I'll take two, sir.
202. Tom Waits "Step Right Up"
Like no other artist since Bob Dylan, Tom Waits opened up the feild of what was available to rock and roll, musically and lyrically. All of a sudden previously ignored sources like suave crooners, vaudevillian music hall songs, existensial stand-up comedy and neo-beatnik movie jazz all seemed ripe for the appropriating. All of which wouldn't have meant much if Waits didn't have the ability to fit them into is own unique vision. And of course, he did.
Here, over nervous standup bass and clattering drums, Waits turns a pitchman's shpiel into extraterrestrial performance art. In a voice that's alternately utterly manic and completely wink-wink knowing, he spews sales cliches and wigged out poetry till you're both baffled and elated. I don't care whether he's selling encyclopedias, goat turds or the secret to inner peace. I'm sold.
Like no other artist since Bob Dylan, Tom Waits opened up the feild of what was available to rock and roll, musically and lyrically. All of a sudden previously ignored sources like suave crooners, vaudevillian music hall songs, existensial stand-up comedy and neo-beatnik movie jazz all seemed ripe for the appropriating. All of which wouldn't have meant much if Waits didn't have the ability to fit them into is own unique vision. And of course, he did.
Here, over nervous standup bass and clattering drums, Waits turns a pitchman's shpiel into extraterrestrial performance art. In a voice that's alternately utterly manic and completely wink-wink knowing, he spews sales cliches and wigged out poetry till you're both baffled and elated. I don't care whether he's selling encyclopedias, goat turds or the secret to inner peace. I'm sold.
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