For lack of a better word, "SQUEE!"

This unusually subdued interview with Tom Waits features three unreleased songs from Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards* at the end of the article and a bunch of audio clips.

Unfortunately (and despite Waits' humanist worldview and good intentions), "The Road to Peace" is a pretty awful song (albeit not as bad as Billy Bragg's cringe-inducing song about Rachel Corrie). He's the last songwriter I'd believe would write an earnest, literal song ripped from a newspaper article.** The other two, though, are awesome.


* WANT!

** Especially because he has written a bunch of political songs that are so cleverly written that you don't immediately notice the political statement.

For lack of a better word, "SQUEE!"

This unusually subdued interview with Tom Waits features three unreleased songs from Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards* at the end of the article and a bunch of audio clips.

Unfortunately (and despite Waits' humanist worldview and good intentions), "The Road to Peace" is a pretty awful song (albeit not as bad as Billy Bragg's cringe-inducing song about Rachel Corrie). He's the last songwriter I'd believe would write an earnest, literal song ripped from a newspaper article.** The other two, though, are awesome.


* WANT!

** Especially because he has written a bunch of political songs that are so cleverly written that you don't immediately notice the political statement.

Understatement of the day

Related somewhat to the previous post:

I was standing in line at the bank to deposit my pay cheque, reading NOW Magazine, which, of course, I accidentally dropped because I'm clumsy that way. The grizzled middle-aged guy behind me picked it up and, handing it back, asked me if I'd read the cover story on Tom Waits. Ah, a fellow fan. We talked for a bit about our mutual excitement over the new albums, and he mentioned that he'd read the article because he worked for the Sun at the same press that printed NOW.

The lefty side of my brain kicking in, I asked him whether he liked working for the Sun.

"It's fine," he said, "but it's not going to last long." Quebecor, he said, who now owned the press, were firing the workers and replacing them with new staff at lower wages.

"I used to have a friend who worked for the Quebecor press in Aurora," I replied. "They were awful."

"They've installed cameras everywhere so that they can monitor you at all times," he said. He went on to tell me a particularly gruesome story about a company that had outsourced to Brazil and taught cane-sugar cutters to work the press, since they'd do it for so much cheaper than printers. The workers were cutting off their fingers and hands in the presses, but it still ended up being more profitable for the company, because what did they care about handless Brazilian workers?

This guy knew exactly how much in profit the Sun had pulled in last year—I don't remember the dollar figure, but it was impressive. "This would never happen in Japan," he said. "A paper that profitable, laying off workers to hire people at lower wages? That's the kind of protection we need here."

"And just look at this bank," he went on. "They just upped the fees and here we are, standing in line because there are fewer tellers."

"Ah, capitalism," I said.

"Sometimes it goes too far," he admitted.

Understatement of the day

Related somewhat to the previous post:

I was standing in line at the bank to deposit my pay cheque, reading NOW Magazine, which, of course, I accidentally dropped because I'm clumsy that way. The grizzled middle-aged guy behind me picked it up and, handing it back, asked me if I'd read the cover story on Tom Waits. Ah, a fellow fan. We talked for a bit about our mutual excitement over the new albums, and he mentioned that he'd read the article because he worked for the Sun at the same press that printed NOW.

The lefty side of my brain kicking in, I asked him whether he liked working for the Sun.

"It's fine," he said, "but it's not going to last long." Quebecor, he said, who now owned the press, were firing the workers and replacing them with new staff at lower wages.

"I used to have a friend who worked for the Quebecor press in Aurora," I replied. "They were awful."

"They've installed cameras everywhere so that they can monitor you at all times," he said. He went on to tell me a particularly gruesome story about a company that had outsourced to Brazil and taught cane-sugar cutters to work the press, since they'd do it for so much cheaper than printers. The workers were cutting off their fingers and hands in the presses, but it still ended up being more profitable for the company, because what did they care about handless Brazilian workers?

This guy knew exactly how much in profit the Sun had pulled in last year—I don't remember the dollar figure, but it was impressive. "This would never happen in Japan," he said. "A paper that profitable, laying off workers to hire people at lower wages? That's the kind of protection we need here."

"And just look at this bank," he went on. "They just upped the fees and here we are, standing in line because there are fewer tellers."

"Ah, capitalism," I said.

"Sometimes it goes too far," he admitted.