From Frank Sinatra & Captain Beefheart to Little Richard, Harry Partch, & The Texas Czech Bohemian-Moravian Bands, Tom's musical influences are wondrous, wild, wide...and deep. We're talking a virtual beyond-the-chromatic-scale smorgasbord including GATMO, The Rolling Stones, & Altar Boy. Folks, your table is ready!
Tim Scherman: Pounding Post Modernism Into A Thinking Man's Floor
Bill, James and Cheryl continue Eluding the Authorities, this time with the distinguished author Dr. Tim Scherman who penned that brilliant essay. What's he building in there ain't just literature, folks. Not only has Tim used his mind to deconstruct the culture surrounding Tom Waits word by word, he's also used his hands to reconstruct his entire house board by board. Elizabeth Oakes Smith, P.T. Barnum, and Bob Frost are throwing confetti from their graves!
Real Satisfaction: Flying High On Tom’s Collaboration With Keith Richards
What can we say about this episode? Denny Crane. Oh, and then there’s The Human Strum, the scribe, the little red rooster howlin’ like a wolf, Son Of Rogues Gallery, Under The Influence and Last Leaf On The Tree..that’s right, folks: loads of family fun. AND in the center chamber....THE HUMAN GUINEA PIG quivering in the corner after weeks of being confetti-boarded with Heart Attack and Vine. PLUS, Bill is rendered speechless in the Season 1 Finale...AND Retractions & Corrections. Long live Jerry West!
Zeitgeist: Monkeys With Money 'N Guns Devouring Breakfast Cereal
The erudite Cheryl King joins us for a deep dive, this time plunging into a brilliant essay, "Eluding The Authorities" by Tim Scherman on popmatters.com. A well intentioned but half-baked, feckless, fumbling conversation ensues about the author's mind-bending examination of the positive effect left behind by Tom Waits' music.
Illustration by Peter Ferguson