NAME GAME: Geez, how could we have...
NAME GAME: Geez, how could we have mentioned a new Tom Waits album without supplying any song titles? Worse yet, how could we mention any song titles without letting Waits--one of pop’s slyest raconteurs--describe some of the tunes himself. After all, this is a man who insists that he did all the vocals using a battery-operated police bullhorn (available for $30 at Radio Shack). Here are a few highlights, culled from a recent Rip Rense interview for Island:
“I’ll Take New York”: “Kind of a uh . . . Jerry Lewis going down on the Titanic.”
“Hang on St. Christopher”: “Jamaican shoeshine music.”
“Straight to the Top--Rhumba”: “Louis Prima in Cuba. A little pagan.”
“I’ll Be Gone”: “Kind of a ‘Taras Bulba’ number . . . Halloween music from Torrance.”
“Frank’s Theme”: “Rudy Vallee. From beyond the grave.”
“Temptation”: “Gazzari’s on the Strip.”
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
