is fixin to come out with a whole mess of tom waits cover songs. the first cut will be the title track of “anywhere i lay my head” and whaddya know, its been leaked to the interwebs!

when tom waits heard about the project late last year he was soon interviewed by Pitchfork.

Pitchfork: I’m sure you know Scarlett Johannson is recording an album of your songs?

Tom Waits: Well no, I read about it in the paper.

Pitchfork: No one consulted you beforehand?

Tom Waits: No, no. But, you know, more power to her.

Pitchfork: Are you excited to hear it?

Tom Waits: I don’t know if I’m excited to hear it, but I’m curious. People make songs so that somebody else will hear them and want to do them. I guess it’s an indication that the songs aren’t so ultra-personal that they can’t possibly be interpreted by anyone else. I’ve seen her in movies. I don’t know what she’s going to do with the tunes. When you get a hold of somebody else’s song, you make it your own. That’s all you can do. And that usually requires a certain amount of tailoring. Cut the sleeves off, lay some buttons. Everybody does something different to a song, that’s the tradition.

even though what follows isnt the official video, its a good start and you also get to hear what it all sounds like.

now i dont know about you, but one of the best parts of singing a tom waits song is to get the chance to mimic that crazy homeless drunken sailor style. little miss underpants seems to wanna take all the fun out of it.

lets hope she really goes for it on the rest of the record.