brent johnson digs up a Halloween-appropriate lost treasure from Tom Waits …
Hop in your car late at night this Halloween. Drive to a dark, open field. And pop in Tom Waits’ 1985 album Rain Dogs.
You’ll immediately be spooked.
‘The Monster Mash’ is a fine song — don’t get me wrong. But when it comes to Halloween tunes, I prefer mine to not be directly about ghouls and goblins. Songs that are truly October-appropriate are naturally creepy, any time of year.
‘Singapore’ — Rain Dogs‘ opening track — doesn’t reference a ghost. It’s not a murder mystery. But Waits growls about sailing away to South Asia with a crew that’s ‘mad as hatters’ and a captain that’s a ‘one-armed dwarf’ — while Michael Blair bangs away on strange percussion and Marc Ribot slashes at his guitar with twisted glee. It’s bouncy. It’s eerie. It sounds like a scene from a lost pirate musical.
Almost any song on Rain Dogs would suit Halloween actually. In fact, much of Waits’ other work would, too. He started his career in the 1970s as a gravel-voiced troubadour, singing jazzy pop at his piano. But in the 1980s, his music got darker and more eccentric. Banjos and marimbas joined guitars and organs. Some of the songs sounded like outtakes from The Threepenny Opera. He’s a cult alt-rock legend — and, marvelously, a Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer.
I’ve also heard Waits described as a carnival barker. That sounds about right.
