I don't know about you guys, but I can't go a single day without mentioning Tom Waits in a conversation. Even if a conversation has nothing to do with music or movies, I sprinkle a little Tom Waits into the mix to spice things up. Hell, my sister refuses to have any lengthy conversations with me because she knows that somewhere in the wandering hallways of our exchanges, Tom Waits is lurking behind a dark corner, waiting to pounce unexpectedly. Anybody else a fan of ol' Tom - whether his movie roles or his music?
He's an awesome talent. He ranks right up there with Randy Newman as a great but under-appreciated songwriter/performer. I can honestly say I don't remember EVER hearing one of his songs on the radio, which is a fucking shame, but not surprising. "The Heart Of Saturday Night" seems pretty radio-friendly for example. His movie roles are brief, but effective. Did he piss Hollywood off? I think he'd be very good as an actor, but of course his minutes of screen time can't tell you too much. I really like his interaction with Iggy Pop at the cafe in "Coffee And Cigarettes". Youtube if you haven't seen it, but you most likely have.
Tom Waits is GOD!!! My appreciation for his music started fairly recently, just in the past couple of years. But now I'm having fun going back and listening to all the old stuff, and it's surprising just how many of his songs have been covered by other artists. Hell, even Beth in The Walking Dead has sung two of his songs on the series. But I also love him as an actor. He has that old Vaudevillian quality to his performances, whether he's playing Renfield in Coppola's Dracula, to Mr. Nick in Terry Gilliam's Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. He's so strange, I just can't get enough of him.
The only radio station - that I know of - that ever plays his songs is XPN, but that's few and far between. I love the rambling stories he tells on some of his albums, live performances, and interviews. He was great in Imaginarium and he stole the show in Wristcutters: A Love Story.
