Bawler, Brawler or Bastard?

I think the first time I ever saw Tom Waits was late one night when I was watching Rage, maybe a couple of years ago. The only way I recognised him was by his voice. He's got a very distinct raspy, gravelly voice that's usually muffled amongst the murky and dense arrangements of his songs. He also looks a lot like the characters he sings about - unkempt bums, and rugged outsiders who frequent seedy bars and lounges into the early hours of the morning. Waits also sings with his entire body, bending and contorting himself and it's something you really have to see to believe.


A good friend of mine loaned me a collection of interviews with Mr Waits a few months ago. Unfortunately, I only got about a third of the way through before I got side-tracked by work-related stuff. I didn't have to read much to learn that he's very quick-witted, with a fantastic ability to twist words and use double meanings - which also makes him extremely evasive and a potentially prickly interview subject. I was lucky enough to hear Tom Waits interviewed on the radio this morning, and as Fran Kelly (the Breakfast presenter on Radio National) was finishing up, she asked him about the political situation in the States and what he thought of it, what with the Democrats gaining power in the House of Representatives and the departure of Donald Rumsfeld.

So from the guy who's given us gems like, "I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy," and "Champagne for my real friends and real pain for my sham friends", he deadpanned, "[Bush] is emotionally disturbed, and mentally ill. Change is good."

Thanks, Tom!