Wasted and Wounded, It Ain't What the Moon Did

I was trying to be more upbeat (and I think I succeeded for one post), but it's just so much fun being dour.  Today, I'm wallowing in Waits land again, thinking about all the things that I shouldn't, letting bar room balladeer Tom (not to be confused with later-period junkyard orchestra leader Tom) serenade me through my melancholy.  There is no better artist to wallow in self-pity to than Tom Waits.  From his drunken delivery to his (often) sappy piano style, it's legendary in its effectiveness in allowing the listener to wallow in his or her sorrows.  Each of his albums from Closing Time through Blue Valentine are classic, with Small Change being the clear best of the bunch, boasting "Tom Traubert's Blues", "The Piano Has Been Drinking", and "Bad Liver and A Broken Heart" amongst its track list.  Some can't get past Waits' voice, but let it wrap around you a few times and see how you feel. 
This should help to prove Waits' genius in the best way possible - watching him perform at the piano.  Be sure to focus on his fingers.  (By the way, I don't really have a good reason to feel melancholy and dour, but somehow, I end up here pretty frequently...).  Enjoy (and be ready to cry into your drink):

"Kentucky Avenue" - from Blue Valentine - Melancholy remembrances of childhood:


"Bad Liver and a Broken Heart" - from Small Change - not tough to figure out the theme of this one:


"On the Nickel" - from Heartattack and Vine - "a hobo's lullaby", as Waits often describes it, "On the Nickel" is devastatingly sad in its simplicity, bringing the plight of the homeless and down-trodden to the fore.  The lyrics "So what becomes of little boys who run away from home?/The world keeps getting bigger once you get out on your own" is a killer :



"Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets To The Wind In Copenhagen)" - from Small Change : this is the crown jewel of Waits' "grand weepers" - a sweeping tale of drunkenness, being lost in a foreign country, being confused, and wishing you were anywhere but where you are right now.  Well said, Tom -



That's probably all the Tom Waits melancholy that anyone can handle in one sitting, so I guess I'll call it quits for now. Until next time, remember that sadness is just another emotion to be embraced and loved just like happiness and joy. Just because it's not the easiest emotion doesn't mean it's not valid. Enjoy some Tom Waits, and listen...