Tom Waits.

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So he's real good.

What's your favorite Tom Waits song? Just got to thinking about it because he's one of those artists so prolific it's hard to pick, you lose track, etc.

I'm biased heavily towards stuff from a few albums that I have on CD or my computer, but I'd take:

Come on Up to the House
Cold Cold Ground
Chocolate Jesus
Heart of Saturday Night

EDIT: Pretty criminal not to include "Waltzing Matilda (Three Sheets to the Wind)" here, among many others. This is really just off the top of my head. "Earth Died Screaming" is good too.

etc. etc.

NT

[Rick Nebiolo]

I really like Cold Cold Ground.

Years ago Waits is a guest on Dick Cavett (for you young uns Cavett was a sort of thinking man's version of Johnny Carson). He is obviously drunk and immediately puts out a bottle of I think whisky on the table in front of him.

Cavett asks: "I notice you have a bottle in front of you" to which Waits replies, "I'd rather have a bottle in front of my than a frontal lobotomy."

~ Rick

[MaxPower]

Tom Waits is a genius. He's definitely one of my top 4 artists. There is no way I could pick a favorite song.

It would probably be something from Small Change, Raindogs, Bone Machine, or Nighthawks at the Diner.

Its just good to know there are other Waits fans on this board.

[Rushmore]

Oh, man. This is tough.

"Cold Cold Ground" is up there.

I really like "The House Where Nobody Lives," too.

I saw Tom Waits live about 15 years ago. It was not good, because he was doing a very twisted-cabaret-influenced type thing, and I just think that's too goofy.

But I love the guy's stuff.

His best lines comes not from his songs, but from the movie Ironweed.

If you haven't seen it, you should.

[MaxPower]

Tom Waits is on Letterman tonight and has new CD coming out October 5th.

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Waits is great.

I've always had a fascination with american noir, which is probably why I've misspent so much of my youth in pool halls, poker rooms and all night diners. That pretty much makes me a sucker for just about everything on Small Change and Nighthawks At The Diner.

But, Three Sheets To The Wind..., Small Change, Invitation to The Blues, Putnam County, Eggs and a Sausage, and Heart of Saturday Night stand out for me.

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[MaxPower]

A card room is a very Waitsian place.

There was a TV show called "Fishing with John" where John Lurie and Tom Waits went fishing in Jamaica. Waits ends up getting sea sick so they go back to land and play poker with the locals. Its a funny scene.

Back in '99 when he last toured I saw him twice at the Beacon Theater. Hopefully he will tour again.

[Glenn]

Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis

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After more thought I have to say I really like 'Old 55' and 'Hold On' as well. And 'Cold Water' and 'Get Behind the Mule' are two of the best sloppy-drunk Waits songs ever. I'm sort of surprised that nobody mentions Mule Variations for albums because I think it's a phenomenally good record. I guess you guys are more old-school Waits fans than I am (his old stuff is great, but I started listening to him only about 5 years ago and Mule Variations was one of the first ones I got...)

Thanks for all the replies.

NT

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There was a TV show called "Fishing with John" where John Lurie and Tom Waits went fishing in Jamaica. Waits ends up getting sea sick so they go back to land and play poker with the locals. Its a funny scene.



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Jim Jarmusch (sp?), the guy who directed "Ghost Dog" and some other neat movies over the past 10 years or so, released a movie called "Coffee and Cigarettes" this summer. It was a black and white collection of loosely related vignettes featuring famous performers in scenes where they drank coffee and smoked cigarettes. One of the scenes was Iggy Pop and Tom Waits in a seedy diner in California, and it was laugh out loud funny. The guy has great comic timing on top of everything else...

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