Quote:
Originally Posted by montsnmags
Okay, damn you, Queen Zee, and you, Barcey.
When I was a kid, my parents' musical taste couldn't be said to be apalling. Hey, I got a lot of The Beatles, my parents took me to the Rocky Horror Picture Show when it came to the movies (they didn't realise at the time what it was about, but still bought the soundtrack afterwards), one of my Mum's favourite albums is Talking Heads' Little Creatures, and they even went through a heavy disco phase (which you can criticise all you like, but, nevertheless, it was popular, and my parents were "with it"). In the end, my musical tastes converged a lot on a period just before my time, in that it was just after my time, in the early 70's (I was born 1970), but it was my parents' broader tastes that took me wherever I wanted (and if I ever want to put myself back there - in the car, the back of the Kingswood with my two brothers, on a stinking hot summer's day, all windows down, probably lying half-asleep in the footwell arched over the transmission hump, coming home from Avalon Beach or Stockton Beach on a Sydney weekend road full of brake-light traffic - I just have to put on Meatloaf's Bat Out Of Hell and pretty soon I can feel the sand in the crack of my arse and the surf-grime sticking my then-blonde hair every which way...and it brings a salty tear to my eye).
There's others though, which perhaps are not so...defensible. Nana Mouskouri is a guilty pleasure, as is Neil Diamond (Gods and devils! Crunchy Granola Suite is already tapping its toe in my head). One, however, only loved by Dad, has never made it into my head, shut out by stubbornness and now by fear of bringing in the grief again. Dad loved Tom Waits. The LP cover I remember (hey, it'll still be in the stack under his stereo in his custom-made stereo cabinet) is Heartattack and Vine. I remember none of Waits's music - I left the room and hid my head whenever it came on, and it became only rarely played (I don't think Mum was a fan either).
So, as I've said before, I can't listen to Tom Waits, because of everything that rolls around with it. Listening to it is like a sliver of ice through the heart, because of the loss it brings forward. It makes me miss my Dad like I'd miss my sight or my hearing or forever the pleasure of bodysurfing a nice, full, green, clean wave all the way onto a sandy shore.
Well, I couldn't listen to Tom Waits, but I'm prepared to give it a go now, because of your persistence. There are things that need to be brought forward so they can be picked up and moved on with. I need your help to point me to the album you think I am most likely to enjoy, and which shows his talent the best. Any advice?
(Unfortunately Ennio Morricone's score for The Mission is still down the back, in the dark dusty corners of my head, with things with too many exoskeletal legs crawling all over it...but that's another part of the story.)
Cheers,
Marc
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marc, that is a heartbreakingly beautiful story. ironically, i did not go to see tom waits in concert the last time he played in paris (2000, i beleive it was) because the love of my life, with whom i listened to tom waits incessantly and who remained associated with his music in my mind a long time, had just broken my heart, and although i really wanted to see the concert i didn't think i would be able to bear it without crying like an imbecile. i recently told a friend that story and it turns out he has a similar "love story gone sour" reason for avoiding tom waits. there must be something about him. but i got over my heartbreak in this one specific area at least and while i think you shouldn't shut it out completely it's good to learn to live with it. tom waits is one of those artists who actually seems to get better when you add in some of your own personal pain. which is not to say that his music should be added to your "music to commit suicide to" playlist, on the contrary.
anyway, to finally get around to my point (i do have one) the very first album i ever heard by tom waits is Rain Dogs and after all this time it's still one of my absolute favorites, and i think it's a good place to start. it's got a bit of everything ; brilliant poety, heartbreaking love songs, and some good rollicking stuff as well that will have you bouncing around in your chair until the lady behind you taps you on the shoulder and asks you to sit still. Swordfishtrombones from the same period is another one of my favorites. Shore Leave is unbelievable. actually they all are. if you like those i'll recommend some others for you to follow, and if you don't like them, i'll recommend some other to try to change your mind (he's really worth the effort, i promise).