Tom Waits- Letterman interview 2002

[thosearepinklemons]

Tom's always had this amazing wit. It's leftover from the great comedians of his generation. Gotta love it.

[darthmauldds]

I wonder what the children of Tom Waits and Sam Kinison would sound like?

[Rwolfproductions]

o how i would kill to be a child of tom waits... my parents are so boring lol

[Land077]

This guy has Mojo...

[FeelingFreshSon]

I was telling my friend about Tom Waits and how cool he is (I've listened to a few of his...*cough* works) and she didn't know anything about him! She's a big music buff too, whereas all I know is Tool and Rush and...I dunno some other stuff. But to think I found Tom Waits...I'm a lucky, lucky bastard.

[wantsomecake328]

I wish Tom Waits was my grandfather or uncle or something

[bryncomeaux]

if you dont get tom waits, what do you get?

[kingomar69]

Tom Waits, Gary Busey, and Mel Gibson should get together and talk it out.

[TheMrGebler]

If Tom Waits said he'd take me on a car ride, I'd never get out of the car.

[burningburney94]

if him and Morrissey wrote a song together, the world would explode.

[jucifer6969]

Is it just me that thinks Tom Waits looks like he could be James Hetfield's dad?

[cornonthejayCob1234]

He reminds me a little of Red from that 70's show lol. DAMN IT I LOVE TOM WAITS THOUGH hahahah

[DasKonor]

@MrDvlsReject Captain Beefheart, pretty much.

[metaldude4563]

@6666rory what the hell is he building in there?

[Ballistic23]

@MrDvlsReject  He's into lots of stuff particularly a guy called Bob Log III.

[HypaSonicDeathMonkey]

I didn't know Letterman filmed his shows on a potato...

[Retardico]

@MrDvlsReject

Captain Beefheart. He was and admits to being greatly influenced by him.

[6666rory]

Whats he bulding in there ?????

[slutbunwallah]

@6666rory Lol, was that a reference to the documentary Enron : Smartest guys in the room ?

[TheConnorPM]

Tom waits sounds like he smokes a pack of redwood trees a day

[jordanlannert1]

@MrDvlsReject Howlin Wolf

[chopperdave13]

Oh my god if Tom Waits was my chaperone on field trips I might freak the hell out from sheer awesomeness overload

[ctriamimgons]

At 4:10 -- "There we were, me and Bob." Excellent!

[ctriamimgons]

How can this have a single "dislike" let alone 17?

[mrmindcontrol16]

i can never find his cds in music stores...i be mad as shit man

[TheHauntedFarm]

@mrmindcontrol16

You'd have better luck looking for them online. A lot of stores don't carry his stuff anymore.

[axxeminister]

Not only can he write the best songs in the land (just ask the Eagles, or Springsteen), but he's freekin funny too!

[mobalishus]

@axxeminister I agree with you re: Waits, but let's not ask the Eagles anything. Ever.

[jamlegs2]

For what it's worth, the Sonoma County Dump is a pretty cool place.

[useahammer]

What he said is so true. I bought both because I knew before I bought them what a genius Tom Waits is.

[1amusement]

Huge cultural problem: in music stores Tom Waits isn't recognized.

[07foxmulder]

@1amusement i have some good new for ya. i just got hired at a music store and i've only worked about 5 shifts, but i've sold over ten tom waits albums. obviously that has a lot to do with bad as me coming out, but it's still nice seeing people purchase genuinely great music. i always go out of my way to talk to them lol

[joshbezemer]

@1amusement the music stores don't deserve it. can you imagine seeing his album next to miley cyrus?

[Bobofjudia]

@joshbezemer it's better than pirating his shit and him not getting any well-deserved money.

[joshbezemer]

@Bobofjudia agreed. but i doubt he needs the money. you could probably find his stuff at any local music store. kill two birds with one stone... fuck the big box and support good talent.

[Bobofjudia]

@joshbezemer I prefer to shop locally for music anyway. Sometimes FYE has what I want, and if they don't, I look around town.

[colinmccubbin]

both albums brilliant by the way. purchase them both if you havent already.

i said go buy them.

seriously.

no, honestly go buy them right now.

what are you doing reading this? go buy the fucking albums!

go on!

what?

don't tell me that.

goddamnit everyone has time to go to the record store. now get your ass outta that chair and go get ya some waits!!

[frogsplayuke97]

i love this man(: like if you do!

[vampiregirlgbg]

An original artist. I Wish there were some more people as him :)!

[TakovskyPoetOfCinema]

Discovered him in Robert Altman's film Short Cuts!

[2WheelEscapeArtist]

I would gladly blow off work and pay $1000 to go on a Tom Waits fieldtrip. 

[handymandan100]

"I wun't no garbage man, i was a DJ..." -Zach, Down by Law

[jollypossu]

Good Mornin', Mr. Snip Snip Snip ! Waits is a national treasure.

[SkyJamMusicVideos]

This is the best interview, that field trip part!!!!!

[phoebexanne]

The recognition at the dump story was so funny!

[helpyoukillme]

TOM WAITS

[Toedoog]

@helpyoukillme FUCKING YEAH TOM FUCK OFF WAITS.

[xmagicxx01]

Hes the king of the dump!

[SoopSoopa]

genius

[Isosyth]

If him and Clint Eastwood ever had a conversation the world would end from the awesomeness.

[muzglimy]

@Isosyth haha, this would be the conversation:

C: you feeling lucky?

T: well you see, i had a cig and looked at the stars but luck has no relevance in my life.....

C: ..............................­. i hear ya

[Edhunter665]

@Isosyth Or growling. They both make Christian Bale's Batman sound like Renee Zellwegger,

[AlDAGGAT]

@Isosyth You and I have similar tastes in stars!!!

[MrCold012]

@Isosyth imagine if zappa was alive and was there with them

[Isosyth]

@MrCold012 You know, I've never actually listened to Zappa (at least, never sat down and really listened). It pains me to admit that.

[MrCold012]

@Isosyth nothing short of epic my friend.. and not just as a musician but also as a human being

[Beefstrom]

Turd bird and the Magic Farts

[quesondriac]

DR HELLER! 

[BennyMedicina]

Tommy Forever

[Makingnewnamesisdumb]

@BennyMedicina Tom Waits Forever.

That should be his next album.

[kaitlinlara]

He is truly my favorite person ever. I love that he is simultaneously full of wisdom, beauty, depravity, darkness, and incredible humor. What a fascinating individual.

[AngelaCaroleBrown]

@kaitlinlara Excellently described!

[doginthegutter]

The real 'most interesting man in the world'.

[frezzingaces]

primal.

[vannipinza]

.....TOM WAITS.....prendete le sue canzoni,toglieteci lo sporco,il fango che ci mette sopra....suonatele,cantatele..­..sono semplici,pure,bellissime.... tom è uno dei musicisti piu sottovalutati del mondo(ma questo credo che a lui faccia un gran piacere)

[LadyeXo]

Tom Waits, why weren't you my bus driver?

[HollaAna]

"I think you should get both."

[vanriver11]

Tom Waits, i've said before, Spot on with reality. With his Lyrics, I'm not sure if there is anyone who is more profound. Bob Dylan i'd say would be the only contender who would stand up to his lyrical style, of course from a different direction.

[ebutuoyelvis]

I know this will freak a lot of peop out. But Tom Wiats +the Ht man Rany Savage

[0ldFrittenfett]

@ebutuoyelvis Do you mean Macho man Randy Savage? Anyway what you're writing about?

[pretorious700]

"everybody knows me at the dump"...great title for a song

[W4RW017]

@pretorious700 Everybody knows me (at the dump)?

[lalalalala5151]

he and Letterman seem to have a great chemistry in all the interviews you see of them, I think Letterman is a proper fan of Tom

[rocktenniscat]

Letterman LOVED Warren Zevon too - had him on several times, including talking about his terminal cancer.  Waits and Zevon....now THAT'S good taste....

[rocktenniscat]

Waits and Warren Zevon. Now THAT'S good taste! 

[Aeronius89]

He's like a mini Ron Perlman. lol.

[Bigruffgreeks]

Anyone else think Tom called him Daniel at 4:26? I don't think Tom has time for names! Awesome!

[petelabeat]

@Bigruffgreeks Your comment reminds me of the conversation between Tom and Iggy Pop in the movie Coffee & Cigarettes:

Iggy: "Call me Iggy"

Tom: "Sorry I`m late Jim". lol.

[flabarple]

One of the things I like about Letterman is how often he has Tom Waits on. No Waits on Leno, it seems.

[gogobaga]

@headless425 he has always been a comedian. you should read Innocent When You Dream, the collection of interviews and what-not. and get his Box Set, there's a lot of hilarious spoken-word pieces

[lladsbid]

tom waits always seems like a nice guy

[Headless425]

since when is he a comedian too? =D

[SwingRiots]

@Headless425 Always.

[wait4waits]

Oh how right you are.

[AtmaRising]

Legend!

[callitacomeb10106]

what a classy motherfucker

[rantantara]

wtf. an autobiography is a self written biography. if it's written by someone else it's just a biography. jeez, it's hardly rocket science.

[emmett12345678]

best way to describe his voice: like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car

[EdVanVesstid]

@emmett12345678 Completely stolen

[emmett12345678]

@EdVanVesstid i never claimed i made it up, i just think its a really good description

[UnLoboAcatarrado]

Tom, stop moving, please!!! Is he nervous?

[SmittyHeWasNumber1]

Letterman makes me squirm,Waits makes me keep from squirming.

[deneco4]

I wanna read this guys self-written autobiography. He needs to write one

[Marphis]

@deneco4 A self-written autobiography, that's a textbook pleonasm.

[deneco4]

@Marphis No its not. Its kick ass is what it is. The guy is a pure artist, and as such only he can capture true Waitism.

[Marphis]

@deneco4 Cheers to that, mate.

[noahvrgas]

@deneco4 do you know what pleonasm is?

[MorganJhonnieCat]

Ahahhaha I love it

[jimthefin]

"Everybody knows me.............at the dump."

That should be the title of one of his records.

Or his autobiography.

[FragMaggot77]

Holy shit balls! HAHAHA Not only is Tom Waits talented he;s funny as all helL!!! HAHAHA

[hullcityafc72]

sometimes you feel like a rectile thermometer!

[pulsedemon]

It seems Dave turns into less and less of an ass to a guest, the more times that they're on their show. The one from around when Swordfishtrombones came out, it's almost painful how condescending he comes across.

[PERSONIFICATIONOFYAY]

Tom Waits + Mark E. Smith = WIN

[missdecember1990]

I love this man :) Tom that is...Dave not so much

[regios4ever]

I would turn into a total spazz if I ever met Tom.

[ollowert]

It is life altering music.

[Hammersmashed68]

I'd recognize him anytime! he's awesome!

[Marilynsafreak]

I would recognize you (tom waits) anyday. <3

[Rkmajora]

I found my tom waits CD at the dump. Probably why there are a lot of fans there.

[xstagedxdeicidex]

my friend died at the dump... does that count?

[smartinnyc]

Talk about birds of a similar feather.

[yamiexup]

Easy for us 'foreigners' to criticise America. But look a bit closer and there's a lot to admire. Any country that can produce a Tom Waits gets my vote. I know some ppl just don't get him, but if you do........there's nothing better!!

[wisapolito]

agree! I get it!

[sonnysburning5133]

Mr. Waits has a plan for all of us, if you could just embrace it , all of our lives would be, better,

[dannyl28]

So I'm guessing people who work at dumps have awesome tastes in music.

[vt9205]

and then you decided to post it here? :D

[vt9205]

and then you decided to post it here? :D

[jazzmanEE]

when he won best alternative performance at the grammys for Bone Machine he made the classic statement : "alternative to what? "

god bless him!

[Gimmal1492]

"Everybody knows me ... at the dump." That's awesome, Tom Waits is one of those true original guys

[PAULFC93]

Total Legend.

They should put his face next to the word " Cool " in the dictionary..

Not the condition or perception of having low temperature or having the absence of heat or warmth.

Cool as in the aesthetic of attitude, behavior, appearance and style.

[SlugaBoziji]

@PAULFC93

And as the second one to go with the word could be Mickey Rourke´s photo.

[celledeling]

Letterman shows class with the comment: "Oh, the American way!"

[RectalBirth]

its a comedy show

[drummertech06]

maybe because they're both funny as shit...you dumbass

[arthurspooner60]

there is no doubt in my mind that tom waits is the coolest man ever to walk the face of the planet

[mattmclean21]

amen

[jimmymcclukcluk]

hes up there with zappa for sure.

[lilyslimit]

@arthurspooner60 him and Nick Cave!!

[GhettoGnom]

@lilyslimit Word, I've always(well, the last few years anyways) dreamed of a Nick Cave & Tom Waits Murder Ballads type collab album(of course with a style change, since Tom is involved, but with some dark, paranoid and crazy in a Tom Waits-way production)!! How fucking awesome wouldn't that be? :D

[hakeber138]

@GhettoGnom That would be so awesome the world will explode:)

[Chompsification]

@arthurspooner60 and I'm quite happy to agree with you there

[auboholick]

@arthurspooner60 Agreed.

[pretorious700]

@arthurspooner60 anybody who argues that is a dummy

[sukiyaki113]

@arthurspooner60 If Tom Waits and Lou Reed had a baby, the world would reach absolute zero from the coolness and that would be the end of existence.

[GetYourAlbatros]

@arthurspooner60 his bad assity level is over 500.

[okavipra]

@arthurspooner60 and what about Charles Bukowski

[StrummerLivesxxx]

Is it just me, or does he have the coolest sounding voice ever.

[GetTheFunkOut46]

pretty much, hes just above morgan freeman and christopher walken :P

[SirDaniel89]

@StrummerLivesxxx No it ain't you, his voice is bloody epic!

[ana3never]

hehehe :D

[RAGE1524]

mr. waits is a genius

[grzx]

Tom jest rewelacyjny...

[taxmonkey123]

There really is no person in the world like Tom Waits.

[MaEh2007]

Oh man, I really like Tom Waits! His music, the roles he played in films, his humor...

[seasonedass]

Tom Waits + Letterman = MAGIC

[Computerdisplay]

i know im not the first one or last one saying this...but, how can we have any doubt that heat leadger was thinking of tom waits when playing the joker...i mean...tom waits IS THE joker!

[RubHerSoul1]

except he's not an evil mastermind. just a mastermind. just picked up on him recently, although i've known about him for years and seen him in movies. Can't wait to hear more albums by him. I LOVE Swordfishtrombones!

[thisisdroll]

Only CD of his I've ever listened to was Alice. I should really look up some more of his stuff...

[johnwooden10]

Rain Dogs is really good.

[JereyRocksJerey]

he's good with words

[Muppio]

I want to listen to Tom Waits talking forever :-)

[tarrera2005]

a rectal phenomenon? No :-)

[TheParadoxtruth]

I bet ol' Tom would laugh if he read us gushing about how he's such a great guy! Maybe the musical genius part but, nice guy? I'm not saying I don't agree with what ya'll are saying; I can just see him getting a big kick out of all of this. And Tom, if you had any more soul you'd be an old country black man musician from Louisiana.

[S2Cents]

I like your post. He'd definitely laugh about the old country black man remark. I mean he probably has an equal amount of soul to an old country white man. What % more of soul does the old country black man have. And how does this compare to an old city black man?

[dovestones]

Make a movie of his later years and get Ron Pearlman to play Tom.

[S2Cents]

So Im not the only one to see that resemblance. Tom Waits is an actor, been in some Coppola films. He could play himself. Well he sorta does anyway, but he could play himself playing himself.

[lenny121]

Tom waits is the coolest guy in my book

[Samrohn]

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what a certified genius sounds, and looks like. This is a man with music in his heart, fire in his soul and a calm demeanor.

The world would be a poorer place without this fellow.

[gidtok]

hey looks like a real nice guy.

[srvinfinity]

Waits is his own promo man. No hard sell ever! Given over to the absurd, we follow because he leaves a deep groove.

[seafergy]

just good stuff...I could listen to him for hours