For lack of a better word, "SQUEE!"

[sabotabby]

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.

Comments

[culpster.livejournal.com]

Now that Tom's seen the light, him and Billy should get together a sententious-folkie supergroup and do "We Are The World". David Rovics! Holly Near! That Canadian guy! Who else?

Can't you just hear Waits grunting "There's a choice we're making! We're saving our own lives!" I can.

[culpster.livejournal.com]

"Dere cums a toim/When we eed a soitan cwall..."

Someone should really make this happen.

[sabotabby]

I'm still disappointed that his version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is a different song than the one in Wizard of Oz. Not that I don't like his song better, but if he'd covered the other one it'd be hilarious.

I wonder if he takes requests. Probably not.

[human-loser.livejournal.com]

He also has a lovey cover of "Somewhere" from West Side Story on his album Blue Valentine.

[sabotabby]

That one makes me bawl like a wee girl.

[jk-fabiani.livejournal.com]

Speaking music honoring Rachel Corrie:

I liked this recent one. (Download MP3 from yousendit.com)

"I'd Rather Be Dancing" from "Head Full Of Pictures" by Jim Page.

[sabotabby]

It's skipping. How is that even possible?

[jk-fabiani.livejournal.com]

There must be some E-dust on the E-needle. Its not the spaces in the file name is it?

I downloaded it and played it and it skips for me too. Uh...

I'll try again. Apologies.

[jk-fabiani.livejournal.com]

I tried the original and its fine. So I reuploaded and redownloaded and this one seems to be okay:

http://www.yousendit.com/download/cj9MtXNAoxM%3D

Sorry for the hassle.

[sabotabby]

Hey, no problem. Thanks for sending it! Yeah, that's quite beautiful.

[jk-fabiani.livejournal.com]

Since you liked the one track, here are the rest of them. It is pretty damn good release.

ps: I tried it first this time, it worked..

---

CD Notes:

This album is the second to be recorded at Billy Oskay's fabulous Big Red Studio, just outside of Portland, Oregon. The sound is fat and full of life. Jim plays acoustic guitar and the sings the songs that he wrote. Billy plays violin/fiddle, and wears the producer’s hat. Mark Ettinger lays down the thunder with upright bass. Scott Law plays mandolin and guitar. The musicianship is superb. And because it was recorded on that big wide analog tape the sound goes way deep, so deep you can feel the windings on the strings. Billy has produced and recorded Dan Crarey, The Sugar Beets, Dave Carter and Tracey Grammer, and a host of others.

The songs….. They come from different periods, but the through-line is a reflection on these war days. I’ll give you some glimpses using the titles. We will all have a head full by the time this is over. That song refers to those unshakable demons that get stuck in the minds of returning soldiers. Georgie Boy Bush - Petroleum Bonaparte - never worries about that, he's well taken care of, and I don’t think his head has much capacity anyway. Andres Raya – he couldn't control his demons and they got the best of him: he died in Ceres, California not too long ago. Rachel Corrie said she would rather be dancing than facing down armed occupation forces in Palestine, but until there was peace she would have to take chances. And she did. Clones - we all have them: clones in our bones, clones on the phones, clones of our owns! Say that again... Then there were the nuns who wouldn't undress for fear of being seen by the One That Made Them. A joke on such futility: they were naked underneath their clothes anyway. (Why are deities always so neurotic?) Then the forests are burning but the TV tells you to forget about it. Program. You want to fall in love again but you worry that you'll just be the fool in the middle of the air. Isn’t that part of it? And then the dreams come back about that place in Iraq, that prison, and the man with his head in a sack. There's something about us, isn't there? And then a Laughing Deity teaches Jesus to laugh, and you’re off and running to a better place with a kick in the pants and dance step on top of it all. That's right - more than anything else in the world!

Bio........... Jim Page live in Seattle and has been doing this for 35 years. He was born in California, cut his teeth in New York City, and learned the fine arts the trade in Seattle before it got famous. He began touring internationally in 1977 and never stopped. He thinks songs should be something more than just polite background decorations.

Bonnie Raitt says: “Jim's been writing great topical songs for as long as I can remember, bringing his acute wit and wry humor to a host of subjects that can really use both. In the tradition of Woody and Dylan, he cuts right to the heart with music you actually enjoy listening to. I'm a longtime admirer.” Utah Phillips says: “Jim Page’s songs get right to the point. He looks at the world clearly and reports what he sees with compassion, humor and a biting sense of irony. And boy! can he sing and play. If you’re ever going to get the message, this is the messenger to get it from.” Robert Hunter says, “If Jim Page ain’t the bastard son of Woody Guthrie I’m T-Bone Walker.” (Of course he may be…)

Jim's music is frequently heard on Democracy Now! as well as the folk shows and Americana stations. His songs have been recorded by Christy Moore (Ireland), Dick Gaughan (Scotland), Bjorn Afzelius (Sweden), the Doobie Brothers, and (yes indeed) David Soul!

[human-loser.livejournal.com]

"The Fall of Troy" (from the dead Man Walking soundtrack, I think) is a ripped-from-the-headlines Waits song, I believe, and it's one of his most beautiful.

[sabotabby]

I love that song. I didn't know it was based on real events, but it's evocative, not literal.

I may change my opinion on "The Road to Peace" after a few listens, but it seems to just be a dryly reported series of events along with a bit of (legitimate) commentary.