I am enjoying this Tuesday Video thing as it has given me a chance to wade through all sorts of interesting stuff on YouTube. This week you are lucky enough to get Tom Waits. This first video comes from a live performance on David Letterman. The song is Chocolate Jesus off Mule Variations. Check it out, its wonderful:
There are many, many worthy Tom Waits videos on the net. I like almost anything he has done from the first moment I heard Swordfishtrombones at our record store (Z-Music, HaGidem 1, Jerusalem) millions of years ago in '83.
A while back I realized my musical tastes are particularly influenced by the quality of the lyrics. Here in Israel, where English is at most a second language driven by crappy US sitcoms, people tend to blow off the lyrics and focus on beat. I suppose its like this anywhere with words in a foreign language. Tom Waits for example who's body of work while outstanding musically, truly excels lyrically, is not as well know here as he should be. He can paint a complex scene in few words and manages to leave a taste of bad whiskey and stale cigarettes every time. Sounds like he gargles with gravel each morning.
Here are a few more gems. Hold On also off Mule Variations has a great video. Gods Away On Business off Blood Money is one of Blacksono's favorites. Of course, there's Downtown Train off Rain Dogs which is a typical Waits video - and this is one of the best albums ever. If you have some time (10 mins or so), check out this snippet of Coffee and Cigarettes directed by Jim Jarmush, its Tom Waits and Iggy Pop in what I think is the best scene in the movie.
A very long arm
15 hours ago
5 comments:
Dear Peter The Black,
Thank you for posting your video of the week.
As you know, I do think Tom Waits is pretty cool, plus he is a good actor. But his voice just makes me want to drive off a cliff.
Now if you want to see something really interesting, talking of Iggy Pop, check out this really old version of The Passenger. He is so incredibly wasted that he can hardly stand, but its just fascinating.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4hPnZUMBwA
Regards,
BWO
Dearest bwo
That Iggy Pop video reminds me of when we saw the Pogues in Houston and Shane MacGowan had to be held up the whole concert. Iggy looks way more together than MacGowan.
bpo
The only thing missing was black face. Tom's poor Louis Armstrong imitation, sad substitute for Louis's horn, even sadder dance performance and antics, pushed me to the brink of sadness, depression and insult. I thought I was watching an old race movie.
I've always had the thickest skin when it came to racism. First impressions don't always sway me, but sitting here, expecting to be entertained on Music Tuesday, I'm feeling sick inside instead.
This is how it started: I had this silly smile on my face, anticipating light, amusing entertainment. The second sound spewed from the bull horn (?) something started to slide from the corners of my mouth, down my throat to my esophagus, into my stomach, and lodged there like a lead weight.
Repeated swallowing hasn't dislodged it. Besides, my mouth is too dry to muster up enough saliva to move "it" along.
Ah heck, now my eyes are failing me. They've gone all watery, making me try harder to swallow, and that weight in my stomach is making me sigh. It's pressing harder into my heart, causing it to beat faster. For some dumb reason that sends beads of water to run over the lower eye lids. They hang in the corners of both eyes. I refuse to let even one of them drop.
Years of therapy have taught me that what I'm feeling are emotions--things I don't let out into the light very often. I keep them suppressed. I do that because they're powerful. I have learned through metaphysics that emotion is energy in motion. Very powerful stuff.
Still and all, I don't want to examine this dark painful e-motion because I find it too full of pain. It's too painful to deal with right now. It's enough that I recognized it and named it.
I suppose I should be thankful to Tom Waits and his imitation of Louis Armstrong, minus the black face. (sigh)
Hey Limner
Thanks for stopping by. What exactly did you find racist? I am here to learn.
Stav and I love love love Tom Waits. He definitely puts on an act of which the voice is a part of it. I mean, I'm sure he's a smoker, but the gruffness is exaggerated. Me actually prefer his earlier stuff where his voice was more clear. But like you said, the lyrics are just simply amazing.
I completely forgot about Coffee and Cigarettes (I have it on DVD if you want to borrow it). I wonder how many people started smoking again after seeing this sketch. What a line, "I can have a cigarette because I quit smoking". Man o man, Jim is a cunning cookie.
Marc
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