This 1975 live studio album was Tom Waits' third release. It begins with a bit of sax, percussion and an intro by Waits. He's a bit of a stage comedian, telling jokes between songs, and giving little introductions before them. The music is beautiful, as with all of Waits' live work. One of the best is Better Off Without A Wife, all about a stag and his love of being alone. Playing after that is Nighthawk Postcards, which is another great story, this time of a journey through a town past dark.
An excerpt from Nighthawks at the Diner's-
Emotional Weather Report
With tornado watches issued shortly
Before noon Sunday, for the areas
Including, the western region
Of my mental health
And the northern portions of my
Ability to deal rationally with my
Disconcerted precarious emotional
Situation, it's cold out there
Emotional Weather Report
With tornado watches issued shortly
Before noon Sunday, for the areas
Including, the western region
Of my mental health
And the northern portions of my
Ability to deal rationally with my
Disconcerted precarious emotional
Situation, it's cold out there
by Frank Rider August 22, 2009
Tom Waits' fifth studio album, from 1978, Blue Valentine is an amazing work of art. This album was really the turning point between classic Waits, and the more avant-garde Waits. His voice became much more gravelly in his hiatus, and he added more low-lifes and hard-lucks to the songs. One of the best songs he has ever recorded is here, Romeo Is Bleeding, along with $29.00, and Blue Valentines.
An excerpt from Blue Valentine's-
A Sweet Little Bullet From A Pretty Blue Gun
I'd rather die before I wake
Like Marilyn Monroe
And throw my dreams out in
The street and the
Rain will make em grow
A Sweet Little Bullet From A Pretty Blue Gun
I'd rather die before I wake
Like Marilyn Monroe
And throw my dreams out in
The street and the
Rain will make em grow
by Frank Rider August 23, 2009
1. A meandering course, seemingly devoid of reason, but based upon a logical idea.
2. A term invented by Tom Waits for his 2008 tour press conference video. It began as an acronym for the cities on his U.S. tour list, and became the 'guiding word' of the tour.
2. A term invented by Tom Waits for his 2008 tour press conference video. It began as an acronym for the cities on his U.S. tour list, and became the 'guiding word' of the tour.
We'll be taking a pehdtsckjmba across the country this summer, and we'll be zig-zagging coast to coast.
by Frank Rider December 07, 2009
A crap shoot is a view of the future, seeing it as variable and dynamic, and totally unforeseeable. Besides the fact that it is slightly more black than the present.
by Frank Rider August 22, 2009
From 2002, this is Tom Waits' fourteenth album, simultaneously released with Blood Money. For a third time, Waits made a studio version of the music that he used in a play, this is the second part of a trilogy involving The Black Rider. Waits' album is absolutely beautiful, but quite scary. Alice, the title track, is a song of obsession and love that pulls you into it's murky waters and holds you under. Table Top Joe is a great song, very full of life, and it reminds one of Straight Up To the Top. Reeperbahn is a sandpaper song with stories of various people, and their tragedies.
An excerpt from Alice's-
Reeperbahn
Now if you've lost your inheritance
And all you're left is common sense
And you're not too picky about the crowd you keep
Or the mattress where you sleep
Behind every window, behind every door
The apple's gone but there's always the core
The seeds will sprout up right through the floor
Down there in the Reeperbahn
Reeperbahn
Now if you've lost your inheritance
And all you're left is common sense
And you're not too picky about the crowd you keep
Or the mattress where you sleep
Behind every window, behind every door
The apple's gone but there's always the core
The seeds will sprout up right through the floor
Down there in the Reeperbahn
by Frank Rider August 23, 2009
1. The thirteenth song on Tom Waits' 2004 album, Real Gone.
2. Sort of like Hook, Line and Sinker, this is supposed to mean everything.
2. Sort of like Hook, Line and Sinker, this is supposed to mean everything.
Well my baby ’s so fine
Even her car looks good
From behind
Oh yeah!
Well my baby ’s so fine
Even her car looks good
From behind
But the train that took
My baby…
It went Clang, Boom and Steam
Even her car looks good
From behind
Oh yeah!
Well my baby ’s so fine
Even her car looks good
From behind
But the train that took
My baby…
It went Clang, Boom and Steam
by Frank Rider August 22, 2009
Rain Dogs was released in 1985, becoming the eighth in Tom Waits' expanding discography. He had reverted back to his old self a little, in songs like Blind Love and Time. His voice had smoothed over a bit, but he still grasped his dark side, presenting evil little gems like Clap Hands and Jockey Full Of Bourbon. The title track is about being a person of the street, forgoing umbrellas and taxis for the rain and freedom.
An excerpt from Rain Dogs'
Diamonds & Gold
Some men will do it for diamonds
Some men will do it for gold
Wounded but they just keep on climbing
Sleep by the side of the road
There's a hole in the ladder, a fence we can climb
Mad as a hatter, you're thin as a dime
Go out to the meadow, the hills are a-green
Sing me a rainbow, steal me a dream
Diamonds & Gold
Some men will do it for diamonds
Some men will do it for gold
Wounded but they just keep on climbing
Sleep by the side of the road
There's a hole in the ladder, a fence we can climb
Mad as a hatter, you're thin as a dime
Go out to the meadow, the hills are a-green
Sing me a rainbow, steal me a dream
by Frank Rider August 23, 2009