I found a forum that hates Tom Waits more than our own.

why is this thread being revived? OK, I'll play along. Eagles yes, Grateful Dead yes, Tom Waits no. He has that drank too much whiskey old man schtick when he was 20 years old. Contrived. It would be like Peter Gabriel from the Genesis days wearing that old man mask for the end of the Musical Box in every song, every minute, and in press interviews.
 
I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever heard Tom Waits. After all these years of Kerouac going on and on about him, I can’t believe I haven’t listened to him.

What should I listen to first?
 
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rickenvox said:
why is this thread being revived? OK, I'll play along. Eagles yes, Grateful Dead yes, Tom Waits no. He has that drank too much whiskey old man schtick when he was 20 years old. Contrived. It would be like Peter Gabriel from the Genesis days wearing that old man mask for the end of the Musical Box in every song, every minute, and in press interviews.
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Because:

Kerouac said:
This really should be a bumper sticker.
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Chad said:
I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever heard Tom Waits. After all these years of Kerouac going on and on about him, I can’t believe I haven’t listened to him.

What should I listen to first?
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his irritating phony voice in the movie Rumble Fish.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
I’m still waiting to hear a cover of his music that’s better than the original.
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I definitely wouldn’t say “better”, but there are a few covers that I really do love.

Neko Case’s ‘Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis’, Linda Thompson’s ‘Day After Tomorrow’, and Noam Pikelny’s ‘Fish & Bird’ (with Aoife O’Donovan on vocals) are all killer covers.

That said, I don’t get people who hate Waits’s vocals. And people who prefer Rod Stewarts’s ‘Downtown Train’ over the original have no business listening to music.
 
This thread prompted me to download two of the remaining Waits albums that I didn't already have in one form or another (Foreign Affairs and Blue Valentine). That just leaves a couple more to complete my collection.

I got into his stuff relatively late (maybe 10 years ago) but that way it all still sounds fresh to me. I would place him on my short-short list of favorites at this point, he's a true original. Yeah his voice is one big collection of rough edges, but it's a force of nature. And it makes his "ballad mode" that much more unexpected and effective by contrast.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
I’m still waiting to hear a cover of his music that’s better than the original.
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What’s worth covering?

Not trying to be a dick but seriously. Nothing grabs me enough to want to put in the effort. Most of seems like being weird for the sake of being weird.
 
I think hating musicians is an affectation - I know my spite for shredders like Joe Bonamassa is at least 50% bullshit.

Anyhow, it's impossible to contemplate Tom Waits without taking in his career in front of the camera. He has three of my all time fave performances:

1. Down By Law
2. Short Cuts
3. Fishing with John

Honestly, I haven't listened to him too much, what I've heard is fine (if not exciting to me), but if I see he's in a movie or something vaguely filmic, I'm all over it.
 
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