Free Tom Waits
October 13, 2009 6:58 AM Subscribe
Tom Waits has a new live album coming out. You can get 8 full length tracks--just under 40 minutes--from the forthcoming release for free on his site. Requires you surrender a valid email address, however.
Tom Waits can have my email address. He can even send me forwards about cute kittens named Phillip if he wants to.
posted by bayliss at 7:06 AM on October 13, 2009 [5 favorites]
posted by bayliss at 7:06 AM on October 13, 2009 [5 favorites]
Mojo Nixon is the only one who seems to get it. Anyone who was interested could already get all his stuff for free. But by making it legal, he earned himself more notice than he's gotten in the last 20 years.
posted by Joe Beese at 7:11 AM on October 13, 2009
posted by Joe Beese at 7:11 AM on October 13, 2009
I saw the title of this post and thought "What the hell is Tom Waits doing in jail?"
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 7:13 AM on October 13, 2009
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 7:13 AM on October 13, 2009
You kidding? He's been in jail before (from Dracula, 1992)
posted by Hardcore Poser at 7:22 AM on October 13, 2009
posted by Hardcore Poser at 7:22 AM on October 13, 2009
Mike Regan, formerly of the Philly City Paper and a seriously cool dude I've worked with before, took the amazing photos that will accompany this. There's a link to the full set in there.
posted by The Straightener at 7:40 AM on October 13, 2009
posted by The Straightener at 7:40 AM on October 13, 2009
Don't think I've heard of Tom Waits. Is he any good?
posted by eyeballkid at 7:40 AM on October 13, 2009 [8 favorites]
posted by eyeballkid at 7:40 AM on October 13, 2009 [8 favorites]
he's better if you're drunk enough for his unintelligible lyrics to become intelligible.
You've probably heard at least one of his songs... if you've seen Shrek, he did "little drop of poison"
posted by Narual at 7:53 AM on October 13, 2009
You've probably heard at least one of his songs... if you've seen Shrek, he did "little drop of poison"
posted by Narual at 7:53 AM on October 13, 2009
But by making it legal, he earned himself more notice than he's gotten in the last 20 years.
Dude, have you tried to get tickets to a Waits concert lately? He doesn't need more publicity.
From what I've heard of it so far, this is (a much better quality studio-polished version of) what NPR streamed on their site for free during the tour. It's excellent, IMO at least as good as Big Time.
posted by middleclasstool at 7:55 AM on October 13, 2009 [1 favorite]
Dude, have you tried to get tickets to a Waits concert lately? He doesn't need more publicity.
From what I've heard of it so far, this is (a much better quality studio-polished version of) what NPR streamed on their site for free during the tour. It's excellent, IMO at least as good as Big Time.
posted by middleclasstool at 7:55 AM on October 13, 2009 [1 favorite]
Speaking of Mojo Nixon you can download just about everything of his for free on Amazon right now.
posted by djseafood at 7:56 AM on October 13, 2009
posted by djseafood at 7:56 AM on October 13, 2009
Only if you're American.
Tom, however, loves me, and gave me his music freely. Go, Tom!
posted by maudlin at 8:00 AM on October 13, 2009
Tom, however, loves me, and gave me his music freely. Go, Tom!
posted by maudlin at 8:00 AM on October 13, 2009
WwooooooooooooooOOooo!*
*oooOOooooOoOOOOOo!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:14 AM on October 13, 2009
*oooOOooooOoOOOOOo!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:14 AM on October 13, 2009
Damn. I'm at work right now and posting here from my phone. Can anyone tell me which songs are available (and if one of them is that jaw-droppingly beautiful version of "Falling Down" that was on the NPR recording?)
Also, I love Waits to the point that it's detrimental to my psyche and had the very great fortune of seeing him on the Glitter & Doom tour, but that bonus CD of "Tom Tales" sounds awful. The banter when I saw him live and on the NPR recording fell somewhere on the spectrum between cringe-worthy and dreadfully embarassing.
posted by Ufez Jones at 8:15 AM on October 13, 2009
Also, I love Waits to the point that it's detrimental to my psyche and had the very great fortune of seeing him on the Glitter & Doom tour, but that bonus CD of "Tom Tales" sounds awful. The banter when I saw him live and on the NPR recording fell somewhere on the spectrum between cringe-worthy and dreadfully embarassing.
posted by Ufez Jones at 8:15 AM on October 13, 2009
Okay, nevermind. Just saw the full track listing for the album. This looks great. I just wish there was a live DVD to be purchased with the album. I'll still be pre-ordering sometime soon.
posted by Ufez Jones at 8:27 AM on October 13, 2009
posted by Ufez Jones at 8:27 AM on October 13, 2009
Here's the list of songs available:
01 Lucinda / Ain't Goin' Down
02 Singapore
03 Get Behind The Mule
04 Fannin Street
05 Dirt In The Ground
06 Such A Scream
07 Circus
08 Goin' Out West Take 2
posted by at the crossroads at 8:27 AM on October 13, 2009
01 Lucinda / Ain't Goin' Down
02 Singapore
03 Get Behind The Mule
04 Fannin Street
05 Dirt In The Ground
06 Such A Scream
07 Circus
08 Goin' Out West Take 2
posted by at the crossroads at 8:27 AM on October 13, 2009
Oh yes!
I've not been listening to as much Tom Waits recently but seeing as I'm never going to see him live ever, this will do nicely. Thanks!
posted by littleredspiders at 8:41 AM on October 13, 2009
I've not been listening to as much Tom Waits recently but seeing as I'm never going to see him live ever, this will do nicely. Thanks!
posted by littleredspiders at 8:41 AM on October 13, 2009
Great. I've been meaning to give my email address to Tom Waits for a while now.
Is there a place where I can give him my phone number?
Just in case he's in town and wants to go drinking, you know.
posted by fuq at 8:43 AM on October 13, 2009 [2 favorites]
Is there a place where I can give him my phone number?
Just in case he's in town and wants to go drinking, you know.
posted by fuq at 8:43 AM on October 13, 2009 [2 favorites]
I'm still gonna draw him a hand turkey for Thanksgiving.
posted by katillathehun at 8:52 AM on October 13, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by katillathehun at 8:52 AM on October 13, 2009 [1 favorite]
You've probably heard at least one of his songs...
You think?
posted by eyeballkid at 9:17 AM on October 13, 2009
You think?
posted by eyeballkid at 9:17 AM on October 13, 2009
You've probably heard at least one of his songs...
You think?
posted by eyeballkid
I just thought you were a fan of EtherBrian (more).
posted by filthy light thief at 9:28 AM on October 13, 2009
You think?
posted by eyeballkid
I just thought you were a fan of EtherBrian (more).
posted by filthy light thief at 9:28 AM on October 13, 2009
Yeah, Rod Stewart did a cover of Downtown Train.
You might have heard it, if you had any ears.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:29 AM on October 13, 2009
You might have heard it, if you had any ears.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:29 AM on October 13, 2009
fuq: Just in case he's in town and wants to go drinking, you know.
Well sure if you wanna go eating cigarettes and a slide trombone, waiting for God to take out a Mexican loan, going round at midnight with a hammer in your hand, wearing your humiliation like a Nazareth man. Then you go smoking in the factory in an oversized coat, drinking like the movies with your heart in your throat, you pour out all your whiskey for a sycamore tree, but the only kind of justice is between God and me.
posted by shakespeherian at 9:38 AM on October 13, 2009 [4 favorites]
Well sure if you wanna go eating cigarettes and a slide trombone, waiting for God to take out a Mexican loan, going round at midnight with a hammer in your hand, wearing your humiliation like a Nazareth man. Then you go smoking in the factory in an oversized coat, drinking like the movies with your heart in your throat, you pour out all your whiskey for a sycamore tree, but the only kind of justice is between God and me.
posted by shakespeherian at 9:38 AM on October 13, 2009 [4 favorites]
Looks like I'll finally be getting a professional replacement for the bootleg MP3 of the original NPR broadcast.
Meanwhile, why on earth isn't Big Time available on DVD?
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:49 AM on October 13, 2009
Meanwhile, why on earth isn't Big Time available on DVD?
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:49 AM on October 13, 2009
See, this is why I complained about Amazon's handling of Mojo Nixon's free tracks in that other thread; there were so many hoops to jump through to get the downloads that it started feeling like work, and I realized I didn't care enough about his music to pay for it or work that hard to get it.
And Tom Waits, I adore Tom Waits. I've bought many an album from that man. I still wouldn't jump through Amazon's hoops, though; I'd just buy the tracks on iTunes or somewhere convenient. Didn't have to, though. There's the link, in my mailbox already, and since they tell me the email address they'll use for marketing, I can block it easily if I want to. Surprisingly bullshit-free, it was.
posted by davejay at 10:00 AM on October 13, 2009
And Tom Waits, I adore Tom Waits. I've bought many an album from that man. I still wouldn't jump through Amazon's hoops, though; I'd just buy the tracks on iTunes or somewhere convenient. Didn't have to, though. There's the link, in my mailbox already, and since they tell me the email address they'll use for marketing, I can block it easily if I want to. Surprisingly bullshit-free, it was.
posted by davejay at 10:00 AM on October 13, 2009
Tom Waits can have my email address. He can even send me forwards about cute kittens named Phillip if he wants to.
Which I'll assume will be sent from a massive coal-fired laptop of Puerto Rican-Chinese design, constructed from old railroad ties, mule bones, and whiskey-drenched regret. Case modders, get to work.
posted by Strange Interlude at 10:10 AM on October 13, 2009 [3 favorites]
Which I'll assume will be sent from a massive coal-fired laptop of Puerto Rican-Chinese design, constructed from old railroad ties, mule bones, and whiskey-drenched regret. Case modders, get to work.
posted by Strange Interlude at 10:10 AM on October 13, 2009 [3 favorites]
Yeah, I love St. Christopher and all, but don't even think about imitating him.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:59 AM on October 13, 2009
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:59 AM on October 13, 2009
Holy smokes! He has lyrics for all his songs on his site, too! At last, all my hopes for the internet have come to fruition!
posted by smartyboots at 11:52 AM on October 13, 2009
posted by smartyboots at 11:52 AM on October 13, 2009
Meanwhile, why on earth isn't Big Time available on DVD?
I have been asking this question for over a decade....
posted by edgeways at 11:57 AM on October 13, 2009
> Yeah, Rod Stewart did a cover of Downtown Train.
>
> You might have heard it, ifyou had any ears God hates you and wants you to suffer.
Fixed that for you.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 12:32 PM on October 13, 2009
>
> You might have heard it, if
Fixed that for you.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 12:32 PM on October 13, 2009
Meanwhile, why on earth isn't Big Time available on DVD?
Didn't you hear? It's coming this Christmas, in a box set with HOME OF THE BRAVE and 200 MOTELS.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 12:40 PM on October 13, 2009
Didn't you hear? It's coming this Christmas, in a box set with HOME OF THE BRAVE and 200 MOTELS.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 12:40 PM on October 13, 2009
I was lucky to see Tom Waits on his tour before Glitter and Doom (maybe "Bastards, Bawlers and Brawlers" tour..?). It was pretty great. The rowdy Detroit crowd was a tad weird, as Waits was a bit low-key. I've got the NPR Mp3 (not bootleg, either, for awhile they just let you download it).
I think it's really funny how the EMail when you get this download is coming from "Tom Waits" and signed "Tom Waits" and asks you if you want to know more about "Tom Waits."
posted by Slothrop at 1:22 PM on October 13, 2009
I think it's really funny how the EMail when you get this download is coming from "Tom Waits" and signed "Tom Waits" and asks you if you want to know more about "Tom Waits."
posted by Slothrop at 1:22 PM on October 13, 2009
Tom Waits infamous 1979 interview by Don "The Lanky Yank" Lane on Australian TV.
Tom is jetlagged and completely shitfaced. Highlights include Don worried that Tom is going to set his jacket on fire with his cigarette, and a marvelous one liner at the 4:02 mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCSc6E4yG9s
This interview still gets played on those WHEN TV GUESTS GO WILD type highlights shows.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 5:05 PM on October 13, 2009
Tom is jetlagged and completely shitfaced. Highlights include Don worried that Tom is going to set his jacket on fire with his cigarette, and a marvelous one liner at the 4:02 mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCSc6E4yG9s
This interview still gets played on those WHEN TV GUESTS GO WILD type highlights shows.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 5:05 PM on October 13, 2009
Tom Waits just emailed me. Who wants to touch me?
Seriously, though, it looks pretty cool there in mah inbox.
posted by nosila at 5:25 PM on October 13, 2009
Seriously, though, it looks pretty cool there in mah inbox.
posted by nosila at 5:25 PM on October 13, 2009
P.S. I had no idea Tom was incarcerated! Is there an internet petition or something I can sign to make a difference?
posted by nosila at 5:39 PM on October 13, 2009
posted by nosila at 5:39 PM on October 13, 2009
P.S. I had no idea Tom was incarcerated!
You bastard. The penny has just dropped.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 6:24 PM on October 13, 2009
You bastard. The penny has just dropped.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 6:24 PM on October 13, 2009
Wow. I've never seen the whole interview before, and my respect for Don Lane has grown 1000%.
Australia was extremely xenophobic back then, yet Don had the smarts to realise what a talent this "new" singer was. His introduction was gushing. Yet I can picture 400,000 Aussie households collectively going "Turn. This. Shit. Off!"
And he was completely unfazed by a disorientated and barely awake Waits. He poured out his drink and offered his glass as an ashtray, three times poking fun at him for his bad aim, including putting out a small fire on his jacket at 3:11.
At 2:06 he showed genuine empathy, enquiring if he was "all right?" and then immediately apologised in case he sounded patronising. His wicked little joke at 2:42 that went over everybody, including Tom: "What do you do for 22 hours on a flight? Do you have ways of entertaining yourself?"
Even Tom gets in on the funnies at 3:35.
Fantastic interview, and not just for the "hahaha drunk!" lulz. A perfect storm of a worldly New York-born, Jewish Catholic Australian interviewer, a young talent on the cusp of greatness, and laid back Aussie attitudes of the 1970s, where it wasn't exactly frowned upon to be shitfaced on live TV. No nervous "cut to an ad break" sideways glances.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 6:41 PM on October 13, 2009
Australia was extremely xenophobic back then, yet Don had the smarts to realise what a talent this "new" singer was. His introduction was gushing. Yet I can picture 400,000 Aussie households collectively going "Turn. This. Shit. Off!"
And he was completely unfazed by a disorientated and barely awake Waits. He poured out his drink and offered his glass as an ashtray, three times poking fun at him for his bad aim, including putting out a small fire on his jacket at 3:11.
At 2:06 he showed genuine empathy, enquiring if he was "all right?" and then immediately apologised in case he sounded patronising. His wicked little joke at 2:42 that went over everybody, including Tom: "What do you do for 22 hours on a flight? Do you have ways of entertaining yourself?"
Even Tom gets in on the funnies at 3:35.
Fantastic interview, and not just for the "hahaha drunk!" lulz. A perfect storm of a worldly New York-born, Jewish Catholic Australian interviewer, a young talent on the cusp of greatness, and laid back Aussie attitudes of the 1970s, where it wasn't exactly frowned upon to be shitfaced on live TV. No nervous "cut to an ad break" sideways glances.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 6:41 PM on October 13, 2009
4:36-4:56
DON: They tell me you have a new market down in Ireland, is that true?
WAITS: I've performed in Dublin, I've done very well there as well.
DON: You look like a Leprechaun, you should do well there.
WAITS: Well, I, ahh [doffs his "fighting Irish" hat] I'm also big in Philadelphia.
DON: [cracks up laughing]
I can't get enough of this. Is the Philly thing an in-joke? A lot of Irish immigrants?
posted by uncanny hengeman at 6:52 PM on October 13, 2009
DON: They tell me you have a new market down in Ireland, is that true?
WAITS: I've performed in Dublin, I've done very well there as well.
DON: You look like a Leprechaun, you should do well there.
WAITS: Well, I, ahh [doffs his "fighting Irish" hat] I'm also big in Philadelphia.
DON: [cracks up laughing]
I can't get enough of this. Is the Philly thing an in-joke? A lot of Irish immigrants?
posted by uncanny hengeman at 6:52 PM on October 13, 2009
Wow. I had a completely different take than uncanny hengeman. I thought the interviewer was terrible and, like Waits, wanted him to get on with it and ask a question already. He laughs at his own bad jokes, doesn't have any sense of rhythm, and though he has a page of interesting questions written down, he doesn't cut to the chase until Waits tells him to--then he doesn't give his interviewer enough time to answer anything. Awful interview.
You say that Aus was extremely xenophobic yet when Waits played there in 1981 (just two years later), he played 17 gigs including 4 sold out shows in Melbourne alone. I don't know the numbers for the trip in the interview (because Don never plugs them), but musicians don't fly almost 24 hours to take a chance... he had to have had good bookings to make it worthwhile, especially at what it must have cost to fly there in 1979.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 10:58 PM on October 13, 2009
You say that Aus was extremely xenophobic yet when Waits played there in 1981 (just two years later), he played 17 gigs including 4 sold out shows in Melbourne alone. I don't know the numbers for the trip in the interview (because Don never plugs them), but musicians don't fly almost 24 hours to take a chance... he had to have had good bookings to make it worthwhile, especially at what it must have cost to fly there in 1979.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 10:58 PM on October 13, 2009
Wow. I had a completely different take than uncanny hengeman. I thought the interviewer was terrible
Yeah [I can't believe I'm admitting this] but later on I read all the youtube comments and it seemed to be divided down the middle.
I thought his waving-hands-in-front-of-Tom's-face "I'm over here" was an unfortunate low point. Very rude.
BTW, the interviewer was no shiny bum. He got charged with importing drugs on an international flight into Australia in the 1960s, understood Waits Lord Buckley reference [which I think surprised Tom] and there was the blatant drug joke during the very last seconds of the youtube link.
Sorry, but I have to disagree. Don Lane was 90% polite and totally hip and not fazed to be in the presence of an addled, uncooperative international star.
.
.
.
like Waits, wanted him to get on with it and ask a question already
To be fair - an act on his part or not - maybe Waits shouldn't have acted like a complete fucking wasteoid and he mighta got a bit more respect. Sheesh. Tough crowd.
Part 2 of the interview where he sings is quite good, too. He finishes his song with a snippet of Australia's unofficial National Anthem. Huge!
posted by uncanny hengeman at 12:23 AM on October 14, 2009
Yeah [I can't believe I'm admitting this] but later on I read all the youtube comments and it seemed to be divided down the middle.
I thought his waving-hands-in-front-of-Tom's-face "I'm over here" was an unfortunate low point. Very rude.
BTW, the interviewer was no shiny bum. He got charged with importing drugs on an international flight into Australia in the 1960s, understood Waits Lord Buckley reference [which I think surprised Tom] and there was the blatant drug joke during the very last seconds of the youtube link.
Sorry, but I have to disagree. Don Lane was 90% polite and totally hip and not fazed to be in the presence of an addled, uncooperative international star.
.
.
.
like Waits, wanted him to get on with it and ask a question already
To be fair - an act on his part or not - maybe Waits shouldn't have acted like a complete fucking wasteoid and he mighta got a bit more respect. Sheesh. Tough crowd.
Part 2 of the interview where he sings is quite good, too. He finishes his song with a snippet of Australia's unofficial National Anthem. Huge!
posted by uncanny hengeman at 12:23 AM on October 14, 2009
middleclasstool, thanks for the heads-up on the NPR recording, which is Downloadable as an iTunes podcast (long-link, should the TinyURL be a problem). The show is 2 hours, 22 minutes and 13 seconds of Tom and company, which is fantastic. That's my biggest gripe with live shows transferred to CD is that it's not the full show, in interest of fitting more songs on the CD. The podcast is the complete show, including quiet banter, and has audience reactions mixed into the show, so it's an attempt to re-create the live experience (some retail offerings of live shows only fade in the audience between tracks, even when the crowd went nuts for something seen on stage, or after an impressive solo).
And for clarification: Disc One [of Glitter and Doom Live] is designed to sound like one evening's performance, even though the 17 tracks are selected from 10 cities, from Paris to Birmingham; Tulsa to Milan; and Atlanta to Dublin. It's more than just truncating one show to display the 17 best tracks of those 27 tracks.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:07 PM on October 16, 2009
And for clarification: Disc One [of Glitter and Doom Live] is designed to sound like one evening's performance, even though the 17 tracks are selected from 10 cities, from Paris to Birmingham; Tulsa to Milan; and Atlanta to Dublin. It's more than just truncating one show to display the 17 best tracks of those 27 tracks.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:07 PM on October 16, 2009
« Older The Book I Read | "Why I Give My 9-year-old Pot" Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by cjorgensen at 7:01 AM on October 13, 2009 [1 favorite]