how does time go that fast? i still consider this one of his new records.
weirdly it was a huge hit without having any hits.
also how you sell a million records on an album looking like that, sounding the way it does and with it called MULE VARIATIONS?
it’s proof of a few things that i want to embody for the rest of my days on this crust
- tom waits can do no wrong
- tom waits is the exception to all the rules
- which means we too can be the exception to all rules
- there are a million people out there in the world who will pay real money for real art no matter how different it is from everything else, because there are enough people in the world who appreciate artistry and craftsmanship and humor and weirdness and love and death and darkness and light. and those are the people who i am glad to call my friends.
- creativity is better than bullshit… every single time.
- you dont have to be pretty or dress great or sing like mariah carey or be young and cute to sell records. no you dont.
- if you give up on yourself you give up on all the loveliness that people are waiting for you to bring them.
even though he came across as a throwback when he first came out, he was an original and only got more original as he got older. people talk about voice. i dont think people know what theyre really talking about when they talk about voice but tom waits has a style, an attitude, a come from, a point of view, and for damn sure a unique way of telling a story that is easily imitated but rarely covered. springsteen sang a tom waits song during the born in the usa tour (jersey girl) but tom did it better which is saying something because bruce was at his peak during that time.
and in many ways waits aged better than bruce, creatively, without having to do this gimmick or that one. we all want to be the big rock star selling out any arena we want.
but i gotta say, i think id rather be the person who can just be oozing with that mysterious spirit that even the french dont have a word for.