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Tom Waits — The Heart of Saturday Night
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unclehud
(now 50 feet above the planet in Boston)
Posted: Apr 13, 2013 - 17:22
 
A poet with a voice that sounds like 5 miles of rutted dirt road.  He's magnificent.  Wouldn't surprise me if the cover art is a photo of him as a young man, blitzed outside an anonymous lounge on a Saturday night ... looking.

spigolli
(Peachtree City, GA, USA)
Posted: Feb 25, 2013 - 06:58
 
 darcand wrote:

Fell for that too.

djblitz wrote:
I was looking for Springsteen all along, lol whoops!
 
 
Tom Waits minus heart minus soul plus unwarranted success = Springsteen

darcand
(Montréal)
Posted: Feb 09, 2013 - 22:01
 
 Fell for that too.

djblitz wrote:
I was looking for Springsteen all along, lol whoops!
 



Athyrius
Posted: Jan 09, 2013 - 19:37
 
 MrRedwood wrote:
The man is a god.
 
God of Shite... for sure

rivermantengo
(NYC)
Posted: Nov 07, 2012 - 20:11
 
The best.

MrRedwood
(San Francisco)
Posted: Oct 22, 2012 - 22:28
 
The man is a god.

oldsaxon
(Wales via Vancouver, BC.)
Posted: Oct 07, 2012 - 10:56
 
 TuneAgeWhereWoof wrote:
Good ol' Tom doesn't have to pander to anyone...  cuz he's independently wealthy.  I'm just glad he is one of the rare, bad asses who uses it for good.  I'd party with him on any given summer night, roast a pig and let it flow
 
My fantasy dinner party invite list definitely has Tom on it. I'll sit him next to Angelo Badalamenti

ziakut
(Right Here)
Posted: Aug 05, 2012 - 10:15
 
I suppose when I'm 87 years old...if I live that long...I'll hum this tune to myself, while drinking booze from a paper bag in an alley. How optimistic!!

djblitz
(Boston, MA)
Posted: Jul 20, 2012 - 12:19
 
I was looking for Springsteen all along, lol whoops!

shellyn1
(Washington DC)
Posted: Jul 20, 2012 - 12:05
 
My favorite Tom Waits song... and that is saying a lot!

TuneAgeWhereWoof
Posted: Jun 18, 2012 - 23:42
 
Good ol' Tom doesn't have to pander to anyone...  cuz he's independently wealthy.  I'm just glad he is one of the rare, bad asses who uses it for good.  I'd party with him on any given summer night, roast a pig and let it flow

kingart
(Brooklyn NY)
Posted: May 02, 2012 - 10:30
 
In that sad, upbeat, melancholy, hopeful way particular to so much music of the '70s. 

Stingray
("ANONYMOUS INTERNET")
Posted: May 02, 2012 - 10:27
 

Down by the law of your sound, Tommy!

All grandfathers in my therapy-room like this song!



On_The_Beach
(The Blue Planet)
Posted: Mar 31, 2012 - 17:26
 
 Dahnyul wrote:
Well spoken.  I agree, Tom is Tom. He is not affecting any style, he is not trying to be anything.  He is who he is, and he is fully authentic.  Like him, or don't, but I do agree it would be a mistake for anyone to think Mr. Waits is affecting a syle.
 
Thirded. Tom is a true original and he doesn't pander to anyone.

Dahnyul
Posted: Feb 13, 2012 - 00:56
 
 Proclivities wrote:

Did you ever hear him speak?  He's got a pretty gravely voice, perhaps from smoking for many years.  If you don't like Tom Waits' vocal stylizations, that's your opinion, but "stylizations" are, by definition, something "put on for effect".  Plenty of folks do not like the way he sings, but that's his style or character, and it conveys a great deal of feeling and emotion - particularly in songs such as "Ruby's Arms" or "Muriel".  He's been professionally writing, recording, and singing music for almost forty years, and apparently that's the way he wants to sing.

 

Well spoken.  I agree, Tom is Tom. He is not affecting any style, he is not trying to be anything.  He is who he is, and he is fully authentic.  Like him, or don't, but I do agree it would be a mistake for anyone to think Mr. Waits is affecting a syle.

Danno

whomhow
(changeable)
Posted: Jan 28, 2012 - 08:45
 
Great lyrics, great song, great voice. 9.

kaybee
(Lost in the Wilds of Toronto)
Posted: Nov 09, 2011 - 18:17
 
 yodasan_magoo wrote:


Same here, I heard Bill announce Tom Waits and as I frantically looked for the mute button the song started.  This is good...what the heck happened to his voice on his later recordings? 

 
Yes, I'm one of the many who respect Tom Waits, but haven't yet acquired a taste for his voice  {#Smile}, but this is nice.  His lyrics are trenchant, as always.


yodasan_magoo
(Close to the far side)
Posted: Oct 25, 2011 - 05:52
 
 lerxst wrote:
Geez, a Tom Waits song I like?? Shocking. I love his voice on this song, but on others it is nails-on-a-chalkboard.
 

Same here, I heard Bill announce Tom Waits and as I frantically looked for the mute button the song started.  This is good...what the heck happened to his voice on his later recordings? 


finoufk
(Bordeaux - france)
Posted: Oct 25, 2011 - 05:52
 
 lerxst wrote:
Geez, a Tom Waits song I like?? Shocking. I love his voice on this song, but on others it is nails-on-a-chalkboard.
 
you read my mind !


lerxst
(A Planet in the Solar Federation)
Posted: Sep 23, 2011 - 13:45
 
Geez, a Tom Waits song I like?? Shocking. I love his voice on this song, but on others it is nails-on-a-chalkboard.

treseksti
(Norway)
Posted: Sep 23, 2011 - 13:43
 
Well put! Proclivities wrote:

Did you ever hear him speak?  He's got a pretty gravely voice, perhaps from smoking for many years.  If you don't like Tom Waits' vocal stylizations, that's your opinion, but stylizations" are, by definition, something "put on for effect".  Plenty of folks do not like the way he sings, but that's his style or character, and it conveys a great deal of feeling and emotion - particularly in songs such as "Ruby's Arms" or "Muriel".  He's been professionally writing, recording, and singing music for almost forty years, and apparently that's the way he wants to sing.
 


TerryS
(Another SW)
Posted: Sep 07, 2011 - 19:41
 
Poetry.

sirdroseph
(Yes)
Posted: Mar 18, 2011 - 12:03
 
Well whatever he is doing, it works with me!{#Clap}

thekid
(St. Louis, Misery)
Posted: Mar 04, 2011 - 10:30
 
 allearsny wrote:

Here's my take on Waits's voice(s): It's not his "gravel" that has always bothered me, but the fact that I think it was/is inauthentic. THIS song is (I think) his "real" voice, before he started manufacturing the "gravel," for reasons that are beyond me. I've always thought he was trying to sound like an old Black man. Maybe Armstrong? Armstrong, Maybelle, others — their voices worked because they were THEIR voices. But I agree, he's one of our best songwriters, and didn't/doesn't have a bad voice; we just didn't get to hear the real him after a point. I don't know what he's up to these days.
 
NPR just did a segment on Waits and speaks directly about his distinctive and always changing sound.  I think it might explain his sound as both his style and as a story-telling technique. 

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/04/134236977/tom-waits-a-raspy-voice-heads-to-the-hall-of-fame

But yes, sometimes it is too much more me too : )


Proclivities
(Carrboro, NC)
Posted: Mar 04, 2011 - 07:32
 
 allearsny wrote:

I guess I should add that I'm a singer, so I think I can tell when a vocal stylization is "put on" for effect. Waits shouldn't have.
 
Did you ever hear him speak?  He's got a pretty gravely voice, perhaps from smoking for many years.  If you don't like Tom Waits' vocal stylizations, that's your opinion, but "stylizations" are, by definition, something "put on for effect".  Plenty of folks do not like the way he sings, but that's his style or character, and it conveys a great deal of feeling and emotion - particularly in songs such as "Ruby's Arms" or "Muriel".  He's been professionally writing, recording, and singing music for almost forty years, and apparently that's the way he wants to sing.


allearsny
(New York City, and mountains north and west)
Posted: Jan 14, 2011 - 21:13
 
 allearsny wrote:

Here's my take on Waits's voice(s): It's not his "gravel" that has always bothered me, but the fact that I think it was/is inauthentic. THIS song is (I think) his "real" voice, before he started manufacturing the "gravel," for reasons that are beyond me. I've always thought he was trying to sound like an old Black man. Maybe Armstrong? Armstrong, Maybelle, others — their voices worked because they were THEIR voices. But I agree, he's one of our best songwriters, and didn't/doesn't have a bad voice; we just didn't get to hear the real him after a point. I don't know what he's up to these days.
 
I guess I should add that I'm a singer, so I think I can tell when a vocal stylization is "put on" for effect. Waits shouldn't have.


allearsny
(New York City, and mountains north and west)
Posted: Jan 14, 2011 - 21:10
 
 james_of_tucson wrote:

I never understood why that wasn't a problem for Louis Armstrong or Big Maybelle, but most people to whom I've exposed Tom Waits for the first time were so put off by his voice, they just couldn't get past it at all.  These days I just say "despite being one of the worst singers of all time, he's one of the most influential songwriters."

 
Here's my take on Waits's voice(s): It's not his "gravel" that has always bothered me, but the fact that I think it was/is inauthentic. THIS song is (I think) his "real" voice, before he started manufacturing the "gravel," for reasons that are beyond me. I've always thought he was trying to sound like an old Black man. Maybe Armstrong? Armstrong, Maybelle, others — their voices worked because they were THEIR voices. But I agree, he's one of our best songwriters, and didn't/doesn't have a bad voice; we just didn't get to hear the real him after a point. I don't know what he's up to these days.



bethesdaboo
(sacramento)
Posted: Jan 14, 2011 - 21:08
 
I really enjoy hearing the difference in his voice. Very cool. {#Daisy}

bethesdaboo
(sacramento)
Posted: Jan 14, 2011 - 21:07
 
 spacemoose wrote:
This song always makes me a little weepy for lost youth, chasing a good time, and whatever wisdom can be found in booze and vaginas.
 
ha! yes, its a bit melancholy. Love it.


bethesdaboo
(sacramento)
Posted: Jan 14, 2011 - 21:06
 
 calypsus_1 wrote:

coffee and cigarettes by ~nothought
morganne  ©2007-2010 ~nothought

tom waits in the movie
coffee&cigarettes.

use|pencil(HB, B, 2B, 4B, 8B)
time|3-4hrs

The beauty of quitting is, now that I've quit, I can have one, 'cause I've quit. ~tom waits

.

 
beautiful


fridgerat
(Cape Town, South Africa)
Posted: Dec 31, 2010 - 16:31
 
Such perfect timing. It is two-thirty in the morning on this 1st of Jan 2011. It is a calm and hot Saturday morning in Cape Town. I can hear the New Year's Eve revelers still partying up a storm downtown and we just managed to put our teething 4 month-old to sleep.
A perfect moment.
Thank you so much.

james_of_tucson
(Tucson AZ)
Posted: Dec 14, 2010 - 10:25
 
 Danimal174 wrote:
Wow! I wouldn't have guessedt this was Tom Waits. I've only heard his later stuff, where his voice is, um, just a tad "gravel-ly" (if that's a word).

 
I never understood why that wasn't a problem for Louis Armstrong or Big Maybelle, but most people to whom I've exposed Tom Waits for the first time were so put off by his voice, they just couldn't get past it at all.  These days I just say "despite being one of the worst singers of all time, he's one of the most influential songwriters."


Johnny_Wave
(California, baby)
Posted: Oct 27, 2010 - 17:32
 
An outstanding song from TW.  A rare treat indeed

Jonathan_pa
(Somewhere in the vastness of space)
Posted: Sep 27, 2010 - 17:16
 
While I respect your opinion, I kindly beg to disagree. I have heard some phenomenal remakes that stand on their own next to the originals. For example I have always been a big fan of "Waiting in vain" by Bob Marley, but the remake by Ituana is soul stiring as well. 
 Cynaera wrote:
I first heard this as a remake by Shawn Colvin, and I loved it - until I heard the original.  Now, Colvin's version seems lame and unemotional...  Another reason why I'm a purist - most times, the originals are the best, most honest, most true...
 



Cynaera
(South of Neanderthal)
Posted: Jul 25, 2010 - 16:13
 
I first heard this as a remake by Shawn Colvin, and I loved it - until I heard the original.  Now, Colvin's version seems lame and unemotional...  Another reason why I'm a purist - most times, the originals are the best, most honest, most true...

thatch
(Shhh....at work....)
Posted: Jul 08, 2010 - 07:51
 
 Stefen wrote:
It's amazing how smooth his voice is.  36 years ago.

 
Like Bob Dylan..


shawshank
(Maryland)
Posted: Jun 22, 2010 - 04:31
 
Bruce?

calypsus_1
Posted: May 26, 2010 - 21:33
 

coffee and cigarettes by ~nothought
morganne  ©2007-2010 ~nothought

tom waits in the movie
coffee&cigarettes.

use|pencil(HB, B, 2B, 4B, 8B)
time|3-4hrs

The beauty of quitting is, now that I've quit, I can have one, 'cause I've quit. ~tom waits

.


sirdroseph
(Tokyo)
Posted: May 21, 2010 - 09:04
 
Oh yes, this is one of his purdy ones!{#Yes}

Stefen
(West Hollywood, CA)
Posted: May 05, 2010 - 18:20
 
It's amazing how smooth his voice is.  36 years ago.


nagsheadlocal
(North Carolina, the new New Jersey)
Posted: Apr 21, 2010 - 05:41
 
I know there's generally a battle between the boho storytelling early Tom Waits and the generally more artsy later Tom, but, jeeze, this song is totally excellent - as is the whole album.

Danimal174
(Upstate South Carolina)
Posted: Mar 03, 2010 - 11:00
 
Wow! I wouldn't have guessedt this was Tom Waits. I've only heard his later stuff, where his voice is, um, just a tad "gravel-ly" (if that's a word).


solamenteuna
(NC, US)
Posted: Mar 03, 2010 - 10:57
 
reminds me of Ry Cooder's "Third Base, Dodger Stadium"


onomasticator
(London, England)
Posted: Jan 16, 2010 - 15:24
 
Is that Pavorotti?  No, just the young Tom . . .

helgigermany
(Germany)
Posted: Jan 15, 2010 - 00:30
 
Nice!!

Coaxial
(23 miles north/northeast of Paradis)
Posted: Dec 30, 2009 - 12:49
 
9 to 10.

Grammarcop
(Hey, I can see Canada from here!)
Posted: Dec 16, 2009 - 05:35
 
 spacemoose wrote:
This song always makes me a little weepy for lost youth, chasing a good time, and whatever wisdom can be found in booze and vaginas.
 
Booze and vaginas. Take my word for it, the education never ends.


spacemoose
Posted: Dec 16, 2009 - 05:31
 
This song always makes me a little weepy for lost youth, chasing a good time, and whatever wisdom can be found in booze and vaginas.

Grammarcop
(Hey, I can see Canada from here!)
Posted: Dec 16, 2009 - 05:31
 
M-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m, yeah...

yodasan_magoo
(2nd floor of a 3 story skyscraper in Omaha)
Posted: Dec 14, 2009 - 14:35
 
Kind of reminds me of Bob Dylan...except he can actually play the guitar and his singing does not make me want to jump out the winder.