashed on stage, was hitting random chords, and apparently was led off stage by Elvis Costello, who then took over the keyboards. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/36 "2014-09-26T21:36:41Z")
Íf you’ve got 80 minutes, I’m also a big fan of Gavin Bryars [Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quJjqZprGu0) with Tom Waits vocals. Kind of experimental, I guess, but meditative and soothing. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/37 "2014-09-26T21:47:08Z")
Some of the best versions of Waits’ songs are on Big Time, a musical play he released. The soundtrack is great. The versions of [Red Shoes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQX6rKYnI8M) and [Telephone Call From Istanbul](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g8eRnks9bM) on it are _the_ versions in my mind. Marc Ribot’s guitar just matches Waits’ songs perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/38 "2014-09-26T23:33:25Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > That seems like the obvious choice, but I’m leaning toward Waits and wine. Waits and tequila shots sounds good, but only if you’re drinking them alone, preferably from a small paper Dixie cup in a seedy motel with a buzzing neon vacancy sign, waiting for an aging hooker named Sally to show up and steal your wallet, again. With too much makeup and a broken shoe. ---
**Author:** ![theoldman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b782af/32.png) [@theoldman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theoldman)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/39 "2014-09-27T00:16:37Z")
If you like Come On Up To The House, search out: whistling down the wind Tom trauberts blues (3 sheets to the wind in Copenhagen) A little rain Who are you Cold water Picture in a frame House where nobody lives Mr Siegel Step right up ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590/40 "2014-09-27T00:36:27Z")
From Heart Attack and Vine: “Don’t you know there ain’t no Devil, that’s just God when he’s drunk.” Best line ever! (used to be my sig here when I still had one) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-tom-waits/699590.md?page=3)