Man, Tom Waits is The Man.

We have a classy mother overload here.

Tom is the awesomeness. After hearing ONE song (posted below) I was hooked. Went out and bought Bone Machine and Mule Variations as soon as I could. No-one has a voice like Mr. Waits. He's also a pretty cool movie man as well (check out Jim Jarmusch's "Coffee And Cigarettes" film to see shorts of tom facing off with Iggy Pop, as well as The White Stripes talking Tesla and RZA giving Bill Murray some dodgy advice plus heaps of other cool little vignettes... Great film.)

If you have yet to get on the Waits wagon (which many, sadly, haven't) here's:

The song that made my head explode:

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and the great Bone Machine opener:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1815970/tom_waits_earth_died_screaming/

Great stuff.

You haven't seen nothing until you've seen him playing the part of "Earl" in Robert Altman's "Short Cuts". My favorite movie it seems as I've watched it about 30 times.

Earl - "It's not me crumbling away at our mansion of love baby"

I'm most likely to get shot down saying this but I will anyway.

I love Tom Waits' music. I own almost every one of his albums. One day not too long ago he released 'Real Gone'. It's certainly not his finest album and I decided to cease buying his new releases without listening to them. After going back over his back catalogue I have concluded that he has been making the same album over and over again for the last 25 years. Yes, it is a good formula and is undeniably unique but here's where it falls apart. For an artist with such a unique vision and who is utterly inimitable, should he really be making albums which are so similar in sound and themes? I feel as though he's getting away with it just because he's Tom Waits. That to me just isn't cool. Anyway thats just my $0.02.

Don't forget "Down by law."

I'm most likely to get shot down saying this but I will anyway.

I love Tom Waits' music. I own almost every one of his albums. One day not too long ago he released 'Real Gone'. It's certainly not his finest album and I decided to cease buying his new releases without listening to them. After going back over his back catalogue I have concluded that he has been making the same album over and over again for the last 25 years. Yes, it is a good formula and is undeniably unique but here's where it falls apart. For an artist with such a unique vision and who is utterly inimitable, should he really be making albums which are so similar in sound and themes? I feel as though he's getting away with it just because he's Tom Waits. That to me just isn't cool. Anyway thats just my $0.02.

blargfromspace everyone is entitiled to their opinions but given that Michael Bolton is your guilty pleasure, I think I will ignore this one. :lol::lol::lol:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/bad-dog-cafe/214680-michael-bolton-guilty-pleasure.html

my favorite Tom Waits song:

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remember: "Tom Waits For No Man"

Tom is awesome. My dad and I used to operate a piano rebuilding shop, and he bought an old restored pump organ from us to use in the stage version of 'Frank's Wild Years' in Chicago. Unfortunately I didn't get to meet him...we dealt with his bass player Greg Cohen, who's also a very talented fellow and nice guy. We had to custom build an enormous shipping crate in order to get the thing out to Chicago from NJ.

'Bone Machine' is a great album. You should also check out 'Rain Dogs' and 'Swordfishtrombones.'

Point taken about Tom's style. I guess I like his earlier albums from the '70s, like the live one, Nighthawks At The Diner. His spoken intros to the songs are great:

I was always eh, kinda want to like consider myself kind of a pioneer of the palette,
a restaurateur if you will.
I've wined, dined, sipped and supped in some of the most demonstrably beamer
epitomable bistros in the Los Angeles metropolitan region.
Yeah, I've had strange looking patty melts at Norms.
I've had dangerous veal cutlets at the Copper Penny.
Well what you get is a breaded Salisbury steak in a Shake-n-Bake
and topped with a provocative sauce of Velveeta and uh, half-n-half.
Smothered with Campbell's tomato soup.
See I have kinda of a uh...well I order my veal cutlet,
Christ it left the plate and it walked down to the end of the counter.
Waitress, ? she's wearing those rhinestone glasses with the little pearl thing clipped on the sweater.
My veal cutlet come down, tried to beat the **** out of my cup of coffee.
Coffee just wasn't strong enough to defend itself.


I use that line to describe diner coffee all the time.

Nighthawks is my favourite album.

Do you know it wasn't so much a 'live album' as a studio recording where they invited an audience to watch and capture the ambience of a live gig?

Tom may be my favorite songwriter. I've managed to get everything he's recorded except for the 3 cd he put out not too long ago. Amazingly talented guy.

Agreed. He is amazing. Closing Time, The Heart of Saturday Night, Rain Dogs, and Mule Variations are my favorites of him.

The man is super unique, it takes balls to pull off the stuff he does, yet it always ends up masterful.

Gotta have Rain Dogs and Swordfishtrombones on all road trips.

Hit the link below to listen to complete show from the Glitter and Doom tour in 2008. Amazing stuff. I ripped the audio and burned it to a disc and enjoy it in my back yard often. I also bought the official live cd from the Glitter and Doom tour that he put out last year as well. Came with a 2nd disc that is nothing but his between song banter and storytelling. Great stuff. Tom Waits is one of the few I consider a musical genius.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92916923

Fox Theatre
Atlanta Ga
7/5/08

Lucinda / Ain't Going Down to the Well
Down in the Hole
Falling Down
Chocolate Jesus
All the World Is Green
Cemetery Polka
Cause of It All
Till the Money Runs Out
Such a Scream
November
Hold On
Black Market Baby
9th and Hennepin
Lie to Me
Lucky Day
On the Nickel
Lost in the Harbor
Innocent When You Dream
Hoist That Rag
Make It Rain
Dirt in the Ground
Get Behind the Mule
Hang Down Your Head
Jesus Gonna Be Here
Singapore

ENCORE

Eyeball Kid
Anywhere I Lay My Head

I actually like that Atlanta show better than the official release...

Flows a lot better...

Oh, somebody sell me a Stratotone, OK?? :wink:

blargfromspace everyone is entitiled to their opinions but given that Michael Bolton is your guilty pleasure, I think I will ignore this one. :lol::lol::lol:

Touche!!!:lol:

Tom may be my favorite songwriter. I've managed to get everything he's recorded except for the 3 cd he put out not too long ago. Amazingly talented guy.

Orphans is great! My favorite TW record is the middle disc--"Bawlers." It's the same kind of ballads as on Closing Time, but aged properly (I always found *that* album to be a little poseurish).

Been a huge Waits fan for years. Finally got to see him live a couple of years ago. Good stuff. One of his sons is the drummer, and the other (younger) one got to come out and play too.

I've long suspected that behind the "image" is just a normal guy. If you've ever read any interviews with him, they are consistently hilarious.

All his albums are good, but my favorites are: Rain Dogs, Swordfishtrombones, Bone Machine.

Finally, you gotta see him in Jim Jarmusch's "Down By Law" if you haven't already.

Been a huge Waits fan for years. Finally got to see him live a couple of years ago. Good stuff. One of his sons is the drummer, and the other (younger) one got to come out and play too.

I've long suspected that behind the "image" is just a normal guy. If you've ever read any interviews with him, they are consistently hilarious.

All his albums are good, but my favorites are: Rain Dogs, Swordfishtrombones, Bone Machine.

Finally, you gotta see him in Jim Jarmusch's "Down By Law" if you haven't already.

I'm progressively watching all of Jim's films. That'll be the next one I see, now!

Glitter and Doom "press conference".

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Love Tom. He's such a witty, interesting human being even apart from his music.

Bone Machine is also among my favorites of his post-Swordfishtrombones work.

I've been so busy in life the past few years I need to do some catch up. I recently got the three-CD Orphans set from my local library and will be digging into it soon.

The term is thrown around too casually, but I do think of him as a national treasure.

Here is a stellar performance featuring Russell Simmins (drums) and Judah Bauer (on Telecaster!) Russell and Judah are from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The guitar tones are astoundingly great IMO. Fans and non-fans check this out:

(PS--anyone have any idea what the guitar player is playing through as far as effects?

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Love Judah's solo on that clip...

Love Tom's stuff here too.

My favorite is also the earlier records, but I'll say that he's still "got it". I love the late night at the bar or diner vibe he had. Nighthawks was the first record I heard of his back in the 80's and it's still a favorite, especially driving at night on a road trip.

Love Tom's stuff here too.

My favorite is also the earlier records, but I'll say that he's still "got it". I love the late night at the bar or diner vibe he had. Nighthawks was the first record I heard of his back in the 80's and it's still a favorite, especially driving at night on a road trip.

Kinda funny that your signature quote ("glide in your stride...") is a Tom Waits lyric as well as a P-Funk lyric...:lol:

Early and late Waits are totally different...both good, but totally different.

The guitar tones are astoundingly great IMO. :

(PS--anyone have any idea what the guitar player is playing through as far as effects?


Sounds like nothing more than a nice amp with a nice tremolo and reverb (though that could be the big room) to my ears. I'd be surprised if there was much more than that

Tom Waits is a dirty dog. And I mean that most respectfully.

love Omar Torres on guitar.

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Huge Waits fan here. My Dad turned me on to him about 18 years ago. One of my all-time favorites. And through Waits' music I wa also introduced to the genius of Marc Ribot.

Kinda funny that your signature quote ("glide in your stride...") is a Tom Waits lyric as well as a P-Funk lyric...:lol:


Yeah, but Tom didn't get onboard the Mothership. More likely a **** brown '58 Ford that he bought for $100. :cool:

Tom kicks butt! Thanks for the link Easy. Y'all be sure to give "Frank's Wild Years" a spin.

Tom kicks butt! Thanks for the link Easy. Y'all be sure to give "Frank's Wild Years" a spin.

"Never could stand that dog."

Tom kicks butt! Thanks for the link Easy. Y'all be sure to give "Frank's Wild Years" a spin.
That may be my favorite. Been a fan for about 30 years now.

Point taken about Tom's style. I guess I like his earlier albums from the '70s, like the live one, Nighthawks At The Diner. His spoken intros to the songs are great:

I was always eh, kinda want to like consider myself kind of a pioneer of the palette,
a restaurateur if you will.
I've wined, dined, sipped and supped in some of the most demonstrably beamer
epitomable bistros in the Los Angeles metropolitan region.
Yeah, I've had strange looking patty melts at Norms.
I've had dangerous veal cutlets at the Copper Penny.
Well what you get is a breaded Salisbury steak in a Shake-n-Bake
and topped with a provocative sauce of Velveeta and uh, half-n-half.
Smothered with Campbell's tomato soup.
See I have kinda of a uh...well I order my veal cutlet,
Christ it left the plate and it walked down to the end of the counter.
Waitress, ? she's wearing those rhinestone glasses with the little pearl thing clipped on the sweater.
My veal cutlet come down, tried to beat the **** out of my cup of coffee.
Coffee just wasn't strong enough to defend itself.


I use that line to describe diner coffee all the time.

Great album.

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Yeah, but Tom didn't get onboard the Mothership. More likely a **** brown '58 Ford that he bought for $100. :cool:

Yes! Or maybe he bought the custom Olds from the guy in the Foster Grant wraparounds...