Tom Waits Appreciation Thread

Cafe Society
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So Tom Waits’ “Briar and the Rose” just serenaded me from the iPod and has inspired me to start this thread on one of the most brilliant, underappreciated musicians in modern times. My experience has been that people tend to either love him or hate him, thanks mostly to his, shall we say, distinctive voice. (For those who have not heard it, it’s kind of like gravel being poured into a bucket of nails, but can also be quite tender and melodic when needed).

I love him the sheer creative breadth of his work. I love the experimentation he does with “found” instruments. I love his ballads, which are so beautiful and perfect they sometimes choke me up (which is extremely rare). I love the way he writes melodies. I love his acting. I love his musical collaborations with Robert Wilson. He’s truly a modern Renaissance man.

So, bring it on - what do you love about Mr. Waits?

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What do I love about ol’ Tom?

On his last 3 disc album one of the tracks was him detailing the plot of the original King Kong in an odd (even for him) strained voice over unsettling “music”.

It’s WTF and Amazing all at once.

He’s also a pretty good actor.

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“Time.” I’ve heard the song twice, both at very significant moments in my life, and it’s woven in with them. There are other reasons I like him, but that song is reason enough.

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It would be easier to tally the things I don’t love about Tom - in that category, all I got is that he hasn’t come to play Reno since we moved here, which is just unacceptable really considering how many times our little city is mentioned in his songs. :slight_smile:

It’s getting to be about that time of year when I start dragging out all my Tom CD’s - have spent the last couple weeks revisiting Bone Machine and Big Time. I adore Big Time, both the soundtrack and the film - a very good representation of what it’s like to really see Tom live. He has the most wonderful, relaxed, hilarious banter with the crowd…even in an auditorium full of thousands of others, you still feel like it’s just you and Tom hangin’ out while he putters around on the piano and tells stories.

I also love that he’s such a down-to-earth and approachable person in real life. I only know this second hand, unfortunately, as both Mr. Bunny and his mother have met Tom multiple times.

And he is an excellent actor.

On preview, Marley23’s post reminded me of a story I have about the song Time. After a particularly bad break up with an abusive boyfriend, I had a series of disturbing, recurring nightmares about being trapped in this ex’s house while he screamed at me, and me being unable to scream back or even speak. I’d open my mouth and nothing would come out. After about five or six of these dreams, one night in the dream as he was screaming, I thought to myself “Screw this, I’m going outside!” I walked out onto a deck lit with Japanese lanterns where a huge party was going on, and several of my friends were there. I was so relieved and happy, I joined hands with one of them and we started singing the song Time, only to look over and see Tom standing a few feet away, singing along with us. I woke up happy, and I never had that dream again. :slight_smile:

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For Waits fans who truly appreciate his talents as a writer of songs, check out the Tom Waits songbook album by the Canadian jazz singer Holly Cole. Titled Temptation, it’s a masterpiece of interpretation. As much as I love Waits’s songs, Cole managed to give them to me all over again, as an entirely new experience.

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That I found another singer whose voice sounds a lot like mine when I’m not making a serious effort to clean it up. Thank you Tom, for creating such a great breadth of work that I can sing along with. :slight_smile:

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I’m somewhat new to his music. I own (and love every song on) *The Heart of Saturday Night. * I remember enjoying his performance in *Short Cuts * too. Recommend me another CD to try?

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Frank’s Wild Years, Bone Machine, Nighthawks at the Diner, Blue Valentine, Swordfishtrombones. I think I have everything Tom Waits has ever done, and I love it all, but these are my all-time favorites.

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Tom Waits is awesome. I had no idea he acted, though. Please reccommend a movie.

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Tom Waits is playing at the Bridge School Benefit Concert next month. He’s totally the reason I’m going. Oh, and helping the kids is nice too.

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“Alice” is (of course, in my opinion) one of the only good concept albums ever made.

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I wonder how much of a split there is amongst fans of Early Waits and Later Waits. After Rain Dogs, I’ve no interest whatsoever; everything before that I adore. Rain Dogs, as may be guessed, is mixed.

In other words, Ogre, I’m wondering how many people actually like all of the albums you mention.

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I would definitely check out Small Change - it’s chock full of classic Waits: Tom Traubert’s Blues, Step Right Up, The Piano Has Been Drinking, and I Wish I Was in New Orleans to name some of my favs from that album.

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For me, I like both Early and Later. I think you’re definitely shortchanging yourself by stopping at Rain Dogs. You might take a listen to Mule Variations, which is less wacky than something like Bone Machine. And Orphans, the new 3-disc set alluded to above, is EXCELLENT - highly recommended. (As I mentioned in the OP, I’m a sucker for the ballads, and there’s a whole disc full of 'em - heaven!)

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Ah, Tom Waits, my musical hero, my favorite artist. I had the distinct honor of seeing him live last year. Atlanta was the closest place he was playing, on a very rare tour of Southern cities. I took a day off work, got up early, and drove from Orlando to Atlanta nonstop – it took about nine hours total since I was afraid of getting pulled over for speeding. Got to the venue around 6:30 PM, although the show didn’t start until closer to 10. Still, there was already a crowd forming, and they let people in early because it was general admission and the tickets weren’t exactly cheap. I got a spot near the front center of the stage, only about three or four people back, and stood in it for hours, chatting with other Waits fans, many of whom had traveled even further than I. He took the stage eventually, after persuading the club to stop selling booze so people didn’t get drunk and stupid during his set (a great idea, if you ask me), and held us in the palm of his hand for about two hours. I wish he played more old material, but I understand he is harshly critical of his '70s and early '80s output. Still, it was the best concert I have ever been to, one of those near-religious experiences you hear about every so often. It was close to midnight in sketchy downtown Atlanta, but I was so jazzed that I drove straight home, posted the setlist on the Dope around 8 in the morning, took a nap, and went to work later that day. Amazing concertgoing experience, I must say.

Here is a picture of him that night in Atlanta last year, although I admit I didn’t take it: http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y215/bigbadvoodoolou/tomwaitsliveinatlantaon080106.jpg

As for my favorite Waits albums, I will always love the boozy, bluesy beatnik Waits from earlier in his career, and the pseudo-live album Nighthawks at the Diner encapsulates this era perfectly, complete with all the stories and jokes and inter-song banter he’s known for at live shows. Small Change is another great early Waits album. For mid-career markers, you can’t do much better than 1983’s Swordfishtrombones and 1985’s Rain Dogs. I think those two made him a legend more than anything else, filled with everything from jazz to spoken word poetry to beautiful ballads to scary pirate music. For his more recent period, I admit I’m not the hugest fan of the dissonance and chaotic noise of Bone Machine and parts of Real Gone, but I love the 2002 concept albums Alice and Blood Money. Orphans was wonderful too – not a cheap 3-disc set, but worth every penny.

Tom’s best acting is probably in the black and white Jim Jarmusch film Down By Law, an obscure movie worth finding on Criterion DVD. He pops up over the years in the most unlikely places – The Outsiders (in a very small role), The Fisher King (as a philosophical bum), Bram Stoker’s Dracula (as Renfield), and Mystery Men (as the weapon designer for the superheroes). It’s always a treat spotting him in movies, sometimes in the tiniest cameos. I wish he had a weekly TV show – I’d watch the hell out of it!

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Despite the fact that Swordfishtrombones came out while I was still in diapers, and Rain Dogs when I was in preschool, Waits kept me afloat through the depressions of high school and level through the ups and downs of college. I’m glad you posted this, it reminds me to go and see a show of his now, before his voice get scratchitly indecipherable. :slight_smile:

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I met him (sorta) in a record store in LA. I was with my very crazy second husband, who all but leapt over the rack to approach him. It scared him away. :frowning: I did get one of his albums signed, (Nighthawks at the Diner) but alas, the crazy guy got it in the divorce. Emotional Weather Report was on it, I think that’s my favorite.

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Tom Waits is THE artist that average people are mostly going to say “Who?” when his name comes up, but if you asked that persons favorite musicians who Their influences are his name pops up all over the place. the man is a genius.

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I just downloaded Small Change. I’ll listen to it on my way home from work tonight. Thanks!

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An obscure but wonderful Tom Waits movie is Cold Feet, where Tom plays Kenny, a shady character trying to smuggle emeralds in a horse while working out and offering people dried figs. He’s a supporting actor, and I think this may be his biggest role. Worth the effort to find.