Tom Waits new Record "Bad as Me," Out 10/24 Two Singles Released from Anti

So......It turns out that it's true. Waits has a new record coming out on Anti and judging by the two singles already released it seems as though it's going to get the usual reaction. The hard core fan base will go ape s**t, "New record of all original material! First in 7 years!" Meanwhile, "Bad as Me", the title track, which seems most closely related to "Phillipino Box Spring Hog" (Cool Story, Uncompelling Track) is the first single released and will make it easy for the critics and haters to say that this new release is just more of the same old Waits: "Cliche, deranged caricature of his former jazzbo self," etc., etc., you know the lines. Waits is one of those characters in popular culture that evokes such a wide range of strange commentary. From intellectuals attempting to show off their personal knowledge of brake drums and piano strings whipped against dumpsters to rock classicists who haven't changed their opinions on the guy since 1972. Sure, he loves to feed this fire and fights to control his ridiculous fabled persona by attempting to keep it that way via any means necessary including not authorizing biographies or even interviews these days, but critics write about him like he's John Cage. They just don't know what the f**k is going on. Personally, I'm way more in to this here ballad, "Back in the Crowd", than "Bad as Me" at this time, but the other little snippets that fly out of the vintage stereo equipment and the ratty old car in the "Private Listening Party" video, which included something that sounded like a new rockabilly track reminiscent of "Lie to Me," have me ready to fork over some dough for a hard copy and maybe even the LP.

RVOW: Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection

Welcome to the working week...Random Vinyl is back and this week the Newb-Log is spinning a classic, as always, Tumbleweed Connection. If you don't think you like Elton John then shut up and buy this record. Mine was $1.99 at Rasputin in Berkeley during my vacationing in the Bay last month and I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the vinyl was in near perfect condition at this price (sigh of joy/an f-u to LA stores). I stumbled on this LP in a small stack preserved under the Hi-Fi at my lovely girlfriend's house on Christmas day. She had convinced her folks that I loved vinyl and that they should let me peruse the stacks and make a selection to back our lovely dinner (BTW if you have any friend's with Portuguese mothers or G-ma's invite yourself over for dinner, STAT!!!). Mr. Fedrick gave me the thumbs up and I quickly found some classic country including Cash, Haggard, Springsteen's Nebraska, and then this odd little storefront picture with Elton slumped in the corner. I knew I had heard of this record, but couldn't place it. Had I read about it on The Rising Storm? No, too popular for that, right? What about a reference on the Drunkard? I later remembered that I had heard the second half on 100.3 The Sound's Album sides Wednesday. So I queued the needle and trotted upstairs to where the system was set to play. I literally blurted out "Oh, Shit. This is rockin'." Well......we made it through that first tune and through the second, which is a fantastic ballad and arrangement entitled: "Come Down in Time." Then I was urged to put on one of the old Christmas LPs instead, which was fine because they had a classic compilation with Bing and Nat King Cole. It didn't even matter, though. I knew I needed this album and where to find it on my way back to Berkeley, San Frisco, and ultimately back home. I don't even want to get too technically deep on this record I just want to say thank you very much to Dee Fedrick for turning me on to it and say that I have rarely enjoyed a record's every single song this much on the first listen. The records they shove up your ass and down your throat these days are all designed to sound great on first listen, but they don't reward any further upon subsequent listens. They just sit there like stale bread and they taste much worse. Tumbleweed has lovely arrangements and hooky chorus' and flows like a classically structured work with movements. Happy New Year, kids, one of my resolutions is to post more/post music/study up on me ingles. Throw a brother a comment, talk shit, c'mon!!!