Tag Archives: Tom Waits

Get In Line

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The second part of my list of favourite albums from last year continues with five acts that were already familiar to me from previous years. I’m a big fan of the debut album by Fleet Foxes and I was always going to like their second record. I don’t like it as much as their first one, however, and I have to admit that it’s taken me a while to get into it. It doesn’t have any standout tracks like White Winter Hymnal on the previous album, but it works well as a consistent collection of original songs and that’s why it makes it onto my list

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Another Year Over …

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope that 2012 will a better one for you than 2011. Here are a few tunes that cover most of the bases for tonight and tomorrow. Bill Janovitz does a nice acoustic version of the oft-covered Frank Loesser classic and even throws in a bit of Auld Lang Syne. So does Tom Waits on the closing track from his latest release, Bad as Me. Like most of us, I’m sure Tom’s night will be a lot quieter than the ones in his youth. It looks like Bonnie Prince Billy & The Trembling Bells will also be having a quiet night in and this one goes out to anyone who finds themselves in the same boat. New Year’s Day remains one of my favourite U2 songs and it always evokes memories of this time of year. Here’s an electronic version of the song by a band called Electron Love Theory that appears on a tribute called Blue Sky Vertigo. Abba’s Happy New Year is another popular song at this time of year & is given the acoustic treatment below by Lightspeed Champion. One of the bands that Abba influenced was Camera Obscura from Scotland. Their song shares the Swedish outfit’s knack for a decent tune and has the same title, but it’s an original song. The last track is from Sophie Madeleine, who whips out her ukulele whenever the New Year comes around. Hopefully, you’ll be able to identify with one or more of these songs as 2011 gives way to 2012. My apologies for not posting here over the last few weeks, but I resolve to blog more frequently next year. Have a good one

What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? (Frank Loesser) – Bill Janovitz

New Year’s Eve – Tom Waits

New Year’s Eve’s the Loneliest Night of the Year – Trembling Bells & Bonnie Prince Billy

New Year’s Day (U2 cover) – Electron Love Theory

Happy New Year (ABBA cover) – Lightspeed Champion

Happy New Year – Camera Obscura

When New Year Comes Around – Sophie Madeleine

Bananas, Jumpers & Red Herrings

The recent popularity of Scandinavian crime fiction and its various adaptations has brought characters such as Lisbeth Salander and Kurt Wallander to a wider audience outside of the (fictional) Swedish terrain they normally inhabit. Over the last few months, a detective called Sarah Lund has been added to that list. A schoolgirl has been murdered in Copenhagen and Lund has been put in charge of finding the killer. This forms the premise for a show that was originally titled Forbrydelsen (Crime) in its native land, but goes by the moniker of The Killing for its British screening. It was originally shown four years ago on Danish TV and has been making its way all over Europe before turning up on BBC Four ten weeks ago. It’s a 20-part series that’s set in and around Copenhagen over three consecutive weeks during November. Each hour-long episode covers a 24-hour period and begins in the afternoon and finishes in the darkness of the following evening. The characters and the viewers are kept in the dark for most of the series, with the occasional flicker of light peeping through from time to time

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Christmas Card From a Hooker In Minneapolis

Taken from his 1978 album, Blue Valentine, Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis by Tom Waits is not a typical seasonal song. In fact, it’s not even a typical song as it is presented in the form of a letter and has no chorus or repeated lines. Its title situates the song in a particular time and place and introduces preconceived notions in the listener’s mind about its subject simply by naming her profession. As soon as the singer’s distinctive voice begins, it becomes apparent that her letter is addressed to a guy named Charlie and he reads the letter to us through the voice of Waits. Straight away, she reveals that she’s pregnant and living in a seedy part of town. However, she claims that she has given up soft drugs and whiskey and is even married to a musician who works at a racecourse. She has informed her husband that he’s not the father of the child, but he has decided to stand by her and the baby. We learn that she hails from Omaha and has made a number of attempts to move back to her family, but keeps returning to Minneapolis because everyone she knew back home is “either dead or in prison”. She may have had a previous relationship with Charlie as she tells him that she now regrets the amount of money they wasted on drugs in the past

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200 Not Out

You’re probably thinking that my posts are like buses – you wait for ages for one to come along and then a load of them come at once. Well, today’s post is my two hundredth since I began with this one back in March of last year. I reached the century last October and I would have reached this milestone more quickly if it hadn’t been for my extended layoff this summer. To commemorate the double-century, I’ve chosen six songs that are three minutes and twenty seconds long each. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of my regular and not-so-regular readers for dropping in from time to time. But most of all I’d like to thank me for writing all these posts

She Does It Right – Dr Feelgood

Union City Blue – Blondie

Near Wild Heaven – R.E.M.

If I Can’t Change Your Mind – Sugar

Island In The Sun – Weezer

Goin’ Out West – Tom Waits

Image courtesy of Irish Freestyle

Love is in the Air

In most corners of the world this weekend, certain sections of the economy are going to receive a welcome boost. In particular, restaurants, florists, confectioners and greeting card companies should see a significant swell in their coffers as a result of all the goodwill generated by Valentine’s Day. February 14 has been known as St Valentine’s Day since the end of the fifth century and was called after a number of Christian martyrs who were all named Valentine. According to this site, around a billion Valentine’s cards are sent around the world every year, with men spending twice as much as women during the weekend. In the Middle Ages, lovers spoke or sang their greetings while handwritten cards began to appear in the fifteenth century. Mass produced greeting cards originated in the nineteenth century and, thanks to such companies as Hallmark, it is second only to Christmas as the most profitable period of the year for card companies. Over the years, songwriters have constantly drawn upon the theme of Valentine’s Day as the basis for songs about love and the like. So, for all you funny valentines out there here is a collection of songs to get you in the mood for tomorrow. I’ve also included some blue valentines as well as one for those of you who’ll be celebrating the day on their own. Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody!

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Comfortably Numb

A snow couple built by Mary & Dave

A couple of schoolteachers I know are feeling a little bit down at the moment. Firstly, they have to put up with the unusually cold weather that Ireland, like everywhere else, is experiencing at the moment. Secondly, they have to stay home from school until Thursday as all national and secondary schools in Ireland will be closed until then. Despite this, Mary and Dave have been putting a brave face on it and this weekend they decided to build a couple of snowpeople in their backyard. As you can see from the photo*, both of them seem to have big smiles on their faces, but there appears to be some tension between them as well. The fellow on the right seems to be a lot more content than his companion. The reason for his happiness may be due to the nice cold bottle of Bud he’s holding in his hand. His lady friend seems to be giving him the cold shoulder for now, but I’m sure he’ll melt her heart before the night is through (cold hands, warm heart and all that). Of course, it’s possible she may be stone cold sober, so let’s hope he’s got a few more bottles on ice or she may end up getting cold feet. Mind you, she looks like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, although I can’t help thinking she could think of something to say that might break the ice

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Best Albums of the 00s: Raising Sand

Raising Sand - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss (2007)

The 2007 collaboration between the former lead singer of Led Zeppelin and an American bluegrass musician is number nine in my chronological countdown of the albums I’ve enjoyed the most since 2000. Raising Sand is a country-flavoured collection of thirteen cover versions of songs written by such renowned songwriters as Gene Clark, Tom Waits and Townes Van Zandt. The songs were chosen by the album’s producer and guitarist, T-Bone Burnett, who also assembled the excellent band that includes such wonderful musicians as Marc Ribot and Norman Blake. The real delight, however, is the pretty impressive vocal collaboration between Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, who also plays a mean fiddle. I must admit that I was surprised when I first heard that they would be working together

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