Composer Reacts to Tom Waits - Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis (REACTION & ANALYSIS)

[@davehackett8848]

Was driving a cab in Phx. A lady was having the xmas blues. Played this for her, she laughed then cried. Brightened her right up.

[@footsy420]

when i drove hack tom waits was a big part of the soundtrack. One late night a guy gets in ,'tom waits in a cab, perfect." I drive limos now, no tom waits but thats ok, looking back I think him, Charles Brokowski and Al Bundy were negative influences.

[@mistapotta]

The live version, where he sings silent night as he plays the intro, is haunting. Definitely worth the watch.

[@wcsxwcsx]

Indeed, that's the most powerful rendition.

[@chris...9497]

Tom Waits has his own personal style. It's evocative of beatniks and dive bars. Tom writes about broken dreams of broken people. His songs are peopled by alcoholics and the poor and uneducated just trying to get by. He spotlights their humanity and the tragic depth of their disappointments. He gives voice to their regret and notice of lost overlooked opportunity. His lyrics cut, are heartbreaking. When Tom first started writing, performing, and recording, he had a decent voice. As he got deeper into his 'character', he intentionally pushed his voice to be more whiskey-raspy, until he started sounding like he gargled each morning with sharp gravel and battery acid, like he smoked a thousand unfiltered cigarettes a day. If you listen to his albums in order, you hear him grow more raspy with each one. He was trying to match his voice to the stories he put into song; it's not a natural development, but one he purposely developed, like an artistic choice. I think he wanted his lyrics to sound more authentic, and his voice is his canvas to paint those pictures from life. I don't see his music depicting clubs, smoky or otherwise, with attendees in suits and fine clothes. I see him in cheap bars and pool halls. I see him in the rundown part of a city, where day laborers and people living on welfare self-medicate. Still, he presents these folks as still having tenderness, deep feelings, even an appreciation for poetry and beauty when they can get a glimpse of it. You can't listen to "Martha" or "Grapefruit Moon" and not see that dignity and humanity resident in even what we might consider the dregs of society. Tom Waits is the poet laureate of Skid Row.

[@frankyeichler3303]

One of the greatest artists right here. Thanks for listening to this gem

[@inesalguien3454]

“I still got that record … but somebody stole my record player” is one of the greatest metaphors every written. It is about unfulfilled potential. She has the music/the record (potential) but no means to play it because society (somebody) stole that from her. In a life performance Tom Waits sang "Silent Night" as a sort of intro to the song. "Silent Night" being the Christians' song that glorifies and celebrates the mother and her child. With it Tom even more sharply contrasts (a predominantly Christian) society's hypocrisy about celebrating a woman and her child, whilst putting pregnant women like the narrator into prison. That's also the point of the song being set around Christmas (birth of Jesus according to Christians). The young woman's pathetic, silly dream about having lots of used cars so she could drive a different car everyday depending how she feels ... as well as her whole story about a husband with a job and who takes her out dancing as well as accepting her pregnancy etc., shows us how extremely sad her life must have been so far. Her dreams and visions of "having it all" being so incredibly modest and pathetic. It's one of the saddest songs there is. But with humour in it at the same time (like the filling station joke etc.). And, like many of Tom's songs, it's a song that is highly critical of American society with its inequality, cruelty and hypocrisy.

[@CriticalReactions]

I completely missed the record metaphor. Tom continues to be a masterclass in both musical ideas and how to effectively use language.

[@inesalguien3454]

​@@CriticalReactions Couldn't agree more. And yes, that little metaphor is easily missed. I'm only aware of it because I've listened to this song countless times over the years and to Tom Waits's music overall for several decades.

[@nicobashford6513]

I completely agree. People don't often appreciate the strong sense of social commentary that underlies Tom Waits' music. I find this song in particular so full of emotion, that even its opening haunting piano can bring tears to my eyes. When Tom starts singing, the floodgates just open. His tales of broken lives, and, as you say, unfulfilled potential, are so poignant. The humour blends so effortlessly with pathos. The quirky imagery is combined with such a gut wrenching twist in the finale that gets me every time. I've been enthralled by Tom Waits' music since I was a teenager. I've crossed fifty now and his music still touches me, perhaps even more, as I've gained more experience and understanding of just how rigged the game is for the underclass that Tom Waits champions and compassionately chronicles. Incidentally, I made a few Tom compilations playlists on Spotify that you may enjoy. They are entitled Tango Till They're Sore, Step Right Up, Till the Money Runs Out and one more called My Baby Don't Love Me No More which is a collection of artists very obviously influenced by Tom. Enjoy.

[@inesalguien3454]

@@nicobashford6513 Really well said! Completely agree with you. I would argue that Tom Waits is one of the most political songwriters ever (additionally to being a genius composer, experimenter and storyteller). There are plenty of obvious examples like his album “Blood Money” and for instance on that album the song “God’s Away On Business” (kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5uafZtvoKqXnrs - written during the Bush admin after 9/11 and in the build up to the Iraq invasion) or the much later “Hell Broke Luce” (kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZnfNpmylbaeJgJo ) to name just a couple of examples. But most of his political songwriting is deeply compassionate stories about the victims of a cruel system in one way or another, without him ever getting sentimental or preachy in any way. Basically, most of Tom’s work is George Callin’s famous saying “The American Dream: you have to be asleep to believe it.” set to music and put into very moving, powerful stories. Want a song about police brutality and the cops killing non-white people from discriminated against minorities? Listen to “Romeo is Bleeding” from the late 1970s or watch his excellent live performance of it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aoepdZpspLmKj80. Well, enough examples now. 😉 Like you, I’ve been listening to Tom’s songs since my teenage years. I discovered him when I was 18, completely by chance, and then over time got myself every single album of his. (You and me are around the same age.) I’ve heard his song “Invitation to the Blues” on some fringe radio station and it felt as if being struck by lightning. I knew immediately: this guy is really, really different and he’s a genius musician/songwriter. This song “Christmas Card from a Hooker” perfectly illustrates what a masterful storyteller he is. I agree with you, it’s an incredibly moving song. Brought tears to my eyes on many occasions. Even his choice of song title is extremely clever: He uses the really dehumanising term “hooker” and then in the song he completely humanises her and makes us feel for her and with her. In one of his life performances I watched, he makes the audience laugh at the jokes in the song and by the end of the song the audience is stunned into complete silence. Thanks a lot for your Spotify playlists but I don’t use Spotify. (Just never got into it. Prefer to have my music wherever I go - i.e. when I’m travelling, especially to remote places in the world, where there’s no Internet connection etc. Thus, I prefer to rely on my own digital music library for that.) Though your Spotify playlists will be very useful for other people - especially those who are new to Tom’s music!! It did make me smile though reading about your playlists, as it reminded me of the many hours I have spent in years past in making my own playlists (of all sorts of artists/musicians and types of music). In particular the ones from decades ago, when that kind of thing was not as easy as it is nowadays thanks to modern technology. (The days of LimeWire when it took hours to download album collections etc., haha.) Oh and the times when I used to make music CDs for all my friends. Those were the days, haha!

[@nicobashford6513]

@@inesalguien3454 Such a great response and so nice to find musical and socially aware kindred spirits out there. Your recollections of making compilations were sweet. I too used to provide my closest and dearest with C90 cassette comps complete with home-made covers, often incorporating collage and hand-crafted visuals. They were labours of love and I believe quite cherished, as some old friends have since had them digitised. As a result, I have always been into the 45 minute comp and still use that as a guiding principle of creating a playlist - you know, roughly album length. I have only been using Spotify a year or two and have been pretty disappointed in the quality of the playlists people and even Spotify put up. Generally way too long - we're talking hours and hours and lazy - three or four consecutive tracks of the same artist from the same album etc. Having said that, Spotify is so easy to make playlists from and a far cry from file sharing and converting all those sought after tunes into a common format. When you reconnect with music that you know so well but haven't heard in many years it is so nice to turn the crossfade up and figure out what will segue into what and put a silly smile on your face. Really appreciate your all your comments; sharp, concise and totally on point. All the best

[@progperljungman8218]

Real artist right there! Very enjoyable reaction and analysis! Glad you enjoyed it too!

[@davep8221]

Many years ago, someone introduced me to "Rain Dogs," and my first response was "WTF is this crap!?" That then became "you *have* to listen to this!" to everyone I knew. Very, very, very, ... good. Thanks, Tom.

[@michaelburton1970]

That was my exact experience too. Rain Dogs is a stunning album.

[@74artgrrl]

It’s so beautiful, isn’t it? So sad yet lovely.

[@josetomatostv5718]

The best part is when she talks about moving back to Omaha to live with her folks. The way he sings that line. You can just see her holding her head high...putting aside her pride about having to live with her folks. Like, sometimes that's just what you have to do. I've never heard a cover from another artist that conveys that line in that way. As for the song in general, I think it's just sad. It's not about Christmas. It's about a desperate, troubled, soul trying to show that things are actually going well, but in the end, she is just wanting to leach off someone from her past that she thinks might help her during a giving time of year. It's real-world stuff, and the story is told in a way that elicits compassion from the listener at first (to me anyway). Most everyone has been in situations where we boast and exaggerate in order to compensate for our personal challenges/problems/issues, etc. I know have, and in a way, it's a reminder to do your best to not judge people.

[@TommiBrem]

My first encounter with Waits was the Primus track "Tommy the Cat". They collaborated on numerous occasions. Also, Waits opened for Zappa at some point. It's all connected...

[@bigpictureguys8415]

Anyone who uses TM & Primus in the same sentence is cool by me

[@c0oked638]

check out les claypool coattails of a Deadman waits makes an appearance there as well

[@StonefieldJim4]

It breaks my heart in two every time I hear it. A bona fide masterpiece.

[@Hundhammer]

Cool, yeah, more Tom Waits for me too! New sub here from Germany since your great breakdown of "Hell Broke Luce" - Waits fan for 35 years... Thanks for putting him on your channel! (Thanks to the patreons or whoever suggested this...!) (Btw. Genesis 'Supper's Ready' reaction is also interesting, but I'm only like 8 min. in and interrupted as this showed up on my notifications, Tom's always first for me...) Great work you're doing here, really appreciate your open, knowledgable and serious approach...

[@Hundhammer]

no remix here, it sounds exactly like it was mixed on the original LP...

[@Hundhammer]

May I hope he got you by now and I could look forward for more reactions on Tom? Seriously, yours are the best and in depth Waits reactions I've encountered so far and I really do hope we'll get some more! Thanks, have a great day!

[@progperljungman8218]

Really enjoy your reaction to Bryan's reaction(s). Yeah, he's a gem.

[@Hundhammer]

@@progperljungman8218 , he obviously is! So glad I discovered his channel, think we're gonna have a lot of fun together :-D

[@progperljungman8218]

@@Hundhammer Are you joining Patreon (for suggesting and voting etc) and/or Discord (for chating on loads of subjects and all kinds of fun including an album club taking turns listening to and reviewing each others selections)?

[@qadile]

Some great commentary Bryan! I bought the album back when it was released and I have a couple of points about the "jazzy" style. It was a little retro even then, particularly in those songs where they put strings behind the piano. Most of the singer-songwriters like Joni, Dylan or Cohen or Paul Simon had come out of a folk music vibe which crossed over in and out of rock readily enough. But Tom had this blues-gospel vibe going without ever really being a bluesman or a gospel singer and I think that's where the "jazzy" riffs are from - very few of his songs have improvisatory jazz elements. They have blues riffs on a simple hymn-like chordal structure which in this period gets a gospel/swing inflection - later on he starts using the pump organ, accordion, horns and guitars with his music and it becomes something else although he keeps going back to these bluesy hymn-like roots from time to time. Prefacing the song with "Silent Night" in concert fixes both the season and the church feel. On the lyrics I think you are onto something with the change in delivery, the defeated resignation of the final verse. But I've always felt there's something else going on with the fantasy: it's such a *small* fantasy. Living above a dirty bookstore with a guy who works at the track doesn't sound like the fantasy you'd invent for yourself unless your life was truly awful. And even in her fantasy she only "thinks" she's happy. When you don't know that it's a fantasy, it sounds like she's getting her life together. When you realise it's a fantasy, the poverty of her imagination is tragic. She wants so little, but she doesn't have any of it: she's in prison. The other point about "Hey" apart from it being the closing rhyme is that the song opens with "Hey, Charlie" and it ends with "Charlie, Hey" - and then the final reveal.

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

Loved your analysis on this one, and it pairs well with my own. What always struck me about this song is the juxtaposition between that bluesy, soulful, gospel-tinged jazz and the very ordinariness of the lyrics, which, as you noticed, read just like a postcard/letter rather than a metered poem. What you say about the music "setting a scene" is very true, and I think that's quite intentional, because even in the 70s this kind of jazz was rather "old-fashioned" and would've been seen as quite "classy" music, yet back when this kind of jazz was new it was very much the "music of the people." So that contrast alone plays into the the lyrics of being about a character from a lower-class background saying how they're doing better. What's more, as you said, it's very nostalgic music, and that also fits with the lyrics that are so much about remembering how things were. So far, the music and lyrics seem to completely jive together... but then you get to the ending and find out it was all a lie and that just completely recontextualizes the music, giving the whole thing an incredibly ironic feeling, but it's still quite ambiguous. Is the music representing the "fantasy" of the life the writer wants to be living that they described? Perhaps that's just the "classy" angle of the music... but remember I said how the origins of this kind of music was of the lower classes as well, so perhaps that idea was already there, lurking in the background. The music acting as both the fantasy/remembrance, but also the truth lurking underneath it all. There's another aspect to consider: who's singing the lyrics? Is it the hooker, or is it Charley reading the letter? I think the music and Waits's delivery works either way, but it's an interesting ambiguity. As you say, this track just really shows Waits's attention to musical detail even in ostensibly simple songs like this. Now I just got to think of what Waits to go with next... maybe his humorous side?

[@CriticalReactions]

I hadn't consider the angle of who was reading the letter. I assumed it was the sex worker given the first person perspective but you're right, that doesn't have to be the case. And the connections you made regarding the perception of this kind of jazz are spot on.

[@josephcox1738]

Waits used to hang out in cafes and bars and listen to people. That's how a lot of his stories got their beginning.

[@Ytterdahls]

Very nice breakdown of the song!

[@RobertoMarsalis]

Neko Case does a cover of this tune and as a long time Tom Waits fan, it's really the only Waits cover worth it's salt. It's wonderful.

[@khalidcabrero6204]

This is a great song, worth going through several times. I really liked your emphasis on the subtly varying voice, and this is something that is often overlooked by artists who cover it, and sing through it straight, without variation in their voice style, which makes the narrative feel like she is just engaged in deception. This has to be an extremely awkward letter for her to write, and must have been written with great anxiety and uncertainty of how to frame the request to Charlie. She runs through a gamut of emotions in turn - boastful bravado, tender reminiscence, pathos at loss, sudden confessions of mental and family complications, humorous fantasy - she ping-pongs through it not on a straight steady tone, but nervously jumps between disconnected topics, as she is overcoming her anxiety and steeling up the courage to reveal the true reason for her letter. It is very difficult letter to write. Every phrase has a different emotion, standing by itself, as if she wrote it then paused and reflected, wondering if that was the right approach or if she went too far, then tried a different approach in the next line. And as much as we are shocked by the twisting reveal of the last line ("eligible for parole"), she still manages to give the twist itself a twist by squeezing out one last emotion, one last bit of hope ("Valentine's day", still believes in love). The way Tom sings it subtly shifts his voice and tone between lines, to convey that varying feelings and anxiety of the writer. This makes it very difficult song to sing and cover singers usually fail to convey the subtle importance of variation. They simply hit on a style and hold it through. But as Tom shows, you have to take pause and approach each line with a different emotion, and sometimes squeeze two emotions in one line. It really captures the human behind the letter.

[@jibbacraftteamplays1282]

So, interestingly, I’ve read through the comments and I have to point out that, in my humble, Tom speaks more to the human experience as a whole. I know that the magic of art and music is in the ear of the beholder, but I don’t interpret a lot of his music as societal commentary, but human commentary. Who amongst us, rich, poor, “powerful” or otherwise has not had our proverbial record player stolen? Which of us has not experienced the reality of having to face the music with someone? You try to paint the picture as well as possible, but at the end of the day, life is what it is. He very eloquently uses the salt of the earth to tell his stories, but that’s why it’s so effective. But particularly in this song, I think the subconscious focal point is Charlie’s perspective. He starts the letter thinking, “Aw man. She’s doing well. What did I miss out on?” Then she tells him about how she thinks of him every time she passes the filling station and he thinks, “Wow. She still thinks about me.” Then, in the human experience total, at the very end, “She’s not everything she made herself out to be.” Have we not all woken up at some point to realize, regardless of how great the preamble is, there’s always the crux of disappointment waiting at the turn of the page?

[@RobotsWithKnivesCartoons]

I always come back to Tom, and this is one I revisit every year.

[@bradpirochta9293]

Tom Waits sings about an America that doesn't exist anymore. But its always inciteful to listen to the lyrics. The subtleties. He's always alluding to a romantic connection, or a nostalgic surprise you forgot existed, or just a dude down on his luck. He's an American treasure. Yes, his songs are sad, but they're real. Every song is a specific piece centered on an individual with hope and bad luck.

[@Blue-qr7qe]

I love Waits, but hearing your take on this, i'd really like to catch your reaction to Joni Mitchell's song, RIVER. Peace -

[@Zubareffstream111]

Dylan and Waits are (in my opinion) the two greatest singer song writers ever and two of the best things to come out of America. Waits pips it (not that it's a race) because he says things in a way that no one else does. Story telling is a great, and rarely used thing in music and Waits paints beautiful and vivid pictures in his words. He's a brilliant tune-smith but an even better poet, lyricist and story teller. I could talk all day about my love for the man but this is the youtube comment section. 🙂

[@pascalg16]

I noticed him in a movie, was surprised to realise he has a whole career as an actor.

[@CriticalReactions]

I had this exact same experience. Saw a movie trailer for something and someone looked just like the dude in Hell Broke Luce. Sure enough as they were listing the actors Tom Waits showed up. I was quite confused :)

[@pascalg16]

@@CriticalReactions That's an interesting coincidence. I noticed him in Seven Psychopaths (great movie by the way)

[@CriticalReactions]

The trailer I saw him in was for Licorice Pizza but now I'm interested in Seven Psychopaths because, assuming he's one of these psychopaths, I think it would be a killer performance.

[@bigpictureguys8415]

I thought the same thing with Dwight yoakim (spell check)

[@Blue-qr7qe]

Wiki his filmography - you'll be suprised. He co-starred with Jack Nicholson and Merrill Streep as Jack's side kick in a depression era film, IRONWEED. He was the bug-eater madman, Renfield, in BRAHAM STOKER'S DRACULA. Had the lead role in John Lurie's film, DOWN BY LAW. Bit parts in a slew of films.

[@jeffstevens4262]

Tom's music is and has always been centred around the downtrodden, disheartened and disregarded. He's a brilliant jazz pianist and one of the greatest storytellers around. His tracks 'The Piano Has Been Drinking' and 'Step Right Up' and 'Romeo Is Bleeding' are three of my all time favourites of his, but as you may know, there are many many many more to listen to and enjoy for everyone. Thanks for your reaction.

[@bratturtle8631]

"Hold On" is my personal favorite Tom Waits song

[@texasca9753]

The interesting thing for me about this song is that I REALLY want to know more about these people. It's more like a film than a song. I have a great deal of empathy for them both. She is so broken and alone she's reaching out to a lover from her past, desperate for money. How did she come to this? How did she become a hooked? How did he know her? Did she use him in the past? Is he an easy mark or someone she loved? He does seem to still care about her. Sad on so many levels. Tom always makes me think. And feel. Isn't that what great art is supposed to do?

[@jeffstevens4262]

'Bad Liver & A Broken Heart' is another great favourite of mine.

[@KyleHanky]

If you watch him play it live in the 70s, he would start the song by playing some bars from Silent Night, singing it as well, adding the Christmas feel to the song.

[@swrennie]

That last line makes me want to giggle and weep simultaneously. That may be the saddest punchline since, "But doctor, I AM Pagliacci!"

[@pierrevanstaden8392]

great summery loved it😀

[@judymeeker2925]

This was my favorite by Tom Waits.

[@troyseffrood2972]

Great vid. One thing I noticed, too, is that he hangs the punchlines over some jazzy F chord. When he sings about the grease in his hair, it is some F11-9-something, and it is just, ...funny?

[@MrPboys1]

Tom makes me happy

[@theartistformerlyknownasje6358]

Song goes hard 💯🔥

[@ambassadortourettes753]

Never go wrong with Waits 👌

[@goldenboy140]

I'd love if you did something from Bone Machine, Mule Variations or Rain Dogs

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

He did Goin' Out West from Bone Machine. I've been the one making these Waits requests. I'm open to suggestion for the next Waits to do. I was thinking of doing one of his humorous songs like The Piano Has Been Drinking, just to continue to showcase Waits's versatility. However, I'm open to other suggestions for future songs. :)

[@goldenboy140]

@@jonathanhenderson9422 Some of my favorites are In The Neighborhood, Dirt In The Ground, Earth Died Screaming, Come On Up To The House, All The World Is Green, Shore Leave, Time, Kentucky Avenue.

[@MrBeautrix]

@@jonathanhenderson9422 Thank you for your service! I think Step Right Up would be a good choice, or, if you're feeling it, the whole of Nighthawks :) (Emotional Weather Forecast seems like a good way to get Bryan into it)

[@annatraustadottir4387]

He has written a lot of jazzy songs

[@Diecastclassicist]

Try “Kentucky Avenue”

[@HalfwayJac]

I was thinking that too. That song just wrecks me.

[@olivierhaussaire2590]

From France 🇫🇷,toi are luky toi be Tom wait. This a béatifié american poète 🙏🤣fun..goog émotions music..waits ⭐⭐💛🔥👍🙏✌️😂👻🤣

[@gillesmorin9439]

29 minutes to tell us that the song is perfect we already knew it.

[@mullydoesmusic-ishstuff5506]

I think your lyrical analysis is interesting and definitely gave me some things to think about. I have a bit of a different perspective based on reading between the lines and filling out the back story with reasonable leaps. For starters Charlie is one of the narrator’s clients or ex-clients. She’s writing him because she knows he has money, at least enough to buy a car and dope. The grandioseness of the singing is the letter writer positioning her self as a peer to Charlie as apposed to a provider of sexual services. She’s approaching him from an equal level of power initially hence the bragging. She wouldn’t need anything from Charlie if her fantasies were true. Mario is possibly her drug dealer but I think more likely her pimp. If her pimp got busted that could implicate her in crimes as well. It would make sense for her to leave Minneapolis to lay low for a while. I think she did go home. But this stanza is the embodiment of “You can’t go home again” the idea that going to a place from your past creates an uncomfortable cognitive dissonance between how you remember it and how it is now. I think the lie is leaving because “everyone I used to know is either dead or in prison” is a likely exaggerated and sort of weak reason to leave your safe house. More likely she was thrown out probably from the concoction of drug use, being self admittedly “almost crazy” and perhaps the the crimes she may have been dodging in Minneapolis. That’s why she goes back to Minneapolis before the heat on her completely died down and got picked up by the police and that’s why she’s incarcerated now. When the rug is pulled the tone goes to tired or exasperated because she’s now talking to Charlie like he’s a customer and the power dynamic has shifted and she’s exhausted from being on the short side of that. With Charlie busted probably legally as well as financially he can’t bribe the prosecutor (she doesn’t say her lawyer if she’s broke her lawyer is provided by the state) for a better plea. And of course the subtext of the last line is what better day to owe ya one than valentine’s? That my take on it anyways.

[@danielfox6907]

Tom uses many great,big name jazz players on his albums.

[@huwpowell6081]

Brilliant deconstruction,is this my favorite Christmas song?........naah, it's got to be The Pogues, but hey....... No Tom Traubert's Blues, no Fairytale of New York

[@rssharkey40]

Waits' actual Christmas song being, of course, 'Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet' =P :)

[@jhf7022]

I don't pay attention to lyrics unless it's Tom Waits or Sparks. Everything else is just white noise to me.

[@goldenboy140]

sounds pretty close minded to me

[@progperljungman8218]

I'm about as "close minded", but try Joni Mitchell as well 😊

[@justsomejusstsome8994]

@@goldenboy140 absolutely. Many many artists with good lyrics out there.

[@gabrielegagliardi3956]

Yeah, horrible songwriters like Leonard Cohen out there 🤮

[@viceroyzh]

Very nice analysis. Could you react to songs by Leonard Cohen (e.g. Suzanne, Famous blue raincoat...) and Nick Cave (e.g. songs of his album "No more shall we part").

[@CriticalReactions]

I've heard Breathless and Jubilee Street from Nick Cave, though they were during livestreams and not proper, full analyses. I haven't had Leonard Cohen on the channel at all yet though so I should probably correct that.

[@viceroyzh]

@@CriticalReactions That would be great! Try to catch his lyrics and its meaning while listening, and react and analyse afterwards. The important thing of songs by singer/songwriters (e.g. Cohen, Dylan, Cave, Taylor, Mitchell, Lightfoot) is the lyrics, not the music imho. Breathless and Jubilee Street are nice picks; I would have loved to hear your analyses. You cannot go wrong with Cave or Cohen. But tastes are different, I know.

[@markvanscyoc8925]

May I suggest Burma Shave?

[@74artgrrl]

Story-wise it’s sad and gritty and real and sad. Musically it’s ingenious. It’s beautifully sad. Nothing Christmas about it.

[@74artgrrl]

And also I’m really disgusted by your takeaway. You continue to look at this in the male view even though Tom Waites wrote this from the woman’s perspective. He got it right and you ignore this. Sad.

[@paulpalmer4385]

The funniest sad song and the saddest funny song ever.

[@johngeer4557]

Try something different from tom, I suggest Walking spanish, or Starving in the belly of the whale.

[@sidneyaloysiussmutt1625]

Great. You missed the first line because you talked over it, instead of listening. The first line sets up the entire poem - the riff/music/blues simply compliments the words. Which you missed. It also has nothing to do with xmas. Goodbye.

[@wealldieatthehandsoflovedones]

Thank you

[@Pablo_sanz359]

Is "Mindianapolis" a thing? A great reaction and analysis!

[@wealldieatthehandsoflovedones]

Yeah everybody I know is either dead or in prison or so f***** up on meth I'm just alone